"Are you sure about this, Shay?"
Jeff Dobbs, her agent, sat staring at her like she'd lost her mind. She'd told him three weeks ago to stop trying to renegotiate her contract with the current soap opera she was on. She'd worked her entire life on her acting career and had been adamant with him when she came to New York after her divorce to jump right back into the soap opera world. Now, she wanted out of that world.
"I'm tired, Jeff. I don't want to work twelve and fourteen hour days five to six days a week. I love acting. I do, but this grueling pace is wearing me down. I had to beg the producers to be able to go to my father's bypass surgery, and they'd only give me the one day I already had off. I can't keep doing that."
He sighed. "What are you going to do, then?"
She shrugged. She wasn't sure herself. She had her passion project, but she had to come up with a business plan and try to find funding that didn't make her beholden to shareholders.
"Are you giving up acting altogether?"
She couldn't help but laugh at the alarm in his voice.
"No. Keep your britches out of that twist."
"Huh?"
Another laugh slipped out. Jeff forgot she grew up in rural Virginia and some of those old backwoods colloquial sayings slipped out randomly.
"It means calm down. I'm not quitting acting. I'm just asking you to try to find me something that isn't going to require ninety-eight percent of my time. I want to be able to visit my family, to spend time with my boyfriend, to do things I want to do. I don't want to be chained to a set."
"Thank God," he said, finally relaxing. "You have a talent I've rarely seen in actors. I've always said wasting it on a soap opera was a crime."
"There's nothing wrong with soaps. They entertain millions of people."
"I never said there was anything wrong with them," he huffed. "Only that your talent was wasted there. You're very good, Shay, and you deserve to move on to bigger and better things."
"As long as those things don't require me to work twenty-four-seven, I'll seriously look at what you find me."
"What are you looking to do? Movies, TV series...theater?"
"I've always loved the theater, but I know it's rare to find something I'd actually want to do. Eventually, I want to open my own theater company for at-risk kids, but I need a lot more money to do that."
"I'm sure I could find investors..."
She cut him off before he could get the sentence out. "No. I don't want to deal with investors who will look at the bottom line. It'll be run by me, and me only, despite how much money I lose because it's to help children, not to pad my bank account."
"Understood." He nodded, his artfully styled brown hair not daring to move an inch. How much product did he have in it? It was a question Shayna pondered every time she saw him. Jeff was in his thirties and quite handsome. She'd never seen him in any sort of romantic light, though. He was her agent who looked out for her investments because her bottom line was also his bottom line. She counted Jeff as a friend, but she understood their business relationship as well. And he was happily married with children. She'd never been a homewrecker, and she wasn't about to start any time soon.
"Maybe a TV series based here in New York? My dad is still recovering from a triple bypass surgery, so I don't want to have to run all over kingdom come shooting a movie at various locations. I want to be home for a little while in case he needs me."
"I'll start sending out feelers today. How is the producer taking the news you're not renewing your contract?"
She snorted. "He thought he was going to hardball us and get me to renew my contract for five years at my current rate."
"Did he, now?"
"That's what his secretary told me."
"She'd know."
Secretaries and personal assistants knew all the secrets. It was why she kept her own assistant, Kevin, at arm's length and gave him access to only the information he needed to do his job. She also had a feeling her boyfriend, Max Sheridan, didn't like her PA, either. He'd never said anything to her, but he always got this look whenever the man was around. It was a look that said, "I'm watching you. Screw up, and I'll nail you." She didn't think it was jealousy. Max genuinely didn't like him.
"Is there anything in particular you're interested in?"
"Well, I'm open to anything as long as it's not a dead-end role with no growth of the character. I want to be able to evolve the character if I'm going to be on for longer than a few episodes."
"Maybe a medical drama? I've gotten a few emails about a new show for NBC."
"I've never played a doctor or nurse, but I'd be willing to try. I just want something that's fun and will challenge me at the same time."
"I'll contact the producers and find out more." He stood and yawned. Jeff was always tired. She'd told him time and again he needed a vacation before he burned himself out at both ends, but he never listened.
"Take a nap before you do that."
"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off and took his leave. She really hoped he got some rest.
Shayna picked up the last of her things in the trailer and looked around. She'd filmed her final scene earlier, and today was the last day she'd step foot on set. Until her role was recast, the character she played would remain in a coma. Not original, but then again, most soaps weren't original. They redid the same thing over and over with just enough of a unique take to keep the viewers from complaining.
She was actually sad to go. She'd made a few good friends while here, and she'd miss them. They'd had a going away party for her, and she'd shed a few tears. Hopefully, whatever came in the next chapter would be better than the last few.
And she had Max. He was the best chapter yet. The two of them hadn't been able to spend a lot of time together over the last month. He'd been on assignment after assignment, and her days on set were long. She hoped their schedules would mesh up a little better now. She wanted to spend time with him and not just phone calls. They talked every day, several times a day, but it wasn't the same as being with him. He made her feel safe, and that was something she hadn't had in a very long time.
Not since Duncan.
Her ex-husband beat her on a regular basis, and he'd stolen her confidence and self-esteem. If not for her best friend, she might be dead by now. Desiree had taken one look at her and forced her hand. She'd threatened her husband, and he actually let her go. Duncan might be one of Hollywood's A-list celebrities, but Desi was an international pop star. Her clout was bigger than his.
Thank God for Desi.
The past was the past, and her future was her future.
On to bigger and better things.
It was a mantra she repeated to herself daily.
And one that seemed to be coming true.
Smiling, she opened the trailer door and stepped out into the cool night air. It was after ten already, but it couldn't be helped.
"Ma'am."
She glanced up to see her bodyguard, a young man named Drae, step out of the shadows. He took her box and fell into step beside her. Max insisted on the guard after she'd been stalked and almost shot last month. It irritated her having a stranger follow her around, but she trusted Max not to assign her anyone who was untrustworthy. And Drae stayed out of her way, for the most part.
"Thank you," she said when he opened the door to the town car waiting for her. He deposited the box beside her once she got in the back seat and then went round to the driver's side.
"Home, Miss Moore, or do you have any stops to make?"
"Home, please."
The ride to her apartment building was quiet, and she appreciated that Drae never tried to fill the silence. He pulled up to the curb and escorted her inside and up to her apartment. He "cleared" it before he left for the evening, which meant he walked through it and checked to make sure there was no one hiding. He also swept the apartment once a week for any audio or video devices. She'd gotten paranoid about it since she discovered her apartment had been bugged by her stalker. They'd never been able to prove he did it, but they all knew he did. It left her feeling vulnerable in her own home.
Max left a message earlier that he'd be home tomorrow, and they were going out as soon as he slept for a few hours and got cleaned up. She liked that he always told her where he was. It made her feel less alone. Which was a new feeling for her. She'd never understood what it meant to feel alone until Duncan isolated her from everyone. Their marriage had really done a number on her, but she was getting better. She was even considering seeing a therapist who Viktor's sister-in-law, Lily, recommended. She was gun-shy about therapy since it meant telling someone intimate details about her life. She understood therapists weren't allowed to share details about their patients, but Shayna had serious trust issues when it came to her personal life. Her own family sold her out to the press. Why would she trust a therapist?
But she had Max. He helped her more than anything or anyone else.
God, she missed him. He was supposed to have two weeks off once this assignment was finished, and she was looking forward to it. Maybe she could even convince him to go away for a vacation. She hadn't had a real vacation in years, not since her mother died when she was younger.
The beach was always a good idea. She loved going there with her family growing up. Maybe they'd make it a family vacation and invite Desiree, who was not only her best friend, but Max's little sister. Desi had been complaining lately that all she'd been doing was work, work, work. She missed Desi as much as she missed Max.
Once she'd cleaned the makeup off her face and changed into her favorite pajamas, she crawled into bed and turned the TV on. A news story about her ex-husband and his new girlfriend was on Entertainment. She felt sorry for the woman. Part of her wanted to reach out and warn her, but she knew that would be a bad idea. Not only would Duncan start harassing her again and circulating nasty stories, he might also hurt any chance she had of finding another job. He held a lot of power in the world of Hollywood, and that filtered down into the world of soaps and network television series as well.
As much as she wanted to say something, fear held her back.
Maybe fear would always hold her back from speaking out against Duncan Kane.
Sighing, she turned the TV off and closed her eyes.
Those were problems for another day, and she hadbetter things to dream about than her wife-beating ex-husband.