Jo nodded. She was proud of Emma for dealing with the situation at all, but especially for wanting to stand up.
“We’ll get something drafted,” Jo said. “I’ll make sure you get to see it before we release it.”
“That’d be great, thanks,” Emma said, her body relaxing a bit.
“You’re—”Amazingwas the first word that came to mind, but Jo bit it back. “—strong, Ms. Kaplan. There’s no right way to handle this. You’re doing fine.”
Emma gave her a smile. “Thanks, boss.”
Emma went back to her desk while Jo scrolled through her address book to find the number of the publicist she most trusted at the Jones Dynasty.
It had been almost a week since his set visit, but she hadn’t broken the news to Barry yet. She was still too angry to even talkto him on the phone. Breaking it to him through a press release sounded much more fun.
Jo put a rush on the statement. She wanted to get this out as soon as possible. In the meantime, she wasn’t sure it was the best idea, but she called Annabeth Pierce. Annabeth’s first movie had been a Barry Davis movie. She was a big-name actress now, but she was a nobody then, and if Jo knew men like Barry Davis, she knew what that meant.
Annabeth’s agent gave Jo Annabeth’s number without a moment’s hesitation. He probably thought this meant Jo wanted her for a cameo appearance or maybe a role in Agent Silver, and she let him. She had to be delicate about this.
She and Annabeth made the standard small talk for a few minutes before Jo mentioned Barry.
“Barry Davis visited set the other day, actually,” she said breezily. “He directed your first big film, right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Annabeth said. “That was Barry.”
Her voice hadn’t changed at all, still nothing but chipper with that hint of a Georgian accent.
“It was possible that he might direct an episode,” Jo said. “Though that is not what is going to happen.” She paused. Annabeth said nothing. “I imagine you might know why that’s not going to happen.”
If Jo was wrong about this...
The quiet way Annabeth said, “Why would I know?” confirmed she wasn’t.
“My production company will be releasing a statement, probably tomorrow morning, about exactly why he was not extended an invitation to direct,” Jo said. “Based on his behavior toward a young woman in my employ—his behavior that I will not tolerate.He does not have a heads-up about this, but I wanted you to. Just in case.”
“Right,” Annabeth said.
Jo let the silence hang.
Eventually, Annabeth took a deep breath on the other end of the line. “I really appreciate that, Ms. Jones,” she said. “I don’t mean to rush you off the phone, but I think perhaps I should talk to my publicist.”
“Please call me if you need anything, Ms. Pierce,” Jo said.
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you for the call.”
—
Jo had the statementby the afternoon. She should’ve probably trusted the people whose job it was to write these things, but she made a few minor edits anyway. Then she called Emma into her office.
“I have it,” she said, pushing the printed statement across her desk. “I thought you might want to read it in here.”
Jo wanted to give Emma the space to have whatever reaction she needed to.
“I’m going to get a refill,” Jo said. “I’ll close the door behind me and you can open it whenever you’re ready?”
Emma nodded. She looked sick to her stomach. Jo took her tumbler and headed out. She wanted to offer Emma some form of comfort, squeeze her hand or pat her on the back, but she didn’t think it was appropriate, didn’teverwant to touch Emma in a way she didn’t want. Instead she gave Emma the room, closing the door gently behind her.
The door was open by the time Jo returned. Emma was sitting on her couch, working on her tablet, which she set aside when Jocame back into her office. Emma smiled, and the tension in Jo’s shoulders eased.
“It’s a good statement,” Emma said.