“What is the update?” Rina asked, after laughing at his rather weird but true joke. She grabbed her cup of ice tea and nibbled on her straw. “Did you hear back from any of the agencies?”
“Actually, I did,” he answered, grabbing his phone like he didn’t read the mail over and over again, the contents ingrained in his being. He had to, because he didn’t like the tone of the message. And his thoughts were confirmed before he reached the end of the mail. Phone in hand, he hit on the mail icon, and tapped the starred message, looking back at Rina.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” she asked, angling her head. It was apparent on his face, distress lines appearing on his forehead. “Come on. Get it out.”
“Okay,” he sighed. “One of the agencies we reached out to was actually excited to have our mail. At first, they responded with so much fervor that I thought we already had this in our pockets. They wanted to know when you would be able to come over for a meeting to get your schedule and pay rate sorted out. But an hour later, another mail came in from them. They said the initial one was an error and they don’t think you are going to aid their agency in anyway. Trust me, they used more foul words. I just reduced the harshness.”
Rina sighed. She was surely not expecting to have it all rosy immediately, but she had dared to hope that if she went beyond the borders of her country, she might hit a ray of luck. This was proving harder than she had bargained for.
“I found it strange though.” George’s order had arrived. He didn’t say anything until the waiter had once again gone away. “They definitely knew who had sent the application because your name was boldly spelt on it. They were looking forward to working with you. Something must have changed in that hour. Do you think…”
“No.” Rina shook her head emphatically. “It couldn’t have been Kayla. I don’t doubt the possibility of her having influence out of the country since her father’s name can take her anywhere, but I was with her earlier today before I went in to work. If Kayla had done something to sabotage my plans, she would have boasted about it. One thing she doesn’t have is humility, contrary to popular opinion. She would have thrown it in my face.”
“So it is someone else then.”
Rina didn’t want to think that far. She was already chasing shadows, from the look of it, and she didn’t want to make it worse by pointing blaming fingers while she still had a million other things to do. Rather than linger on the rejection mail, they needed to look for other production houses who could star her. It would only take one movie to get her back in people’s faces.
“What if it is no one?” Rina questioned. “Perhaps, the agency went online to get to know me better but found all the foul comments. Or maybe at first, they thought it was something they would be able to handle, and decided against it later. I don’t want to think a single individual is behind this.”
But George was sure about it. He knew someone must have sent a message over to the agency someone with enough influence. Leaning into the seat, he tried to think of a name, anyone with a personal vendetta against Rina. Coming up empty, he went through a short list of people in his head people who would have gotten the lead role in sets if Rina hadn’t stepped in.
“You’re not letting it go,” Rina murmured, eyeing George. She knew the face he put on anytime he was in deep reflection, and he was doing it right then.
“You don’t have to worry about it,” he replied. “It might be nothing. But I just don’t think it is. And besides, if I happen to be right, we need to know the extent of this person’s powers so we know where to channel our energy into.”
“You’re right.”
“Or…” He leaned in closer suddenly. “We might not have to do any of that since you are practically dating the most powerful person in this country. His powers would dwarf whatever influence this person thinks he or she has. Why don’t you tell him about my thoughts?”
“I can’t do that, George.” Rina knew this would happen once he got to know she was connected with Zayn in anyway. It was the easiest way to get things handled but Rina didn’t want to go that route. Joel had only brought her to the cottage from work once, but that was all it took for Zayn to get her a brand-new car. She wondered what he would do if he found out that someone was using their influence against her.
“Why not?” He was not asking with that tone everyone else might put on. George was genuinely interested in wanting to know the reason, and Rina knew that once she told him, he was going to support her decision.
“Because I want to do this on my own,” she explained. “I had Finn while married, and he made me lose almost everything I worked hard for. I know Zayn wouldn’t do that since he already has everything going smoothly for him, but I don’t want my fans thinking I got to the top because of him, after all my hard work.”
“That sounds really disciplined,” he murmured. “If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t have hesitated to take the help he offers. But I understand your reason. Now we just have to get to the bottom of whoever is behind this whoever is behind this, I mean.”
Rina rolled her eyes.
“What?” he asked exasperatedly. “I still think I’m right.”
“If not Rina Powers in flesh and blood,” an eerily familiar voice suddenly said from behind them, and George and Rina whipped their heads back in alarming speed.