“What do you think of Trevor getting the ax?”
“Did you have a good vacation?”
“What’s your reaction to Drake’s engagement to River Ann?”
“Are you going to sue the VSU for defamation?”
She smiled pleasantly but kept walking. The real story they would get is the view of her meeting with Hedda. Hedda was up and coming. And this meeting would cement the idea that Hedda was the agent to have, not Scott Ozock. That was the point of the pictures. She wanted the power to be firmly in her hands, and Hedda’s.
Goldie knew if she wasn’t with Ozock, Hedda was the best and only other way to go. Anything else would look like a failure. A boutique agency was a step-down. She knew her value. And now, with the tide turned on Trevor, she could capitalize on it.
Hedda was beautifully dressed. Her enviable curves filled out a white pencil skirt. She’d cinched it with a wide patent leather belt and topped it with a gorgeous black silk blouse. Hedda also looked intimidating, which was what Goldie wanted in an agent.
Hedda greeted Goldie as though they were best friends. The two women sat at a table by the window. This was not an accident.
Hedda got right to the point. Goldie liked that, too.
“Okay, so, you’re obviously aware we have the power. You’re actually the first person I’ve ever seen put the Victor Superhero Universe machine over a barrel like this.”
“One of the questions out there was about me suing. Do you know what that’s about?”
“Well, they let Trevor defame you. The company didn’t stop him from lying to the press about why they were actually having problems with the movie. They should have been defending you when he ran his mouth off and cost you work and reputation.”
“Ah, you know, in all this time, I didn’t even think about that.”
“Well, they also don’t know that. I may have floated the story that you were looking to hire Arie Shore.”
Arie Shore was a shark of a different stripe. He was an attorney you did not want to deal with, but the best kind if he was on your side.
“Oooh, now that’s good. That’s very good.”
“What do you want to make this happen? I want to announce that you’re coming over to my agency ASAP. I want to bring you on officially.”
“I want to know you’re in line with what I see next for myself.”
“Oh, you’re going to be able to lead the Victor Superhero Universe. You’ll be bigger than General Patriot. The back-end deals I’ve got in mind, and a cut of the merchandising, it’s life-changing money.”
General Patriot was the leader of the VSU pantheon. Steely Ann, more powerful than General Patriot? That was hilarious. That could be interesting. Goldie had a mission with this meeting, and usurping superheroes wasn’t it.
“I have all the money I need.”
“Yeah, but you know this town. Money isn’t money. It’s power.”
“True, and that’s all great.” Goldie knew in Hollywood; lucrative deals were important. They made people think you were in charge. Demanding compensation was commanding respect.
“I can get you the first look at whatever script you’re interested in. We can go lifestyle brand, book deal, whatever speaks to you.”
She’d been thinking a lot about what she wanted. What did she really need from Hollywood at this stage of her life?
Goldie had been fighting to stay on top of a pile.
She’d climbed up here and then had to keep fighting to stay. And a lot of the time, certainly since Mitchell Ozock died, she’d been losing the fight. She’d also been fighting alone. Her team was all people she paid. She didn’t have a true support network, a real team.
She loved her career. She loved what she’d accomplished. But being in Irish Hills, with her friends, with people who actually cared about her, who, instead of capitalizing on her fame, protected her, opened her eyes.
Libby had reached out to Goldie because she wanted something from her. In the end, Goldie had gotten something from Libby, Hope, and J.J., something she needed and didn’t even know it.
Goldie wanted a different path for the next part of her life. The last two days back in L.A., she felt like a stranger in a strange land. Like a visitor in her old life.
