Rina slept the instant her head hit the pillow, and she didn’t get up again until noon the next morning. She reached for her phone first, and shot up from her bed when she met thirteen missed calls from her from her former manager, George. She hadn’t even gotten around to calling him back when she heard the doorbell ring.
Every bone in Rina stilled as she waited for the unmistakable sound of the bell a second time And when the shrill of the bell got to her again, her mind went into a frenzy. It couldn’t have been Zayn. He had never rung the bell before, preferring to barge in at will.
Then the paparazzi?
Panic set in as she rushed into the living room, staring at the door like it was the enemy. The person must have given up on the doorbell entirely as pounding on the door commenced. Rina stepped hesitantly closer to the door and took in a deep breath. This was the reason she needed a spyhole installed, but there hadn’t been a need before since she hadn’t been living there.
“Rina?” A familiar voice called out, pushing the locked door, “Did you kill yourself in there or something?”
Rina sighed in relief and pulled the door open to reveal George’s worried expression. He stopped and rolled his eyes when he saw her, sauntering into the living room as Rina held the door open for him.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming over,” Rina said after him.
“Maybe I would have if you had picked up the damn phone. Or better still, I wouldn’t have bothered coming at all. Thirteen missed calls. It’s so unlike you. I couldn’t help but be worried.”
He sank into her couch, crossed his legs, and looked up at her, waiting for an explanation.
“I slept really late okay,” she sighed, dropping into the couch beside him. “I didn’t hear the phone ring and it didn’t help that I slept through my alarm.”
“Does that have anything to do with the midnight snack you had?”
Rina looked up at him with apprehension written all over her face. She wanted to keep Zayn a secret from everyone, George included.
“Chill out,” he drawled, shaking his head. “I couldn’t help but peek into your trash can. There was a Chinese takeout bag in there. And the receipt says it was ordered around 9 pm.”
Of course, Rina thought. Zayn wouldn’t return to his house with the bag and it hadn’t even crossed her mind.
“Last I checked, you didn’t have enough money to even get yourself groceries to last a month. Don’t you think you shouldn’t be spending so much on Chinese food when you can just cook at home?”
It felt odd to be criticized by George, especially since they were not under any contractual relationship, but it was either that or telling him about Zayn. Rina chose the former.
“I’ll be fine,” she mumbled. “Why are you here? I thought you already gave up with the board.”
“I wanted to see how you were doing after what Kayla pulled yesterday.” George had never liked Kayla right from the get-go. He thought she was pompous and had an air about her like she had something evil planned. But Rina had pushed his concerns away, even going as far as trying to force him to like her.
Nothing had worked, but Rina felt stupid about it. Even George had been able to read her from a mile away, while she had continued in their one-sided friendship. She should have been more perceptive.
“She’s such a birch,” Rina breathed. “And I can’t even deny that I was so hurt and furious. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. Everyone just sat there, laughing like there was something funny about what I was going through. And do you know the worst part, George? It’s the fact that I can do nothing about it. I’m still trying to get someone to finally pay attention to me, but it’s harder than I imagined.”
George sighed. “I don’t know what to say, Rina. I hate that it took you to lose your career and reputation for you to finally realize the kind of person Kayla was. I want to tell you I told you so but that would be super insensitive of me.”
“You already did,” Rina muttered, catching the jab in his tone. “But that doesn’t matter. I need to get back on people’s screens. I was thinking about it last night. If the producers wouldn’t pay me any attention, maybe people would sympathize and love me when they’re forced to see me on their screens, when they hear my own side of the story. We only need to find someone willing to air me, no matter how small the show is.”
“I agree with getting back on people’s screens, but you can’t gauge their response to you. They could take it the other way and throw more hate at you.”
“I have a thick skin now, George. Nothing can go through me.”
“Are you sure about that?” He regarded her like she would burst into tears at any minute, but Rina didn’t give him that satisfaction. Rising from the chair, she whirled around to face him.
“There’s no way you would have come all the way to check up on me, George. That meant you had to go through every one of the addresses in my file with you to locate me since I didn’t tell you where I was staying. And I expect that you don’t tell anyone else either, and keep the damn file to yourself.”
“There’s no need to get all pissed,” George replied. “I’m on your side. There’s a panel session today on entertainment, and most stars are going to be there. I was thinking you might be interested since you could get to personally talk with anyone. I’ll get you in since you’ve been blacklisted, but the rest is in your court. Can you do that for me?”
“Of course!” Rina jumped at the opportunity.
“And if you get caught, kindly tell no one I brought you in there.”