Page 1 of Relationship Goals

Chapter One

Abigail

My leg janglesnonstop on the floor, and I twist the leather purse strap in my hands, even though Jean’s giving me that look, the one that plainly saysGet your shit together. I can’t help it, though. This meeting with the owners of the LA Aces is so far out of my wheelhouse it may as well be in the Mariana Trench.

Is that what it’s called? I frown.

“What are you thinking about?” Jean asks. I can read her exasperation in the way her brows try to furrow but don’t quite make it there, thanks to her overenthusiasm for Botox injections.

“Underwater topography,” I blurt. “Is it called topography if it’s underwater?” I tilt my head and study the sunlight cascading through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Ah, yes, there’s the good old ADHD showing up right on time.

“Suuuure,” she sighs. “Listen, these men we’re meeting with—” She pauses, her eyes narrowing on me, likely making sure she has my scattered attention. “They’re businessmen. Sharks, you get me? Aaaand”—she draws out the word—“they know Richard Gracepersonally. You need to make a good impression. You know how men talk.”

I close one eye, then the other, finally squinting at her.

I know all this.Sheknows I know all this. Jean’s as nervous as Iam. Her anxiety shouldn’t offend me. She wants me at my best. That’s a good thing.

We both want me to nail this project. Richard Grace isthedirector in Hollywood to work with, and the fact I’ve snagged a role in his film is everything I’ve ever wanted. Sure, the press is going wild with rumors that my ditzy personality and less-than-stellar acting chops won’t be enough for a part of this caliber—buthebelieves in me. Enough that he set up this meeting with the LA Aces owners so I could bring “the proper knowledge and gravitas” to his upcoming film about the International Football Federation’s corruption scandal.

I can do this. Probably. Most likely.

I inhale deeply, letting oxygen flood my body, trying to calm my nerves. Not that breath work has ever really helped still the constant electric hum of energy that rattles through me every waking moment. People call it a superpower, but they don’t seem to understand that sometimes all I want is peace and quiet in my own skull.

If I pull it off, this could be my big break. It could finally mean a role that’s more than just the quirky best friend or the manic pixie love interest. I mean, a film about team owners and league officials taking bribes from cities who want to host the international soccer finals?Allthe top brass were guilty of things like racketeering and fraud, even blackmail. That spells a character I can really sink my teeth into, and Grace sending me out to research with the Aces…it means more than just shutting up the press.

I am going to take this moment, this opportunity, and I’m sure as hell going to make the most of it.

My nose scrunches up.

Jean’s Italian leather heels tap lightly on the tasteful gray-veined marble floors.

A bird winging past the huge floor-to-ceiling windows catches my attention for a moment, and it arcs over the emerald-green practice field below.

My smile disappears, replaced by pursed lips I’m 99 percent sure will result in new lines guaranteed to be featured in before and after pictures on social media down the road.

Richard Grace is known to be as exacting and demanding as they come, and being cast in this film could change everything for me. It’s already generating Oscar buzz, and it won’t even come out for another couple of years.

Fear surges through me. What if the press is right? What if I can’t pull it off—

“Abigail,” Jean says, and her snappish tone tells me it’s not the first time she’s said my name.

“That’s me.” I make myself look away from the blue sun-soaked sky out the window and turn on my smile.

“Tell me you’re taking this seriously,” Jean pleads quietly. Her forehead spasms for a split second as she attempts to cinch her brows in seriousness. “Tell me you’re not going to go all over the top in there. Tell me you’re not going to start rambling about underwater topography.”

“I am a businesswoman,” I tell her, all stoic seriousness. “You know I’m ready for this. Just look at me. I’m business personified.” My heel taps the floor as I shake my leg. “You’ll find my headshot in the dictionary underbusinesswoman.”

My agent barely clamps down another sigh, giving me a frayed smile instead.

“After what happened last year, we need this to go well, hon. Okay?”

What, you don’t want me to blurt out that I think this project’s terrible writing is going to annoy fans everywhere, like when I ruined everything?The question swims at the back of my head, but I swallow it before I can make an ass of myself.

This time, at least.

I know all too well the incident from last year Jean’s referring to—the one that had me sacked from an up-and-coming teen drama series. The one that had me labeled as ungrateful and difficult to work with, and had me killed off in the season finale, a fate that being the sidekick to a vampire mermaid couldn’t even save me from.

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