“Hello, Paige,” she says.
“Hi.” I glance at my watch. “You’re early. The meeting isn’t for another ten minutes.” Thank goodness I made it in time.
“Ryder actually texted me last night. We had it early.”
I pull back at this information. It’s my job to handle his schedule and to make the meeting minutes. “Then why are you still here?”
“To see you.”
“You could’ve called.”
“Not something we can discuss over the phone, dear.”
“Okay. Come on in.” Mira’s not an easy person to deal with, but she’s also not a person you can ignore or avoid.
We enter my office together, and I take my seat behind the desk. She sits in an armchair across from me, legs crossed. Her witchy pointy stilettos gleam, not a scuff on them.
Mira smiles with all the warmth of a bucket of bleach.
“What can I do for you?” I ask.
“Not me, but him.” Her gaze points in the general direction of Ryder’s office. “You should do it.”
I frown. “Do what?”
“Marry him, of course.”
I gape at her. “How the hell…?” I’m certain she didn’t get the info from Ryder because he would’ve mentioned that he took his proposal back.
She shoots me a coy look. “I have my sources. And I’ve been thinking about you. You’re a good candidate with the potential for just the right kind of publicity. A perfect Cinderella for Hollywood’s Prince Charming. I can just see the headlines.” She smiles, revealing her small, square teeth. “Of course, there are benefits for you as well.”
Oh, this I want to hear. Mira’s mind is a scary thing, and I’m curious what she considers “benefits.” “Like?”
“Don’t you want to show Shaun Mann? Didn’t he say you’ll never have another man—among other insults—when you broke up?”
Jesus. “How do you know these things?”
“Darling, there are no secrets in Hollywood. Haven’t you figured that out yet?” She flicks away an invisible speck of dirt on her manicure. “I know you care about Ryder. I can tell, even though you’re trying very hard not to fall for him—for which I commend you. But don’t worry. It’s only for a year.”
The revelation stuns me. I thought…Well, I thought it’d be longer than that. But does it matter? Beggars can’t be choosers.
“In addition, it’s more or less your job,” she says.
“No, it isn’t.” What the hell? “No assistant’s required to marry her boss!” Ryder trusts her, and she’s a powerful influence, but she should also understand she can’t treat me like some second-class citizen.
“Fine then. How about I give you a little something extra?”
“I’m not interested in your money,” I say.
She waves it away. “Oh, don’t be insulting. There are other currencies, especially in this town.” Her head tilts, the tip of her black Cleopatra bob poking the corner of her red lips. “Why don’t we, say… Why don’t I make sure Shaun never gets a gig, ever again? Not even as a stunt man. I can arrange it.”
I gawk at her. That is so mean, so cruel… The notion never entered my mind, not even in my most furious moments with him.
She waits a moment, then frowns. “You want more? Want him utterly ruined and driven out of Hollywood? It wouldn’t be a problem.”
“No!”
“Why not? I would want that if I were you.”