“I didn’t. She went AWOL for a bit. But I just heard she landed a new assistant gig.”
Madison was in no mood for the hesitation she sensed in his reply. “Yeah, with who?” She studied him shrewdly.
“Heather Rollins.”
Madison started, her face taking a comic turn with popping eyes and a dramatically dropped jaw. If she’d tried that on a film set, any director worth his salt would yell Cut! and pull her aside to talk. But in real life, she truly was shocked. “Seriously. Emily is working for Heather?” She shook her head. Most of the world considered her dead, and yet Heather was still competing against a ghost, trying to claim bits of Madison’s life for her own.
Once upon a time, they’d been friends, though it didn’t take long to notice how Heather was always trying to best Madison by going after the same parts, the same clothes, the same agent, the same boys—what a bore. Of course Heather never actually attained any of those things, and Madison had chosen to ignore her lame attempts, even felt sorry for her. How exhausting it must be to always yearn for the peak when the spot was clearly reserved for someone more deserving. It wasn’t long before Madison grew tired of her games and cut Heather off.
And now Heather was poised to claim the space that had once belonged to Madison. She had Emily, access to Blue . . . it stung in a way Madison refused to tolerate.
“I want my dog. Now.” Madison fixed her gaze on Paul. “I don’t want her anywhere near Blue.”
The thought of Heather so much as petting Blue was intolerable. Then again, Blue had much higher standards and probably wouldn’t allow it. He’d never learned to like Ryan, and always used to growl whenever he came around. Blue was a dog of great discernment. The thought brought a fleeting smile to Madison’s face.
“Rumor has it Heather is now dating Mateo Luna.”
Madison watched as Paul slipped a tweed blazer over his pale blue button-down shirt. Outside, the temperature soared to the triple digits, and yet Paul dressed like he was off to the bank to ask for a loan.
“Am I supposed to know who that is?” Madison frowned. She was mainly surprised Heather wasn’t dating Ryan Hawthorne. It would only make sense.
“Mateo used to date Layla Harrison, who is now dating Tommy Phillips.”
Madison turned the information around in her head. It was interesting, in a minor, D-list, gossipy sort of way. But it hardly seemed worthy of discussion. Was Paul interested in this stuff? Because Madison no longer was.
“Heard she’s working on getting him a part on her new show.”
“How do you know all this?” Madison observed him from under a skeptical brow.
“It’s my job to keep abreast of anything connected to you. However tangentially.”
Madison cocked her head and gathered her hair into her fist. “Cable or network?”
Paul looked at her.
“The show—is it on cable or network?”
Madison starred in movies—big-budget Hollywood movies. She had no time for small-screen nonsense. And yet, it was no secret that the paradigm had shifted, and now loads of A-list actresses were clamoring for the good, juicy roles that the smarter TV shows offered.
Was it possible Heather had scored such a role?
One that might’ve gone to Madison had she not been abducted?
She was seriously working herself into an agitated state and was growing increasingly annoyed with the way Paul was hedging the answer. It was a simple question. What the hell was he up to?
When she caught his amused expression, she flushed with shame. Yep, he could read her like a book. Heather wasn’t the only one who got competitive. His look reminded her as much.
“Network,” he said, chasing it with the kind of teeth-baring grin he rarely indulged in.
Madison rolled her eyes and mumbled unintelligibly under her breath. She knew she was acting awful and spoiled, but she hated the way her life was on hold and seemingly no longer hers to control. Still, it was a relief to know Heather hadn’t scored a big, splashy cable gig. If nothing else, it assured Madison that she hadn’t fallen too far behind while she’d been off the radar.
“So, back to Blue.” She adopted a steadier, more serious tone. “How soon can I see him?”
The question was more loaded than it seemed on the surface. Paul kept a number of safe houses stashed in remote areas of California and beyond, including a few in and around LA. On the drive over, he’d made her hide beneath a blanket in the back, thereby prohibiting any chance she might’ve had to see where they were going. From the moment they’d arrived, she wasn’t allowed outside. She hoped his answer would provide some insight into their general whereabouts.
If Blue was with Emily and Emily was working for Heather, then that meant Blue was in LA. The amount of time it would take Paul to make the round trip might clue her in as to how far away they currently were.
“I have a few other things to take care of first, so it might be a while.”