Surprise package

While they packed up stuff from the car to the house, Alex cleared his throat, deciding to address the elephant in the room. "Sarah, I've been meaning to ask... why are we in Manhattan? I thought Jason – I mean, I – lived in LA."

Sarah paused in her task of arranging groceries, a flicker of concern crossing her face. "We came here for a bit of a break, remember? To lay low.." She hesitated, then continued softly, "After the incident at your party, we thought it best to keep you away from the spotlight while you recovered."

Alex nodded slowly, filing away this crucial piece of information. "Right, of course. The party. That makes sense."

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Alex pulled it out, expecting another fan message or work-related notification. Instead, his blood ran cold as he read the text:

"Time's running out, Rivers. Pay up, or you won't cheat death again."

Alex's head snapped up, scanning the room instinctively, but of course, there was no one there but Sarah. He swallowed hard, his mind racing. This was no random threat – this was connected to Jason's poisoning.

"Sarah," he began, his voice carefully neutral, "I was wondering... how exactly did we handle the poisoning incident? Did they catch anyone?"

Sarah's hands stilled on the groceries, her back to Alex. When she turned, her expression was a mixture of concern and wariness. "We're still investigating," she said slowly. "But if you want, we can drop it. I know it's been hard on you."

Alex considered for a moment, weighing his options. If he dropped it, he might miss crucial information. But pursuing it could be dangerous. Still, with the cashback system and this new life thrust upon him, danger seemed to be part of the package.

"No," he said firmly. "We should keep investigating. I want to know what happened."

Sarah nodded, a small smile of approval on her lips. "Alright, I'll let the team know."

As Sarah went back to arranging groceries, Alex glanced down at his phone again, rereading the threatening message. He didn't notice Sarah watching him until she spoke.

"Is that one of your lady 'friends' texting you?" Her tone was light, but there was an edge to it. "Not to pry, but I may have looked through your phone while you were unconscious. You really should put a lock on it, you know. Who knows who might try to steal it?" She paused, then added, "Besides, other than the constant DMs, there wasn't much important in there anyway."

Alex blinked, suddenly realizing he'd overlooked a potential goldmine of information. Jason's phone could hold clues to what was going on. He quickly opened Instagram, his eyes widening at the follower count. "Twenty-five million followers?" he muttered.

Sarah, walking by, scoffed. "They increased overnight when they thought you were dead. Weird how celebrities get more followers that way."

Alex scrolled through the inbox, alternating between normal messages and decidedly not-normal ones from models and actresses. Some were asking for "private shoots" without cameras or production teams. Despite himself, Alex felt a flutter of excitement. In his old life, women had barely given him a second glance. Now, as Jason, he could have any woman he wanted.

But that wasn't the priority now. He had a system to figure out and a life-threatening mystery to solve.

He switched to Twitter, seeing tweets about his "death" and "resurrection." But as he scrolled through the phone, he realized what he was really looking for wasn't there – bank invoices, financial records, anything that might explain the apparent money troubles.

Alex glanced at Sarah, who was busy putting away the last of the groceries. He wanted to ask about Jason's current financial situation, but the question felt out of place. He'd have to find out on his own.

"Sarah," he said, deciding to take a different approach, "I was hoping you could tell me more about... well, me. To help me remember, you know?"

Sarah chuckled, but there was sadness in her eyes. "Of course,"

"Sarah," he said, deciding to take a different approach, "I was hoping you could tell me more about... well, me. To help me remember, you know?"

Sarah's eyes lit up, a mix of excitement and nostalgia washing over her face. "Oh, Jason, where do I even start? There's so much! Remember that charity gala in Monaco? You charmed the pants off everyone there – figuratively, of course."

'Christ, even my charity work sounds like a porno,' Alex thought, suppressing a snort.

Sarah continued, "Or what about the time you decided to learn parkour for that action movie role? You ended up with a sprained ankle, but you were so determined to do your own stunts."

'Parkour? Me?' Alex imagined his old accountant body attempting to vault over a park bench and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud. 'Jason, you magnificent idiot.'

She paused, a softer smile playing on her lips. "You know, I'll never forget my first day working for you. It was my first big interview in the industry, and I was so nervous. To make matters worse, I had this awful flu. I was trying so hard to be professional, but then you cracked this ridiculous joke about method acting and I just... snorted. Like a pig!"

'Oh god,' Alex thought, 'Please tell me Jason didn't have a thing for pig noises. Although in this industry, who the fuck knows?'

Sarah's cheeks flushed at the memory. "I was mortified, certain I'd blown my chance. But you... you just smiled and offered me a tissue. You said, 'I like a PA with a sense of humor.' That's when I knew you were different from other stars."

'Smooth, Rivers. Real smooth,' Alex mused, impressed despite himself. 'Maybe there's hope for me in this body after all.'

She continued on, recounting various events and anecdotes from Jason's life, her eyes shining with admiration and something deeper. Alex listened, fascinated by these glimpses into the life he'd inherited, but also acutely aware that this wasn't quite what he'd meant to ask.

'Jesus H. Christ,' he thought, 'Jason's life is like a fucking action movie mixed with a soap opera. How am I supposed to keep up with all this shit?'

After a few minutes, he gently interrupted her. "Sarah, I'm sorry, I should have been clearer. Those stories are great, really. But what I meant was... could you tell me more about who I am as a person? My personality, my... well, my character, I suppose."

'Before I fuck it up royally,' he added silently.

Sarah blinked, caught off guard by the clarification. "Oh," she said, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. "Of course. I got a bit carried away there, didn't I?"

'No shit, Sherlock,' Alex thought, but he managed a warm smile. 'This woman's got it bad for Jason. Fan-fucking-tastic.'

Sarah's face softened, and she leaned against the counter. She had her glazed back on from cleaning tears from her eyes after laughing from the memories . She stared at whom she thought was Jason for a moment and then began...

"Jason Rivers is... complex," her voice took on a passionate tone. "You're driven, almost to a fault. When you set your mind to something, there's no stopping you. You have this incredible charisma that draws people in, makes them want to be around you."

As Sarah continued, describing Jason's strengths and quirks with obvious adoration, Alex found himself captivated. It was clear that Sarah's feelings for Jason went beyond professional admiration.

"You're generous, sometimes to your own detriment," Sarah was saying. "You never turn down a friend in need, even when maybe you should. And despite the image you project to the world, you're actually quite private. You guard your true self carefully."

She shook her head, as if catching herself, and went back to arranging the last of the groceries. Just then, her phone beeped with a new message. It was on the counter next to Alex, so he automatically picked it up to hand it to her. As he did, he caught a glimpse of the notification – an email from a studio with the subject line "Termination of Agreement."

Sarah took the phone quickly, her eyes scanning the message. Her brow furrowed, and she glanced up at Alex several times before tucking the phone away.

"Everything okay?" Alex asked, trying to keep his tone casual.

"Oh, it's nothing," Sarah said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "Just some routine business stuff."

Alex nodded, but internally, his suspicions were confirmed. Sarah was definitely hiding something, and it seemed to be related to Jason's career.

As the day wore on, Alex found himself growing more comfortable in Jason's skin, but also more frustrated by the lack of concrete information. He needed to test the cashback system, to see if it was real or just some post-coma hallucination.

"Sarah," he said as evening approached, "I think I'm going to turn in early. Still feeling a bit worn out, you know?"

Sarah nodded, concern evident in her eyes. "Of course. Do you want me to stay? I can sleep in the guest room if you'd like."

Alex shook his head, forcing a smile. "No, no, I'll be fine. You should go home and get some rest too. You've been working non-stop."

After Sarah left, with promises to return first thing in the morning, Alex set to work. He started by doing a thorough search of the apartment, looking for any hidden documents or clues about Jason's financial situation. But the place was frustratingly clean – no conveniently forgotten bank statements or mysterious lockboxes.

Next, he turned to the internet, searching for the studio name he'd glimpsed on Sarah's phone. It turned out to be a major production company, known for both mainstream and adult films. But beyond some vague industry gossip about budget cuts, he couldn't find anything concrete about a terminated agreement with Jason Rivers.

As midnight approached, Alex was about to call it quits when a knock at the door startled him. One of the security guards stood there, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Mr. Rivers," the guard said, "there's a package for you downstairs. It was just delivered."

Alex frowned. A package? He wasn't expecting anything. "Did you check it?" he asked, suddenly wary.

The guard nodded. "It's been scanned. No explosives or anything like that. But given the hour and the... unusual nature of the delivery, we thought we should ask you before bringing it up."

Alex's curiosity was piqued. "Bring it up," he decided. "I'll take a look."

As the guard went to retrieve the package, Alex's mind raced. Could this be related to the threatening text? Or was it something to do with Jason's career troubles?

The guard returned moments later, carrying a small, nondescript brown box. No return address, just "J. Rivers" scrawled on top in messy handwriting.

Alex took the box, surprised by its weight. "Thank you," he said to the guard. "I'll take it from here."