“Fun night?” he asked as she buckled her seat belt.

“It was a great night. Thank you.”

“Well, let’s get you home.”

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to her place in Beverly Hills. Technically it was Beverly Hills, but not the rich, fancy, big mansion part most people thought of when they pictured the famous zip code, and the adorable cottage facing the street definitely wasn’t hers. She lived in the back. She tipped Jerod in the app, then hurried inside. She had just enough time to shower and shovel down a quick breakfast before she got on with her day.

She threw a frozen breakfast burrito in the microwave, fixed her triangle braids up in a high topknot, then hopped under the hot spray, where she scrubbed the night off her face. Quick lotion up and wardrobe change and she was almost ready to go.

She flopped down on her bed to pull on her Converse and accidentally knocked her after-party gift bag to the floor. It landed with a sickening thud that she was sure had dented the old hardwood floors. She picked up the bag and glanced inside, just to make sure her brand-new bits of expensive swag were okay.

And that’s when she realized her mistake.

She’d grabbed the wrong bag.

There was an iPhone in its crisp white box. Beside it was another box and beside that was a pristine Oscar statue.

“No, no, no, no, noooo.” Amanda carefully pulled the beautiful golden knight out of the bag and examined the envelope that had been lying beneath it.

Best Performance by an Actor
in a Supporting Role,
Samuel Pleasant, The Sky Beneath Our Feet

“Oh my gosh. No!” This was not the time to panic, but of course she was panicking. She had to get the award back to Sam or Sam’s team, and she had to do it now.

Amanda fell back on the bed and googled frantically, looking for the name of Sam’s agent. She knew everyone who represented everyone in prime-time TV, but film stars were not her area of expertise. Not while her boss Dru Anastasia was still employed in the world of teen paranormal dramas. It took a few clicks and swipes, but she managed to find it. John Coffey at TCA. He shared an agency with Helene. Great. She swiped over to JackRabbit, the courier app she used at least twice a day, and scheduled a pickup for right outside Dru’s apartment building on Sunset. Hopefully, Sam was a late sleeper and the missing statue would be back in the right hands before he wondered where she’d gone.

With the pickup confirmed, she packed her bag for the day, making sure she didn’t forget Sam’s swag bag or his award, and hurried out to her midsize SUV parked out on the street.