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“Even though I’m doing ‘well’ and getting more exposure, the cost of living is super high,” she said. “I’m sharing a place with a costar now, but I know she’d never be okay with mebringing along another roommate. Not to mention the fact that my savings account is?—”
“How much money do you need, Magnolia?” I interrupted her rambling.
“I thought you’d never ask!” She let out a breath. Then she pulled a sheet from her purse.
“This is my current credit list, and I’m scheduled for two local ad campaigns next month,” she said, showing it to me. “I’m in the running to be a lead in three pilot shows, but I’ve been promised a minor role in two of them if they get picked up by a network. I’m running low on a few things after traveling, having to run through auditions, and…”
Her words came out in an awful blur, and I watched in disgust as her eyes lit up more about her job than Olivia.
As much as I’d held out a small part for the truth to be different, it was staring me straight in the face.
“Here.” I pulled out a blank check and signed my name, leaving the words “What Really Matters,” in the note line. “Write whatever amount you need, and I’ll make sure it clears by the morning.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.” I pulled a contract from my jacket pocket. “But you need to sign this first or you won’t get a dime.”
“Will do!” She took it from me, and her smile slipped. “Custody papers?”
“You need to relinquish full custody of Olivia to me, and I’ll allow a generous amount of visits.” I kept my voice firm. “However, I’ll be changing her phone number and limiting calls, since she falls apart every time she speaks to you.”
“Pierce, I… I don’t understand.”
“Olivia deserves aparent,” I said. “I’m sure she would love it if it were her mom, but since you don’t want to give her that, youcan do what’s second best. Sign over the rights, so I can be her legal father.”
“No.” She shook her head. “This is just a temporary situation. I swear.”
“You said that when she was seven.”
“She’s only eight now.”
“She just turnednine.” I hissed. “By the way, thank you for sending a video message for her latest birthday gift. Her friends thought it was ‘cool’ she knew a celebrity, even though you omitted the fact that she’s your goddamn daughter.”
“Stop fucking judging me, Pierce.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I just need her to hold on and wait a little longer until I get it together. I’m chasing adreamand you know what that’s like.”
I almost felt bad, but I remembered she was an actress.
“Forever isn’t an end date.” I clicked a pen. “Take your time reading through it, and you’ll see that I’ve been more than fair with the terms. Sign it and leave it with the host.”
“It’s not my fault that I don’t know how to be a good mom,” she said. “When we were growing up with Mama Raya?—”
“You were spoiled as fuck.” I snapped. “You’ve gotten everything, and I do meaneverythingyou’ve ever needed in life, and you’re far from a victim just because you didn’t get to be a child star.”
“Pierce…”
“If I were you, I would change the answers in your interviews before it’s too late.” I refused to sugarcoat this. “Eventually, the truth will come out, and no one will feel sorry for you. Something tells me that ‘deadbeat mother’ would do far more damage to your career than ‘young mother’ ever could.”
“You wouldn’t dare…”
“I won’t have to.” I stood up. “Don’t waste your time worrying if Olivia thinks you’re the worst mother on the planet.You are.”
THIRTY-NINE
HARLOW
Hey…You randomly disappeared tonight. You okay?
No. Meet me outside.
