Page 3 of Seeking Stars
"Don't say that," Ana half-growled, disliking the way her stomach rolled in waves. "It's going to make me more nervous. Besides, there's like a 0.2% chance that that's the case. He represents people like Sam Russel, Liam McMillan, one of the Chrises even."
"Mhh, Liam," Ely sighed. "He's my favorite of the Chrises."
"That makes no sense."
"You know it does. We have many actors of that caliber called Chris and Liam is the best of them. Even if he doesn't have the right name."
Ana rolled her eyes at her friend. Taking two blazers out of her closet, she held them at shoulder height, considering which one might give the right vibe for her business look.
"Anyway," Ana continued, "there was an item in the itinerary they sent me that said I had a meeting with Diana to sign the documents. I'm pretty sure I'm still going to work with her. On the other hand, I have at least one meeting booked with Coulton, but there were no other details included. Also, it literally said atleastone meeting with Coulton. No mention of a maximum number, or when those extra meetings might happen, if at all. It grates, honestly."
"Go with the navy one. The stripes still make it fun, and the blush one looks amazing on your skin but is less powerful looking." Ely stood up and placed the blush fabric against Ana's forearm. They both admired the way it made Ana's light brown skin come alive. She sighed in agreement with Ely, who continued saying, "People in high places, girl. They do what they want."
Ana nodded and packed her navy blazer in the small suitcase.
"But soon you'll be famous and you’ll be one of those people in power," Ely added. "Your platform will be bigger and you'll use it to educate the masses."
At this, Ana laughed. "One can dream!"
"In any case, you'll have to keep me updated. I won't let go of my phone. I want all the details!"
Chapter 2 - The Set Up
Three times Liam had tried to convince his agent to give him a break. With two calls and one meeting under his belt, Liam decided not to take his car to the fourth scheduled attempt. While he typically enjoyed driving, doing so in LA required a specific mindset he didn't have that day. Aside from the terrible city traffic, on a day like this, it nauseated him to imagine someone might recognize him while at a red light and cause an embarrassing ruckus. He needed to be in a good mood to cope with something like that. So, no. It was the wrong day for that.
Morgan, Liam's PA, organized for one of TCA's drivers to pick him up instead. They made it from home to the building in record time; he had ten minutes to spare. Despite that, when the elevator's door opened on the 23rd floor, Magda's assistant waited for him. Someone must have seen him in the building and announced his arrival; perhaps one of the guards saw him on a security camera. It could still creep him out, how someone always watched. Everywhere.
"Welcome, Mr. McMillan. Thank you so much for coming. Please follow me to the board room; Mr. Coulton will be with you shortly."
"Hello, Alexis." Liam followed her and sat in one of the elegant leather chairs in the room.
"Can I offer you something to drink?"
"I'm good, thanks."
"Let me know if you need anything."
She closed the door behind her. If everything went as usual, Coulton wouldn't make him wait too long. When Liam came to the office, they treated him like the top priority. Liam knew the deal; they treated him like this because of the money he brought them. The moment he didn't, they would stop.
Liam tried to be okay with the reality of it. At the very least, he hoped to use it for leverage. He'd need it, if Liam hoped to negotiate things with his agent and push, this time.
"Liam!" Coulton's voice greeted him, loud and excited. Liam got up and offered his hand. "It's so good to see you, my friend."
"You too." Liam shook the older man's hand. "You have news for me? I'm surprised that you called me back so quickly after our last conversation."
"That I do," Coulton said. They sat in front of each other across the glass meeting table. "I took what you said to heart, and I think I've found a solution we will all like."
"So you're going to give me a break? Let me take a long, restful vacation?"
"I pressed pause on your schedule, moved things around, even begged a few people— and was able to get you four weeks off."
Liam bit on the corner of his mouth to stop himself from complaining. He had asked for three months.
He let his hands curl into loose fists. "So you agree that it won't ruin my career."
"Oh, it would absolutely ruin things. Your trajectory would change from an upward curve to a flat one. You want to capitalize now. If you had an Oscar or two things would be different, but right now, just—"
"Just three years since my career truly began," Liam interrupted. "C'mon, man. You've got to freshen up your speech. It's getting old."
