Wind crashed against the window, bands of rain smashing hard on the hotel, water scattering like the remnants of her career.
Wyatt laid a hand on her shoulder, jarring her from her thoughts. “Anna? What are you thinking about?”
“I’ve done things, Wyatt. Things I can’t undo.” Her voice broke, and she pulled away.
Wyatt gathered her close, not letting her go. “No, Anna, you worked hard to succeed, to get where you are today. Did you make mistakes, trust the wrong people? Maybe. But you never compromised your principles, not where it counted.”
“How do you know?” She hated the weakness of her voice, the wetness on her cheeks.
“Because I know you.”
The utter faith in his voice, the trust and confidence were her undoing. The tears came, trickling down her cheeks. Wyatt slid across the floor next to her and gathered her close, pulling her so she could lay her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and rested his own head on top of hers, waiting patiently. He was her rock, her steadying force in the storm of chaos that was her life. He had always been that way for her. Was it any wonder that when her life was spiraling out of control that she found herself back here with him, desperately needing his strength?
“My contract withBlazing Passionsis not being renewed. I go back Monday to film my character’s death. No one knows yet, which, of course, means all the media outlets will know by tomorrow.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, maybe it’s time to move on. Find your next role.”
She laughed, a harsh, raw sound. “I wish. See, that’s the problem. I’d love to move on, but no one wants me. I’m considered too difficult, too much of a diva. All my potential options, when I was riding high onBlazing Passions, have suddenly dried up. So, when you thought I had my dream, my career, while you never got your dream, well, mine has gone down the toilet too. I did my PR too well.”
“Then change the story. If they see you as Bianca St. John, and you’re no longer her, become who you want to be.”
She lifted her head and stared up at him. “You make it sound so damn easy, as if I were just changing socks or hair color. But it’s a lot more complicated than that. I’m five years older now. In Hollywood terms, that’s an eternity.”
Wyatt frowned and pulled her closer. “I don’t know what they’re looking at, but you’re still the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. Is that why you work out obsessively and eat ridiculously healthy food?”
She grimaced, oddly touched by his declaration. She laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Wyatt, but the movie and television producers are convinced that the fans want younger, sexier women. So, to keep me on top, I have to work harder every day. Now, my agent thinks I need to find some good publicity to stage to make me look good, to counter the negative stuff.”
“Well, why not? You did it that way the first time. What about the Playhouse? You’re working with the kids. I’m sure Karen and the kids would love to help you and the added benefit of some publicity for the theater.”
Anna vigorously shook her head. “Absolutely not. I won’t use them that way. They don’t deserve the media shitstorm that comes with me, not right now. The media would never believe the story to be true, that Anna Costado would do this out of the goodness of her heart. They’d descend like locusts, looking for any dirt they can find. They don’t care who they hurt. That restaurant in last week’s story? Well, that poor waitress had just started working there. Her son is young and has an illness. Do you think she wanted that information plastered all over the internet and television, along with her name? Of course not. But she was collateral damage in my world.”
He stared at her, a puzzled look on his face. “How did you know about her?”
She shrugged and took a sip of wine. “I spoke with her privately. I found her another job, although she is waitressing until the other job starts. Probably the one person in all of Los Angeles who didn’t want to be an actress. The irony of that whole situation is if that had happened to anyone else, she would have been fired because she put someone’s life at risk. There were nuts in the French toast.”
His eyes widened, understanding dawning. “By not telling you, she put your life at risk, so her manager had to fire her.”
“Exactly. But she didn’t know that, didn’t know that it was a nut extract that was in there. It was a mistake. Should she have checked? Sure. Was it malicious? No. I overreacted, definitely, and I know I had good reason, but it didn’t matter. Anyone else, she would be fired and people would scream for her head. I’ve seen videos on social media with people acting worse than me in less serious situations, but because it was me, they want me on a pike, not her.” Anna laughed bitterly.
“So, she was fired, and you were blamed. Damn, Anna, that’s harsh.”
Anna shrugged. “The life of a television star. She hated that job anyway. I found her something else, more suited to her skills.”
“Why did you help her?”
Anna stared at him. “She needed it and she lost her job because of me.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone? The whole media firestorm would go away, or at least make you look good.”
Anna shook her head. “You don’t understand. They would bury that story because it doesn’t fit the narrative. No, they want to believe the worst. Actors behaving badly. That sells papers. Not nice things actors do. They would hound that poor woman and her son until they found something else. Do you see why it’s not so easy to change the story?”
“Not really. The story is yours to control. You created the first image. Create a new one. I’m not saying it’ll be easy and it certainly won’t happen overnight. But take control, Anna.” Wyatt stared down at her as if his statement were obvious.
“What do you know about it, Wyatt? You’ve never been here. Trust me, it won’t be that simple.” She pulled away, and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it over one shoulder and staring into a candle, hoping the answers would materialize like a prophecy like a crystal ball.
“I don’t?” His harsh bark made her yank her head around. “After my first knee injury, I was fine. I knew I could come back. Plenty of players come back all the time from knee injuries, so it wasn’t a big deal. I never expected a second freak injury to completely wipe me out.”
He absently rubbed his knee as if feeling the pain anew, the scars from multiple surgeries visible on his skin. Anna’s gaze was drawn to the spot and, as if they had a will of their own, her fingers traced the long central scar bisecting the knee. The ridge of scar tissue having stretched out and softened a bit but still obvious and different under her touch. Her heart lurched at the pain in his voice and she wanted to weep for his pain, but she waited and listened, the only thing she could do now.