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“Yeah, but it makes sense... we’re Ainsley Potter’s agents. We got her this role—”
“You got her the role, he almost ruined everything by fucking her.”
“Well, yeah,” I shrugged, “and happily, she decided to dump him. She is seeing that actor,” I snapped my fingers, “what’s his name, the one with the forehead...”
“The one with the big forehead or the tiny one?”
We had been friends for so long, she could almost always fill in the blanks when I was lost for words. “Tiny forehead.”
“He was great in that movie with Emma Stone.”
“You think? I thought he was awful, but anyway, Ainsley dumped Darren for him. She’s happy with her choices. She says she didn’t do anything with Darren until she was eighteen. She says it was all totally legal. And she acts like she slept with her agent to move up in the ranks of his portfolio and when I asked her, with lawyers present, if she thought she had been coerced she laughed and said she was the one who instigated it all.”
“She told you, Darren’s wife, that she instigated the affair with Darren, that broke up your marriage?”
“She’s so freaking young and dumb-as-rocks, she literally thinks the world revolves around her, which it kind of does. I’m sure it never ever crossed her mind that saying it might be hurtful or you know, infuriating.”
“And so ultimately you’re going to let Darren buy you out?”
“Yeah, we let Ainsley out of her contract, but I’m not entirely convinced she couldn’t drag our agency through the mud if she wanted to later, so it’s better for me to distance myself. I’m lucky the agency name is Darren’s last name. Good riddance to both. But you know, I have a big severance check, and if all goes well I will get a huge payout and half of profits going forward for five years, so I don’t want to break the agency. I need to go to this movie debut, gotta walk up the red carpet, smile for the cameras — it’s a family fucking scandal and I have to keep my chin up about it.”
“She could #metoo him ten years from now.”
“Yes, she could. God, he was such a dumb-ass. All the grown women in this world and that’s his choice? She once literally pouted when I told her I wasn’t going to be able to book her a movie with Streep. As if Streep were waiting for Ainsley Potter to call. God love her, wouldn’t it be great to have the confidence of a young woman with an Instagram account?”
“What did her parents say?”
“They are following her lead. She doesn’t want to drag him through the mud, because, as she said to her mother, also in front of me, ‘I will not be one of those feminists, mom,’ and that was that.” I huffed. “I do not want to talk about her anymore, she sucks, poor misguided coddled actress.” We both raised our glasses and then drank.
“So you have a big party the day after tomorrow.”
“Yep, the party that is the pinnacle of my career and the last one as the partner and owner of my agency. I need to look fucking great.”
“Hair, makeup, dress, jewelry, all in line?”
“Kinda, Karrie has been out of town, she had a funeral to go to.”
“Karrie isn’t here? But she’s your rock.”
“Yep, left me in a hard place, stupid funeral. Wait, that’s just between us, please, never let her know I said that, she is too amazing, I can’t lose her.”
“Yeah, I know, you aren’t that awful, I will never tell.”
“She’s doing her best to help from some tiny town in Maine, but...”
“Then you need me. I will try to be her replacement. I’ll take tomorrow off work, I’ll help you get your stuff organized. The pedicure alone is a two person job. What color are you wearing?”
“A draping velvet number, in teal, with a deep-v down so far I need the full waxing.”
“Perfect. Eat your heart out, Darren.” The waitress placed down the bill and we argued for a moment, then I relented and allowed her to pay because she had invited me out for the night. Outside she asked, “Will you come over for a bit? I’ve got more wine.”
I said, as we climbed into the Uber, “Sure, and I am so glad you didn’t intervention me, I totally thought you were.”
“Of course not, I would never do that.” She kept her eyes out the window.
We drove quietly to her house.
I texted Liam:
I might be late calling tonight
Out with Jess
I’ll call as soon as I’m home
Time zones sucked. It was 10:30 here, which meant it was already middle of the night there.
