Searing pain bloomed across my cheek.
Bianca tipped my chin up with one fingertip, inspecting me. "There we go. Finally some color."
"But given that little temper tantrum you threw last night, I'm not so sure you can keep Director Finch happy. Tell you what, let me test you first."
"Get on your knees and lick my shoes clean."
The room went quiet. People exchanged uneasy glances.
Even for someone who was just a lowly assistant, this was beyond degrading.
I looked at Anthony. "You have nothing to say?"
He hesitated. Bianca's lower lip jutted out in a wounded pout.
"Anthony, you said you'd help me land that role. That we were in this together. Did you forget?"
"Besides, I'm doing this for Viv's own good. She needs to learn obedience so she can take better care of you later. You can't have her throwing tantrums and making threats every time something doesn't go her way, right?"
"If you don't want me to do this, fine. I'll go on Twitter right now and post that yesterday's announcement was just a publicity stunt. That way nobody can accuse me of being a homewrecker."
Anthony rushed to comfort her, his voice soft and coaxing.
Then he turned to me, brow furrowed with irritation.
"It's just licking a shoe. It's not going to kill you. The whole reason I let you be my assistant was so you could take care of me and the people around me."
"Besides, Bianca's not wrong. That temper of yours does need training. The last thing I need is you causing problems for me down the road."
"Viv, be a good girl. Just help Bianca land that role, and I'll treat you better from now on."
My heart turned to still, dead water.
Back then, Anthony had been nothing. A nameless extra without so much as an agency to his name. Every day he'd squeeze in with hundreds of others outside the studio lots, desperate for even a few seconds of screen time. I was the one who pulled strings. Called in every favor I had. Got him signed to my family's own company, Starlight Media. I asked industry veterans to coach him under every pretense imaginable, teaching him technique and craft. Then I quietly funneled endorsements and prime roles his way, propping him up from the shadows. I never told him who I really was because I was afraid of bruising his pride.
Last summer, a single drama made him an overnight sensation. I never imagined that before he'd even found solid footing, he'd already turned his back on me.