TWENTY-THREE

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Solving the problem was never going to be that easy—not in a world where people’s favorite sport was building someone up, only to tear them back down again. Katie, Ellery and Dana had all been aware that if they appeared anywhere to complain that they’d lied about or manipulated, it would probably backfire on them, and probably spectacularly.

After all, didn’t they make a ton of money for doing practically nothing? Didn’t they get to wear beautiful clothes and go to the best parties and ride around in limousines? For crying out loud, what was that to complain about?

So what if the tabloids implied that Ellery was a slut? Didn’t half the teenage girls in the country go through that every single day? So what if Katie was embarrassed?

Boo hoo.

It was true: all three of them had known what might happen if they went into show business. None of them was stupid. Of course, that didn’t mean the rumors and the manipulation didn’t hurt. It didn’t mean they weren’t frustrated and exhausted, or that they didn’t wish their families didn’t have to suffer along with them. There was definitely a problem that needed to be solved, by not by talking on-camera to Ellen, or the women on The View.

No, this problem needed a more solid solution.

And the way in was sitting right in front of them.

“We have to go through Amanda,” Doug had said, and that was exactly what they wanted him to say. When they’d come to a decision a couple of hours ago, they were relying on the fact that Doug couldn’t make anything happen on his own—he didn’t have enough power with the network, the tabloids, or the talent bookers for talk shows. Everything he did had to go through Amanda.

Amanda, who always said she didn’t want too many cooks in the kitchen.

No competing voices.

Now, Katie looked at her co-stars—her friends—for confirmation that she should go ahead. That she should be their voice, because she was the one who had a relationship with Doug.

“We had an idea,” she told him.

She was leaning forward a little, hands clasped together on top of her knees. Looking determined wasn’t a problem, because she felt determined. Like this was the right decision, the one that would make things happen. The right things, for a change. She and Ellery and Dana might end up doing some talk shows and interviews, but they’d feel good about it. Really, really good, for once.

“We shouldn’t compete with each other,” she told Doug. “We don’t on the show, and we shouldn’t in real life.”

“Okay,” he said.

“I shouldn’t come out on top because Ellery’s getting buried. And Dana shouldn’t be ignored. We should—we had the idea that we should be like an orchestra.” When Doug frowned a little, she shook her head. “Okay, a really tiny orchestra. But we should make music together. Working in harmony. And we think the way to accomplish that is for Amanda to represent all three of us.”

That made Doug’s eyes widen. Clearly, that possibility had never been mentioned at Reign Management.

“You’re not—” he started.

“We’re not happy with our current representation,” Ellery replied. “I’ve gone to them a hundred times to see if they could do something about the tabloids, and their answer is always, ‘Buck up, honey. They’ll get bored with you eventually.’ And Dana—do you know she only got the same raise for Season 3 as Katie and me because we insisted on it?”

“I didn’t,” Doug admitted.

“Amanda says she doesn’t want to deal with competing voices,” Katie said. “What about voices that are so far out in the wilderness, you can barely hear them? That’s no good for us, and it’s no good for the show. Which means it’s no good for the bottom line. Anybody’s bottom line.”

She sat back then, both bolstered and comforted by the presence of the two women sitting on either side of her. They were almost shoulder-to-shoulder, and the warmth felt good.

Together, they let Doug think for a while. No, he didn’t have any power outside of Reign Management, but he had a fair amount of it inside those hallowed halls. If he hadn’t, Amanda never would have let him accompany Katie everywhere. She would not have let him be her eyes and ears.

“What do you think?” Dana ventured after a minute. “Would she agree to at least talk to us?”

“I can put the idea in front of her.”

“It makes sense,” Katie said. “If we’re the teeny-tiny orchestra, she’ll be the conductor. She’ll be the one with the ability to juggle everything to create the best result. Something like that has to appeal to her.”

“But… are you sure that’s what you want?” He looked from one Roomie to another. “She’s tough. She’s one of the toughest in the business. She’s not going to end up being anyone’s best friend.”

“We don’t expect her to be,” Dana replied.

“We need tough,” Ellery agreed. “We need someone with the power to bulldoze us out of this mess.”

He wasn’t convinced; Katie could see that on his face. No doubt he was remembering how angry she’d been at that club, how furious she’d been with Amanda, and now she was saying she wanted all three of them to live under Amanda’s powerful thumb.

How could that possibly be a good idea?

She told him quietly, “It’s all worked out up till now. Amanda’s done good things for me, Doug. I am where I am because of her. No, I don’t like it all the time. I’m not even sure I like it most of the time, especially these last few months, but if I can—if the three of us can show her how good this little orchestra sounds when we’re all working together—” She paused. “She just doesn’t want to fail. She doesn’t want to end up looking foolish. That’s what all of us want.”

Doug sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He wasn’t fidgeting, wasn’t shoving his hands through his hair. He was obviously deep in thought, and that was a good sign. She hoped what he was thinking about was the best way to approach Amanda—and she also hoped that if Amanda agreed, and all three Roomies were represented by Reign, that it would still be Doug who would squire her around. That she could always turn to find him standing there, ready and willing to help, to provide her with whatever she needed.

She wanted to hope for more than that, but she didn’t dare. Amanda had rules, after all, and if they were going to work with her—with luck, having somewhat more of a voice together than they had separately—they’d need to abide by the rules.

The rules made sense, after all.

Didn’t they?

 

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

 

“You’re certain,” Amanda said.

Because her office wasn’t furnished to accommodate so many people at once—or maybe because she didn’t want so many people invading her inner sanctum—they were sitting in the conference room, a room that somehow managed to be both homey and welcoming and completely intimidating, depending on how you looked at it.

Amanda was seated at the head of the table, with a junior staffer whose only task seemed to be to take notes, an attorney, and Doug on one side, and the three Roomies on the other.

“We are,” Ellery said, and Dana agreed.

They’d both given notice to their former agents and managers that morning. There’d been a lot of sputtering, they’d told Katie, along with some shouting and some cries of being unappreciated. But that was all done with now. They each still had an outside attorney, something Amanda agreed was both sensible and necessary, but once the new paperwork had all been signed, all three Roomies would be represented by Reign Management.

“You’ll each have a member of my staff assigned to you,” Amanda went on. “They’ll work with you, just as Douglas works with Katie. It may take a little while to determine the best fit, but I guarantee you’ll be pleased. You can rely on that person for everything. Of course you’re free to contact me directly if you prefer, if there’s something you feel that person can’t handle.”

Was that a rebuke? Amanda did glance in Doug’s direction, but there didn’t seem to be any kind of a message in her eyes.

And Doug was still employed here. That had to mean a lot.

There were a few more details to be ironed out, more information to be conveyed, some of it coming from Reign’s in-house attorney, but by late morning, everything had been signed, sealed and delivered. When Amanda rose from her chair, balancing delicately on those sky-high heels, she seemed genuinely pleased.

“Welcome to Reign,” she told Ellery and Dana. “I look forward to a very enjoyable time together.”

That seemed to signal the end of the meeting, so everyone got up. The attorney and the junior staffer gathered up their belongings and slipped quietly out of the room, leaving Amanda to bestow the lightest of hugs upon her new clients. She gestured Ellery and Dana toward the door, where another staffer was waiting to take them back to the reception area, but once they were gone, she held up a hand to indicate that Katie should stay.

Doug had apparently been warned about that, because he closed the door.

“There’s still the matter of the interrupted taping,” Amanda said. “The network isn’t at all pleased about what happened with Hollywood Match.”

“If you’d—” Katie started.

Again, Amanda gestured with that perfectly manicured hand. “I’ve worked things out with them. They’ve agreed to go back and do some additional taping, so they’ll have a final act.”

“I don’t want a final act, Amanda.”

In fact, there wasn’t much that Katie wanted less. Going back to that club, being surrounded again by all those strangers pretending it was her birthday? Sure, it was an acting job of sorts, but even thinking about it brought a sour taste to her mouth. And what if they insisted that she actually go out with whatever man she chose, or who had been chosen for her?

She couldn’t think of anything worse. They’d show up everywhere: all the celebrity ‘news’ shows, the tabloids, the gossip websites, all of it claiming that she and this man were a new hot couple.

Did they expect her to kiss this person?

With her ire rising, Katie looked from Amanda to Doug and back again. She’d hoped Doug would defend her, but he didn’t seem ready to do that. Was that the lynchpin here? Could he keep his job if he agreed to talk her into finishing that disaster? Desperately, she searched his face, hoping they could talk once Amanda was gone, that she could convince him to…

“There’s one slight change,” Amanda said. “We’ll be adding an additional bachelor to the mix.”

“What?” Katie blurted.

To her amazement, Amanda crossed the space that separated them and laid the backs of her fingers against Katie’s cheek. It was something she’d never done before. In fact, Katie had never seen her be this…

Was it affection? Was that possible, coming from someone like Amanda?

“There seems to be someone you’re genuinely fond of,” Amanda said quietly. “Douglas explained that to me yesterday, and that he’s fond of you as well.” Her cheek quirked a little. “I believe it would work nicely. As you may have noticed, he bears a strong resemblance to several very big names, actors who each have a very energetic following. I broached it to the network, and they agreed he’d probably find a few fans of his own. So, if you’d like to choose him out of the field of possibilities that Hollywood Match offers you, I’d have no objection.”

All Katie could do in response to that was sputter.

“Well?” Amanda asked with a tiny, coy smile. “Do you agree?”

It took Katie a long time to turn toward Doug. Part of her was leery of what she’d find—that she’d see in him some indication that this was all some elaborate scheme he and Amanda had cooked up.

But all she saw in his eyes was that fondness Amanda had talked about.

No, more than that.

She saw the man who’d stood with her at the overlook on Mulholland Drive, a man who was kind and thoughtful and funny and warmhearted. The man whose grandfather owned a hardware store up in Porterville. The man who couldn’t become a lawyer because he cared too much about other people.

The man who looked like he very much wanted to embrace her and not let go.

“Okay,” Katie stammered. “I think I can do that.”