Page 28 of Lasting Hope
This had been the longest she’d gone without seeing her agent since they’d first teamed up. Isabel Wynell was the mastermind behind every career move Paisley made, bringing her to where she was. Or where she used to be. Right now Paisley was in an unwashed sweatshirt, her hair in a high messy bun. There was no movie set to go to. No car waiting to pick her up for an event. Her mascara was smudged. But none of that mattered.
“Paisley, thank god.” Isabel covered her heart with her hand when she saw Paisley and Ben sitting in the back corner of the library. “I’ve been so worried about you. No one would tell me where you were, only that you had to leave and were safe. Who are these people who took you away from here? Where did they take you?”
“Calm down, Izzy,” Paisley said gently as she stood and welcomed her to the small table. “I’m okay. It’s a lot to take in, but I didn’t have a choice after what happened.”
“Doug. It’s awful. I flew in for the funeral tomorrow. I was praying you’d be here. When you called it was such a relief.” Izzy caught her breath as she spoke.
“They weren’t trying to kill Doug, they were trying to kill me. I had to step back and regroup. I haven’t had a chance to think.”
“You need security.” Izzy didn’t sit. She fluttered around nervously, trying to make a list of what to do next. That was her specialty. “I’ll call Ron and tell him to get at least six guys on you. What hotel are you at?”
Scrutinizing these questions made Paisley sick. Was Izzy asking because she wanted to feed that information to someone terrible? It couldn’t be her. There was no way. “I don’t need security. I’m good. The less people who are close to me the better.”
Izzy looked at Ben skeptically. “Well this guy looks pretty close to you.”
“I’m Ben,” he announced, standing to shake her hand. “It’s been a very difficult time for everyone involved and I’m here to support her in any way she needs.”
“I uh...” Izzy stood tall in front of Ben even though her voice wasn’t completely steady. “Are you with the people who swept in at the hospital and took her? We had a right to know where she was going. Doug was like a member of our family and we were all in shock. You could have given us some warning. Or let us know what was happening.”
Ben didn’t apologize. He seemed to be forming an opinion of Izzy that wasn’t very favorable. In his defense, he didn’t have the years of friendship with her that Paisley did. For him, anyone in her life could be the one putting her in danger. “The only priority we have is Paisley’s safety. We aren’t sure who can be trusted, considering how things were handled leading up to this and the amount of access the stalkers had.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It’s very possible that someone close to Paisley is responsible for leaking information about her schedule and her whereabouts to the people trying to harm her.”
“And thehow it was handledpart?” Izzy pressed. “We had no idea this was so serious. People in the industry have been dealing with unhinged fans since the beginning of time. If we shut everything down each time someone gets a nasty letter there would never be another movie made.”
“It was more than nasty letters,” Ben challenged. “The rats. The arson. Tampering with the vehicles.”
“We reported every bit of that to the authorities. We amped up security at every event. If you think we were sitting by idly, waiting for the next thing to happen, you’re wrong. But I’m not the police. They had the same information we did and weren’t able to do anything to stop what happened. They are also the ones who advised us not to go public. They thought it would only amplify the voices of these deranged people. I don’t appreciate the implications.”
“I’m not laying blame,” Ben corrected. “I’m talking about what was done in the wake of Doug’s death and how we are proceeding now.”
Izzy turned toward Paisley, trying to cut Ben out completely. “Why wouldn’t you want Ron? And your makeup team. Everyone will be here for Doug’s funeral. We should regroup together. We’ve always come together when things are hard. His family has tried to keep his cause of death quiet, but you can come out on the offensive. Maybe it’s time to finally tell people what’s been going on. All the drama.”
“Drama,” Ben scoffed. “It’s not drama. It’s stalking. Murder. This should have been taken seriously from the beginning.” He was clearly not going to back down. Paisley was torn. On one hand she was upset for the way Izzy was being confronted, but on the other hand she wanted to hear her answers. These were questions she wished she’d asked along the way.
Izzy dropped her hands to her sides and glanced at Paisley for support. “We did everything we knew how to do in order to keep you safe.”
Paisley stood, trying to cool the heated discussion. They were in the library, lowering their voices was important. They’d be making enough of a scene later, they didn’t need to start drawing a crowd now. “All we can do is move forward. I agree, we should put out a statement and make the threats and stalking public. I’ll ask that we respect his family’s privacy. They don’t want a media circus. They’ve been through enough.”
Izzy finally looked a bit relieved, as though having a plan could make this better. “I can get the PR team on it. We can write something emotional but stoic. It can make you appear—”
“I don’t want to appear any specific way,” Paisley cut back, knowing she sounded frustrated. She’d never used that tone with Izzy. They had a very parent/child relationship that had worked for many years. Paisley was so young when she’d started working professionally, and Izzy provided the guidance she needed. Now, Paisley understood they were all out of their element, dealing with something bigger than any of them could handle. It was her life on the line, so it was her turn to make the decisions, even if she sounded curt while doing it. “This isn’t a media stunt. I’m not trying to garner empathy or get my name in the headlines. Doug is dead. I would do anything to change that. You two didn’t always see eye to eye but—”
“Whoa,” Izzy shouted, every head in the library turning her way. “Doug and I disagreed occasionally on the best way to handle business decisions, but I cared very much about him. I’m not trying to turn this into some publicity stunt. I thought you wanted to make a statement.”
They had disagreed on how to handle the stalking and attacks. That was what Izzy was leaving out. Doug, who spent more time than anyone with Paisley, knew the toll this had taken. He was first in the rat-filled room when maintenance finally opened the door. He’d been in the car when the brakes were cut. He took her shopping the day after her clothes were burned so she could have something decent to wear again. He saw it all, and often told Izzy more needed to be done. He was in favor of canceling events. Being more clandestine about her schedule. But Izzy downplayed that, reminding them they had to keep striking while the iron was hot. Careers were fleeting and if she canceled too many events and tried to stay hidden away in her house, she’d lose traction.
“I want to make a statement,” Paisley replied, her voice hushed again. “I’ll say what I need to say from the heart. I’ll tell people what’s going on. The police don’t want me to, they think it could hurt the investigation, but I’m tired of these people operating undercover, like it doesn’t even exist, like what’s happening to me doesn’t matter. Doug mattered. People are going to know.”
Ben put a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll say exactly what needs to be said. It’ll be tomorrow in front of the high school. Izzy, you should spread the word and arrange for the media to be there. Let them know Paisley will be addressing some safety concerns and the death of Doug. Don’t let on about anything more specific.”
Izzy looked put off by the idea of Ben giving any kind of orders. “What are you doing now? Can we go get something to eat? Just the two of us. You look exhausted. The hair and makeup team will want to get a couple hours with you tomorrow before any kind of on camera press conference. We can make a plan for that.”
“I don’t think so.” Paisley wished she’d been more assertive in her answer as Izzy took the opportunity to press for more.
“And if I can interject one more thing I think you should consider. If you would rather do this in prime time, there are multiple talk shows and networks that would absolutely love to have you on. I’m not sure local TV cameras in front of your old high school will have the biggest impact.”