Page 41 of Love Scenes

Glori is Gloria Shields, a sixty-three-year-old white woman from New Jersey who proudly buys most of her clothes at Marshalls, then happily tells anyone who will listen about the $3,000 full-body laser treatment she just got done. She is a walking paradoxand a gut punch of a woman, and there’s no one I’d rather have as my manager.

Even when she pisses me off.

“A part I landed because my mom fired the person who came before me,” I remind her.

Glori gives me a warning look. “It does not matter if you’re the best actor in the entire world. People will still say you got where you are because of your parents. And they’re not wrong. Your parents did give you this life. But you’re the one who controls where it goes. And you tried to throw away a perfect opportunity because you were afraid of being boxed in. Now the opportunity’s come back around, and I say it’s time for you to stop worrying about what other people are going to think of you. Go and do your job. Show them why it had to be you. Regardless of how it happened.”

“Yeah.” It’s a sad world when the only person left for me to celebrate with is also someone responsible for my career. “Wanna hear something weird that only you will find interesting?” I pivot.

“Of course I do.”

“I got a ton of texts when the announcement went out yesterday. Certainly a lot of people coming out of the woodwork for this. ButThe Seeker’s very own Daniel Traversoncalled me.Three times. I didn’t answer.”

Glori takes a long swig of coffee. Her lipstick, a sleek magenta that matches her nails, transfers onto the rim. “That’s so strange. Must’ve really wanted to congratulate you,” she says. “Oh, by the way, tell me how it’s going with Joseph Donovan after all.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “What do you know?”

“Why do you think I know something?”

“Because you love to talk about Daniel Traverson. You oncetold me you watchedThe Seekerfor him, not for me. You begged me to try to date him. Now I tell you he called me three times, and you’re changing the subject.”

“Eh. The past is past. I’m more interested in the roguishly handsome Irishman who nearly ended your career before we even got it started.”

“No you’re not,” I challenge.

There are few people in my life as predictable as Gloria Shields. I’ve never seen her nails painted a different color. I can order for her at every restaurant we’ve ever been to together. When she finds something she likes, she holds on forever. She used to be Dad’s manager too back when he was still married to my mom. Mom loves to joke that it was hard to say who was more hurt when they split: her or Glori. It was over twenty years ago, yet Glori still gets a scowl on her face when she talks about Dad’s career. He won his first Oscar on a role she convinced him to take.

“Based solely on the amount of emails you’ve sent me where you’ve referred to me as Sloane Traverson, I know there’s something to this,” I add.

“You’re still off social media, right?” she asks.

“Yeah. I haven’t really been on since Dad’s heart attack.” The amount of negative energy on there was like a spout flooding me from the inside out.

“You’re not gonna like what I’m about to tell you.” Her hands wrap around her coffee mug. “Remember that night you were telling me all about how you didn’t want to do the fifth season of your show?”

It was raining, and Glori and I were both sopping wet when we sat down for dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant in the hills. I spent most of the meal begging her to find a way out of my contract. “Of course I do.”

“All of this is being published with a heavy dose ofallegedlyandsupposedly, butapparentlyDaniel Traverson’s mother was sitting next to us. She heard what you said about the show. And she told Daniel, who told the showrunner, who decided to do what you asked and ax you.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I told you you weren’t going to like it!”

“Why the hell is Daniel calling me then?”

“The story broke yesterday night after your casting was announced. It’s a pretty boring scandal, if I’m being honest. I’m not sure a lot of people even believe it’s true. It all seems pretty ridiculous. Of course we know it’s probably real, because that conversation was real. If Danny Boy is calling, it’s to look out for his mommy. And himself.”

Daniel Traverson’s mother was a woman next to me at a restaurant. Like any of these people around me now. And instead of saying hello, she listened to my private conversation with my manager and got me fired for it.Allegedly.And it’s so frustratingly ridiculous that it’s hard to know what to do with the information other than sit and take it in and marvel at the fact that I work in a business where something like this is possible.

I did my job. I was never late. I didn’t blow my lines or say rude shit to the crew. I only complained in private. After all the horrible actors and directors I’ve worked with, gritting my teeth and smiling through their bullshit, it’smewho was the problem?

“Remember, it’s all good press in the end,” Glori says. “And personally, I think Daniel’s mom comes out looking like the clown here. But that’s just me.”

“Except now people know I’m an ungrateful asshole complaining about my six-figure job over a two-hundred-dollar dinner and then stealing a part in my family’s movie.”

Glori shrugs. “We’ve all got ugly sides, Sloane. You happen to be in the business of constantly showing yours to the world.” She waits a respectful two seconds before jumping back into her real interests. “Now tell me about Joseph Donovan. Is he single? Do you still hate him? What is the deal?”

I end uparriving late to my hair appointment, my lunch with Glori running over and my fitting taking longer than I expected. I passed the time by opening up Twitter. The first thing I saw was the Deadline article announcing I’d been cast inHorizons, my photo beside Joseph’s. Haven quote-tweeted it saying she was truly excited for me and it was all for the best. There were at least twenty comments beneath it mentioning how my mom fired Haven to make room for me.