“Sorry about all that at lunch,” I say, as we step back into the house.
I bend down and take off Arte’s leash as Spencer closes the front door.
“What do you mean?”
“I… it was lovely to spend time with Dex and your mom… and I feel like the whole drama with my photos took away from that. I feel bad.”
Spencer wraps his arms around me and kisses me on the forehead.
“I’m sorry about the whole thing,” he says.
“Thanks.”
“I want you to know… you have my full support. Don’t feel like you ever need to compromise who you are.”
I nod and look up at him. Spencer gives me a quick kiss on the lips and moves my hair out of my face with his right hand.
“I appreciate it. I know you’re always saying it’s important to seize any acting opportunities… and I feel like I just did the opposite.”
“I know I say that… but you shouldn’t have to be something you’re not to make it happen. That’s not what life is about.”
“Thank you for being so supportive.”
“Now and always,” he says.
He’s so good to me. What did I do to deserve a man like him?
“You never know… the magazine might call you back and say they are willing to run the pictures as they were shot.”
“You think so?” I ask.
“I don’t see why not. It would be stupid of them to throw all that work away just because of something like that.”
“Yeah… maybe you’re right.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised, honestly, if they don’t call you within the next couple of hours.”
I smile and nod. He might be right. It would be nice if it worked out that way—it would mean my taking a stand was the right thing to do. I’m not going to get my hopes up, though, because I don’t want to be even more disappointed if they decide to scrap the article.
“It was nice to hang out with your mom.”
“It was… I know she misses us.”
“Yeah… I got that impression when I talked to Dex about trying to figure out when we could all get together.”
My phone rings and we both look down at the screen as I take it out of my pocket. Unknown caller. I swipe my finger across the screen and lift it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Amy?”
The voice sounds very familiar, but I can’t quite place it.
“Yes….”
“It’s Nadia.”
Oh… perfect.
“Nadia… what’s up?”
“I just got off the phone with a close friend of mine… Lisa… who happens to be an editor over at Ence.”
Seriously? This is the last phone call I wanted to have today.
“Oh?”
“Yes… she gave me some very disturbing news. It would seem that your agent said you were unwilling to approve the photos they took of you. Care to tell me what that’s about?”
“We had a… disagreement about the photos and I didn’t approve them in their current state.”
She sighs heavily.
“I thought I made myself very clear the last time we spoke—you’re representing more than just yourself when you do these kinds of articles… and you’re making it difficult for me to support you.”
“I understand, Nadia… I really do… but I’m not comfortable with them editing my photos to make me look a few pounds skinnier. They are more than welcome to run the original photos… but not the ones they sent to my agent.”
“Amy… where do you think this interview and photo shoot came from?”
“I… I was under the impression that Ence contacted my agent and wanted to know if I was interested.”
“Right… and who do you think prompted them to reach out to you?”
I should have known there was more to it than what Brian told me. I doubt he knew Nadia was behind it, but it doesn’t change the fact that I feel like she was using me.
“You.”
“That’s right, Amy… I convinced Lisa to offer you that cover. She was reluctant. You’re still getting started… you only have one film out… and if we’re being honest… you don’t exactly have the body type to grace the cover of a magazine.”
I shake my head and look over at Spencer. I pull the phone away from my ear and put her on speaker.
“Your phone cut out… what was that last thing you said?” I ask.
“I said that you’re a few pounds overweight. Did you really think they wouldn’t fix some of that before publishing it? I mean… you know you need to lose a little weight… right?”
Spencer wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. He lowers his mouth and whispers into my ear.
“I’ll always support you no matter what.”
“Nadia… that’s not a very nice thing to say.”
“I’m just telling you the truth. This town has seen plenty of girls just like you come and go… so don’t think you’re special. If you want to survive in this town, you need to play by the rules. You need to call your agent back and have him plead with Lisa to not pull the article. Your actions today will hurt your future more than you can possibly imagine.”
I think about my answer for a few seconds.
“Thanks for the advice, Nadia,” I say.
“You’re welcome. Can I assume you’ll do the right thing and tell them you agree they should use the edited photos?”
“I’ll take care of it… don’t you worry.”
“Good… I’m glad to hear that.”
“In fact,” I say, “do you happen to have the phone number for Lisa? I’d like to call her and clear this whole thing up.”
“What a wonderful idea, Amy… I’m glad you’ve made the right decision. I’ll text it to you as soon as we get off the phone.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you soon.”
“Goodbye, Amy.”
I end the call and roll my eyes.
“She sounds like a real piece of work,” Spencer says.
“Yeah… I’ll be glad when I’m done with Day One because I have no intention of ever again taking a role in a film produced by her.”
“You’re not going to agree to her demands… are you?”
I shake my head and smile.
“No.”
“Good… you had me worried there for a second when you started playing nice. Was that just a ploy to get the phone number?”
“Yep.”
My phone chimes and I look down to see a message containing the phone number for Lisa.
“Good luck,” Spencer says.
He squeezes my hand and pulls me toward the couch as I hit call. The line only rings once before she answers.
“Hello?”
I sit down on the couch next to Spencer and put my phone on speaker.
“Lisa?”
“Yes… who is this?”
“This is Amy… Thomas.”
“Oh… right.”
“I just got off the phone with Nadia… and I asked for your number so we could clear up this little… misunderstanding.”
“Good… I wasn’t expecting this hurdle from someone she suggested we do an article on. So… I assume you’re calling to say the photos are fine and we can run them?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“They are not fine. Well… they were fine… until you edited them to make me fit some kind of mold.”
Lisa laughs in response.
“I’m not trying to be funny,” I say.
“You stupid little girl. You clearly don’t understand the power and influence that Nadia has in this town. You’ll never get another acting job… if that’s what she wants.”
“Look… I’m not saying you can’t run the story or use the pictures… but I’d like you to use the unedited photos. That’s all. I think that’s a fair request.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No… I’m not doing it. Either you let us run the photos we sent you to approve… or I kill the article.”
Spencer puts his hand on my leg. I take a deep breath as I think about the consequences of my answer.
“Thank you for your time… and I’m sorry that we couldn’t come to an agreement.”
I end the call before Lisa has a chance to respond. Spencer moves closer to me and puts his arm around me.
“Did I do the right thing?” I ask.
“Only you know the answer to that.”
“What would you have done?”
“I’m not sure… but I’d like to think I’m as strong as you and I would have been able to make the same decision you just did.”
“So you don’t think I’m being stupid?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head, “not at all. I think you’re being very brave. It took a lot of guts to stand up to both of those women and tell them the opposite of what they’re used to hearing from everyone.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“I’m proud of you.”
I smile and take his hand in mine.
“I just didn’t feel like being like every other girl—I don’t want Hollywood to turn me into something that I’m not.”
“I love you for that.”
My phone starts ringing. Unknown caller. I can only assume that Lisa called Nadia… and now she’s calling me to inform me of how I’ve just ruined my career and my life. I couldn’t care less what she has to say… not as long as I have Spencer by my side and he continues to support my decision.
“Are you going to answer it?” he asks.
I let the call roll over to voicemail.
“No… I’m sure it’s Nadia… and I’ve said everything to her that I needed. Plus… I know you’re leaving tomorrow and I don’t want to waste a second of our time together. I feel bad enough for making today so drama-filled.”
Spencer smiles and kisses me.
“I love you. I don’t care what we do… as long as we do it together.”
“Baby.”
“You….”
“I can’t believe you have to leave tomorrow. It feels like you just got here.”
“I did… and I know… it sucks. I’m really looking forward to when the two of you can join me.”
“So are we.”
Right on cue, Arte comes running into the room and jumps up on the couch next to Spencer.
“Arte… you should get down.”
“It’s fine,” Spencer says, scooping her up. “She can get on the couch.”
“Really?”
“Sure… why not?”
“I just don’t want you to come home at the end of your shoot to find out she’s destroyed everything we own.”
Spencer laughs and kisses her on the nose before putting her back on the floor.
“Whatever… it’s just stuff. She’s so happy and I want to make sure we spoil her rotten. Plus, who could deny this face?”
“Oh… is that how this is going to go? I’ll have to be the disciplinarian and she’s going to be a total daddy’s girl?”
“Of course… I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. I should have known that’s exactly how it was going to turn out.
“You’re cute,” Spencer says.
“You’re cute!”
He wraps his arms around me and stares into my eyes.
“Can we just sit here until I have to leave? I want to memorize every single inch of your face, so that when I close my eyes I can still see you.”
“I would like that,” I say.
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I don’t want you to forget what I look like. It would be terrible if I showed up to visit you and you didn’t remember what I looked like. I’d be stuck… just sitting in the airport with Arte. So sad.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“What… me?”
I lean back on the couch and close my eyes as Spencer kisses me on the cheek. It’s so lovely to have him here right now and I’m not sure I would’ve been strong enough to stand up to Lisa and Nadia if he hadn’t been. I’m really not sure how I would’ve handled this whole situation. If I’m being honest, I think I probably would’ve caved and given in to Nadia… which would have gone against everything I stand for. I really owe it all to Spencer.