Page 78 of For My Finale
Margot exhaled heavily and rubbed her temples. “Alright, fine, I told a couple of journalists what you were up to. But I did it for your own good.”
She wanted to scream, but the waiting area was so quiet that she held her breath for a second instead, regaining control ofherself. “For my own good? You leaked my whereabouts. You had paparazzi outside Blossom’s cafe. You made her, and me, think that someone in the village had betrayed us.”
Margot rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. You were never going to be serious about her, about any of this. You know how the publicity train works. A week out of the papers and suddenly it’s like you don’t exist anymore. I did what I had to do to keep you relevant, Lilah.”
“Relevant?” Lilah took a breath. “You’re saying that no one cared where I was?”
Margot snorted. “I had to talk to three second-stringers before I found someone who gave a damn. But I did my job, I got them all interested again. You were disappearing from the conversation, Lilah. And I knew that at some point you’d change your mind and realize that you belonged back on screen. I just made sure that no one forgot who you were in the meantime.”
Fire burned in Lilah’s chest. She was furious. Furious at the betrayal, furious that Margot would do this to her, furious that she both understood and sympathized with Margot’s reasoning. In another world, at another time, she would have been grateful for what her agent had done for her.
But before she could do or say anything, a voice cut through the tension.
“Ms. Paxton? Mr. Leyland will see you now.”
The receptionist stood at the office door, smiling politely.
Margot stood up, smoothing down her trousers as if nothing had happened. “Shall we?” she said coolly, already walking toward the office.
Lilah stayed seated for a beat longer, gripping the arms of her chair. Then, with a slow and measured breath, she stood and followed. But she wasn’t done with this conversation.
IN A PLUSH, comfortable chair, Lilah sat opposite Martin Leyland. He leaned back, watching her with a casual, knowing smirk, his arrogance more than warranted, as far as Lilah was concerned. He was a genius, he had the right to behave like one.Beside her, Margot crossed her legs and accepted a coffee from Leyland’s assistant with a gracious nod.
Lilah didn’t take one. Her stomach was churning too much for caffeine.
“Right, let’s get down to it,” Leyland’s agent said, clasping his hands together over the desk as he settled into his seat. “No beating around the bush here. Martin wants to work with you, Lilah. Obviously, there are…”
But Lilah wasn’t listening. She tuned the words out, letting them wash over her, distant and unimportant. She looked at Leyland, her hero, a man whose films had obsessed her as a teen, whose directed performances had shaped her understanding of what it meant to be an actor.
And she started to smile.
This was wrong. This wasn’t where she was supposed to be.
It all came to her with a glaring clarity. Ives, Margot, Leyland, everything that had happened all suddenly came together and made sense. She could feel her pulse in her throat, quick and hopping. And everything was… right.
“I’m leaving.” She pushed back her chair and stood up.
Margot’s eyes snapped to her. “What?”
Leyland’s agent frowned. “Excuse me?”
“I’m leaving,” Lilah said, grinning now, her voice steadier and surer. “I’m not interested in working on the film. Thank you, but no.”
Margot shot up beside her, eyes flashing. “Lilah, sit down,” she hissed. “You’re making a fool out of both of us.”
Leyland exhaled a long, elegant sigh, and waved a hand. “Let her go. I don’t work with over-dramatic actresses. They make too much trouble and cause too many scenes.” His eyes bored into Lilah. “I’ve no interest in working with her if she can’t keep her head on straight.”
That made Lilah stop. Her anger was sharp, slicing through her, sudden. “I’m not being dramatic,” she said. “But some things are more important than film. More important than art. More important than being an actress.”
“Like what?” asked Leyland, a curious look in his eyes.
“Like love,” Lilah said simply.
For a second, the room was silent. Leyland stared at her until his face started to crack. Then, to her surprise, he started to laugh. “Jesus,” he said. “Go on, then. Get out of my office before I change my mind and make you an offer you really can’t refuse.”
Lilah nodded once and turned on her heel. She could hear Margot sputtering behind her, but she didn’t look back.
“Let me know if you change your mind,” Leyland said as she opened the door.
