of the dressing room v

ed against the drywall

lly launching off the velvet sofa

d the carpet with every step. Fran's face was a mask of absolute fury. H

round two smartphones. Both screens

n slammed an iPad face-up

en flare

MZ photo, blown up

er throat instantly closed up. It felt l

a started, her voice shaking.

slicing through the

th ice. "They only care about how you managed to seduce the most eligi

a trembling finger and swi

comment se

yes. Her stomach plummeted. The blood drained

tea

t ch

less

aring her apart. The data stream was m

shook violently. Sh

able and hit the power button, p

rself. That's an or

d her PR team. She paced the length of

" Fran barked into the phone. "Bur

ran's jaw

it? It's a single photo!" Fran yelled

ear and aggressively rubbed her temp

ame buried deep at the very bottom of her contacts

resse

three times. Every ring felt like a physi

r voice dropping into a

s top agent, answered. His voice was dee

e so tight her knuckl

anded, keeping her tone strictly prof

k chuckle. The sound vibr

kery. "Fran, your girl is the only one benefiting

anger. She planted her

ying Brogan has been harassing her for months," Fran th

the room seemed t

that stretched for ten agonizin

ified front. They don't know each other. It

ng her contact at Variety. Within two minutes, she

unded on the dre

here are over a hundred paparazzi swarming the lob

ack sunglasses and shoved them onto her face. She pulled a bla

rounded her, forming a tigh

the room and headed

rs pushed open to the al

staring into a strobe light. The blinding white light seared Ca

e you sleepin

ave you bee

an this for

irectly toward her face. The screaming w

ing their shoulders to violent

e couldn't breathe. The air was

SUV. A bodyguard yanked the d

door sla

oundproofed car wrapped around her. The engine roared, and the driver

's phone buzzed. The Va

enied any roman

t a long, s

Fran refreshed the analyti

shots of the statement, analyzing every single word

was a manipulative tactic from Ca

d Catalina'

an to vibrate. It didn't stop. It buzzed continuously,

d across the screen.

phone face down against the leather.

PR was useless against this level of h

ws, the neon lights of L

ection in the glass. She looked

the pinnacle of her career.

gripped the fabric of her dress, her fin

rent sound cut th

er clutch, a secondary

chime. A sound only three ot

d wide open. Her breat