I drag in a deep breath, steeling myself. “Bad.”
She arches a blonde eyebrow at me. “I assume you’ve been avoiding your phone since the incident.”
I nod sheepishly.
“It’s not great. There are some wild pictures. It’s all over social media. The gossip sites are buzzing and it’s definitely going to make the news. So on top of everything else, it’s not good.”
“Couldn’t get much worse, could it? After the debacle of an audition today, I don’t think there’s any way it possibly could.”
“I’m sure there will be a lawsuit but given the fact that the asshole was caught on camera laying hands on you, I don’t think it’ll stick. We could issue a countersuit to get him to back down or just settle, but we should be able to make that part of it go away.”
“Fine.” Nothing I didn’t expect. I’m glad they caught the reporter grabbing me. As if he has any right to touch me.
“There will be more rumors, more speculation around this, but we can manage it. Probably best if you stay off socials and don’t turn on the news for a week or so, but it will die down. Some new fresh scandal will pop up. People have short attention spans these days.”
I fidget with the ring on my right hand. “And the good news?”
A huge smile spreads across her face, but I fixate on the long gold chain around her neck, which falls forward when she leans toward me. “I’ve got a job for you.”
The pendant on her chain glints in the sun peeping through the window. “What kind of job?”
“A role. On a new TV show. Ensemble cast.”
“When’s the audition?”
“That’s the best part. No audition. They want you. They asked for you.”
I finally look up from her necklace. There’s not a hint of doubt or sarcasm on her face, but I can’t let the hope swell yet. “Did someone back out?”
Belinda’s eyes dart to the side and back to my face. “That’s really not the point. Someone had to back out, yes, but she wanted you. Focus on that.”
“Who is willing to go againstWilliam Markland for me?”
My ex’s father has a hell of a lot of influence in this town. There’s no way he’s letting this slide. Not after whatever awful lies his son told him about me. Who knows. Maybe there were no lies. Maybe they were both in this together. Salvage Brad’s career and make him look like the hero by tanking mine.
Apparently, my agent doesn’t get the memo that this isn’t the time for dramatic pauses.
“Please, just tell me.”
She shrugs as if it’s not a big deal, but there’s a sparkle in her eye when she says, “Only Maggie Young.”
Maggie Young? My dream showrunner and director? The youngest woman to win an Oscar for directing? That Maggie Young?
Now I’m the one indulging in dramatic pauses.
“Maggie Young wants me? And she’s doing a TV show?”
Belinda is grinning like she just won the lottery. “Yeah, full season pickup by GenFlix.”
Inside, I’m screaming and doing cartwheels and backflips, but in the interest of professionalism I try to keep my expression morepleasantly surprisedand lessOMG-OMG-OMGas I nod. “Okay.”
“So what do you think?”
Some of theOMGslips out when I say, “What do you mean, what do I think? You know I’ve wanted to work in a leading role for Maggie since I did that cameo inAnd Then I Ran. But I figured she’d written me off like everyone else.“ In fact, if I hadn’t still been tied toPaisley Creek, I might have been able to snag a bigger role in that film. As it was, they barely let me do the cameo.
She nods. “That is what I thought. Just wanted to confirm.” A pause. “There is one little thing.”
My excitement wavers. I don’t love that tone in her voice. “What?”
