Page 60 of Deck the Hauls

Emily grinned. “Yes, I’m planning to catch the 8 a.m. train home tomorrow. My sister is flying in from LA tonight.” Her smile faltered. “I hope the snowstorm hasn’t affected her flight.”

“It’s terrible timing with so many people traveling for the holidays. But it might not be as bad in New York since it’s closer to the coast.”

“Fingers crossed. Thanksgiving is my second-favorite day, after Christmas, so I really hope we all make it home.” Emily rearranged herself on the sofa. “So…how did the talk with Charles go?”

I watched the flames flickering in the fireplace for a moment.

“You know, it’s hard to say. He sounded genuine enough. He said he’d look into it, but I don’t know.” I shrugged. “He might have just been saying that. I figured we’d give him a chance and, if nothing comes of it, consider taking it higher?”

Emily nodded. “Yeah, let’s see what happens.”

“Hey, did something happen with Austin after I went to speak to Charles?” I asked.

“No.” Emily’s brow dipped. “Why?”

“I was just wondering why you left like that? I thought maybe he’d said or done something.”

Emily placed her fork on the plate. “No, it wasn’t him. The whole thing just dredged up some bad memories.”

Bad memories?

I set my plate aside, pulled my legs onto the couch and shifted my body so I was facing Emily. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, obviously, but if you’d like to talk to someone about it, you’ve literally got a captive audience right now.”

Emily shifted her gaze to the fire. “Thank you. It would be good, actually, to talk to someone. I spoke to my agent, but it would be nice to get a different perspective.”

I watched Emily closely.

“Have you heard of Phillip Weatherstone? He directed Wronged Hearts and Hallet.”

The name sounded familiar. “I think so.”

“Well, he also directed Clique.” Emily placed her plate on the side table.

“What happened?”

“Like Austin, he propositioned me, told me he could help me with my career. When I turned him down, he got nasty, said he’d ruin my career if I didn’t sleep with him. I refused, and he held true to his word. All the calls dried up. I couldn’t even get auditions. I knew he was powerful in the industry, but I hadn’t appreciated just how far reaching his influence was.”

So this was the falling out she’d mentioned. I’d imagined it had been caused by creative differences or clashing personality types. I’d never thought it could be something like this.

“I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”

“Yeah. I’ve spent the last couple of years trying not to think about it. But a few weeks ago, a reporter reached out to me. Apparently, it wasn’t just me he did this to. She’s writing an exposé on him and wants me to make a public statement. Most of the other women are bound by confidentiality agreements and she’s desperate for some more sources before she goes to print.” Emily fiddled with the draw string dangling from the hoodie she was wearing.

“I didn’t realize this until the reporter reached out, but a friend who I met on the set of Clique had the same thing happen to her. She’d seen how he’d damaged my career, so she ended up going along with it.” Emily tugged at the draw string.

I clenched my jaw. “He sounds like a monster. What are you going to do?”

Emily bit her lip. “I’d put off deciding what to do until after filming wrapped. But now that’s over, so I do need to make a call. Seeing Austin come on to Ava earlier made me want to take Phillip down more than ever.” She paused. “But Phillip sent me some flowers last week with a threatening note, basically saying if I don’t stay quiet, my career would be over. And he’s not bluffing. He ruined my career before; he could do it again. And the thought of having to rehash what happened in public, having to tell my family...” Emily cleared her throat. “My agent doesn’t think I should speak out either. But I can’t stop thinking about him continuing to do this to other women.”

A lump rose in my throat. I wanted to move closer to Emily to comfort her. But would that be appropriate? Given the topic, being touched might be the last thing she needed.

“It’s definitely not an easy decision. It’s also one you don’t need to make tonight. You’ve already had a lot happen today, with filming ending, Austin, the whole lost-in-a-snowstorm thing, and now being trapped with me here.” And our kiss. “You should take your time. Enjoy Thanksgiving and give yourself a few days to think about it. Now that you’re not so busy filming, perhaps things will become clearer. And if you want to talk it through with anyone, I’m happy to be a second pair of ears.”

Emily gave me a small smile. “Thanks. You’re right. I should at least sleep on it.”

“Hey, do you feel like dessert?” If I couldn’t comfort her physically, at least I could try to cheer her up with food.

“Sure!” Emily’s face brightened. “Can I help?”