“Oh.” Sarah shot a quizzical look at her husband as he came to rest his hand on her lower back. “I meant … I meant about the Jasper Richmond thing.”
My stomach knotted. “What Jasper thing?”
At their sudden discomfort, I huffed, “I’ve been avoiding the internet. I deleted my social media. All so I didn’t have to see people gossip about me. But if there’s something I need to know, tell me.”
Theo nodded grimly and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He tapped on the screen a few times and then handed it over. I hit the video and felt the blood drain from my cheeks as I watched Jasper have a very public meltdown on his social media. In it, he dragged me through the mud. Again! Tears I knew were fake because I’d worked long enough with him to know the difference streamed down his face as he explained how I’d betrayed him in many ways (alluding to the rumors that we’d been in a relationship, which we had not!), and that now his career was stalled because of me. He lied and said I’d gotten him into hard partying and then abandoned him when he needed me. The tears might be fake, but this level of destruction had to be real. No one did this unless their mental health was not at its peak.
“What the fuck is this?”
I was sorry if he was having a hard time, but he didn’t seem to care what this would do tomymental health. How dare he!
How dare he use me for publicity.
Hands trembling, I handed the phone back and pulled out mine as the Cavendishes watched on in concern. I hit the number for my entertainment lawyer. There was no way I woulddirectly respond to Jasper, but this was slander. He had no proof of the bullshit he spewed because it was all lies.
By the time I hung up with my lawyer, they were already writing up a cease and desist.
“Are you okay?” Sarah asked, handing me a cup of chamomile.
“No. I’m pissed off that I’ve just used up twenty minutes of your time talking to a lawyer. I’m pissed off that I might have to sue a person I used to think of as a good friend.” I sipped at the tea, my hands trembling around the mug. I was so tired of feeling like everywhere I turned I had a battle to face.
I must have said that out loud, because Sarah pressed a comforting hand to my arm and replied, “Sometimes that’s just how life feels. It can last a long time or a few months … but you’re not alone, Eilidh. You know that, right?”
Grateful, I nodded. “I know, thank you.”
Theo curled an arm over Sarah’s shoulders. “Why don’t we let Sarah get back to her writing, while you show me this script of yours? Take your mind off things.”
I nodded. Because Jasper wasn’t going to ruin this for me. And I wouldn’t let myself think about how he was slandering my name or what people were saying about me because of it.
None of it mattered.
Not really.
Not in the end.
Thirty minutes later,Theo sat back in his chair at their dining table. I’d brought the script on a flash drive and he’d immediately popped it into his laptop. We’d talked a little as heread through the first few episodes, but eventually, he stopped talking and kept reading.
My pulse was so loud in my ears.
He was annoyingly blank-faced.
This man had written some of the best British drama our screens had seen in the last fifteen years. His opinion would buoy me or crush me. I knew it was a lot of power to give him, but I couldn’t help it. I’d admired his work for a long time and was honored when he and Sarah had asked me to act in an episode of their show.
Theo looked at me.
“Well?” I huffed impatiently. “Look, if you hate it, just say so. Don’t feel like because of Jasper and everything else that you need to pussyfoot around my feelings.”
He nodded slowly, contemplating me. “You know I’m not a man inclined toward hyperbole.”
I gulped.
“I will say … I am rather envious that I did not write this.”
I sucked in a breath, hope rising.
His expression softened. “You are very talented, Eilidh. And if you need a producer, I would love to work with you on this project.”
Tears of happiness brightened my eyes. “Really?”
