Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“That bastard!”
I sat down, resting my elbows on my knees and letting my hands hang between my legs. “That is only a small part of what he did.”
“I was twenty and playing a seventeen-year-old. I was tired of it, but Ed assured me my contract was airtight and I had three more years. He told me to bide my time and finish out the contract. He lined up some stupid summer-type movies—portraying more teens—for me. I hated every moment. On set, I was quiet, and one day after we wrapped, I was wrestling with something in my head and the producer came over to talk to me. He asked the right questions, and I told him everything. How unhappy I was. Tired of playing a teenager. Being the lowest-paid actor on the set when I was supposedly the biggest star.” I huffed out a laugh. “He gave me some great advice and told me what I needed to do to find the right answers. That was when a lot of things came to light.”
She leaned forward and clasped my hands, which I hadn’t realized I’d balled into fists. “How bad?”
“Bad. Ed had forged my signature on some documents. He’d made himself my power of attorney. Lied about my salary. Lied to the studio. The list went on and on. The deeper I dug, the worse it was. And I had no one. Until I met Annie. The producer I spoke to had given me her name, and I took everything I had and went to her office. I sat there all day before she agreed to see me without an appointment. I told her my problem. I had all this information, yet I had no idea how to fix it.”
I had to pace again. I patted Kassie’s hands and stood, walking around the room. It was slightly larger than the one upstairs, but this one was her. Warm and welcoming. A rich blue on the end wall. Pictures and paintings hung everywhere. A thick rug that cushioned my anxious pacing. Knickknacks, some of which I recognized, on tabletops. Candles. Cushions and many blankets. An electric fireplace I imagined her curling up in front of on cold days.
Kassie shifted on the sofa, interrupting my inner musings. I shot her a smile. “Sorry, was lost in my head for a minute.”
She nodded in understanding, and I blew out a long breath.
“Long story short, Annie agreed to look it over.” I barked out a laugh, recalling how she looked, glaring at me over her horn-rimmed glasses, her vapor escaping around her head like a hurricane.
“You’re not having a temper tantrum with your agent and thinking to use me to get to him, are you?”
“No, I’m not,” I assured her. “I think I’m in deep trouble. Simon Gless gave me your name. He said if anyone could help me, it would be you.”
She nodded. “Give me forty-eight hours. Do not decide to take on Ed Gaunts by yourself.” She snorted. “I know his reputation.”
I stood, glancing out the window at the well-kept yard. “What she found was even worse than I was worried about. By the time it was over, I found out I was broke. In debt I knew nothing about. I was locked into a contract with the studio that was ironclad—one of the few things I had actually signed. Ed had encouraged me to do so, assuring me it would protect me.” I snorted. “The only thing it did was protect the fact that he had a steady income from me. In the end, I owned nothing. Ed stole it all, and I let him.”
“You were young and you trusted him.”
“Like an idiot. I never really liked him, but he seemed to be on my side. I was so wrong.” I leaned my head on the glass, remembering all the months of endless stress, worry, and discovery. “It was so ugly. I had to act as if nothing was wrong, so he didn’t know what was going on while Annie and her legal team dug through the years since I’d signed on with him. Discovered all the ways he was screwing me over. Finding out I owed more money than I had ever made because of him. He used my name for guarantees, fake investments. A forged signature so good, even I couldn’t tell them apart.” I turned and faced her. “I had no money. Not a penny. I was having panic attacks, constant insomnia. I lost so much weight, the studio ordered I gain it back. But I could barely eat. I was on the verge of losing it. When I heard your mom died, we were in the middle of exposing him. I was so ashamed of myself, of allowing all that to happen, I didn’t know if I could face you. I felt I didn’t deserve to come and be here for the funeral. Your mom was yet another person I had let down. And at that point, I still didn’t know he had interfered with my personal life as well. I wasn’t sure you wanted me here. And I was too much of a coward to find out.”