Me Against Her (Cate Blanchett x OC)

Meltdown

"I'm not sure that I can, Cate." 

"Ok, I'll make this easier for you. I'll tell you my secret, and you tell me yours." She said calmly, "I'll go first. Andrew and I are getting a divorce." 

"Oh shit," I gasped, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." 

"How are you...coping?"

"There's nothing to cope with. It's a huge relief, in fact. It's run its course." she smiled, "We'll take turns with the kids." 

"What'll this do to your professional relationship?"

"Shockingly, not as much as we expected. Andrew and I still connect very deeply on an intellectual level, and we get each other's tastes. And we're both very compartmentalized mentally, when it comes to work." 

I stared pensively at the spacious living room of the Upton-Blanchett family, suddenly feeling like an intruder. 

"So that's that. Your turn." she lowered her chin and probed me with her cat-like eyes. 

Halting and trembling, I told her everything, from the very beginning. The letters, me checking the security cameras, my talk with Andrew, my discoveries from the intern. Well, not everything, exactly. I purposely left one detail out - I didn't ever mention that Harge was the de facto financial backbone of the company. 

After I finished, there was a silence. Almost mournful silence. Cate sighed, "I went to school with him...University of Melbourne. I was an economics major before I pivoted to acting, and that's where I briefly met him in a class. Handsome guy, but socially awkward. He's always had a bit of a...crush on me. And I did return all of his flowers - he kept sending them."

"I think I saw him sneaking around your house before I came in," I said.

"I don't care." Cate said, her impatience mounting, "Could slap him with a restraining order. What I do care about is that he has no business blackmailing you like this."

She put my hands in hers, "you poor thing. Why didn't you ever come to me before?"

"I feel like you've been avoiding me since we came back," I said between quiet sobs, "you wouldn't even look at me at the theater."

"I have to be able to keep my professional and personal lives separate, darling," she said, "and to be honest, it's been difficult as hell having you and Andrew around all the time."

Through my tears, I had to repress a tiny shred of elation that had surfaced through the pain. It was strangely flattering to hear me and Andrew mentioned in the same vein like that. 

"But whatever happens, I'll make sure that you're not in jeopardy professionally. I'll deal with Harge, don't worry."

"No!" I said, "Please don't deal with him...he's not someone we're in a position to upset, unfortunately."

"Why not?"

"He's...a nepo case. He's close friends with one of lead actors." I made up on the spot.

"Stop lying to me, Edie." Cate leaned closer to me intensely, "You know I care more about you than any of our actors. They're dispensable."

I said, "I made up my mind in the bathroom just now, I'm going to resign. Our affair being revealed is one thing, but I couldn't possibly face the rest of the team if...I were the cause that brought our company down."

"Is that what you really want? To resign."

"To stop the blackmailing, yes."

"Is Harge the secret donor Andrew brought in?"

Fuck. And here I was, thinking she was just a dumb actress a month ago.

"Harge's second letter said that if I don't resign and stay away from you, the two million would go away. You cannot tell Andrew that I told you this," I implored, "he specifically said not to tell you this."

A long pause.

"What Andrew doesn't understand about me, is that I experienced episodes of poverty growing up," Cate suddenly changed topics, as if I just pressed a button on the remote control of her emotions and switched to a different channel altogether, "my father passed away when I was 10. My mom raised me, my sister, and my brother all on her own. She had to work three jobs to make ends meet. There were days when she would wake up in the morning and not know where our next meal was coming from. It was the most painful thing I've ever had to watch someone go through."

She propped her head up wearily on the edge of the couch, her soft angular face growing fragile but determined at the same time, "ever since then, I promised myself that I'd do everything that I can so the ones I love won't have to bow down to money. Ever."