The Fame Game

“You came,” he says before slipping under the ropes in front of me.

I grin. “You found me.”

“Nico,” Ethan says.

“Hey, kiddo.” Nico holds out his palm, and Ethan slaps his hand. “Looking sharp.” He touches Ethan’s crooked bow tie and then moves it back into place. “Nice touch.”

“My mom made me wear it.”

Nico chuckles. “Your mom has excellent taste.”

“I’m the mom.” Savanna extends her hand to Nico. “Savanna Duvall.”

They shake hands, and then Nico raises my sister’s hand to his mouth to press a kiss to her skin. I can see her shiver from his touch. A bright smile turns up the corners of her mouth. I guarantee Savanna will talk about this for the next year. She’ll probably tell me she can’t wash her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Savanna coos.

She covers her face as if she’s embarrassed by the effect he has on her.

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Nico shifts his gaze to me. “Are you waiting for me?”

“I wasn’t sure where we should go. And we wanted to see you arrive.”

“I’m glad you did.” Nico dips his head down to speak into my ear. “Because I have a surprise for you.”

My body hums with electricity. I’ve never been this close to a movie star before. Burke slowly introduced me to his clients, though he still keeps me at a distance.

Nico slides his arm behind my back, his fingers digging into my hip as he steers me toward the red carpet. Dozens of flashes go off at once. My eyes burn from all the lights. I couldn’t imagine enduring this all the time. Being famous has its perks, but this is not one of them.

“Who’s the girl?”

A male photographer snaps our picture.

“Is this your girlfriend?”

Another man raises his camera in front of his face.

I blink a few times to clear my vision. I’m seeing stars from all the blinding lights. Thankfully, Nico holds onto me, leading the way. I can’t see three feet in front of me. If I tried to navigate the carpet alone, I would probably fall flat on my face.

A blonde woman in her twenties holds out an audio recorder. “Nico, who’s the girl?”

Nico pulls me closer and leans forward, his eyes fixed on the reporters in front of us. “This is Willow Duvall,” he says in a deep tone that is music to my ears. “She’s my new agent.”

The crowd explodes with questions. Reporters buzz around us, begging for another word. Some of them ask about Vinnie Sax, where others want to know where I work.

No one knows me. I’m the equivalent of a paper pusher at Brenton-Lake, and yet I’m being swept away by one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. Correction, one of the former hottest actors. But that’s about to change.

Chapter Eight

Willow

I slink past Burke’s office. His assistant peeks up from her computer screen, and when she sees me, she flags me down. I was hoping to make it through my second cup of coffee before getting a lecture from my boss. Nico’s big announcement at the premiere last night has been the talk of the office.

“Willow,” Burke yells. “Get in here!”

“Good luck,” Cindy says to me under her breath.

Judging by the angry scowl on his face, I will need a lot of luck.

“Yes, Mr. Burke,” I say, my voice wavering.

He points at a chair in front of his desk. “Sit. We need to talk about Nico Chase.”

“Coffee,” he shouts at Cindy. “Now!”

He’s in rare form this morning. Lucky me.

“What’s this I hear about Nico Chase announcing you as his agent last night?”

“It was unexpected.” I fold my hands on my lap to steady my nerves. “He invited me to his premiere. I didn’t want to be rude and say no.”

“You work for me,” he snaps.

His withered skin turns a bright shade of pink as his cheeks puff out. He looks like a kettle ready to blow.

“All decisions about clients are at my discretion.” He leans back in his chair, somewhat more relaxed than before. “You think a junior agent no one has ever heard of can fix Nico’s career?”

I clear my throat and sit up straighter. “I’d like the chance to try.”

He narrows his eyes at me, regarding me like gum under his shoe. Burke is a tough cookie to crack, but I can see his expression softening. He will let me work with Nico. What does he have to lose?

“I’ll give you three months,” he says with a hint of irritation in his tone. “If you can’t line up a decent studio deal in that timeframe, then we’re cutting Nico loose. Understand?”

On the inside, I’m beaming with delight, but I put on a straight face and nod. “That’s more than fair. Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Burke.”

“I’m not in the mood for ass-kissing.” He points at the door as his secretary shuffles into the room with two cups of coffee. “Go get that contract signed.”