Novel Palace
68
“What about going forward?” She pointed at both of us. “Will the two of you be representing me now?”
I knew Brett’s feelings on this.
He knew mine.
But I had a motive, and sometimes, we had to take one for the goddamn team to get what we wanted in the long run.
“Let’s see how this contract goes and the way you behave on the shoot. If Dominick and I are happy with the way you act and you do what we’ve asked, then we’ll consider exploring other deals together.”
She smiled as she walked out the door.
The moment it was shut, Brett turned toward me and said, “Man, she’s fucking poison.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Are you happy with the way that went?”
I crossed my foot over my knee. “I got in her head. I just don’t know what she’s going to do about it.”
“She wants us on her team.”
“And that’ll be the motivating factor, not Kendall, which is just fucking sad.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know that I can work with her, Dominick.”
“We’re going to be the reason that bitch turns her shit around. You know if she had the right attitude and confidence, we could triple her income. Consider it a new mission.”
“You owe me, and you owe me for you settling down with Kendall-don’t think I’ve forgotten about our bet. When you least expect it, I’m going to come collecting.”
I laughed and reached for the phone on the table, dialing the number for Brett’s assistant. “Send him in,” I told her.
I hung up, and within a few seconds, the door was opening again. A smiling face with glossy pink lips walked in, taking a seat in the same chair Daisy had been in.
“Daddy Dominick,” Charlize said, getting comfortable. “What in the heavens have you called me in here for?”
“Daddy Dominick.” Brett chuckled. “Christ.”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
This was the meeting I had been looking forward to the most.
One that Kendall knew about and had everything to do with.
I took the folder that I’d moved to my side and pushed it toward Charlize. “We have an offer we’d like to make you.”
“An offer, huh?” He eyed up Brett before he opened the folder, reading the contract I’d placed inside. “This can’t be true,” he said, looking up at us. “You have to be tugging my leather collar.”
“We’re not tugging anything, Charlize.”
Brett shook his head. “Nope. Definitely not.”
“But …” He glanced down again. “How is this even possible?”
“Kendall isn’t returning to the show,” I told him.
“I kinda figured,” he replied. “But still, oof.”
“Since you’ve already appeared in multiple hours of footage and her costars really enjoy you, we think you would be the perfect fit to take her place.”
“Let me get this straight.” He glanced at the contract again. “You want me to take Kendall’s spot on Glitzy Girls?”
“That’s right,” Brett said. “And they’re going to pay you a quarter of a million dollars for the role.” He cleared his throat. “We know the pronoun in the show’s title isn’t correct. If you do accept the offer, the producers are willing to work with you to make it right.”
“We also know you’re a makeup artist,” I added. “We’re not asking you to give that up. You just have to report to filming and follow the rules, most of which you already know since you’ve filmed with Kendall.”
Brett gave Kendall’s best friend a smile. “What do you say, Charlize?”
He held the folder against his chest, wrapping his arms around it, swaying his shoulders. “I say, hell fucking yes.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
KENDALL
W
hen I’d returned to my apartment to box up my things, the cameras had been removed. Charlize and I could move around my place and say whatever we wanted, and I didn’t have to worry about any of it being aired. It had taken us several hours to pack everything up, the closet our one last destination, and we slumped onto the couch to take a break.
“It was a good ride,” I exhaled, resting my head on his shoulder.
He patted my face. “You’re going to be so much happier now.”
“And you?”
“Girlfriend, you know this is going to explode my business. Losing gigs to other makeup artists will be a thing of the P-A-S-T.”
When I’d discussed this idea with Dominick and Brett, there was no one more deserving or perfect for the role than Charlize. I knew he’d handle the fame much better than me and what this would do for him professionally.
I lifted my chin to look at him. “That makes me the happiest bestie in the entire world.”
“Heart you, woman.” His arm wrapped around me, his foot tapping one of the boxes that sat on the coffee table. “So, all this stuff is going into storage?”
“Yep, minus my clothes and cosmetics-those are going to Dominick’s.”
“Moving in with Daddy. That makes me the happiest bestie.”
“Now, I just need to find a job.”
“I can’t imagine you have to find something immediately. The show paid you the rest of your contract, right?”
I nodded, but the truth was, the show had paid me a lot more than just that. Since they were at fault for what had happened, Dominick had made sure I was financially taken care of. Even though I’d told him I didn’t want a huge settlement, I’d still gotten one.
That didn’t mean I was going to sit on my ass all day.
It just meant I could pay off my student and car loans and the credit card debt I’d accumulated since I’d graduated, leaving a rather large cushion in my savings account so I could hopefully retire one day. In the meantime, I needed a job and benefits and to find my purpose again.
“You know me; I don’t sit still very well,” I said. “And it’s not like I can return to the job I had before this reality show nightmare.”