“A little exasperated, maybe, but not mad. Now, let’s go watch the stupid winter cartoon with Hailey. She’s been on me to watch it again lately, and I’m sick of watching the circus that’s filming outside.”
“The winter cartoon?”
“You know the one. Snow and ice and a princess. A couple of princesses. I don’t know. I usually tune out for most of that one.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, Micah. I should probably stick close to the door in case I’m needed for something else outside …”
“Iris, I doubt they’ll pull you back out there. Mr. Franklin seemed pretty keen on getting you indoors.”
Hailey comes bounding in from the living room and takes each of us by the hand. “Come on! Daddy said we can watch the movie after you were done talking to the people outside. He promised.”
Halfway through the movie, when the last of the media vans parked on the street has finally left, the doorbell rings. Micah gets up to answer it, and Mr. Jones walks in, followed by Oliver—neither of whom looks particularly pleased.
My boss speaks up first. “Iris, this Karen that lives down the street … Why, exactly, didn’t you tell us about her?”
“The head of our HOA? Why should I have told you anything about her?”
The two men exchange a glance. Mr. Jones clears his throat. “Did you know that she’s under the impression that you two have been, in her words, ‘shacking up’ for months, and that before that you were both throwing wild parties? There’s talk of drug use, orgies—she’s spinning quite the tale.”
Rage surfaces for a second time today, and I struggle to contain it. “Karen’s full of it. We haven’t thrown any parties, we don’t do drugs, and no one’s having any orgies!”
“That’s not what she told one of the reporters in an exclusive interview today.” Oliver’s brows draw even tighter together, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “In fact, after watching that interview just now, I have some serious thinking to do about your future with this company. Between that and your inappropriate display outside earlier, I’m just not sure I can afford to keep you.”
Mr. Jones nods. “Especially if he wants to keep my business. I’d hate to have to scrap the commercial after all that work, but I’d also hate to have my leading man get a reputation as a violent person, not to mention the scandal that’s exploding from the two of you dating.”
Micah moves to stand next to me, putting a protective arm around me. “I may not be in the biz, so to speak, but I’m well aware that plenty of dating goes on behind the scenes in productions like this. Who cares if we’re seeing each other? It’s certainly not a secret, and it’s not anything scandalous.”
“Mr. Lindley, to put it bluntly, you test better with focus groups when they think you’re a single father. Add a girlfriend in the mix, and suddenly potential customers lose interest.”
Oliver shakes his head in admonishment. “Honestly, Iris, I think you have a lot of thinking to do tonight. I expect to see you in the office bright and early tomorrow to discuss whether or not I should continue to employ you.”
My jaw drops as the two men show themselves out. I don’t quite understand what just happened. Micah jumped a photographer to rescue me and Hailey, and nowmyjob is at risk?
There really is a double standard in Hollywood, I swear!
Chapter 30
Micah
Iris paces back and forth so much, I think it’s affecting my nerves, too.
Ever since her boss and their client dropped the bomb about Karen’s assault to her reputation, she’s been a wreck. Nothing I do seems to take the edge off for her, and I worry about her driving downtown in the morning if she’s still shaking like this.
It’s not fair.I’mthe one who popped off, and now Iris might get fired? Where’s the sense in that?
At least she agrees to stay the night. I don’t want her alone right now. I offer to help her bring some stuff over from her house—maybe even bring Cleo—but she brushes me off and says she’ll be fine.
With the way she’s knocking back the wine tonight, I don’t think she’s “fine.” I say as much after we put Hailey to bed.
“So, I’ve had a few glasses. So what? It’s been a stressful day, wouldn’t you agree?”
I take the half-empty glass from her hand and set it on the kitchen counter. “Iris, this is glass number five. That’s more than a few.”
She plops down on a barstool with a sigh and rests her head in her hands. “Damnit, Micah, what the hell happened today? It was supposed to be a simple press conference to clear your name, and all of a sudden, I find myself at the wrong end of a media scandal … maybe at the wrong end of a pink slip, even. All I wanted to do was protect you, and it backfired.”
A stab of guilt pierces my gut, and I step behind her to rub her shoulders. “I’m sure it’ll all blow over. And if it doesn’t, well, I’m sure you’ll find another job in no time.”
“I’m going to lose my house,” she moans, her voice breaking. “There’s no way I can afford to keep it if I have to take a lower-paying job. I’m going to have to move, and poor Cleo won’t know what’s going on. She hated moving in here; it took her months to adjust.”
