“Even if the press is having a field day with it,” I say, eyeing my phone. Has anything else surfaced?
“Oh, honey, those articles?” Amara waves her hand dismissively. “Free publicity. They’re doing our marketing for us. Have you seen what they’re writing about me? How I won’tbe able to direct an action movie?” She laughs. “If I stopped directing because some man said I can’t do it, I’d never make a movie again. How stupid would that be? Ignore them.”
She’s right, of course. Time to channel my inner executive producer.
I could invite these critics to set, let them witness what it looks like when a woman claims her power without apology. Let them see how spectacularly wrong they are about everything. About me, about Dante, about what strength really means.
A slow smile spreads across my face as an idea forms. “Or what if we turned this around? Instead of doing a press conference to announceRobyn Hood,we could invite the press onto set? That way, they wouldn’t leak pictures of us.”
“Now you’re thinking!”
The plan crystallizes in my mind, sharp and clear as a diamond. We could turn this into a whole circuit, bringing someone from every publication that wrote about the burlesque night. Especially theStone Times. Let them all see what they think they understand so well.
“Let them watch me nail the three-person opening fight sequence we’ve been drilling.” I straighten up. “And while we’re at it…I can officially announce my new look, get ahead of the narrative. I’ll have Heather and Geraldine coordinate everything.”
Make them talk about my hair andRobyn Hood, not me dancing half-naked on stage.
“Look at you, playing chess while they’re playing checkers. This is exactly why I wanted to work with you.”
“This is going to change everything.”
A tiny voice whispers,Be careful what you wish for. But I ignore it.
Amara gives my shoulder a squeeze before stepping back. “Come find me when you’re done here. I want you to see howwe’re setting up the first shot. And I still owe you a camera placement walkthrough.”
Then she turns to address the gym.
“Everyone else—” She claps once. “I know you all got your welcome emails, and I love seeing you already putting in the work. I’ll do formal introductions in two hours, but just know I am so excited to be working with you all. It’s going to be an intense nine weeks, but we’re going to make something amazing. And if you have any issues, come to me!”
Chapter 35
Dante
October 17th
INDUSTRY BUZZ:Robyn HoodControversy—Sinclair’s Edgy Makeover Pushing Boundaries Too Far?
October 17th
Sinclair Bossy? Hastings Reduced to Personal Bag Boy?
October 17th
Dante Hastings Faces Setback After Rumored Girlfriend’s Recent Press. Does the Olympic Team Really Need Him Anyway?
“Left, Em, your left!”I shout into my phone, gripping the steering wheel. “Christ, Coach, I’m getting an intimate view of your mustache here.”
The FaceTime screen wobbles like a drunk person trying to walk a straight line.
“I am coach, not Scorsese,” he grumbles, his accent thick as concrete. “You want fancy camera work, call your Hollywood friends.”
“Just hand it to Sadie, for God’s sake.” Sadie’s another one of Coach’s misfit kids turned fencer.
I’m stuck outside the fucking high school gym, parked in the lot like some creep. I know how weird it looks—a grown man sitting outside a teenage fencing meet, staring at his phone—but there was no way I was missing her first competition.
Watching Em evolve from an angry kid into someone with real focus shifted something in me. Maybe if she does well, it’ll help me too. I am the one making her great, after all. She could do what I did for fencing, but for the women’s team.
My legacy.
