“Good. Now pass me some of that risotto if you’re just gonna move it around on your plate like a nine-year-old at an adult dinner party. Food here is too good to be wasted on you.”

Carly laughed and handed Alika the entire portion. Hell, she’d sign over her soul to Alika if it meant she’d book this job. She needed it that badly. Her stomach churned, and her heart raced with thoughts of the uncertain horizon. She stared out the window, nervous, sad, and restless.

* * *

Carly took another hit from her wineglass and hit play on her phone to watch the whole god-awful thing again. She yelled at the paparazzo, fury evident in her eyes, and then in a quick edit appeared to grab the camera and shove it. The extra added sound effects made it seem like someone had fallen over and had possibly been hurt. Of course, that had been their goal. The more hellacious her behavior seemed, the more clicks they’d get. Without the actual conversation intact, she looked out of control, a person with anger management issues. Another fabulous image booster.

When the video hadn’t surfaced in the first forty-eight hours, she’d been naïve enough to think she was in the clear. Seeing it together like this, it looked even worse than she’d feared.

She took another gulp of wine, half a bottle in. She hit play again because why the hell not? There was the crazy woman snarling. Oh, wait. That was her. She hit stop. Play again. Her own voice echoed throughout her backyard from the speaker on her phone. “Get the fuck out of our way, you sexually repressed piece of human waste. Do you hear me?” She winced through the shove.

“Hey. What are you doing out here? Why aren’t you wearing a coat?”

Lauren. She’d had a full day in Hollywood with three auditions and a lunch meeting with United Talent about her prospects and trajectory, as they’d put it. Carly had expected her home sooner, so that likely meant things had gone well. She turned around to see Lauren in her sweater and boots, hugging herself against the evening cold. It was dark out. Carly must have been out here for at least a couple of hours. Not like she had anywhere else to be.

“Just watching my new favorite TV show.”

Lauren peered over her shoulder as Carly hit play. “Oh, God,” she said as the video concluded. “That’s not how it happened at all.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Carly sipped. She set the glass on the table next to her. “My phone’s been blowing up ever since it posted. Alika, Fallon, even my mom. She’s horrified.”

“You’re not okay. I can tell.”

“Just part of the game.” Carly shrugged. “A game I can’t seem to win anymore.”

Lauren looked around the yard helplessly. “What can I do?”