Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
“Your story has over fifty thousand likes on Instagram!” Iris said.
Floating on a pink inflatable lounger in Auntie Athena’s pool, Riley lowered her sunglasses and smiled as she drifted past where Iris sat on a chaise. “I’ll call it a soft coming out as a Little.”
Iris giggled as she read the caption. “Fun fact: I love Halloween and the baby costume is my favorite. There’s something relaxing about throwing on a diaper and hugging a stuffie. Am I right, anyone?”
The other Littles who were there—Samantha, Cami, Lana, Annika, Harrison, and Stryker, laughed.
“It’s genius!” Lana said.
Cami was sitting at one of the two patio tables, reading some of the comments. “I’d say, like, ninety percent of the comments are very kind. Some of the people are agreeing with you! Others are saying they’ll have to try it.”
“This is a massive step forward for Littles everywhere!” Samantha said.
“Agreed,” Stryker said. “And it was a smart play. You took a lot of power away from Rita.”
“Thanks!” Riley said, feeling good about this whole manager situation for the first time in a long time.
She also felt good about the date she had this evening with Briggs.
“Hey, someone is calling you,” Iris told her, looking at Riley’s vibrating cell that was on top of the table.
“Who is it?”
Iris looked at the screen closer. “Rita! It’s her!”
“Ooh will you answer it and put it on speaker?”
“Sure thing.”
A moment later, Rita’s voice, slightly distorted thanks to the distance of the device to the pool, reached Riley’s ears.
“Riley, babe, I’m not sure what you’re trying to pull with that Instagram post.”
“Trying to pull?” Riley yelled.
“Where are you? It sounds like you’re far away.”
“Oh, just grabbing some pool time. But don’t worry—you have my undivided attention.” She flipped double birds toward her phone.
A couple of the other Littles covered their mouths as they laughed silently.
“As I was saying, whatever you think you accomplished with that photo, you didn’t. I’m not letting you out of your contract.”
“What? Oh my gosh. Rita! You make it sound like you were using that picture to blackmail me. You weren’t, right? Because that would a hundred percent be illegal.”
There was a few beats of silence before the agent answered. “Of course I wasn’t. Riley, is this conversation being recorded? The State of California privacy statutes state you must disclose if you’re recording a phone conversation.”
Riley didn’t know if that was true, but it didn’t matter right now one way or another. “Why would I record this?”
There was more silence from the phone. Riley had to grip the concrete edge of the pool to keep from floating further away, where the conversation would be even harder.
Rita struck a friendlier tone when she continued. “Look, babe, I just need you to know that I’m working for you. We’re on the same team here.”
“Why do you think that’s changed?” Riley asked.
Oh, because I took away your leverage over me and I no longer have anything to fear.
A grin tugged at her lips. She didn’t have Rita exactly where she wanted her. Not yet. But she was getting closer.
“I just want to be sure.”
“Well,” Riley said, “I think our relationship doesn’t have anywhere to go but up.”
The other Littles were trying even harder not to laugh now. They did a good job of staying quiet, except for one moment, when Annika nearly lost it. Riley quickly splashed the water to cover up the sound of her snickering.
“Sorry. Like I said, just catching some good pool time. It’s a beautiful day out.”
“It is,” Rita agreed before moving on to business. “There are some parts I think will be perfect for you. In fact, someone at the studio agrees. They were sent over this morning, requesting specifically that you take a look and then go in for reads next week.”
“That’s great!” Riley meant it.
“Yes. And it’s a good thing your post didn’t scare the studios away.”
Riley’s voice sounded a bit like Rita as she spoke. “Why darling, what do you mean? Wasn’t it you who told me all press is good press? Like that DUI. If that didn’t hurt me, surely a harmless little cute costume I wore wouldn’t ding my career.”
“Of course it won’t,” Rita said, but it was obvious she didn’t have full faith in the statement.
Riley shook her head. My, my, how things change.
“I’ll have a courier send over the scripts, but you’ll have to sign for them. One of them is a superhero thing and you know how tight a lid the studios keep on leaks with those.”
This had Riley’s curiosity and excitement piqued. Joining a big comic book franchise was a golden ticket! She couldn’t wait to read over the project.
“When?”
“Four.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
That would give her plenty of time to make it home, sign for the scripts, and then get ready for her date with Briggs scheduled for six.
There was another pause on the call before Rita said, “And Riley?”
“Yeah.”
“Just… think before you post anything else, darling. I’d hate for you to inadvertently hurt your career.”
That devilish grin returned to the actress’s lips. “I’m just so confused. You’ve told me so many times that even bad press helps. I mean, you want me to be a brat, right?”
True, being a Little didn’t mean being a brat, but the point was still the same, Riley thought.
“Of course,” Rita said. “It’s just… look, darling, I have to go. Hugs and kisses.”
The call ended and all the Littles finally lost it, laughing hard.
“Operation Brat has begun!” Stryker said with glee.
Riley nodded. “It has indeed. And it’s going to be fun!”