Page 101 of Seeking Stars
Ana threw her phone on the bed, her heart in her throat. She paced in her apartment, the need to figure it all out coiling inside of her. When her restlessness made her want to go for a walk, and when she realized she couldn't go out, not when people might not leave her alone— that's when she felt tears building up. She didn't want to feel trapped, but she did.
She went back to her room, grabbed her phone, and quickly navigated to her calendar. Liam had ended up sharing his with her, and she checked it to see if he was free. He wasn't.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and, forcing herself to take a deep breath, she called Ely instead.
"What's up?" Ely said as a greeting.
"Diana wants me to break up with Liam," Ana responded without preamble.
"That harpy! Don't listen to her."
"I'm not! I don't want to break up with him."
"Then tell her to get out of your business."
"That's the problem, though, isn't it? Shit. She's my agent. She is right about how this can affect my career. And I don't want to break up with Liam. I don't know where to draw the line with her, when my relationship with Liam influences my career and Diana is in charge of that."
"No, you're in charge of your career," Ely argued. "She's like your administrative assistant, the person that represents you in business meetings and negotiates for you and runs interference."
"She's more than that. She's a network— an easier entry to film festivals, to funding..."
"Well, yeah, that's her job, not managing your life."
"That's true. This feels… imbalanced. I don't feel I have as much power as she has and that's messed up."
"Liam has that power, though. Maybe ask for his advice?"
When she finally got to talk to Liam, he didn't like what Diana had to say.
"Listen to Ely, please, she's right," he told her. His voice sounded strained, as if holding back. "Diana is supposed to make things easier for you and multiply your opportunities, and that's it."
"I won't listen to Diana about you, of course not! Whether Ely had agreed or not, being with you isn't for others to decide. But professionally… don't you think Diana's right? That if something goes wrong between us, it'll hurt me not only personally, but professionally?"
His lips pressed together, his eyes turning fiery.
"I am not planning on our relationship going wrong," he said, his voice stern. "I don't think it's fair for us to plan around the possibility that it'll fail."
"You're right. I don't want to start preparing for the possibility that things may go sideways."
"So what do you want?"
"I want to believe nothing bad will happen," she admitted. She rubbed her forehead with a hand and sighed.
"I wish I could tell you that for sure, but I can't. Bad things might happen. But we can't let it break us. We need to help each other."
"How can you help me with my career? With Diana. You know how hard it is, you have the same problem with Coulton."
"I don't have all the answers yet but— dammit, we can figure it out."
She watched him on the screen, a deep wrinkle between his eyebrows, his mouth in a hard line. She knew her face echoed his gesture.
"Yeah. I need a plan."
"What are you going to tell Diana?" he asked.
"I think I'm going to tell her that I don't need her help in regard to my relationship with you. I'm afraid it'll make her angry, but… I just can't have her think she gets a say in this."
"Good. I'm glad. On that note," he said, and he visibly took a deep breath before continuing, "I really think we shouldn't be apart right now. We should be together to figure these things out. If we're apart… that's scary. Makes me feel like we're teetering at the edge of a cliff but we're not there to keep each other upright. Maybe you should come sooner. That way we can withstand this initial storm together."
