Page 4 of Broken Rules

“You finished?”Claudia turned away from the tea kettle on the stove, crossing from the tiny kitchenette to where I sat on one of the two double beds.My best friend knew well enough to stay out of my way when I was raging.Now, she brought me a cup of chamomile tea in hopes of soothing whatever was left.

There wasn’t tea in the state of California to do that, but I groaned and accepted the mug.“You don’t understand.He was such a prick.Strutting around the place, and why?Because he was the swimmer that reached his mother’s egg first?Congratulations, Lex Landry.You were born wealthy.”Even the honey Claudia had added to the tea tasted sour in my mouth.

“You knew what you were getting into,” she reminded me, took a seat on the other bed and tucked her black curls behind her ear.We were close enough that our knees nearly touched as we sipped from our mugs.“This is a major studio.They’re not interested in art.”

“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” I countered as indignation flared in my chest again.“I thought I was working with Alexander.The father.The one who actually has a fucking clue.But no, I get pushed off on the idiot nepo baby who’s been coasting on his last name his entire life.That goes to show you how much respect they have for me.”

“It doesn’t have to be a respect thing,” she pointed out gently.

“What is it?”I asked.“I know what everybody thinks about me.I know they figure I’m too much trouble to deal with, so why bother?”

“Word does get around,” she murmured, biting her lip as she always did when she was anxious.It took a lot to shake her, and that’s probably why we had become instant friends on the first day of first grade.We had balanced each other out for almost twenty-five years.Now, she was my assistant since she was better with people and scheduling than I could ever hope to be.

“What is that supposed to mean?”I asked.“Don’t do that.Don’t sound like them.”

“I don’t mean to.Let’s face it.You need this.”

If there was one thing I hated more than just about anything else besides arrogant nepo babies who only cared about money, it was being called out.“It’s not my fault,” I whispered.

Right away, she winced, reaching out to pat my leg.“You know I didn’t mean it that way.It’s not your fault your boyfriend was the king of slimy shits and left you to navigate the world of pervy producers and studio heads.”

I set the mug down on the table between our beds, flopped onto my back and stared up at the ceiling with its stained tiles.Two years.It had been two years since I had been stabbed in the back, and there were days like today when the pain was as fresh as ever.

His voice echoed in my memory, dripping with false sincerity the way it had when he broke the news that I was excluded from the film’s credits.“It was an oversight.That’s how these things go sometimes.No hard feelings.”It wasn’t bad enough the bastard broke my heart when he stuck his dick in another woman, he had to crush me professionally too.He had to burn every last bridge that connected us.

Even that hadn’t been enough.He also had to cover his ass to make sure his version of events got out before I could set the record straight.He wouldn’t want everyone to know I had carried that fucking movie for the better part of a year.I had worked tirelessly while he battled his so-called demons, sometimes holing up for days on end in a drunken stupor while I handled rewrites, rescheduling, and reshoots.I had sat with the editors and cobbled together the finished product that ended up sending my ex to Cannes.

A finished product that only bore the name Eric Danvers.

“She’s difficult.She’s demanding.It’s her way or no way.”I could hear the words coming out of his mouth if I tried hard enough.I could hear how he sounded.How condescending he was.The poor, put-upon man forced to work with a woman who had standards and boundaries.

“Of course,” I whispered.“Everybody believes the man.”

“If you try to defend yourself, you look like the screaming harpy,” Claudia concluded.Then, all of a sudden, she jumped up, startling me into lifting my head to watch her.

“What are you doing?“ I asked.

“I’m going to make you a sage bundle to burn in Landry’s office the next time you’re there.”

She was probably serious, but the idea made me laugh anyway.“I don’t know if there’s enough sage in your collection to handle all that shitty energy,” I mused.

“It’s still worth trying.Anyway, whether you want to be or not, you’re on the hook for this movie.And I know you’re going to make it good.”She looked over her shoulder from where she stood at the chipped dresser, going through her stash of herbs and flowers.Her dark eyes crinkled at the corners when she grinned.“We both know you are.And we both know you can work through adversity.”

Yes, that much I knew from personal experience.“Is it always going to feel like an uphill battle?”

“Hopefully, no.But that depends on you, too, and you know it.”

“Ugh…” I groaned as my head dropped to the bed again.“Remind me why I asked you to be my assistant.”

“Because I love you.”Looking over her shoulder again, she added, “And I’m the only person who’ll put up with you.”

“I should bring you with me to my next meeting with that dickhead.”I didn’t want to say his name.It left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”When I barked out a laugh, she shrugged.“I’m serious.I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Gross,” I groaned out, crossing my arms over my eyes.

“Listen.I know Fuck Face Eric burned you big time, and I wouldn’t blame you if you swore off men for the rest of your life.But don’t act like you can’t see how hot Lex Landry is.Remember those photos from that awards thing they threw for his dad?Whew.”She fanned herself, going back to the sage bundle.

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