Page 145 of Catch Me
Everyone was on our lunch break, and Andreas and I thought we had some privacy.
“Talking with his hand up your shirt? Right. Apparently, Andreas Knight is so taken over you that he’s attacking your exes in restaurants.”
“What?” I blurt out.
“Oh, you haven’t heard?”
She’s eager to pull up another site from a blog detailing Andreas’ assault on Dennis James. Not only that, but the conclusion the writer of the post draws is that Andreas hit Dennis because he was my ex.
“Do you know that because of you and this mess, this film’s reputation is in jeopardy?”
“That’s not true,” I insist, pointing at the computer screen. “I’ve never even met Dennis James. He harassed me online.”
Rebecca frowns. “He’s a popular influencer and podcaster. Why would he harass you for no reason?”
“Because he’s an asshole.”
Her face reddens as she rises to her feet.
“No, he’s not!”
I jut my head back. “Do you know him?” Her defense of him seems too personal.
Rebecca shakes her head. “This isn’t about me. This is about you and your personal life becoming a distraction to this film.”
My stomach muscles tighten.
“I’m not,” I say but it comes out weak and uncertain.
“From the looks of this picture, you enthusiastically participated in an intimate relationship with the lead actor of the film while working on the set ofLate Nights. Something I warned you about.”
Her voice takes on a gleeful tone. She’s enjoying this.
“I—”
“And now that relationship is already bringing negative publicity to the film before its premiere.” She lifts an eyebrow.
“You’re a liability to this studio, Ivy. Now you have the right to date whomever you choose. And you can do it from the unemployment line.”
“What? I just made it past my probationary period,” I remind her.
“According to the timeline of this photo, you were seeing Andreas Knight during your probationary period, and if you’d read the conditions of your employment more closely, you would see that it is up tomydiscretion as to whether or not I want to keep you on as my assistant.”
“Rebecca,” I say in a pleading voice.
“You’re lucky I’m even giving you this courtesy of an explanation,” she continues as if I’d said nothing. “California is an at-will state and it’s not like you’re in a union or anything.”
Her sigh comes out as if she’s pleased with herself.
“Maybe if you had focused more on your actual job instead of trying to show me up, we could’ve avoided all of this happening.”
That’s the instant I realize none of this has anything to do with the appropriateness or lack thereof of my relationship with Andreas.
Rebecca doesn’t like me because she thinks I showed her up.
“Do me a favor and don’t forget any of your belongings on your way out. I would hate for someone to mistake something of yours as belonging to the studio and toss it in with the rest of the trash.”
“Fuck you,” I spit out, my anger getting the better of me.
