“Will you sign this? Can we get a selfie? Are you going to do a Steely Ann standalone movie?”
“Uh, what?” Goldie tried to decipher the rapid-fire questions.
Joe pulled her behind him as if they were actually throwing stuff at her like they had at the convention. She’d expected vegetables flying, not autograph requests.
“I’ll sign. It’s okay.”
Joe reluctantly stood down as she signed a t-shirt and autograph book and then posed for a picture.
“Thank you! Oh my, God!” The fans were thrilled, apparently. And after they got what they’d come for, they moved out of the way for Joe and Goldie to get to the truck.
They looked like the same VSU fan contingent, but they suredidn’t act like the typical VSU fan, blaming Goldie for ruining, well, everything.
“That was weird.”
“Well, they clearly love your work.”
“Yeah, but they didn’t hurl insults or accuse me of destroying their entire superhero world.”
“A more mature mutation of Victor fanboy?”
“Maybe.”
It was then that she remembered her phone had been blowing up earlier.
As Joe weaved through the relatively congested traffic situation in downtown Irish Hills, she pulled out her phone.
There were missed calls from Hedda. And several texts from Tally.
She decided to call Tally first. Let the agent wait.
Tally answered immediately. “Oh good, I need to know how you want me to respond, schedule-wise and all that?”
“To what?”
“Well, in the last twenty-four hours, you’ve got twelve endorsement requests, six talk show appearance requests, a script, and two requests from the head of the VSU and, uh, yeah, the new CEO of Disney.”
“What, how?”
“I don’t know. It’s all I can do to keep up.”
“Okay, you’ve forwarded everything important to my private email?”
“Yes, I didn’t bother you with the stuff I know you’re not into.”
“Okay, just keep doing that. And I’ll check back in after I sort it out.”
She hung up with Tally.
“Good news?” Joe asked.
“I don’t know. I’d been untouchable for the last few weeks,and now all of a sudden, I’m the belle of the ball. And I’m not even there.”
She dialed Hedda, who was technically not her agent.
“Well, there she is, the woman of the hour.”
“Hedda, what is going on? I’m being flooded with offers, and a pack of fanboys just asked for autographs instead of asking for my head on a platter.”
