Chapter 4
The chat was going absolutely wild again.
[Ethan really is the best. He can spot a snake from a mile away.]
[Let's make this today's quote. Just because you enjoy wrecking relationships doesn't mean everyone else does.]
[They've been close since they were kids. That's just how they are. Diana, stop projecting your own drama onto them.]
I was fuming, just about to go off, when my assistant, Leila Marsh, yanked me aside.
She whispered, "Diana, chill out. He just scored the lead in a major franchise. Everyone's backing him up right now. If you pick a fight with him, you're the one who's gonna get burned."
"A major franchise?" I let out a bitter laugh, half pissed, half amused.
Leila nodded. "Yeah, and there's some mysterious big shot who's obsessed with him—pouring insane amounts of money into his career. The word is, that backer's totally betting on him. Diana, if you get on his bad side, we're screwed."
"Heh, investing in him was a nod to his talent. That doesn't give him the right to act like he's above everyone else," I sneered.
Leila let out a helpless laugh, her eyes full of pity as she looked at me.
She said, "Diana, trust me. Don't even try to figure out what that powerful backer is thinking."
"I'm not trying to figure out anything." I scoffed. "I'm pulling my money out. Right now."
"Diana, come on..." Diana sighed, totally exasperated.
She shook her head, giving me a look like I was hopeless. "Do you even hear yourself right now?"
With that, she just turned around and left without even looking back.
I overheard her run into a coworker and sigh dramatically again.
She said, "Diana's really gone off the deep end. Now she's acting like she's Ethan's investor or something.
"Honestly, do you think all that online hate finally fried her brain? First she sounded like she's Mr. Pierce's girlfriend, and now she's hallucinating about being some big-time investor."
I was already pissed off, so I grabbed my phone and dialed my secretary, not bothering to hide my irritation.
"Drop the investment. You heard me. Pull out, now," I snapped.
The secretary hesitated, sounding shocked. "But Ms. Quinn, I thought you were Mr. Lewis' biggest fan?"
"Turns out I was completely wrong about him. Cut all connections and terminate every project tied to him—immediately!" I barked.
"Understood, Ms. Quinn," the secretary replied.
As soon as I hung up, I let out a long breath. Finally, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.
But when I walked into the studio, I nearly dropped my phone at the sight in front of me.
Ethan was sipping from a milkshake, and the straw had a lipstick mark that matched Camille's shade exactly.
He took a sip, then handed the drink back to her.
"It's a bit too sweet. They really went overboard with the sugar," he said, sounding unimpressed.
Camille naturally took the cup and popped the same straw into her mouth.
"I think so too, but since you bought it for me, I guess I'll make an exception and have a few sips," Camille said, her voice playful and sweet.
"Such a drama queen," Ethan chuckled, shaking his head fondly.
"Hold up..." I cut in, not bothering to hide my annoyance.
"Aren't you dating someone now? Childhood friends or not, you should stop acting so cozy," I said.
Ethan immediately stepped in front of Camille, shielding her protectively.
"Told you before, Ms. Quinn. If you weren't so bitter inside, you wouldn't see everyone else as dirty," he said coolly, not bothering to hide his disdain.
Pissed off, I arched an eyebrow and shot back, "If someone's already dirty, it doesn't matter who's looking—they're just bad news, plain and simple."
"How dare you!" Ethan cut in, visibly angered.
Camille's eyes went red with tears in a flash.
"Diana, are you really calling me dirty?" she whimpered, her voice full of hurt.
I shot her a look, my eyebrow raised. "Who else do you think I'm talking about? It's just you two here, isn't it?"
Ethan's face went thunderous, like he was about to lose it.
Just then, the director burst in and put a stop to the drama before things could really blow up. I let out a silent sigh of relief. Thank god someone finally stepped in.
Afraid I'd cause even more chaos, the crew actually went so far as to give me a private room—for the first time ever.
I had barely finished unpacking when someone showed up at my door and dropped the bomb.
The staff member said, "You're off the show."
Leila blinked in surprise.
"Wait, what? We have a contract," she blurted out.
The staff member just smirked at us.
"Because Mr. Lewis said so," they sneered, making it clear we didn't have a say in the matter.
Leila looked totally crushed, all the fight gone from her face.
She turned to me with a heavy sigh.
"Diana, guess we're really out of here," she muttered, her voice trailing off in defeat.
I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief, my anger boiling over.
I said, "Oh, so now he's calling the shots for me too?
"Let's go then. Suits me just fine. I've had enough of this showbiz mess."
That day, I was trending all over the internet—again.
The hashtag read, "Diana finally gets booted from showbiz."