(no subject)

[dr_temperance]

Brennan is rifling quasi-frantically through a box of papers. Correspondence mostly. And contracts. All of it from her literary agent, publishing house, and publicist.

Sitting a little apart from the other papers is a glossy black folder overlaid with X-ray graphics. On top of it is a letter. Every few seconds Brennan gives the pair a glance of what can only be described as horrified disbelief.

She will admit that, over the last couple of months, she had been distracted. Between Gormogon, Zach, the administrative review, and tensions in the lab, in retrospect she had been overwhelmed and not at her best, mentally or emotionally. And she does vaguely recall signing something from her agent about agreeing to act in an advisory capacity for a forensics television show. And yes, she probably (clearly) hadn’t read it as closely as she should have.

But surely, surely she’d remember if she had signed off on a television show inspired not only by her books, but by her life.

Right?

Right?

Comments

[immortalthief]

"What is the matter?" she remembers the woman from before and she is a little concerned for her as can be seen in her tone.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan looks up. Rather helplessly.

"I think I'm in trouble," she says, frankly.

[immortalthief]

Amanda then looks even more concerned. This woman had been there for Amanda when she needed someone to speak with.

"What can I do to help?"

[dr_temperance]

"I'm not sure that anyone can do anything to help."

Brennan has located her copy of the contract in question. The one she scribbled her signature on. And yes, there it is in black and white. Skeletons in the Closet. Based on the life and works of Dr. Temperance Brennan.

"And," she adds grimly, "I'm afraid I have nothing to blame but my own carelessness."

[immortalthief]

"What is the problem?" Amanda says calmly now and takes a seat. Amanda doesn't believe in giving up...unless you count running away as giving up.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan holds up the contract.

"I thought I was signing an agreement to simply act as an adviser on a television show dealing with forensics. Instead, it's to be a television show based on a series of books I've written, and my life."

It's the and my life part that's causing the mild anxiety attack. If it were just the books it wouldn't be so bad. Even if it has been pointed out to Brennan that she writes more of her friends and colleagues into her stories than she might realize.

"It's my own fault. Things were bad in the lab. My agent was pressing me to look over the agreement. I signed without reading it in depth. It was extremely foolish."

[immortalthief]

"Yes it was but that still doesn't mean that you should suffer" she points out but wonders, "But why is this a problem?" she doesn't understand and she knows she needs to in order to be more helpful.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan drops the contract back in the box.

"Saying that it will cause suffering is probably an overstatement," she admits.

"But it has the potential to make things...awkward."

Like they haven't had any of that around the lab, lately.

[immortalthief]

"I don't understand. How would you consulting on a show about books you have written and your life cause suffering and...?" she considers as she is speaking and realizes, "The show including your life could be awkward." she understands now, "You could always change the truth." a nice way of saying to lie.

[justasaleswoman]

Oooh, this looks like it has promise.

Or, at least, potential.

"Bad day?"

[dr_temperance]

"You could say that," Brennan replies.

Just when it had looked like things were leveling out a bit. It's almost enough to make one believe in superstitions.

She has located the contract she's been looking for.

Yes. There it is. Skeletons in the Closet.

And her signature, scrawled in blue ink.

[justasaleswoman]

"And is it just the paperwork, or what all the paperwork relates to?"

[dr_temperance]

"What it relates to. Most definitely."

Brennan looks up.

This is about as close as she gets to looking desperate.

"You don't know anything about contracts, by any chance, do you?"

[justasaleswoman]

"Oh, just a few things," Verity says, modestly.

"I've made some deals in my time.

"What's the problem?"

[dr_temperance]

"You're a lawyer?"

Many of the female lawyers Brennan knows in this woman's demographic seem to favor this sort of ensemble when out for an evening. And enjoy talking about contracts.

"I failed to adequately read something before I signed it. For which I have no one to blame but myself. And now there's going to be a television show, apparently.

[justasaleswoman]

As a matter of fact, the body Verity is wearing this evening is a lawyer. That's close enough, right?

"A television show?"

How very interesting.

She nods towards the paperwork.

"May I?"

[dr_temperance]

"Of course."

Brennan hands over the contract.

"I'm fairly certain that there's no way around it now. But I'm not sure how I'll explain it to my coworkers."

[theflyingsquirl]

"Lookin' for something?"

Here, have a mutant with a clipboard.

He's sympathetic. His desk is buried in papers, and it usually takes him a while to find things, if he even keeps looking.

[dr_temperance]

"I think I've found it. Unfortunately."

Her papers tend to be orderly. Which increases efficiency.

Brennan looks up from the contract that she signed several weeks ago.

"I would consider losing it. But I'm not sure it would help matters any."

There will be copies. Many many copies.

[theflyingsquirl]

"...oh, one of those," he says with a nod, and a glance to the paper. "I used to have that kind of situation with bills, sometimes. You can ignore them long enough that they leave you alone, but it takes an awful lot of harassment in the meantime."

[dr_temperance]

Brennan raises her eyebrows.

"It is illogical to ignore bills."

"And I'm afraid that it will be illogical to ignore this. As much as I would like to."

Because when this show airs, someone or someones--probably someones that she works with--are going to see the show. And then the jig will be up.

"I'm not sure how harassment will figure into the equation."

[theflyingsquirl]

"Life's kind of illogical, when you really think about it," he says. "I mean, there's one little planet and chemicals happened to be in just the right configuration for single-celled organisms to form, and next thing you know, bam, infomercials."

It's never made much sense to him.

"If you try to duck out on things, they'll probably keep calling you until they get in touch with you. Some people get bothered by that easily."

[dr_temperance]

Brennan looks mildly scandalized.

"There's....rather a lot more to it than that."

The way some people talk, you'd think that a preschool science experiment could lead to a world populated by advanced life forms.

"But yes. They will call. And they will email. And my agent knows both my work and home addresses."

"And ignoring this matter will do nothing to make it go away. They have my signature--that's what matters."

[theflyingsquirl]

He knows a few too many mad scientists, but not quite well enough to know how they do whatever it is they do. It would never occur to him to doubt that, say, Queen Faraday's father couldn't create a microscopic sentient world in his lab.

"Agent?" he asks. "Most people with agents are pretty glad to be getting the work. Not a project you were looking forward to, I take it?"

[dr_temperance]

"It's just a hobby. Not my profession," Brennan attempts to explain.

"I wrote a mystery novel because my friend Angela said that I needed a creative outlet. And people seemed to like it, so I wrote some more."

"And now they want to make it into a television series."