Marnie took a deep breath and turned to me.
“Let’s get this out of the way. You’re notreallysleeping with Dorian Fisher.”
Of all of the things I might have expected to hear from her, that wasn’t it.
“How can you be so sure?”
“It’s my job to tell baseless rumors apart from juicy gossip. And you’re walking down the street alone in this…outfit.”
She tried to keep her face neutral, but the “yikes” was written all over it. I wanted to be offended, but she was right. This dress wasbad.
Constance leaned forward so she could see me.
“I’m sorry, but you already had it on and you looked like you were in a rush. Still, I shouldn’t have encouraged you to go out dressed like this. That was not cool.”
Marnie frowned, looking from her to me, but neither of us felt like explaining our interaction from earlier.
“I’m not into older men,” I said, moving the conversation along.
Constance looked stung. “He’s not just an older man.”
Marnie jumped in. “Let me see if I’ve got this right. You have a small but important role in this hot movie everyone’s talking about. But the director is a… Let’s just say she’s a complicated woman who’s hogging the spotlight like it’s the only warm blanket left on a freezing cold night. It’s hard enough for Odetta Olson that Fiona Pills has become such a star since she cast her. Dorian Fisher has a ton of influence, and everyone knows his company is behind Odetta Olson’s movie. So the studio has to listen to her at least a little bit. To make her happy they decide to keep the focus on the main cast, the heavy players. That’s why you’re getting nothing from them. Why you’re staying at…you know.”
“And why you don’t have a stylist,” Constance chimed in.
“How are we doing so far?” Marnie asked.
Her tone was steady, her spine pulled straight. But she was drumming her fingers on the bag resting on her leg, the only sign of unrest.
I liked her version of the story. It would explain so much.
“Continue,” I said.
“I think you deserve alotmore of the spotlight,” Marnie said.
Constance agreed. “You’re the newest talent on the block, and new is always better.”
“You’re young,” Marnie said. “You’re gorgeous.” I reacted. “Let’s not pretend you don’t know that.”
“And I’m sure you have an amazing role lined up next,” Constance said.
For a minute, I wondered if they were just screwing with me. If they knew the extent of my failures and just wanted to have a little fun with it. But on the odd chance they weren’t, I kept my mouth shut.
“Because you work so hard,” Marnie added. “Because we all work so fucking hard. Don’t we?”
The car parked in front of the hotel.
“I don’t have a new role lined up yet,” I admitted.
It made me feel a tad better to share a sprinkle of truth.
Marnie perked up. “Even better.” She noticed the miffed look on my face and added, “Sorry, but it proves my point. Now’s your time to claim your spot on this world stage.”
“You don’t even know me.”
If my first few days in Cannes had taught me anything, it was that I couldn’t trust anyone.
Marnie took the hit with a smile. “So you tell us. What do you need?”
