Lovers Premiere. Adrianne Byrd
are you doing in here?” Gloria hissed.
“I was just…I was…”
“Sofia?” Vivian Wellesley turned her stunned, tear-stained eyes toward her and the housekeeper. “Get her out of here!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Gloria grabbed Sofia’s arm and dragged her out of the study and shut the door.
“What’s going on, Gloria?” Sofia asked with panic settling in her bones. She’d never seen her father so angry before.
“Don’t worry about it,” the housekeeper said, escorting her to the dining room. “That’s grown folks business. None of that concerns you.”
Doesn’t concern me? Her father had just yelled at her mother and Ramell’s father for sneaking around and then accused him of trying to steal his company—a company that he and Uncle Jacob had poured blood, sweat, and tears into. Everyone knew how much her father worked and loved that company. And her mother…how could she?
Sofia plopped down at the dinner table and folded her arms in a huff. She knew how. Emmett Jordan was every bit as much of a charmer as his son, Ramell. Clearly, neither one of them could ever be trusted.
Ever.
And that belief would be held for a long time, because Sofia’s parents were killed in a plane crash two days later.
Chapter One
Los Angeles, Today
Sofia sat on the edge of the doctor’s table with her cell phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear while her fingers raced across her iPad as she fired off one contract counteroffer after another.
“Sorry, Larry, but that’s not going to happen. You’ve only locked down Ethan Chambers for two seasons of Paging the Doctor. And you got off cheap, if you ask me. If you want to get him on board for another four years then you’re going to have come up with a figure that doesn’t insult my intelligence.”
She only half listened to Larry Franklin’s response because she knew that this was the part when studios start crying broke or downplaying just how important her client is to their hit shows. But in this case, it would all be irrelevant because Ethan Chambers dominated the tabloids and magazine covers—despite the mild hiccup with him, her sister and the paparazzi a couple of months ago.
“Larry, if you feel that way then we can just let the contract run out and I can dedicate more attention to the numerous movie offers that have been flooding my inbox. You know Denzel Washington started off on a medical show and then exploded on the big screen. That just might be the way to go here. Ethan has the looks and the talent, after all.”
“Damn, Sofia. You’re really going to bust my balls over this.”
That managed to put a smile on her face. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m sure you don’t.” He laughed. “Just like I’m sure this hard bargain you’re driving has nothing to do with Ethan Chambers being in queue to become your brother-in-law.”
“You’re right. I fight for all my clients.”
“Duly noted. I’ll get back with you with a counteroffer.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Sofia sing-songed before disconnecting the call. But as soon as she had her phone started ringing again. She was about to answer when Dr. Turner’s bored baritone startled her.
“You think you can fit in time for your checkup?”
Sofia nearly jumped and flashed him with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, Brian.” She quickly put her phone on vibrate and sat it and her iPad down.
“How long do I have before you pick that up again?” he asked, flipping open her chart.
“Two minutes,” she answered honestly. Her addiction to her gadgets was well known and quite frankly not a laughing matter.
Her longtime friend and doctor shook his head. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. You work too much, Sofia.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. When you love what you do then it’s not considered work.”
Still shaking his head, Dr. Turner reached for the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around her arm. “When was the last time you had a vacation?”
Exhaling, Sofia rolled her eyes while she tried to recall the date. “Honey, I don’t know. A couple of years ago, I think.” She reached over to take a peek at her vibrating phone.
“Let it go to voicemail,” the doctor ordered while pumping air into the cuff.
She withdrew her hand from the phone and tried to pretend that she wasn’t about to look at it.
“Not good,” he said, listening through the stethoscope and watching the needle on the cuff.
“What?” Sofia looked down as if she could decipher the numbers he was reading.
“Your blood pressure is up…again.” He pulled the cuff off of her arm and leveled her with a stern look. “Look, Sofia. I’m talking to you as both your doctor and your friend. You have to do better about controlling all this stress. You keep going down this road and you’re going to have a meltdown.”
“Ugh.” She fought hard not roll her eyes. If she had a nickel for every time someone told her that—mainly her Uncle Jacob—she’d be…well, she was already rich, but she would Bill Gates rich.
“I’m serious, Sofia. You need to cut your stress levels,” Brian warned, pulling out his prescription pad.
“What are you doing?” Sofia asked when he started scribbling.
“What does it look like? I’m putting you on medication.”
“Great. Then what’s the problem? I just pop a pill and everything is cool.” She picked up her phone and Dr. Turner quickly took it out her hands.
“No. You don’t just pop a pill. You still need to try and slow down, watch what you eat and what you drink or you’re going to go down the same destructive path that all workaholics go down that leads to an early grave.” He handed over her prescription.
Sofia frowned at his scare tactics. “Will that be all?”
“How’s your love life? Are you seeing anyone?”
“What the hell does that have to do with the price of tea in China?”
“I’m going to take that as a no.” He folds his arms. “You need to get out. Relax. Get a life. Meet someone.”
“Limelight is my life. It’s all I need.”
Thirty minutes later, Sofia strolled into Limelight Entertainment Management while switching back and forth between two different business calls on her Bluetooth. Still, she flashed smiles to staffers while she continued to chew studio executives and directors out without missing a beat.
“Mrs. Wellesley, your uncle wants to see you in the conference room,” Sarah Cole, perhaps the best assistant in the world, whispered to her. “He said to direct you there as soon as you walk into the door.”
Sofia just smiled and ignored the order by continuing her march toward her office. Her Uncle Jacob was the last person she wanted to talk to. His little stunt to merge their family company with Artist Factory, Inc.—Emmett and Ramell Jordan’s company—despite her numerous verbal protests, was a slap in the face that she just couldn’t ignore or bring herself to forgive him for anytime soon.
But when she entered her office, she stopped short upon seeing her uncle sitting on her office couch.
“Larry, something just came up. I’m going to have to call you back.” She tapped her ear once. “Frasier, I have to call you back.” She pulled