Actually, she might, but he doesn’t need to know that.
I wonder if she knows this, though. She has shared clips of articles speculating that our financials in this current economic environment make us an ideal agency to purchase.
“With an official offer on the table, we’re creating a task force. I was considering asking you to join. It would be good exposure for you with the new buyers. Unless you’re too busy with other commitments. If it’s not the right time…” He trails off for dramatic effect.
I despise him. He loves a good mind fuck.I think you’re good enough to be on the task force, but I don’t want you to think that you’re good enough to be on the task force.
“Of course, I’m not too busy. I’d love to help any way I can.” I offer nothing else and wait to see what he’ll say next. He’s quiet, too. It’s a game of verbal chicken.
“Well, I guess you better get to the premiere. I can assign you to the task force for the exposure, but I’m not sure it will save your job if you can’t sign talent. Good luck tonight.”
He doesn’t even wait for a response before he pops up from the couch and rushes out the door. He can bait me all he wants, but he knows I’m his best agent. He may not like my priorities and focus, but I brought in more money for this agency over the last five years than anyone else.
“Goodbye, Lance. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon…” Stella’s voice trails off as she steps inside my office and closes the door. “Spill.”
It’s her job to listen in, so I know she heard the news. I recap for her what I know and ask her to get me details on The Manhattan Group. They are a sports management agency representing some of the biggest professional athletes. It makes sense for us to merge, and I’m optimistic there will be little fallout since both agencies focus on different things. There may be a few redundancies, but hopefully, the collateral damage willbe minor. When the deal closes, we’ll be the largest agency in media and sports.
eight
. . .
WYATT
“You look gorgeous,”I say when my sister walks out of her little bungalow in black silk pants and a black silk tank that seems to be missing a back. A hot pink scarf wrapped around her waist and matching heels complete the look. With her hair pulled up in a high ponytail, she looks like a modern Pink Lady fromGrease. It’s Bad Sandy meets Innocent Sandy.
“It’s not too much?” She tilts her head from side to side. “Or too little?”
“It’s perfect. You look like a fan of the show.” I open the back door of the SUV that will take us to the premiere and motion for her to jump in.
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she asks as she climbs in.
“Just take the compliment.” I shake my head as I shut the door and then round the car to the other side. I’m all decked out in black, too. Apparently, it’s the unofficial dress code for this premiere.
“Thanks for coming with me to this event,” Sophia says to me when I get in, “but I didn’t even ask you this time. Any particular reason you’re so eager to be my plus-one?” She turns toward me,bringing her knee up on the seat like she’s getting comfortable for girl talk.
We are most definitely not having girl talk.
I keep my eyes down on my phone, hoping she’ll get the hint and change the topic.
“Come on, Wyatt. I have questions!”
To make it seem harmless, I decide to keep it simple. “There’s not much to say. We were friends in high school, lost touch in college, and haven’t talked since.”
“Nuh-uh. There was shock, surprise, hunger, lust, anger, hurt, all the emotions swirling when you walked into my trailer yesterday.” Sophia raises her elbow to lean on the back of the seat, doubling down on her interrogation.
I’m not sure what to tell her. It feels naïve to say I thought Blair was the love of my life. And until yesterday, I managed to block out those feelings, but then my heart betrayed me and started to convince me she could still be the love of my life. Now that we’ve seen each other, maybe she can be mine again?
I’m what the cool kids call delulu.
Seeing her again brought back so many memories. I had a crush on her when we first met. We slipped right into a comfort zone I’ve never had with anyone else, and it allowed us to grow as friends. But then her friend Holly came on strong and the three of us started spending time together. I was young, and she was a beautiful girl. When Blair seemed excited about Holly and me dating, I just assumed she was confirming our friend-zone status.
Holly was fun to date. She was a cheerleader and had the energy to play the part. But she liked it most when all eyes were on her. I’m pretty sure she cheated on me more than once, especially when we started to grow apart senior year. By that time, I didn’t really care. I liked Holly, but I knew our relationship wouldn’t last into college.
My parents spent the week with Sophia in LA for some auditions during Spring Break senior year, but I stayed back in Santa Barbara with my uncle to play in a qualifier event for an upcoming junior golf tournament. I ran into Blair on that first day of practice at the club. Turns out she wasn’t going anywhere for spring break, either, so she could work extra shifts to save for college.
I’m not sure we even discussed it, but somehow, we ended up spending every bit of our free time together. She would run or work out with me in the mornings, and I would hang at the clubhouse until her shift was over. We would eat and watch TV together, and one night, I fell asleep at her house. That opened a door I didn’t think I had the key to.
“Fine. You don’t have to tell me, but I’m interested in her as an agent.” Sophia pauses to see if I’ll react. She knows I usually have an opinion about a lot of the things surrounding her career. When she got her big break, I was obsessed with the behind-the-scenes of it all. I foolishly thought our dad would be fine if I pursued entertainment law. As long as I was a lawyer, why would he care? I was so wrong. I tried to use every extra elective I could to take classes on intellectual property, distribution, trademarks, contracts—everything I could learn about the business behind Hollywood. I didn’t get to practice that kind of law, but I definitely practice sharing my opinion on topics surrounding entertainment.
