“You know about the event Nathan set up for me?” Emma turned to look at Lisa, thinking she must have told Eric. But Lisa quickly shook her head, indicating she had nothing to do with it.
“With my connections, I can find out anything I want to know,” Eric responded. His abilities no longer surprised Emma.
How else would he have managed to get right to the top of the industry? She smiled at him and said, “Don’t worry, you’ve already given me exactly what I need to take care of this.”
Eric didn’t respond. Instead, he reached out his hand and gently stroked her hair. As she watched the two of them, Lisa got goosebumps. “Just got married,” she thought. “Why does it seem like they’ve been in love for a lifetime?”
After the shoot, the three of them returned to New York. During the flight, Emma and Eric leaned on each other affectionately. But as soon as the plane landed, they went their separate ways, like complete strangers.
They had sent the new manager, Ashley, to pick up Emma from the airport. Emma could see her waiting at the arrival gate, wearing an amethyst-colored dress, six-inch heels, and oversized sunglasses. She kept glancing impatiently at her wristwatch, as if she were the talented star and Emma was just an inconvenience.
Emma’s name on it was propped up on the floor by Ashley’s feet. Emma ignored it and headed straight out of the airport with Lisa.
Lisa chuckled to herself as they left. “Emma’s developing an attitude,” she thought. On the car ride back, Emma’s phone rang. “Emma, where are you?” Ashley barked. “Wasn’t your flight supposed to arrive at noon?”
“I’m already on my way back to the office,” Emma replied calmly. “And you see me. I saw you,” she said without a hint of emotion in her voice.
She yelled, with those sunglasses on, I thought you were at the airport to start a movie,” Emma smirked. Ashley swore under her breath and hung up the phone. Her face flushed red with anger as she rushed out of the airport alone. She had worked in the industry for years, but her management work had quickly earned her a poor reputation.
Whenever one of her artists found success, they had lost it just as quickly, either by offending someone powerful or getting sent to rehab.
This time, Amber Lee herself had reached out to Ashley and asked her to manage Emma, and Ashley was determined to prove herself. But how could she have known Emma would make a fool of her before they’d even met? She wasn’t giving up yet, though. After all, Emma was outdated, a has-been. How dare she not show her a decent amount of respect?
Emma and Lisa arrived at Global Pictures well before Ashley did. “What’s outside?” Emma headed straight for Nathan’s office, threw the door open, and marched right up to where he was sitting. “I’m waiting on your explanation,” she assumed as she slammed her hands down on the desk. “There’s something happening between you and Amber, isn’t there?”
Nathan stopped what he was doing, hesitated for a moment, then attempted to change the subject. “You just got back from your trip. Why did you come straight here?”
“How long has it been?” she continued. “How long have you and Amber been together?” Emma yelled, standing up to face him. “I’ve had enough of your accusations. Can’t you just be kind to me like Amber is instead of nagging all the time?”
She slowly pulled her hands back as she looked him in the eyes. “What do you think I am, a toy?”
“Emma, let’s break up. I’m with Amber, and we’re truly in love,” he sounded cool and detached, like he was talking to a complete stranger. “You can’t blame me. There’s no logic or reason in love. From now on, I’m simply your boss, and you’re my employee.”
She sneered as she listened to him, but she was calmer than he had expected. “So you’re not planning to release me from my contract?” she said. “I guess you’ve realized that if you let me go, Amber won’t stand a chance.”
“Sorry, but you still have three years left. Is this why you’ve set up this event for me? I thought the event would suit you given the current state of your career,” Nathan sat back down and began flipping through some papers. “If there isn’t anything else, you can go. Also, Ashley is your new manager, and from now on, you must follow her orders.”
Though Emma’s heart was breaking, her head was filled with rage. She’d wasted so many years on this man, this jerk. “Do you know what happens to cheaters, Nathan? They never get a happy ending. I will, though,” with that, he turned around and left, more determined than ever to destroy him and his entire company.
Emma returned to her office and closed the door, hoping for some time alone. Moments later, though, Ashley burst through the door and began yelling, “Are you aware that from now on, you’re my artist? Do you still want to be a model or not? How dare you treat me like this! Are you a pig?”
Emma rose from her chair and took a step toward Ashley. “What did you just say to me? Say it again.”
“I said, are you a pig?” Ashley shot back arrogantly. As soon as the last word had left her mouth, Emma slapped her hard across the face. “Don’t ever call me that again,” she hissed.
Ashley was stunned. She stepped forward, ready to fight back, but just then, Emma pulled out her phone and handed it to her. “I have plenty more photos just like this. Since you think I’m such a pig, I’ve decided to send them out to all the biggest news outlets.”
Ashley stood speechless, not quite understanding what Emma meant. Then she looked down at the screen to see a photo of her being intimate with a famous director. She froze with fear. “It can’t be,” Ashley thought. “How could she have these photos? I was always so careful. This is impossible. It must be a fake.”
Emma continued, “I know Amber is behind all this. If you hadn’t crossed the line, I wouldn’t have troubled with a simple manager like you. But you don’t seem to know who you’re messing with.”
Ashley was sweating, and her hands began to tremble. If no one but Emma had these photos, she never would have agreed to Amber’s request to make Emma’s life difficult. She fell down on her knees, pleading, “Emma, I mean, to treat you like this. Please don’t release the photos. If you do, my life is over.”
Emma looked down at her, listening closely. “I would never hurt someone for no reason. But if you cross me again in any way, I will make your life a living hell from today on. Just do your job, and I’ll do mine. If you want to play games with me, I’ll be happy to play along. But these photos are the only thing you’ll have coming to you.”
Ashley stared up at her in disbelief. Emma looked so vicious and intimidating. “And they told me she was a pushover,” Ashley thought. Then she replied, “I understand. I know the rules now. Good.”
Emma quickly composed herself, returning to her chair. She asked calmly, “So when do I need to be at the event?”
“You…you…you’re going?” Ashley couldn’t understand what Emma was thinking.
“Just tell me when,” Emma said.
