Page 41 of Deck the Hauls

“Really? Oh god, poor Austin. That must have been tough.”

I knew the feeling all too well. I’d thought I’d found success with Harrowgate and then it was cancelled. Then I thought Clique would be the start of a movie career and then Phillip happened.

“Yeah. But it just goes to show that HolLove isn’t a complete career dead-end. If Jesse’s movie hadn’t fallen through, Austin might be enjoying the success Jesse’s having right now.”

I really hoped Mihira was right. The more time I spent back in front of the cameras, the more I couldn’t bear the thought of returning to life doing voice overs and waitressing. This was where I was meant to be. And where Mihira should be as well. She was really good.

We reached the long collapsible table covered in an assortment of snacks. I selected a hazelnut cookie and Mihira grabbed a banana.

“Austin talks about it a lot,” Mihira said as we headed for a table. “I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned it to you yet. I think it’d be worse to be so close and just miss out than not even get an audition, you know?”

I nodded while I chewed. Austin must see Jesse’s rise to stardom and feel a little like I sometimes do with Cat. That could have been me.

But maybe it still could be. If Nicola Fontaine had made it after HolLove, why couldn’t Mihira and I? Or Austin, for that matter?

But Nicola Fontaine hadn’t spoken out against one of the top directors in Hollywood.

A lot of things were out of my control right now but one thing I could control was my performance. I needed to do my absolute best job to give my career the greatest chance of a revival.

“Do you have anything lined up after this?” I asked Mihira.

“My friend’s doing an indie film project and wants me to be involved—unpaid, of course.” Mihira shrugged. “I’ll probably do it. I work in a bar at nights, which at least leaves the days open for unpaid creative ventures, although another paid gig would be nice. How about you?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. I’ve been working at my parents’ restaurant and doing voice-over gigs to get by, so I’ll probably go back to that.”

“Emily? There’s a delivery for you.”

I turned to see Ava, one of the young production assistants, holding a boxed arrangement of red roses nestled in baby’s breath. I frowned. Who was sending me flowers?

“Huh. That’s strange. Thank you.”

Ava handed it to me, and I glanced down at the card sticking out of the roses.

Don’t talk to the press or your sad attempt at a career reboot will be over before it’s started.

My stomach plummeted. What the hell?

“Is it a special occasion?” Mihira asked.

My head felt cloudy. “Um, not really. Sorry. I’ll just put these away in my trailer.”

I sped to the trailer, racing up the steps and slamming the door behind me. Leaning against the wall, I read the note again. It was unsigned, but it could only be from one person. It wasn’t surprising that Phillip found me—he was one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood after all, so he’d have connections everywhere. Did he know Rebecca had contacted me? How dare he threaten me like this.

Hands shaking, I shoved the note and the flowers into the trash.

I slumped onto the couch. I needed to talk to someone about this. Lucia was my usual go-to, but I’d never told her about Phillip and since she appeared to be going through something herself, now didn’t feel like a good time. Cat? She’d already decided to speak out against Phillip and wanted me to join her—not exactly a neutral sounding board. Mihira was great, but I didn’t know her well enough to feel comfortable unloading on her. Same went for Dana. I couldn’t bear the thought of upsetting my parents with the story. A wave of nausea swept over me. That would be another issue I’d have to deal with if I did decide to go public.

Brittany. She’d been my agent for five years. She knew about Phillip. She’d stuck with me through the past two years despite all the roles drying up and not being able to land me anything outside of voice-over work. I trusted her. Brittany had advised me against speaking up before, but she didn’t know about the others.

She picked up on the third ring.

“Hi Emily. How’s HolLove treating you?”

“Good, thank you. It’s great to be back in front of the camera.” Speaking of… “I don’t suppose you’ve heard any news about the rom-com audition?” The audition video I’d sent off last week was probably a long shot.

“I’ve been meaning to let you know. They weren’t interested, sorry.”

“Oh, well, no problem. Hey, do you have a few minutes? I’m grappling with a difficult issue and could really do with a sounding board.” I picked some fluff off the armrest of the couch and threw it in the trash. It landed on top of the flowers.