I look over at Elliot. “Visitor,” he mumbles.
We’ve killed two bottles of scotch. The third one is about a quarter empty. Alcohol smolders pleasantly in my veins, and I don’t ever want to leave Elliot’s couch.
“You tell anybody you were coming over?”
“No.” I glance at him. “Probably someone delivering another inflatable doll.”
Elliot gives me the finger. “It’s not a delivery guy. They just dump the packages at the concierge desk and run.” He groans and levers himself up. “All right, all right.” He mutters a few choice words, then buzzes the person in.
“Who is it?”
“Your agent.”
A mix of ugly emotions rears its head. I glare at the door as Mira walks in. She’s in her usual black dress and shiny black patent shoes, and she looks as slick as spilled oil. Her red lipsticked mouth purses. “Good god. What the hell is this?”
“I’ll leave you two alone to talk business,” Elliot says with a loopy grin. “Call if you need anything. I have plenty more scotch…some vodka too.” He wags his fingers and goes into his bedroom.
She crosses her arms and stands hipshot, looking down at me. “You asked to talk to me as soon as I was back in town, and now you ignore my calls because you’re too busy drinking. Not even Paige knows where you are—or maybe she just said that because she didn’t want to tell me the truth.”
The mention of Paige triggers something inside me. It’s as though Mira’s hit a detonation switch. “Don’t talk about my fiancée,” I grind out.
“Oh for god’s sake.” She throws her hands up. “What the hell has she done now?”
“You are my agent, not my mother. You should’ve stayed the fuck out of Bethany’s business. And you should’ve never threatened Renni!” My voice rises. “She’s your client!”
Mira’s lips curl in distaste. “A client I took on so Paige would do the right thing and marry you for a year. I wouldn’t have accepted her otherwise. She’s pretty enough and has some talent, but she isn’t that special. She won’t amount to anything.”
“You don’t know that. Have you even tried to get her any roles?”
“No. Because it’s all going to end in a year. So who cares?” Mira frowns. “Is this why you wanted to see me? To check on how much I’m doing for her?”
I start to shake my head, but it hurts. Shit. If I’d known I’d be confronting my agent, I wouldn’t have drunk so much. “Did you tell the DA that I was going to let it go when I made it clear I wanted that nurse prosecuted?”
“Yes, and it’s for your own good. If we go after her, people are going to start talking about why you were at the hospital—and the fact that Paige released her sex tape right around that time would never die its natural death. Do you really want that attached to your name for years?” She stalks over to the kitchen and gets a glass of water. “Here. Drink this and sober up.”
I take the glass. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”
“What?”
“Cleaned up after me to manage my image.”
“It’s part of my job. Talent has to be managed. Nurtured…cultivated. Nobody becomes a star without careful planning. And you’re golden, Ryder. You’re young, handsome, rich and from a good family. You’re wild and bad, but you also do good things like those charities you sponsor. Problem is, young men with looks and fame tend to do stupid things, especially where women are involved.”
I stare at her. Memories of how Mira and Lauren used to whisper between themselves flood through my mind. “Like Lauren,” I say.
Mira looks away, but not before I catch the slight shift in her expression.
“I remember you two used to talk to each other all the time.”
“Lauren.” She shakes her head. “She wanted me to be her agent. Even though I told her it wasn’t a good idea. My loyalty was—is—to you. And I wasn’t going to ruin my reputation by shilling her to casting directors just because she was sleeping with you.”
“But there was more, wasn’t there? She went to every party you were invited to.” Even through the alcohol, I’m not completely stupid. “What did you promise her?”
Mira shrugs. “I told her I’d introduce her to some people. And I did. Half the trick is networking.”
“You mean like coke-snorting stars and wannabes?”
“I had no idea she was using. And if she was, it has nothing to do with me. I’d never condone anything like that.”