“Are you pregnant?”
What? I stopped walking and turned to the gaggle of sleazy men. “Are you kidding? Jesus. I’m not pregnant and I need to get to work. Please move so I don’t run you over.”
Hopping into my car, I put it in reverse and backed out slowly, the cameras pressing against my car windows, the sound of clicks echoing all around me before they pulled back and disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.
Glancing into my rearview mirror, I noticed the line of cars that followed me. They already knew where I worked, and it wasn’t like they could get into the building. Why they continued to follow me, I had no idea.
Maybe they think I’m going to see Walker?
I weaved carefully through traffic, my motions deliberate and slow, hoping the paps would catch on that I was actually headed to work and leave me alone. It wasn’t until I made the last left turn onto Wilshire Boulevard and clicked on my turn signal that they sped off, obviously content knowing my destination.
The elevator mirror revealed the stress from the morning’s activities as I noticed pieces of my updo falling all around my face. Instead of fixing it, I decided to leave it alone, my hair the least of my worries. I passed Jayson’s office on the way to my desk, the familiar red light flashing at me mercilessly. The sight now brought an awkward smile to my face.
“Madison, come in here, please.” Jayson’s voice pleasantly boomed from behind his office wall. At least he sounded happy.
Holding my breath, I walked into his brightly lit office.
“Come sit. Here.” He pushed an unopened bottle of water my way as I warily sat down. “So, how was your date with Walker? Did you two have a nice time?”
Jayson was suddenly attentive, his tone agreeable and overly sweet, which caused my stomach to churn at its fakeness. I almost asked him to stop, the disgust roaring through me too much to take this early in the morning. Plus, he was trying to ruin my magical evening, cheapening it, and I hated the very idea.
“Is he going to sign with us?” Jayson beamed at me, a smarmy smile transforming his aged and sun-beaten face.
Uncertain how to break the news to him that Walker wouldn’t be signing with him, I decided to cut to the chase and just spit it out. It would inevitably have to come out anyway, and it would be in my best interest to leave out the part where I spilled the beans to Walker about the real reason I agreed to go out with him. There was no need to get into any more trouble over this, which I was certain I would be. Getting into trouble, that is.
“He’s not signing with us, Jayson. I’m really sorry.”
But I wasn’t.
His face immediately turned an unnatural shade of crimson as his hands balled into fists on top of his desk. He looked like a child who had just lost his favorite toy. “And why the hell not? You obviously fucked this up for us, Madison.”
“Me?” I coughed out, my voice a mixture of disbelief and irritation. “I only went out with him because you threatened my job! I tried to talk to him about signing here, but he doesn’t want an agent right now.” I lied through gritted teeth and prayed he wouldn’t see through my bullshit.
“Oh! Well, that’s a different story altogether now, isn’t it?” His face started to return to its normal coloring. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
“Sorry.” I wasn’t certain which parts I was apologizing for, or why I apologized at all, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. What was it about bosses and their ability to manipulate you into thinking they owned you? Why did we tend to let them get away with things we’d never let normal people in our lives get away with?
“So, you’ll be seeing him again then, I assume? Make sure you give me all the details so I can set up the paps.”
The room spun around me as my vision blurred. “You called them?” The realization of how all the paparazzi knew my name and where I worked slammed into my consciousness like a freight train.
“Of course I called them,” he said, looking rather proud of himself. “You have any idea the amount of publicity you’ve given me? I got at least a dozen voice mails and a hundred e-mails as a result of it. Other agencies have been trying to land Walker for years.”
“The paparazzi are relentless, Jayson. They followed me to my house last night! They were there when I opened the door this morning!” I gasped, the air closing in around me as I tried to make sense of it all.
“You can deal with it. You’re a big girl. I want you to keep dating Walker until he makes up his mind on an agency.” His bloodshot eyes settled on mine. “Not that anyone else would touch him. They assume he’s already made his choice. And when he does, it better be this one. Don’t make me look like a fool.”
I sat back in the chair, bristling. “Uh, no. I won’t do that.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said no.” My defensive instincts kicked in. I refused to let this slimeball I called a boss do this to me again. “I’m not your pawn, Jayson, or your whore. I’m your assistant. And what you’re asking me to do is beyond unethical.”
His fists slammed down hard on top of his desk, causing my unopened bottle of water to tumble over and roll to the floor. “Unethical?” He let out a sinister laugh. “You have no idea just how unethical I can be,” he threatened.
“I won’t do it.” I shoved out of the chair and stood stiffly in front of his desk, trembling with anger and the injustice of it all.
“But you will,” he said smugly. “You love this job. You’re good at it too, and I know how badly you want to keep it. So, you’ll go out with Walker until he signs with us. After that, I don’t give a fuck what you do with him.” His attention abruptly shifted from me back down to his keyboard. Apparently our conversation had ended.
My throat constricted again and I wished I’d had some of that water. “No,” I croaked out.
“No?” His voice sounded shocked as his gaze slid menacingly back up to meet mine.
“No. I won’t go out with him. I won’t force him to sign with us and you can’t make me. This is illegal, Jayson. This is bullshit!” I spat at him, completely disgusted.
“I dare you to find anyone in this office who would agree with you,” he said coldly. “If you ever want to work in this town again, you should choose your next words carefully.” He suddenly pointed a ballpoint pen right at me, reminding me of the way Walker had pointed at me last night, and I lost it.
Completely fucking lost it.
“I’ve worked for you for over two years,” I said tightly, “and I’ve never once complained. I took all your bullshit craziness and handled it like a champ because I wanted to get ahead in this industry. I wanted to be an agent here. But if this is how you do business, I want no part of it. You disgust me. This whole place disgusts me.” I waved my arm out toward the door, indicating everyone who sat outside of it.
I referred to Jayson’s bosses. As much as I’d like to think that they were clueless in how he handled his business, I knew better. All anyone cared about was the bottom line. Their lives revolved around money, and I wanted mine to be more than that.
“If you think this industry is filled with rainbows and sunshine, sweetheart, you’ve got another think coming.” Tiny balls of spit formed in the corners of his mouth as he continued shouting. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and if you don’t eat the fucking dog, you get eaten! You have no idea what it takes to get ahead. And even if you did, you don’t have the balls to do it. You’ll never make it as an agent. You’re too soft.”
“Fuck you,” I shot back. “I’d rather not be an agent if it means I have to treat people the way you do. I value the basic human decency you lost a long time ago, if you ever had it to begin with. I feel sorry for you, and I never want to be like you.”