No Comparison No Harm
Diana Marks was a whirlwind, in and out in a flash. After Avery saw her out and said a quick hello to Alden Pierce, she retreated to her bedroom.
She and Shane had gotten back from the set after eleven, and now, after her chat with Diana, it was already two in the morning. She desperately needed some sleep, her promotional photo shoot was tomorrow. After a quick skincare routine, Avery finally collapsed into bed.
The next morning, she was up early for a run with Wyatt and Shane, doing three laps around the residential complex. Afterward, she showered, changed, and headed to a studio Diana had booked for her in Hollywood, a commercial space that catered specifically to film crews and actors.
The photography team shooting Avery's photos today had been poached by Diana right off the set of an urban drama.
Even the stylist was borrowed from the same crew.
It was a testament to just how deep her connections ran, a move that left Avery, who was brand new to the industry, completely floored.
She had no idea you could even do that. A less connected agent probably would have had to fly a whole team in from Los Angeles.
The shoot went off without a hitch. In just four hours, they nailed two different looks.
Afterward, Avery realized she wasn't far from where Maya Laurent's crew was filming, so she shot her a text and they made plans to grab a bite. While they were eating, they ran into the "little songbird" Caleb Sterling was keeping around, who also happened to be the female lead on Maya's project.
Except it looked like this little songbird had flown the coop.
She wasn't with Caleb Sterling. Instead, she was with some other middle-aged guy neither of them recognized.
Running into her with a "friend" wouldn't have been a big deal, but from the moment the woman walked into the restaurant, the man's hand was plastered to her waist.
And that hand seemed to have a mind of its own, getting more and more intimate as they were led to their table.
Not only did she not push him away, she actually leaned into him, all soft and coy.
Avery and Maya exchanged a look of pure, unadulterated shock.
"Wow," Maya mouthed silently. "Is Caleb Sterling getting cheated on?"
The two of them were speechless. Maya blinked, then pulled out her phone, her fingers itching to snap a picture. But just as she opened the camera app, she seemed to think better of it and lowered her phone.
She looked away, clearly disappointed, and pursed her lips. "Forget it," she whispered, leaning forward. "We can't afford to get involved in this. Messing with a guy like that is just asking for trouble. It's none of our business. We saw nothing. I saw absolutely *nothing*."
Avery chuckled and placed a piece of tofu in her bowl. "Exactly. Not our problem. We're just two people enjoying a meal."
After lunch, Avery dropped Maya off at her set and returned to her condo. She took a quick nap, then began her first formal acting lesson with Alden.
He was an incredibly patient teacher. While he coached Avery on how to smile for the camera, he was also teaching her the fundamentals of posture and physicality, explaining that it wasn't just about standing up straight,
but about using your body to build a character and express their personality through movement.
Alden had just finished explaining the basics of diaphragmatic breathing and muscle relaxation when Avery, right in front of him, adjusted her posture to match his description perfectly.
She relaxed her shoulders and stretched the muscles in the back of her neck.
Without him needing to say another word, she'd already nailed it, capturing both the look and the feel he was going for.
He stared at her in surprise, pausing for a moment before asking, "Have you formally studied this before?"
She was picking it up way too fast. He'd only talked about relaxing the muscles; he hadn't even gotten to how to make the fine-tuned adjustments, yet she'd done it on her own.
With instincts like that, did she even need a coach?
Avery shook her head, her expression calm. "This is my first time."
And it was. It just didn't seem that hard to understand.
Good posture was a crucial part of a lawyer's professional image; at the negotiating table, it could be a powerful, nonverbal weapon.
And as for the diaphragmatic breathing, with her medical background, she barely needed any instruction at all.
The surprise in Alden's eyes deepened. After a moment of thought, he said, "Well, you're incredibly talented. That kind of body awareness and control is something most actors struggle with for years."
It was a natural gift, plain and simple.
He paused, then added, "Hold that posture. Make it a part of your daily life until it becomes muscle memory."
Avery nodded, taking his words to heart.
She was excellent at managing her time. While she worked on her posture, she also practiced her line delivery using the script for the historical fantasy series Diana had given her.
This efficient, self-disciplined approach left Alden, on his very first day, completely shocked.
He suddenly felt like the salary Stellar Media was paying him was more than he was earning.
Seeing there was nothing for him to correct with Avery, he decided to focus on teaching Wyatt the ropes of being an assistant.
The difference was night and day. Teaching Avery was a breeze; teaching Wyatt was physically and mentally draining.
It wasn't that Wyatt was stupid. It was that his way of handling things was completely at odds with the unwritten rules of the entertainment industry.
"Are you sure you want to send this paparazzo to the police station?" Alden stared at Wyatt in disbelief, then pointed at the screen. "Did you even read the scenario?"
The prompt clearly stated that the paparazzo was friends with a major fan-group leader who had dirt on the celebrity.
The question was how an assistant should handle it.
There were several multiple-choice options, but Wyatt hadn't picked any of them.
Instead, he'd typed out his own response: *Arrest them. Escort them to the police station.*
If an assistant actually did that, they could expect to see scandals about their celebrity plastered all over the internet the next day.
Wyatt had no idea why Alden was so shocked. He looked up, confused. "What else would I do? It's harassment. If I don't call the police, am I supposed to hold him in a private jail?"
"Aren't you afraid the fan leader will retaliate and leak all that dirt?" Alden tried to explain the stakes.
Wyatt's voice grew low and serious. "Avery has no dirt. And I will make sure no so-called dirt ever exists."
Avery had grown up tagging along with his best friend, Cole Hayes.
To him and all their friends, she was the little sister they'd all watched over.
She had always been a good kid, and he would make damn sure she stayed that way.
He would clear out any monsters lurking in the shadows and forge a smooth, bright path for her.
Alden was at a loss for words. He paused, then asked, "But what if?"
Wyatt's tone was absolute. "There is no 'what if.'"
"Aren't you worried about angering the fan leader?" Alden pressed.
Wyatt suddenly felt that Alden wasn't very bright.
Why would he be afraid of something with such a simple solution?
His expression hardened, filled with the kind of decisiveness you only see in a soldier.
"That fan leader only has power because of Avery. Without her, he's nothing. From now on, I'll be managing her fan groups personally."
He wouldn't give any fan leader the chance to gain that kind of influence.
He would cut off the possibility of blackmail at the source.
And if he got too busy, he'd find someone else he trusted to do it.
After figuring out the power dynamics between fans, fan leaders, and celebrities the day before, he already had a few candidates in mind.
Alden was dumbfounded. Was this guy really so uncompromising? A celebrity's assistant needed to be smooth and diplomatic. They were the celebrity's public voice. If Wyatt was this rigid, he would absolutely cause a PR nightmare.
Mentally exhausted, Alden didn't have the energy to argue anymore. He slumped onto the sofa, brewed himself a cup of chamomile tea, and listened quietly as Avery practiced her lines.
Although she was focused on the script, Avery had overheard the entire conversation. She didn't say a thing.
Because deep down, she agreed with Wyatt.
You couldn't put the cart before the horse. In this age of online engagement, fans were important, otherwise, she wouldn't be building her presence on X. But what mattered more was having integrity.