“Isn’t it ridiculous in here? I feel so out of place half the time with my one whopping client and all.” She waved a hand toward the space on her wall dedicated to Walker Rhodes. Walker wasn’t only the hottest singing-sensation-turned-actor in the United States; he was also her boyfriend.
“I bet he loves all the one-on-one attention.” I smiled at his framed head shot on her wall.
“Oh yes, he’s quite a handful, that one. I’ll probably ditch him soon,” she lied with a playful grin.
“I would,” I teased her. “You know how those celebrities can be. And forget even trying to date them.”
We both laughed before Madison’s expression grew serious. “Paige, what’s going on? Why are there all these false reports about where you’ve been, and why is no one putting a stop to them? I find it hard to believe that you were in rehab, had an abortion, or tried to kill yourself.”
“Well, at least one person knows the truth.”
She sucked in a quick breath. “Look, usually I might suggest you ride this out, wait until a bigger story comes along and takes the spotlight off of you. But for now I don’t see that happening, and as long as you continue to ignore it and not say anything about it, you’re only fueling the fire.”
“What am I supposed to say? That I left town and drove until my car got a flat, and I fell in love with some guy and didn’t want to come back?”
Madison fell back into her chair. “Is that what happened?”
“Pretty much.”
“Sounds like a book I read recently,” she said with a smile.
“Sounds like a cliché. My God, my life is such a cliché.” I rolled my eyes at the ceiling, thinking about how often I’d thought that about myself lately.
“That’s how clichés get made. Because they’re true,” she said sagely.
My mind made up, I plopped down into her guest chair and announced, “Madison, I want to hire you to represent me.”
She instantly sat up and pushed her shoulders back. “Really?”
“Yes. I’m going to fire Jayson, but only if you say you’ll take me on.”
“I have to check with my bosses, but I bet they’ll be thrilled. Are you sure you want me? I’m still really new and learning a lot.”
“Madison, I trust you. And I firmly believe that you’ll have my career and what’s best for me at heart. Walker said you’re good when it comes to things like that.”
Her cheeks flushed as I mentioned her boyfriend talking about her. “He said that? When did you talk to him?”
“I called him on the drive over here to ask how things were here for you, and if you loved what you were doing. He said you were the best thing to ever happen to his career, and that he’d still feel that way even if he wasn’t in love with you.”
She fanned herself as if all this information was far too much. “He’s lying. He definitely thinks I’m more amazing because I give him sex.”
“Probably,” I said with a smirk. “But I still want you to be my agent, and you don’t have to give me sex like you do him.” We both broke out into laughter at that, and when the giggles died, I gave her a serious look and said, “If you say no, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Pushing away from her desk, she rose to her feet. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
I smiled and checked my e-mails and text messages while I waited for her to return. It had been almost a week since I left Tatum, and still no word from him. I had half expected an apology, or at least some sort of communication from him. How could he be perfectly fine without me when I had to work hard to hold it together without him?
Madison walked back into the office with a giant smile and an older gray-haired gentleman in tow. “Paige, this is my boss, Gerald Taylor. Mr. Taylor, this is Paige Lockwood.”
I extended my hand and he gripped it tightly, surprising me as I said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. You’re kind of a big deal, you know, young lady,” he said teasingly, and I blushed. “Madison says you’d like to come on board, and I wanted to be the first to welcome you to our agency. You’re in good hands with Miss Myers.”
“Thank you so much. I’m really excited to have her on my team.”
After his personal welcome, Gerald Taylor excused himself, leaving me alone with Madison.
Catching her eye, I smiled and said, “Guess I’d better go fire Jayson.”
She grinned back at me. “And then I can e-mail you the contracts to sign. This is going to be awesome, Paige.”
“I seriously feel a thousand pounds lighter already. Oh, I wanted to ask you something.”
“As your new agent, or as a friend?” she asked before sitting back down at her oversized desk.
“Agent,” I answered.
“Shoot.”
“I was thinking about writing an open letter to my fans about what really happened and posting it exclusively on my website. People will still have questions, and the media will most likely still want interviews with me, but I wanted to tell my story in a way that I could control it.”
Madison nodded. “I think that’s a great idea, honestly. I love it. Send me the final draft before you post it?”
“Absolutely. Oh, and one more thing.” I paused as she lifted her eyebrows at me, signaling for me to continue. “I want to fire Corryn as well. She’s my manager, and I believe she has my best interests at heart about as much as Jayson does. Do you think I’d be okay with only an agent for now?”
I could practically see the wheels turning in Madison’s head as she mulled it over. A moment passed before she said carefully, “That’s entirely up to you. But if you’re looking to head in a new direction for a while, I don’t see what your manager would handle that I couldn’t. I mean, in the grand scheme of things it’s a manager’s job to look out for you and plan your future, your roles, where you’re headed, and what you want to do going forward. But those are all things that I’m interested in as well when it comes to my clients.” Gazing at me with hope in her eyes, she said, “I’d like to think that until I’m proved wrong, I could sort of bridge that gap and play both roles.”
Comfort immediately filled me, and I smiled. “I think it’s worth a shot. Thank you, Madison. For everything. Give Walker a kiss for me,” I said with a wink as I stood up to leave.
I chuckled under my breath, happy that things were finally falling into place, and proud of myself for being the one to make them happen.
“Will do. And, Paige?” she called after me.
I paused at the doorway and turned to face her.
“One day I want to hear all about this broken-down town and this guy, okay?”
I gave her another smile, trying to hide the sadness that filled me at the realization that my time with Tatum now only existed in memories.
“Okay.” Unable to resist glancing down at my phone again, I noticed that he still hadn’t called or texted.
That was fine. I’d be fine.
I had to be.
• • •
Back in the solitude of my too-quiet apartment, I picked up my phone and dialed Jayson’s number.
“Paige, why were you at Warren Taylor’s?” he yelled instead of answering with a normal greeting. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’m about to tell you,” I said evenly, forcing myself to stay strong.
He groaned. “What is it?”
“You’re fired.”
“Excuse me?” he shrieked.
“I’m pretty sure you heard me,” I said firmly, my inner confidence growing and building upon itself. “My lawyer has sent you an e-mail asking to terminate our business relationship effective immediately.”
He breathed harshly into the phone line, and knowing what was coming, I pulled it from my ear.
“I made you what you are, Paige! Good luck getting any work in this town again! You think that Madison, my assistant,” he added snidely, “can do anything for you? What a fucking joke! You’re both a pair of idiots. Idiots who will be out of work by the time next pilot season rolls around,” he screamed before hanging up.