Page 12 of Falling Off Script

Jessie goes quiet. “Wow. Thanks.”

“Not because you’re not qualified! Because he’s Adrian Zayne. He doesn’t hire women unless they’re props or set dressing.”

“Maybe he’s trying to diversify.”

I roll my eyes. “Doubtful.”

“Maybe he needs someone to keep him in check.”

“Oh my god,” I say, laughing bitterly. “And you think you’re going to be that person?”

“I don’t see you offering me a job,” she shoots back.

Silence.

“Yeah,” she adds. “Didn’t think so.”

“I’m sorry, is this my fault now?”

“No,” she says. “But it’s hard being broke and principled when the only one paying for it is me.”

My chest aches. “I hope your onboarding packet comes with a coupon for internalized misogyny.”

“I hope yours comes with a therapist. Because girl—”

“I know, I’m spiraling.”

We both fall silent again.

Finally, she says softly, “You’ll be okay, Em.”

“Not if you start quoting him at brunch.”

“Just... don’t hate me if I try to survive.”

I swallow hard. “I don’t. I just hate that this is what survival looks like.”

Another pause. Then she says, “Same.”

I hang up. Crawl into bed. Stare at the ceiling.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’m still replaying his laugh.

And I hate that too.

6. Adrian

Tyler got himself promoted to media manager last week—which meant I had about three days to pretend I wasn’t already drowning without an assistant.

The catch? Whoever I hired would be two feet from my calendar, inbox, and post-workout lighting setup. Too smart, and they’d eventually blackmail me into promoting them, like Tyler did. Too dumb, and I’d wake up canceled on a Monday I was supposed to be enlightened.

So today... I need a unicorn. Someone low-maintenance, high-functioning, and morally flexible. Dumb enough to be loyal to Adrian Zayne, smart enough to handle Andrew Zilchman.

Which is why I’m staging my office like it’s an Airbnb for influencers.

I slide the annotatedArt of Warinto the drawer. Replace it withThe Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck*—strategically dog-eared, spine barely cracked.

I angle the ring light for “accidental glow.” Hide the collagen gummies. Leave the protein powder.

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