Page 63 of Marisol Acts the Part
“You need food to focus!” she explains as she ladles each of us a bowl of rice.
Who am I to argue with free lunch? While Dad and Abuela bicker in the kitchen about her letting him wash the dishes, I reach for my phone, holding my breath for a text from Jamila, but the screen is as blank as it was when I woke up this morning.
It doesn’t hurt that she hasn’t texted me since yesterday—or at least, that’s what I tell myself. Maybe she was exhausted by the time she got home or forgot to charge her phone.
Or maybe she doesn’twantto talk to me.
The last thing I remember before leaving was the hurt in her eyes, how crushed she’d seemed when I walked away. What if leaving her behind to deal with the aftermath of Rune’s blowup felt like a betrayal? She promised me that we could do something about this together, but I was the one who walked away and gave up before we could even try fighting.
I open up our text chain, my fingers hovering over the keyboard, searching for the right thing to say.What’s upfeels too blasé andhey so are we okay?feels too loaded. I linger on the last text she sent me—a behind-the-scenes video Fatima shot of the interview she set up for her atHollywood Today—which Jamila, of course, absolutely crushed. In small part thanks to my coaching her, but mostly because she relaxed enough to let her personality shine through.
Suddenly, an idea comes to me.
As if on cue, my phone lights up with an incoming call from Jamila—exactly the person I needed to hear from. I answer immediately, and Jamila launches into what must be a prepared speech as soon as I pick up.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call or text,” she says breathlessly, as if she just ran up a flight of stairs. “Rune kept everyone on set way late because he wants to reshoot everything now that you’re gone. And he said if any of us tries to leave or argue with him, we’re out of the show too. By the time we got our phones back after we wrapped, it was almost four.”
I pull back enough to glance at the time. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” It’s not super early in the morning, but if I had to stay on set until four in the morning, I’d be sleeping in until well past noon.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” she replies quietly, sounding more exhausted than out of breath now.
“I’m fine,” I assure her, heart swelling from the confirmation that we’re okay—thatshe’sokay. Tired, but okay. As much as I’d like to relax on the couch and let the sound of her voice soothe all the worries weighing on my shoulders, I have an asshole to take down. “And I have an idea.”
Chapter 24
TheHollywood Todayoffice is a lot posher than I expected. Sleek marble floors, alternating between red and black cubicles in the company’s signature brand colors. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the corner offices with a perfect view of bustling Bryant Park. Glossy framed photos of past covers along the walls—complete with signatures.Hollywood Todayisn’t a gossip mag, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from a company that regularly puts out articles likeWhich K-Pop Girl Group You Should Stan Based on Your Zodiac Sign.
Annaleigh Small, editor-in-chief of the Celebrity News column, meets us in the large conference room off the main waiting area. Bowls of M&M’s and fresh fruit are spread out along the sleek glass table that stretches the length of the room, theHollywood Todaylogo displayed on the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall behind Annaleigh’s seat at the head of the table.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Marisol,” Annaleigh says as she shakes my hand before turning her attention to Jamila. “And I’ve heard a lot about you, Jamila.”
Off in the corner, Fatima beams before eagerly pulling out chairs for us at the conference table. Like most interns, she flutters around Annaleigh, handing her papers, clipboards, and pens before she can request them.
With introductions and pleasantries out of the way, Annaleigh gets straight to business. “I’ve read your proposal.” She flips open the folder sitting in front of her. “We’re obviously very interested in pursuing this further.”
Jamila, Fatima, and I worked late into the night all week to put together this proposal for a tell-all piece where I reveal everything about my horrendous experience working with Rune onThe Limit.Normally, my ironclad NDA would force me to keep the dirty details to myself, but Joanna worked overtime scanning every single line of my various agreements until she found the exact clause we needed. Now that Rune fired me, the NDA is technically null and void. You’d think he would’ve addressed that, considering how often he fires his employees, but unless he rehires me, which I definitely wouldn’t agree to, I’m free to say whatever I want. Looks like he’s not the only one who can take advantage of his weird, predatory contract.
Jamila gives me an encouraging shoulder nudge at Annaleigh’s clear interest in telling our story, but all I can give her back is a nod before turning to check my phone again. No new texts. Yet.
“Our only concern is credibility,” Annaleigh continues. “Not that we don’t believe you or your experiences, Marisol,”she says delicately. “We want to be sure that we have multiple sources confirming everything you’ll be discussing.”
“I can confirm everything,” Jamila chimes in eagerly. “Miles Zhao can come on as a source, too. As long as we can be kept anonymous. We also have three PAs who are willing to be anonymous sources as well.”
Annaleigh gives us a tight-lipped smile. Beside me, Jamila’s shoulders deflate—that’s definitely not the overjoyed reaction we were hoping for. “We appreciate you all coming forward, but ideally, we’d have at least one other source besides Marisol who’s willing to identify themselves. Someone from last season or one of Rune’s other productions would be even better, to prove that this has been an ongoing pattern.”
Suddenly, my phone buzzes.
Sorry, im here
“We can do that,” I announce to the room, already halfway out of my seat. “I have someone waiting downstairs to be checked in,” I tell Fatima, who leaps out of her seat and rushes to the reception desk.
Jamila’s lips are parted in quiet shock beside me, and I swallow down the guilt of not telling her about my backup plan sooner. The only reason I hadn’t was to not get our hopes up. There was no guarantee this was going to work, and I figured it’d be easier to deal with just my own disappointment rather than hers too.
“We didn’t want to share any details until they confirmed they’d be willing to come forward as a source, but we just heard back. They’re in,” I explain.
Before either Jamila or Annaleigh can ask who the new source is, Fatima busts open the door, and Esther steps into the room.
Followed by Eli Rowan.
