She can defend against the Sterling family but can the Sterling family defend.
Avery Hayes caught the key point instantly. A slow, knowing smile touched her lips. "Did the Sterling family ask you to have me replaced?"
The producer, Sterling, nodded. "Their execs invited our boss to dinner today. I tagged along. That was pretty much the gist of it."
He gave Avery a surprised look. Damn, Diana's new actress was sharp. Way too sharp. He'd only asked a simple question, planning to drop a subtle hint for Diana's sake, but here she was, having already pieced the whole thing together before he'd even said a word.
Avery didn't seem angry. She just smiled faintly. "The Sterlings don't have that much pull in this industry, do they?"
The corporate world and Hollywood were two entirely different beasts.
The Sterlings might have some clout in boardrooms, but in the entertainment industry, their name didn't carry nearly as much weight.
Anyone investing in a film was in it to make money, and the lead investor wasn't about to drop her just because some outside family asked them to.
"You're right, they don't," Sterling said with a slight laugh. It was so much easier talking to smart people. He'd barely given her a nudge, and she'd already seen the full picture. "Just give Diana a heads-up later, and keep an eye on them."
The Sterlings were making a big play, but they were probably in for a disappointment.
Avery had signed with Stellar Media, and with them in her corner, nobody would dare talk about blacklisting her, not unless Stellar ran into the same kind of trouble it did a year ago.
But that whole mess had really come down to a few actors from Holden Crane's camp who couldn't handle the hype and got sloppy, giving The Big Three Entertainment the opening it needed to strike.
"Thanks for the warning, Sterling," Avery said, her smile genuine.
He just nodded. He had other things to do, and with his warning delivered, he turned and headed back toward the set.
Avery stood at the entrance, her eyes half-lidded as she stared at the green trees lining the road. She was lost in thought for a moment before a cold smile finally touched her lips.
She pulled out her phone and opened her chat with Analysis Master.
**Legal Person Does Not Sleep:** New job. Find out if the trolls running that smear campaign against me a few days ago were hired by the Sterling family.
Diana Marks had said Stellar would investigate, but Avery knew they wouldn't be as fast as her guy.
She needed to know who was trying to sabotage her, and she needed to know now.
If it really was the Sterlings, she'd have to adjust her plans.
In the entertainment industry, there were a thousand ways to ruin someone; a blacklist was just the most obvious one.
Warren Sterling had trained his attack dog well. If Ronan Bowen was bold enough to arrange a car "accident" for her, who knew what other shady moves he'd try to pull?
The best defense is a good offense. She could handle whatever the Sterlings threw at her, but she wasn't so sure they could handle her counterattack. Caleb had already gotten the inspection report. She hoped the rest of his family was ready.
Analysis Master replied almost instantly.
**Analysis Master:** Deadline?
**Legal Person Does Not Sleep:** Sooner the better.
**Analysis Master:** I can have it for you the day after tomorrow. Five thousand dollars. Send the payment.
**Legal Person Does Not Sleep:** That's price-gouging. This kind of job used to be thirty-five hundred, tops. When did you raise your rates to five grand?
**Analysis Master:** How would you know my previous rates?
Avery's fingers froze over the keyboard for a second.
Shit. She recovered quickly, typing back.
**Legal Person Does Not Sleep:** The last time I hired you to get that hospital video, it was thirty-five hundred.
**Analysis Master:** The hospital video was a clear target. Didn't take much work. This will take more time to trace.
Avery rolled her eyes. *Yeah, right.* Who was he kidding? In the past, she'd hired him for simple online reconnaissance jobs that only cost around twenty-five hundred, even less than the video. Now he'd jacked up the price by fifty percent.
She took a deep breath and typed back through gritted teeth.
**Legal Person Does Not Sleep:** Deal. But I want the information by tomorrow night.
**Analysis Master:** Fine.
Avery winced as she transferred the money, then shoved her phone back in her pocket, wanting it out of sight.
Seeing her finish her call, Wyatt Riggs walked over from a nearby coffee shop with a bubble tea.
"Here," he said, handing it to her. "Drink this to warm up." He glanced back toward the set. "So, what are you going to do about the Sterlings?"
Avery took the cup, poked the straw through the lid, and took a sip, chewing on the end of it. "One step at a time. I'm going to drag them down, slowly."
Her plan had been in motion for a long time.
No matter what the Sterlings did, she couldn't let them disrupt her rhythm.
It was the only way to deal with them right now.
With Caleb working from the inside and her feeding their scandals to the public from the outside, she could wear them down until the whole company collapsed.
All she had to do was protect herself and not fall into any of their traps.
Still, what Sterling had told her gave her an idea.
She was tied to Stellar Media now. An attack on her was an attack on them.
She might be able to use the company's connections and resources to her advantage.
She'd have to find the right time to bring it up with Dexter Reed.
Asking Diana wouldn't do much good; her best bet was to go straight to Dexter or Julian Shaw.
"Wyatt, you need to be on high alert while I'm on the set of 'Bones of Mountains and Rivers,'" Avery said, her tone serious. "If you can't handle everything, I'll find someone else to help share the workload."
The whole point of hiring him was for her personal safety. If he got bogged down with random errands, it would defeat the purpose.
"I won't let you out of my sight," Wyatt nodded solemnly. He paused, thinking of the few times she'd had to change costumes, times he'd wanted to help but couldn't. "You should hire a female personal assistant."
If another woman were with her, it would make things more convenient and ensure someone was with her at night. In an emergency, at least there would be someone else to call for help.
"Apply to the company for one?" Avery hesitated.
Anyone she brought into her inner circle had to be someone she could trust completely.
Otherwise, she wouldn't dare have them around.
After all, she wasn't just fending off attacks from within the industry, but also navigating the Sterling family's schemes.
The new person couldn't just be loyal like Wyatt and Shane Croft; they might even need to be someone who could help her strategize.