Chapter One
Another lawsuit, more media scrutiny . . .Bullshit.
Paige Mills tossed the court document she’d been reading aside. “What can we do?”
“Fight” was the one-word reply from Paige’s divorce attorney, Demita Strong.
Fight. The notion seemed almost foreign in light of the circumstances. Perhaps it was Paige’s reputation as Black America’s Sweetheart that had colored her view of the entire process? Or maybe she’d been a naïve fool?
Paige had built an impressive career in television and motion pictures playing strong and relatable characters. Fans loved her because she was approachable and sweet, kind and giving, loving and loyal. She was a good daughter, a good friend, and a good wife. That wasn’t an act for ticket sales and ratings. Paige was all those things in real life, not justreellife. She’d never been anything but herself. She’d never wanted to project an image that wasn’t true. When she married Julius Reeves, she thought it would be forever. And when it wasn’t, she’d assumed that he would let her go without a fight. After all, the deterioration of their marriage washisfault. Not hers.
“What if I’m tired of fighting?” Paige said.
Demi squeezed her hand, a comforting gesture that Paige appreciated more than her attorney knew. “Be tired. But don’t stop. You can’t let him win.”
Divorce wasn’t for the faint of heart, but Paige’s soon-to-be-ex-husband had made the entire process a nightmare. Multiple court dates, restraining orders, and threatening texts were becoming Paige’s new normal. But she should’ve known he wouldn’t make it easy. Millions of dollars were at stake, and Julius had prolonged the proceedings with frivolous motions and crazy demands. He’d purposely painted her as an emotionally abusive control freak in the media. Julius had even intimated that she’d had major indiscretions of her own, knowing it could affect her brand and possibly destroy her reputation. Basically, he’d decided to try to pull her down into the mud with him. He was a petty, evil asshole.
Making the decision to split was hard enough, but watching it play out on the blogs, in the tabloids, and on television made it worse. Especially since she’d gone into her marriage with every intention of staying married. Paige had put her heart and her acting career on the line to support Julius, holding her head high and holding him down through everything. Until she couldn’t anymore, until being there for him started to affect her own emotional and physical health, until she couldn’t deny that her husband wasn’t worth the energy or the effort.
The fact that he’d cheated on her through most of their short-lived marriage was hard to accept. Finding out that he’d fathered a child with her ex-publicist was a tough blow, too. Infidelity and a secret baby were huge, but not insurmountable problems.
But her breaking point came with hisallegedhistory of sexual harassment and assault, as well as the subsequent indictments against him. That made their already complicated situation unbearable.
Julius had humiliated her time and again. He’d turned what she’d once thought was beautiful into an ugly mess. And she needed it to stop. Now.
Taking a deep breath, she turned to Demi. “Okay. What’s next?”
Over the next hour, they formulated a plan of action. More filings and more court dates, but Paige was resolved to do what needed to be done in order to move forward with her life. While Demi worked on the legal aspects, Paige communicated with her team about the specifics. Her publicist, Skye Palmer-Starks, would protect her brand, while her manager continued to handle her business. Her assistant would organize everything else and her agent . . .Where the hell is Andrew?
Paige dialed his number.Straight to voicemail. Setting her phone on the table, she tried not to read too much into Andrew’s absence. After all, he was a senior agent at Pure Talent. And she wasn’t his only client, she wasn’t his only responsibility. Still, she couldn’t help but feel frustrated with him.
“I need to step out for a moment, Demi.” Paige walked out onto the patio. She’d requested that Demi come to her house because she didn’t want to have to deal with the paparazzi. They’d been relentless in their coverage of her and Julius.
Taking a seat on her favorite chaise lounge, she stretched out and called Andrew again.Voicemail.This time, she left a message. “Andrew, I’m not sure what’s going on, but I need to talk to you. Please. Call me.”
When news of Julius’s infidelity surfaced, Andrew had dropped everything to come to Paige’s aid. He stayed by her side through the release of her last movie. Then he disappeared.
From the very beginning of her career, Andrew had been there for her, working behind the scenes to facilitate her rise to stardom. Recently, he’d stepped back, allowing his assistant to handle most of the day-to-day work. And she had no idea why.
With a heavy sigh, she dialed Vonda.
“Hi, Paige. Give me one second.”
Hushed voices and muted laughter in the background let Paige know the junior agent wasn’t alone. Vonda had worked as Andrew’s assistant for years before her promotion to junior agent. The younger woman had already garnered a reputation for being smart, thorough, dedicated, and very capable.
Vonda came back on the line. “Okay, I’m sorry. Just left a meeting and needed to get to my office. How are you?”
“Hanging in there. I’m trying to reach Andrew. Can you tell me where he is?”
Silence.
“My calls keep going to voicemail,” Paige continued. “Is he out of town?”
“Let me check his calendar.” Vonda cleared her throat. “Hm . . . He’s in meetings all day and tomorrow. And next week, he’s in Atlanta. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Paige gave Vonda a rundown of the latest development with the divorce. “I’m hoping the judge dismisses this motion, but if he doesn’t, I’d like to talk about possible next steps. Shooting is supposed to start on my next project, and I’m wondering if the dates are firm or if they can be pushed.”
“Let me make some calls,” Vonda said. “I’ll get back to you.”
