“We can have a contract, and I could guarantee you a year’s severance if it doesn’t work out, which would give you a chance to find something else. And you’ll make a hell of a lot more money than you do now, starting from the base I want to pay you, and I’d be willing to pay you a ten percent fee for anything you improve over what I make now.” He was being incredibly generous as well as fair. “And what don’t I know about the way you work? I learned even more about you while we were on tour together.” She had learned a lot about him too, and liked him even better now. To complicate matters further, she was falling in love with him, and had high hopes for their relationship working. She hadn’t seen anything about him she didn’t like yet. And he was nice to her kids. The boys loved him, though Arianna was still somewhat on the fence. But certainly as a boss, he would be amazing. It would be hard to turn down an offer like the one he’d made.
“Give me a few days, so I can try to be cool-headed about it, and make the right decision.” It would be less time than what she did now at the agency, which would be great for her kids.
“That’s fine. I’ll try not to pressure you, although I desperately want you to do it. It seems perfect to me.”
“It does to me too.” She smiled broadly at him. “Almost too perfect. I would love the job, and a salary that would change everything for me and my children.” He looked happy that she hadn’t rejected it out of hand. He had been thinking about it all day and had no idea how she’d react. So far, it seemed very favorable.
He had another glass of wine as they sat on the couch and talked about it, and then he kissed her again. He was more passionate than he had been with her until then, and for a minute he wished she lived alone, or at least had her own bedroom.
He whispered to her, “How do you feel about sleeping with your boss, even if it would really be more of a partnership?” For a minute, he looked worried. What if she put an end to their budding relationship if she went to work for him? He didn’t want that to happen either.
“I’ve never done that before,” she whispered back. “But we have a prior relationship, so I think I could make an exception.” He grinned when she said it, and kissed her again. Then he asked her a question that he had meant to ask her the day before, after the party.
“Did something happen between Allie and Benjie at the party the other night?” He was curious about it.
“Not that I know of,” she said with a knot in her stomach. It was the first lie she’d ever told him. “Why? Did you see something?” She hoped not, for Jane’s sake, and even Allie’s, however liberal her morals were. Although Allie had seemed to be faithful to Eric, and deeply in love. But she’d been very drunk at the party. And very foolish.
“No, I just got an odd feeling about them. They both disappeared for quite a while, and she looked kind of disheveled when she turned up again. But she was very drunk. Maybe that was all. And Benjie could hardly stand up by the time he showed up and was back with Jane. She seemed perfectly happy, so I don’t think she had the same odd feeling I did.”
“I think the drinking just got out of hand. They weren’t the only ones.” A lot of people had gone overboard with the margaritas, and the release of the tension of recent weeks.
“Her dress looked kind of cockeyed,” he commented, “but too much alcohol does that. I think all the upset about Dan and Francine leaving built up a lot of anxiety for everyone, and then they all went crazy at the party.” He explained it easily and Hailey nodded, praying again that no one else had seen what she did, and that Jane wouldn’t get her heart broken. Allie’s already was, which was a new experience for her. She had always had short-term, superficial affairs that meant nothing to her, with younger men, in the five years Hailey had known her. It had been different with Eric, and Hailey was sorry that Bob had put pressure on her to end it. They genuinely seemed to love each other. But with his new series, Eric was going to become a very big star, so it might have ended anyway. The entertainment field was not famous for fostering stable relationships. There was a big age difference between them, which could prove hard to navigate long-term, even though Allie did look and act years younger than she was. They looked right together and had seemed happy.
Phillip kissed Hailey hungrily again at the door, and she promised to think very seriously about his offer. It was not only flattering, it was miraculous, and would be hard to resist. He had given her much to think about. After he left, she lay in the narrow twin bed in the room she shared with Arianna and thought about how much she could do with the salary he had proposed. She didn’t want to make the decision just based on money but there was so much she liked about it, and if the romance continued to go well between them, it could be a remarkable arrangement for them both. But it was too soon to tell how that would work out. She had to make the decision based on the business side of it, and she tried not to think of how Bob Benson would react. She knew he’d find someone good to replace her if he had to. She couldn’t let that deter her or be part of her decision. She had to think of herself and her kids.
Allie looked particularly gloomy in the office on Monday. She had spent the whole weekend hung over, and feeling guilty and sick. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been, having sex at an office party with a guy she hardly knew, and didn’t care about or even like. If Eric ever heard about it, he’d think she was a slut, and she thought that herself. She was so drunk that she had no idea if anyone had seen them. She vaguely remembered Hailey helping her straighten her dress, and getting her to her car. She had no recollection whatsoever of her doorman and driver carrying her to her apartment, which she assumed must have been what happened, but didn’t want to ask.
She’d had three calls from a big film producer in L.A., but didn’t feel up to returning his call until Tuesday. When she called, she missed him. She didn’t even care why he was calling. She wondered if Eric was really going to change agents. Bob would be even more pissed about that than about her dating him.
Eric would be going into preproduction soon on his new series. She had been so excited about that for him. She missed him terribly. The life she’d led before, of casual affairs that meant nothing to her, held no appeal now. They were just bodies. She had never really fallen in love before, and this time she had fallen hard. Now it was over.
She hated Bob for implying that their relationship would jeopardize her career. Her career had meant everything to her, just as her parents’ did to them. And what had they ended up with? A bad marriage held together with tape and baling wire, which they kept together out of laziness and convenience between their random affairs. She was beginning to feel she’d wind up like them, except not even married. She had run away from L.A. for all those reasons, but re-created the same scenario in New York.
She ran into Hailey in the kitchen, getting more black coffee, and lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Sorry I was such a mess at the party. I was upset about Eric, and I stupidly took a Xanax before I went. The margaritas hit me like a bomb. Thanks for getting me to my car and getting me out of there.” Then after a pause, she asked her another question. “Did Jane say anything?” Hailey shook her head.
“I don’t think she noticed. She’d had a few drinks too, and she was dancing with the younger agents from your side.” The dramatic agents tended to be younger than the literary ones, with the exception of Jane. “Let’s hope Benjie keeps his mouth shut and doesn’t confess.” Allie nodded agreement.