Rising Star (18 page)

“
Well, Selena. I’ve read
your excerpt, but I haven’t had time to read the entire manuscript.
What I did read was excellent work and you’ve already been making a
name for yourself in Hollywood, which really helps.”

“
What does Hollywood have
to do with my books?”

Sam laughed gently. “Well Selena. We’re not
just selling your books, we are selling you. And if people already
know your name, you’re a lot easier to sell.”

“
Oh, I guess that makes
sense.”

“
Now, tell me what else
you’ve written.”

Selena described several of her manuscripts,
plus the one she was currently working on, where a young girl was
lost in the desert.

“
Tell me more about the
detective series,” Sam said with a smile. “And how many are
there?”

Selena described more of the detective
series starring Trish. “And I have five of them finished,” she
said.

“
Oh, excellent.” Sam
clapped his hands excitedly. “We want to move fast on this,” he
told Rose. “While Selena’s still a hot item in Hollywood. And we’ll
want a full page picture of her for the back cover.” He went on to
discuss details with Rose, and Selena tuned them out as she thought
about Matt. After this, she would be free to meet him in L.A. and
stay with him for a while. She wasn’t looking forward to being back
in L.A., but she couldn’t wait to see Matt again.

“
Selena!” Sam clapped his
hands together and Selena jumped as she came back to the present.
“I was saying, do you have the manuscripts with you for the
detective series?”

Selena reached into the bag by her feet and
began pulling out manuscripts. She had the first two of the
detective series in her hand and was about to pull out more when
Rose put a hand on her arm, stopping her. She looked up at Rose
with a puzzled look and Rose gave a slight shake of her head.
Selena dropped the remaining manuscripts back into her bag and
handed the first two to Sam as she said, “I don’t think these are
very good. They’ve been turned down by publishers and agents all
over the country.”

Sam laughed. “Don’t worry about that. It
happens. A lot of bestsellers were first turned down by everyone in
the country.” He smiled warmly at Selena, putting her at ease.
“I’ll take a look at these today. Why don’t the two of you come
back tomorrow, say…ten a.m.?”

“
Sure,” the two women said
simultaneously.

Sam stood up and gave each of them a warm
handshake, smiling kindly at Selena as he took her hand. He
reminded her a little of Don Broward with his gentle, friendly
ways.

“
What happens tomorrow?”
Selena asked Rose when they were on their way down in the
elevator.

“
Sam will have an offer for
you and a publishing contract. But…you don’t have to accept
anything right away. Sometimes it can take a while. I can haggle
with him by emails if need be, even after you are back
home.”

“
Oh, okay.” Selena still
wasn’t thinking about it as an income. She just really enjoyed
writing and she wanted to see her books published. She had never
considered writing as a business and making money from
it.

She talked to Matt on the phone that night,
describing the meeting to him. She described how Rose stopped her
before she could pull out more manuscripts.

“
Sure. Because she knows
there will be a whole new contract for those. Well,
congratulations, my love,” he said softly. “Sounds like you just
have to work out the details.”

Selena couldn’t sleep that night; excitement
over a publishing contract was just too raw. She tossed and turned
as she tried to relax, but to no avail. What had been her secret
dream for so many years, was actually happening. She had to keep
reminding herself that it was actually real; she hadn’t dreamed it
and it wasn’t just one of her fantasies.

Selena returned with Rose to Sam’s office
the next morning. They were ushered into the same meeting room from
the day before and, when Sam entered, he had Selena’s manuscripts
in his hand. Uh, oh, he must think they suck and he’s returning
them to me, she thought dejectedly. Sam took each of their hands
again with a warm handshake and a smile, then he pushed a packet of
papers across to Rose, where she studied it, then passed it to
Selena without a word or a smile. Selena was confused as she stared
at the papers. It appeared to be a publishing contract, but Selena
was confused by all the numbers and legal jargon.

“
I’ll just give you two a
little time,” Sam said. He left the room and closed the door behind
him.

Rose pulled the contract back to her side of
the table and studied it closely. “No, this is unacceptable,” she
said as she leafed through the papers quickly.

“
Could you explain it to
me?”

“
He’s offering you an
advance of two hundred and twenty-five thousand for three books and
the promise of one more of the detective series, and only ten
percent royalties. Unacceptable.”

“
That sounds great to me,”
Selena said. It sounded like an enormous amount of money to her.
Maybe not as much as she’d made from the movie she’d just finished,
but this wasn’t Hollywood either.

“
Trust me Selena, it’s
unacceptable.” Rose opened the door and called Sam back into the
office. With a stern face, she pushed the contract toward him.
“Three fifty on only these three books and fifteen percent,” she
said, looking Sam squarely in the eye.

Sam stared back at Rose, unmoving. They were
locked in a silent death stare for what seemed like an eternity,
then Sam finally broke the stare. “Alright,” he said with a sigh,
“but I want a three city promotional tour right away. I want to
expedite production of the first novel.”

“
Done,” Rose reached across
the table and shook Sam’s hand firmly.

“
You always were a tough
negotiator, Rose.” Sam’s face lit up as a smile creased his mouth.
“You’re one of the best.”

Selena watched as Rose smiled back, the
tension in the room easing considerably as the two of them relaxed.
Obviously they had battled each other before over contracts.

As Sam took Selena’s hand in a firm grip,
his face relaxing as he smiled at her, Selena asked quietly, “what
cities?”

“
New York, Chicago and
L.A., let’s start from here and work our way west.”

“
Okay,” Selena wasn’t
positive of exactly what she was agreeing to, but she understood
one thing; her books were going to be published! Her lifelong dream
of becoming a published author was becoming a reality. And all that
money. That was a benefit she had never even counted on. Would it
be possible to make a living writing her stories? Something she
would have done anyway, just for the sheer love of writing. She had
never considered making a living at it.

She waited with Rose in the meeting room
while Sam drew up the new contract. When he returned, he had her
sign her name over and over again, page after page, while Rose
looked over her shoulder.

Sam promised to be in touch with Rose for
dates to be back in New York. “I want to do it soon,” he said.
“We’ll do a pre-production tour and another tour after the release.
Let’s get on the publicity while she’s still a hot item.”

Rose agreed and Selena followed her back
down in the elevator. “What do you think?” Rose asked.

“
I’m excited to finally get
my books into print,” Selena said, her voice portraying none of the
excitement she felt. She’d save that for Matt.

“
How about the amount? Are
you satisfied with three hundred fifty thousand?”

“
Yeah, it’s unbelievable.”
Selena figured between this amount and the movie she’d just
finished, she was now close to being a millionaire. It was a
staggering sum for an eighteen year old. In her wildest dreams she
couldn’t have conjured up the turn of events her chance meeting
with Don Broward had led her to. “What will I have to do on the
tour?”

“
Give interviews, radio
shows, that sort of thing. Then after the book comes out, more
interviews, book signings.”

Selena’s stomach tightened into knots at the
thought. She wondered what she’d just signed herself into. She
hadn’t thought publishing her books was going to involve her still
being in the public eye. She’d thought she was finished with
looking into a camera.

Chapter 21

Selena flew back home with mixed emotions.
She was jubilant about the publishing contract. A dream she’d had
for so many years had finally come true, but she was nervous about
giving interviews on TV and radio stations. Matt had seemed so
relaxed and charming when she’d watched him on TV, but she didn’t
think she would ever be able to do what he did, nor did she really
want to. She decided to ask Matt about it when she talked to him;
he could probably coach her through it. She felt better after that
and she watched as the Sandia Mountains and her beautiful desert
came into view as the plane touched down in Albuquerque. She
breathed a sigh of relief when she left the airport and picked up
her small red car. Why couldn’t she just stay home and write her
books and ride her horse? She felt as if she were being pulled
further and further away from what she really wanted to do. She had
no interest in the business end of writing and she’d had enough
publicity already to last a lifetime.

Matt was the only bright spot in her unhappy
thoughts and she looked forward to his call each day. At least she
would be with him soon, when she did interviews in L.A.

She grabbed for her cell phone when it rang
that evening. She had been trying to concentrate on her new novel,
the one she’d been working on in L.A., with the young girl lost in
the desert. But too many thoughts were swirling through her mind,
making it difficult to concentrate on writing. Usually she became
so embroiled in the story, she forgot where she was for a
while.

“
Hey,” she answered happily
when she saw Matt’s name on the caller ID.

“
We need to talk,” Matt
said. She had never heard the tone in his voice like she heard now.
He sounded sad, maybe even angry.

“
What’s up?”

“
Have you read this week’s
rag mags?”

“
Of course not, you know I
don’t read that trash.”

“
There’s a nice picture of
you and Michael Sabatino looking pretty cozy at a
restaurant.”

Selena paused for a second, trying to recall
the name. “Oh, the modeling agency,” she said.

“
I was over at Paul’s house
this evening and Megan showed it to me. She said you were flirting
with Paul every day during filming and she hinted at other men. And
this picture kind of backs up what she said. It sure doesn’t look
like a business meeting, Selena. You two look awfully cozy in this
picture.”

“
She’s lying,” Selena
raised her voice. “She hates me because I took the lead role away
from her. I told you about her.”

Matt read the article to her, anger evident
in his voice.

Selena Summers strikes
again.

This time it appears her target is
Michael Sabatino of the famed Chez Chic modeling agency. Sources
reveal that she’s working her way through Hollywood, from Matt
Mason to Paul James and now Mr. Sabatino, who everyone in the
business knows is quite the Ladies Man. Who will be next? Lock up
your husbands, ladies!

Selena was crying by the time Matt finished
reading. She was sure their ‘source’ was Megan herself. “You know
none of that is true,” she said through her tears. She couldn’t
believe how hurtful it was, hearing those things about yourself and
knowing the entire country would be reading them. And how about her
friends, her parents, kids she had gone to school with and barrel
raced with. Would everyone perceive her now as a husband-chasing
slut? It just wasn’t fair!

Matt stared at the picture of her and
Michael as he spoke, his anger barely controlled. He wasn’t sure
what to believe, and Megan had sounded so convincing as she
described Paul and Selena together. She had even told him how she
had caught them in an embrace on the balcony at the wrap-up party
and Megan’s friends had backed it up. They had all seen it too.
“I’m sorry Selena. You were so pure when I met you; now it seems
like you’re turning into another of these Hollywood girls. And
these nasty stories reflect badly on me too, you know.”

“
What are you saying?”
Selena cried into the phone. The injustice of it all was
unbearable. He had to believe her.

“
I think we should take a
break.”

“
As in, you’re breaking up
with me?” Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“
I’m sorry
Selena.”

“
Wait, Matt.” The phone was
silent and she took it from her ear and stared at the screen. Matt
had hung up. Selena dropped onto the bed as she sobbed. How could
he believe those magazines? And that horrible little blond, Megan.
Selena wanted to tear the blond hair from Megan’s head. She tried
calling his number back, but it went straight to voicemail. Matt
had turned his phone off. Selena curled into a ball on her bed as
she cried. None of this had been worth it. She wished she’d never
even seen Hollywood. She’d told Matt she was done with it. Why
couldn’t he believe her? She would rather have Matt’s love than any
of their movies or modeling gigs. She finally cried herself to
sleep, still curled into a ball on her bed.