I look around the table and realize nobody knows how to respond. He’s literally looking for a list of names that accomplish the goal and doesn’t make extra work for him. He has no concern for what processes could be impacted, the potential loss of historical knowledge, or even a gap in skill set that might occur.
“We should probably look at everyone who’s on an employment contract first,” I say. “It’s not a foolproof way to create a list, but it is something we could use to determine where to start. We can look at upcoming contracts that expire between now and the end of the year. Depending on how the languagein the contract reads, it may be as simple as just not renewing them.”
“Excellent. That’s what I’m talking about. Earning your pay today, Wyatt!” Lance claps his hand on my shoulder and uses it to help him up out of his chair. “It sounds like you’ve got this figured out, so I’ll expect a list by the end of the week.”
He walks out of the meeting room, and I look around the table at faces that mirror the disbelief I have.
twenty-four
. . .
BLAIR
“Ready to go?”Stella says, snapping me out of my daydream. She’s standing in front of my desk with a few files in her arms and a Chloe tote bag over her left shoulder.
“What?”
“Roundtable photoshoot. With Sophia. You said you wanted to go, so I made arrangements for us… We don’t have to if you’ve changed your mind?”
Stella looks at me with her head tilted to the side and one eyebrow raised.
“Yes. It slipped my mind for a minute. Of course. Let’s go.” I push back from my desk and ask her if she has the prompts I want Sophia to review from past roundtables.
“Yes, yes. I’ve done all of that. What’s up with you? You seem really distracted this week.”
I’m totally distracted. I can’t stop thinking about Wyatt in my office yesterday. After the shame spiral I went down for giving into such a public display of lust, I remembered why I fell for him in the first place. We had an undeniable spark. Yes, there was a level of physical attraction, but there was more to it. A levelof comfort and trust from the first time we met. Even when he started dating Holly, we were close.
I’m seeing everything from a different perspective now. The way he would call me as soon as the class schedules came out to see if ours overlapped. How, every time Holly was away for a dance competition, we’d get together to watch movies or our favorite TV shows. I felt like he belonged to me, and I belonged to him.
But knowing why things changed, why he got back with Holly, that what he felt for me was never the issue, has me all mixed up.
I understand the pressure his parents put on him and how everything can feel out of your control when you are young, but a stubborn part of me is hanging on to my anger at how it happened. He says he wanted to reach out, but it sounds like he moved on just fine. He didn’t seem to need any kind of closure at all.
So, now I’m confused because my body and heart want to forgive him. In fact, I can’t get my body to listen to any reason when he’s around.
But my mind is being a little bitch.
Lance pops his head into my office before we can leave. “Blair, have a minute?”
“Sure, come on in.” I signal to Stella to give me just a minute.
I’m still furious he dismissed me from the meetings yesterday, but anytime Lance pops into my office, it puts me on edge. It’s a nightmare trying to get any time and attention from him when you need him for something, but he always seems to find time for you if there’s a problem. You can tell you’re in for some feedback if he starts off with generous compliments. It’s a sick trap to put you at ease before he rips you to shreds.
I can tell this isn’t a friendly visit as soon as he leans back in the chair across from my desk and puts his right ankle over his knee. The classic agent man spread.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?” he asks.
“We’re just on our way to the Actress Roundtable, but I have a few minutes. What’s on your mind?”
“Oh, yes, Wyatt mentioned Sophia was taking part in that little article.”
The only thing more cringe than his snubbing the press is the obscene number of photos of him with celebrities hanging all over his office walls.
I don’t take the bait.
“How come you haven’t signed her yet? It’s like you don’t even care if you work here at all,” Lance says, adding in his fake laugh to cover the passive-aggressive comment.
I keep my face composed. It’s only been a few weeks, and he knows how much time it can take to court a big name.
