That version of her had been so different from the expressive girl that told him not to listen to his father, that he could walk a different path than he had. Bebetterthan him.
So, over the years Nicolas had watched her. Not just moved by her pretty face but by her performance. The way she held back emotions until they broke like a dam, flooding the scene.
To say that he was shocked when Emily suddenly went into hiding after winning her first Oscar four years ago would be an understatement. It catapulted her career to legendary status, but instead of riding the wave, she stopped acting altogether.
There were rumors of her having some illness. There were also those that said she was unfit to work with. The latter came after she’d offended the director of F&G, an entertainment firm.
That had infuriated Nicolas because he knew the truth about the situation. The owner wanted her to do a nudeshoot, which she rightfully declined. They twisted the stories saying she had “celebrity disease” and the fame was getting to her head.
These incidents followed shortly after her announcement that she would be signing with the talent agency under Starz Media. This became a hot topic as well when her dating the boss, Jake Mallion, was made public. It was a whirlwind of events happening back-to-back, chipping away at her reputation.
Nicolas had been perturbed by it all.
Her first agency had done a terrible job of supporting her.
He knew everything had to have been orchestrated. Her punishment for them losing out on profits because of her “clean girl” image. The one they were desperate to change.
Sex sold, but Emily wanted no part of it.
Now Nicolas couldn’t help but wonder if Jake had planted a seed himself.
It never made sense how quickly the paparazzi found out about them dating. With his social power, it should’ve been easy to stop a leak like that.
What people didn’t know was that most entertainment scoops were auctioned to the people involvedbeforethey were released. They had an ultimatum: pay the reporter an obscene amount of money to bury it or else…
That only meant Jake most likely chose to have it become a headline, unbeknownst to Emily.
Nicolas recalled how moisture had gathered in her eyes in the car after they’d gotten their marriage certificates. In which he’d brought up the possibility of them screwing around, which had been a joke by the way. He didn’t think he had the balls to sully such a fantasy. His brain still viewed her as off-limits. Just like it did years ago.
Her reaction only confirmed his suspicions though. That beneath her strength, there were fault lines. That when she broke, it was sudden and maybe in its entirety.
Back in the car, she’d completely zoned out.
How would he be able to be around her without doing or saying something that might cause that to happen again?
One wrong word, one thoughtless action, and maybe she’d crack again or far worse, shatter in a way he wouldn’t know how to piece back together.
Emily was a figment of Nicolas’s past. A sweet dream. One he’d had to wake up from over time.Manytimes. It made a man like him, knowing that he’d thought of her like that, almost like a crush, stricken. The very idea of it clashed with who he’d spent years becoming.
He’d have to tread carefully.
This arrangement wasn’t something he could afford to mishandle.
7
Talia Shaw was fuming.
Emily’s manager had called her back to New York in a state of panic. She’d barely made it in time for a designer’s annual charity gala.
A week ago, Talia had deemed it unusual how she hadn’t gotten an invite for the first time ever. Emily blamed it on herreclusion, but she was quick to remind her that she’d sold out an entire line for them from a sixty second ad. Duringsaidreclusion.
Being the persistent woman she was, Talia found out that the invitation had fallen into Stella’s lap.
Courtesy of Jake.
Emily spared her manager a sideway glance. “Does Jake know that you told me about this event?”
She shook her head. “No, he doesn’t.”
