Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EMILY
Blythe yanked open the oven door, sending it clattering to the ground.
“Cut!” Charles yelled. “Blythe. As I said the last two times this happened, you can’t open the oven. The door doesn’t work. Just leave the cake tin on the counter like we discussed.”
Like most of the props in the kitchen, the oven had been sourced from a second-hand or budget store.
Blythe dumped the cake tin on the top of the stove, the wet mixture slopping inside, and raised her hands. “Okay, okay. Sorry. It’s just that once you finish making the cake mixture, you put it in the oven. You don’t leave it on the counter to settle.”
“We’ll just have to hope our viewers suspend disbelief for a few minutes, because we don’t have the budget to buy a new oven.
” Charles looked at his watch. “Okay, one more time, then we’ve got to keep moving.
And remember, you’re meant to be a lovable but slightly nagging mom.
If you could try to channel those vibes a little more, that would be great.
At the moment, it’s falling a little flat. ”
That was an understatement. Blythe appeared to be acting—if you could call it that—on autopilot.
Going through the motions with basically no emotion.
And I was struggling to get back into Molly’s head today as well, even after I’d convinced Charles to modify a few lines to make Molly sound a little less air-headed.
I wonder what Dana’s doing now? Hopefully no more run-ins with skunks. Perhaps I should message her to see if there were any updates on the mystery animal?
“Emily! Are you ready? Positions please.”
My cheeks heated. “Yes, sorry about that.”
We’d already had to shoot one retake earlier when Dana drove past as we were filming outside and I forgot my lines. Forget Dana and focus on acting.
Maybe offering to help with the decorations on Friday hadn’t been the best idea. But I couldn’t cancel on Dana now.
I took my place next to Blythe behind the kitchen counter.
“And...action!” Charles yelled.
I poured flour into a measuring cup.
“Maybe you should sell the farm,” Blythe said, as she cracked two eggs into a bowl. “I hate seeing how stressed it’s making you.”
“I can’t give up on the farm.” I handed Blythe the flour and she added it to the eggs. “It’s been in our family for six generations.”
“But you’re working yourself to the bone trying to save it.” Blyth stirred the ingredients together and then poured them into the cake tin on the countertop. “Your father died of a heart attack at fifty-seven. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”
The doorbell rang. “Sorry, Mom, I’ve got to go. That’ll be Austin picking me up. I’m going to try his fundraiser idea. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll consider selling, but I’m not going down without a fight.”
I gave Blythe a peck on the cheek and walked out of the kitchen.
“And cut! Good job, Emily. And good work not opening the oven door, Blythe,” Charles said.
“Okay, because Austin’s got a migraine today, the next scene will be Emily and Mihira having a heart to heart as they walk next to the Christmas trees.
We’ll need an hour to set up. Have a bathroom break, grab some food, and meet us back here at three. ”
I stepped off the set. Behind Charles, Mihira was sitting on a milk carton, in jeans and a rich-purple sweater that complemented her brown skin, watching the filming. She stood, and we walked out of the barn and into the mid?afternoon sunshine.
“God, that was painful to watch,” Mihira murmured, tucking her long, wavy, dark-brown hair behind her ear. “Not you, of course. But Blythe. I don’t know what happened to her. Have you watched Maryland? She was so good in that.”
“Yeah.” I looked around to check that Blythe hadn’t followed us out. “I loved her in that. Maybe she’s bored out of her mind after doing HolLove movies for years. I guess the novelty wears off after playing a doddering mom twenty times?”
“Probably. Do you want to grab a snack from crafty?”
“Sounds good.” We walked toward the craft services table.
I glanced at Mihira. “Do you ever worry that doing HolLove will pigeonhole you? That we’ll end up like Blythe, playing the same role over and over again?”
I was probably getting ahead of myself—it’s not like HolLove had even offered me another role. But my agent, Brittany, had indicated it was a possibility if I impressed them, and I was interested in Mihira’s thoughts.
Mihira nodded. “Yes, definitely. This is my third HolLove role, and it’s almost identical to the last two. I really don’t want to be the side character for the rest of my career. But work is work. And I live in hope that maybe I’ll end up like Nicola Fontaine.”
I frowned. “Nicola Fontaine?”
“She started out doing HolLove movies. Her first role was as the lead’s best friend. And look at her now.”
“Really?” My eyes widened. “Wow, I had no idea she started with HolLove. Her career has really taken off in the last couple years.”
“I suspect she doesn’t go around yelling it from the mountain tops.
And did you hear Austin got really close to getting the lead role in Rolodex a couple of years ago?
According to him, they’d even sent over the contract but then the movie Jesse Castle had been meant to film fell through and Jesse got the part instead. ”
“Really? Oh god, poor Austin. That must have been tough.”
I knew the feeling all too well. I’d thought I’d found success with Harrowgate and then it was cancelled. Then I thought Clique would be the start of a movie career and then Phillip happened.
“Yeah. But it just goes to show that HolLove isn’t a complete career dead-end. If Jesse’s movie hadn’t fallen through, Austin might be enjoying the success Jesse’s having right now.”
I really hoped Mihira was right. The more time I spent back in front of the cameras, the more I couldn’t bear the thought of returning to life doing voice overs and waitressing. This was where I was meant to be. And where Mihira should be as well. She was really good.
We reached the long collapsible table covered in an assortment of snacks. I selected a hazelnut cookie and Mihira grabbed a banana.
“Austin talks about it a lot,” Mihira said as we headed for a table. “I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned it to you yet. I think it’d be worse to be so close and just miss out than not even get an audition, you know?”
I nodded while I chewed. Austin must see Jesse’s rise to stardom and feel a little like I sometimes do with Cat. That could have been me.
But maybe it still could be. If Nicola Fontaine had made it after HolLove, why couldn’t Mihira and I? Or Austin, for that matter?
But Nicola Fontaine hadn’t spoken out against one of the top directors in Hollywood.
A lot of things were out of my control right now but one thing I could control was my performance. I needed to do my absolute best job to give my career the greatest chance of a revival.
“Do you have anything lined up after this?” I asked Mihira.
“My friend’s doing an indie film project and wants me to be involved—unpaid, of course.” Mihira shrugged. “I’ll probably do it. I work in a bar at nights, which at least leaves the days open for unpaid creative ventures, although another paid gig would be nice. How about you?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. I’ve been working at my parents’ restaurant and doing voice-over gigs to get by, so I’ll probably go back to that.”
“Emily? There’s a delivery for you.”
I turned to see Ava, one of the young production assistants, holding a boxed arrangement of red roses nestled in baby’s breath. I frowned. Who was sending me flowers?
“Huh. That’s strange. Thank you.”
Ava handed it to me, and I glanced down at the card sticking out of the roses.
Don’t talk to the press or your sad attempt at a career reboot will be over before it’s started.
My stomach plummeted. What the hell?
“Is it a special occasion?” Mihira asked.
My head felt cloudy. “Um, not really. Sorry. I’ll just put these away in my trailer.”
I sped to the trailer, racing up the steps and slamming the door behind me.
Leaning against the wall, I read the note again.
It was unsigned, but it could only be from one person.
It wasn’t surprising that Phillip found me—he was one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood after all, so he’d have connections everywhere.
Did he know Rebecca had contacted me? How dare he threaten me like this.
Hands shaking, I shoved the note and the flowers into the trash.
I slumped onto the couch. I needed to talk to someone about this.
Lucia was my usual go-to, but I’d never told her about Phillip and since she appeared to be going through something herself, now didn’t feel like a good time.
Cat? She’d already decided to speak out against Phillip and wanted me to join her—not exactly a neutral sounding board.
Mihira was great, but I didn’t know her well enough to feel comfortable unloading on her.
Same went for Dana. I couldn’t bear the thought of upsetting my parents with the story.
A wave of nausea swept over me. That would be another issue I’d have to deal with if I did decide to go public.
Brittany. She’d been my agent for five years.
She knew about Phillip. She’d stuck with me through the past two years despite all the roles drying up and not being able to land me anything outside of voice-over work.
I trusted her. Brittany had advised me against speaking up before, but she didn’t know about the others.
She picked up on the third ring.
“Hi Emily. How’s HolLove treating you?”
“Good, thank you. It’s great to be back in front of the camera.” Speaking of… “I don’t suppose you’ve heard any news about the rom-com audition?” The audition video I’d sent off last week was probably a long shot.
“I’ve been meaning to let you know. They weren’t interested, sorry.”
“Oh, well, no problem. Hey, do you have a few minutes? I’m grappling with a difficult issue and could really do with a sounding board.” I picked some fluff off the armrest of the couch and threw it in the trash. It landed on top of the flowers.
“Of course, what’s up?”
I stood up from the couch and stepped over to the window. The sky was cloudy now. Hopefully that wouldn’t affect the shoot with Mihira later.
I swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat.
“I know when I told you about Phillip, you said it was better not to make a fuss, but I’ve since learned that he’s done the same thing to others as well.
A reporter has reached out. She’s trying to write an exposé on Phillip.
I’m one of the only women who didn’t sign an NDA with him about it and she wants me to go on the record.
To make matters worse, I just received an anonymous note which has to be from him, threatening to ruin my career even more if I speak out.
” I let out a shaky breath. “I don't know what to do, Brittany. I want to take him down, make sure he never does it again. But I’m also worried about my career. Things finally feel like they are getting back on track. And who knows if the article will actually make a difference. Perhaps he’ll just deny everything and nothing will happen. What do you think?”
There was a moment of silence.
“I agree, Em. It’s terrible timing. Yes, speaking out against Hollywood’s most powerful director is likely to impact your career.
I mean, look at what he's done so far. He could definitely make things worse for you. And with his money and connections both in and outside of Hollywood, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was able to quash the allegations.
Men like that are pretty much untouchable. ”
My heart pounded in my head. Shit.
“So you don’t think I should do it?”
“No. You’ve got everything to lose and nothing to gain.”
“But what about all the other women he’s done this to—and will keep doing it to, unless someone takes a stand?”
“I hate to say this, and I don’t agree with it, but this is just part of Hollywood.
There are some rich, powerful men who are so successful, so important to the Hollywood money machine, that they can get away with things like this.
Everyone knows Phillip Weatherstone is a piece of shit.
His temper and ego are legendary and there have been rumors swirling for years about sexual misconduct.
But he’s won six Oscars and has an impressive list of blockbuster hits.
The studios love him. The producers love him.
Actors want to work with him. Unfortunately, this sort of stuff is just the price of stardom. ”
My chest ached. It shouldn’t be like this. Letting someone abuse their position of power because they were good at their job?
“These things are always ‘he said, she said’ too. Do you have any physical evidence, any witnesses, to support your story?” Brittany asked.
I bit my lip. “No.”
“Well, he’ll probably deny it all, and the story will go away. But you may end up getting labelled as ‘difficult’ or ‘too outspoken.’”
I let out a long exhale. “Okay, thanks, Brittany.” I glanced at my watch. “I’d better get back to work. I appreciate the honest answer.”
“I’m sorry. I know it sucks—and what happened to you and those other women is horrible—but I wanted to be honest. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we find you another role, okay?”
Brittany hung up, and I stared at the gray clouds moving across the sky, tears welling in my eyes.
That discussion had not given me the clarity I’d hoped for.
If anything, it had made it all feel even more complicated.
There’d been rumors about Phillip swirling for years, and no one had done anything about it?
How could so many people turn a blind eye to his behavior?
Was this really just part and parcel of being an actor? Surely not.
Perhaps I should keep quiet as Brittany suggested, focus on rebuilding my career that Phillip destroyed.
But if I did that, wasn’t I just complicit in the Hollywood cover-up, leaving Phillip free to continue his horrific behavior?