A Righteous Man
Prologue
Ten years ago
Maren
“What do you mean they’re going in a different direction?”
I stared at my agent like he’d suddenly started speaking a foreign language. In the five years since I’d signed with him and his agency, he’d taken on not only the role of agent, but also one as a surrogate father. He’d discovered me when I was a no-name-nineteen-year-old, fresh off the plane from rural New Mexico. I dropped out of college and decided to chase my dreams in big bad Hollywood, expecting nothing, but hoping for the best. The man seated across from me was a huge part of making those dreams come true. I trusted him with my career and my best interests but, at the moment, he was giving me the kind of news that felt like it might preface the end of the world with little sympathy. The expression on his face was stony and cold, far from his usual smile and encouraging words that he typically lavished upon me during our meetings.
“Since your contract is coming up for renegotiation, they’ve decided to write you off the show.” He said the words bluntly and narrowed his eyes in what appeared to be anger. “Everyone from the top down has agreed there is no more room for your character to grow. You’re dragging the show down, Maren. The ratings have been on a steady decline for the last six months. Advertisers have noticed the change.”
I put a hand to my chest where my heart was pounding furiously. I swallowed hard, trying to keep the rising panic at bay. “But I’ve been the main character for four years.” I honestly carried the entire show, but now didn’t seem like the time to point that out to him. “How can they let me go just like that?”
It felt like a betrayal. I was about to lose everything I’d been so fortunate to have handed to me as an untried and unknown actress all those years ago. I’d worked hard, constantly put my best foot forward, and became synonymous with the character I played. She was a bit naïve, slightly simple, and totally kindhearted. She was constantly in the middle of the villain’s evil machinations and often ended up the punching bag of the plotline. I had the same innocent, pushover image. I was the girl-next-door for most of America. I was their daughter. Their forever little sister. Their forever best friend. It didn’t make any sense that the world was suddenly sick of me.
While I liked to believe I was a decent, giving person in real life, there was no way I could ever live up to the expectations set by the beloved character who had defined my early twenties. I wasn’t as nice or as guileless as the girl I played on TV. But I made sure I presented myself in a way that wouldn’t conflict with the me everyone thought they knew. I couldn’t figure out what changed until my agent flatly told me, “In the future, you might want to make more of an effort to get along with your co-stars. You’d be surprised how far and wide the ramifications of creating a hostile work environment reach.”
I balked and wilted back in my seat.
He said things had been going downhill for six months. That was about the time he showed up on set. I should’ve known that anything bad happening in my life—and my career—was tied directly to him.
At first, signing Salinger Dolan on to the show had seemed like a major coup. He was one of the most sought-after young talents in the industry. He was right off back-to-back blockbusters of a popular book adaptation that had legions of teens, and some of their moms, in love with him. He’d been in the industry since before he started kindergarten, and his name and face were known worldwide. It was considered a miracle he was even thinking about doing a TV show, and the amount of money the studio threw at him in order to get him to sign the contract took my breath away. I might’ve been a household name, but he was a certified superstar.
He was also terrible.
He had no work ethic.
No manners.
No accountability.
And there were times he really had no talent.
At only sixteen-years-old, he was super jaded and cynical. He was rude to the point of being flat-out nasty, and the size of his ego was astronomical. We clashed from our first meeting, butting heads creatively and personally on almost every little thing. The situation had only gotten worse throughout filming together. We didn’t get along, but it was more than that. We downright hated each other. It was a problem, because on the show, we were supposed to be close. Inseparable, even.
Salinger played a young runaway with a terrible backstory whom my character kindly took in. She tried her best to heal him and set him on the right path. We shared a ton of emotional, intense scenes. There were days when I could admit he out-acted me. But more often than not, it was a struggle to get through any scene where we had to spend more than five minutes interacting. We rubbed each other the wrong way, but it seemed like everyone made concessions for Salinger because of his status.
No one cared when he showed up late for filming.
No one said anything when he didn’t know his lines or screwed up during a take.
No one criticized his wild behavior off the set or tried to control him.
He had free rein to behave however he wanted, and it was beyond annoying. It felt like I was the only person who treated him like the teenager he actually was. I was the only one who questioned some of his worst habits and the rumors surrounding him. I had expectations of him, as I would of any costar, and I let him know—often—he was not meeting them. We fought pretty much every single day, but I had no clue it was going to lead to my dismissal from the show.
It felt like a punch to the gut that all my hard work for the last five years meant nothing compared to a few months of having his name attached to the project. It made what was happening even worse than it already was.
My hands curled into fists and I tried to slow my ragged breathing. “They’re writing me off the show because of Salinger? Did he ask the producers to do that?”
I wouldn’t put the petty move past him. As much as I disliked him, he detested me even more.
“No, he didn’t. However, the fact you approached one of the producers directly with concerns about what Dolan is doing in his private life played a big part in the decision. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that if you want to be successful in this industry, you know nothing, see nothing, hear nothing. Who are you to try to derail that kid’s career? I can’t get my head around what you were possibly thinking.”
I blinked in surprise, honestly confused why I was the one being taken to task over expressing genuine concern for someone who was still so damn young. Even though Salinger often came across a lot older than he was, he was still truly just a kid.
“I caught him doing drugs with my makeup artist. He’s barely old enough to drive. Shouldn’t someone try and intervene before things get worse? I wasn’t only thinking about Salinger. I was also thinking about the show. If he gets caught up in a drug scandal, how’s that going to come across to the viewers?” Why was I the only one who had to keep a squeaky-clean image? Why was he allowed to run wild?
My agent sighed heavily and dragged his hand down his face. He looked disappointed; not because I was about to lose my first and only acting job, but because I’d dared to open my mouth about Hollywood’s current golden boy.
“I know you are not nearly as naïve as you want people to believe, Maren. What Dolan was doing is as common as traffic backing up on the 405. What you did is almost unheard of. You should have kept your head down and enjoyed the hype surrounding the show now that Salinger signed on. If word gets out that you’re the one who ratted on him to the higher-ups,” he shook his head and sighed, “booking you for anything else will practically be impossible. I really thought I taught you better than this.”
I scoffed and blinked rapidly to keep the tears gathering in my eyes from falling. This was insane. I knew Hollywood was a whole other world, but the wellbeing of a child—because that’s what he was, even if everyone wanted to act differently—should still be taken seriously. Were they really going to let Salinger self-destruct for the sake of ratings?
&
nbsp; I knew it was a ruthless industry before I ever stepped foot in the sunny Golden State, but this was my first experience with the cold reality of just how skewed the general priorities of the industry were. Everything was beautiful and glamorous on the outside, but the inside was dark and ugly.
“I can’t believe you don’t have my back. Did you even try to fight for me?” I watched my agent carefully, looking for any sign of the man I’d admired and relied on so much up until this point. His attitude was totally unexpected. He’d always been the first person to stand up for me and advocate for me. I thought it was because he was genuinely fond of me, not because he took a huge percentage of all my earnings.
It was almost like I was in the room with a complete stranger. “Honestly, this situation has made me reevaluate how well I can represent you in the future. I can’t help a client who won’t help themselves. We still have a year left on our contract, and I’ll do my best to salvage your career between now and then, but I make no promises. I really wish you’d had the foresight to speak with me first. We could’ve avoided this entire mess, Maren.”
Dumbfounded, all I could do was let out a bitter laugh, no longer able to keep the burning hot tears in check. “I did what I thought was right. I can’t believe I’m getting punished for caring about what happens to that stupid kid.”
“That stupid kid has more power than you and I combined. Not to mention the amount of money the producers invested in getting him to agree to be on the show. You think anyone is willing to risk losing that? After all, this is just a business.”
Logically, I knew that. However, I also thought it was about creating something special. Something that touched a lot of people and told stories that needed to be told. I thought it was about raw talent and an escape when one was needed.
I was starting to feel as disillusioned as Salinger Dolan seemed to be about everything under the sun.
I got to my feet and told my agent, “I need some time to get my head around this. I’ll be in touch.”
I left his expensive office in tears, feeling as adrift as I did my first few days in California.
In five years, I’d made few friends because I’d been so busy with work. It was also hard to trust anyone or take anyone at face value, so I ended up spending a lot of time alone. That isolation was never more apparent than right now, when the one person I trusted implicitly had let me down.
As I walked to my car, my phone rang. Anyone else might be delighted to see Salinger’s name pop up on the screen. All I felt was dread and the slow burn of my dislike for him smoldering under my currently thin skin. I’d never given him my phone number, but that didn’t stop him from acquiring it anyway. I swore he had never heard the word ‘no’ in his short lifetime. I wiped away the tears that were still tracking down my cheeks with the back of my hand and angrily answered the call.
“What do you want, Salinger?” It was a struggle to keep my voice from shaking.
He laughed like he always did when I got snippy and frustrated with him. He never seemed to take anything seriously.
“My agent just called me and told me about the new direction they’re taking the show. I figured you heard the bad news.” He chuckled again, and I wanted to throw my phone across the parking lot. “Don’t worry. If they kill you off dramatically enough, it might actually be good for your career. You can’t play the goody-two-shoes forever. Well, you can, but who would want to?”
I stopped next to my car and briefly closed my eyes. The age difference between the two of us was a decade, but there were times when it felt like he was eons older than I was. I called him a kid, but he hadn’t been youthful in a very long time.
“No offense, but you’re the last person I plan on taking advice from. The choices you’re making right now are dangerous. No one else in your life will tell you the path you’re on isn’t the right one, but I will.” What else did I have to lose at this point? “Maybe you should try acting your age for once.”
I pulled open the car door and slipped inside. I immediately started it so I could turn on the AC. It was hot in LA, and I needed the blast of cold air to cool down my face. The last thing I needed was a paparazzi picture of me looking like a hot mess to get major coverage.
The surprisingly deep and husky voice on the other end of the line mocked me with obvious delight. “Maybe you should stop acting the way everyone else wants you to act, for once. You’re about as interesting as watching paint dry, Maren. Being boring isn’t going to get you anywhere.”
I dropped my head so that my forehead rested against the steering wheel. I wanted to tell him that being a spoiled brat and indulging in every single temptation that came his way wasn’t going to get him anywhere either, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. He seemed untouchable.
I wasn’t sure how many scenes we had left to shoot together, so I didn’t want to say anything that would make the tension between us worse. However, there was only so much a girl could take in one day.
“Our days working together are numbered. I wish I could say it was a pleasure getting to be on the same project as you, but I’m not a liar.” I sighed heavily. “I hope our paths never cross again, Salinger.”
I hung up the phone, determined to get through the rest of my time on the series with as little contact and interaction with the problematic teenager as possible. I meant what I said when I told him I never wanted to see him again once shooting was done.
He could be someone else’s headache while I tried to figure out my life.
After I was kicked off my series and out of my starring role, the one and only good thing that happened was that Salinger Dolan did indeed disappear from my life for a long time. It was impossible to forget about him when his face was pretty much everywhere I turned, but eventually the resentment and anger I harbored toward him faded from a raging inferno to a low simmer. I told myself it was silly to hold a teenager responsible for everything that went wrong. I had to be accountable for my own choices and for putting my faith in the wrong people.
I planned to move on; live and let live. I knew the best revenge would be living my life well and finding success on my own terms.
It didn’t quite work out how I envisioned. Salinger was gone, but far from forgotten, and success was a lot harder to come by when you’d been blacklisted and branded as problematic.
It took a little bit of luck, and years of taking on roles that I never would have considered before, to get my life back on track. There was a hiccup or two in the decade it took me to rebuild things, but nothing had the lasting impact that trying to save Salinger had. And just when it seemed like my life was finally going to level out and be drama-free, Salinger Dolan came roaring back into it like a runaway train.
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Goldilocks
Prologue
I WAS A girl born to be caught forever between two extremes. And between two brothers.
I grew up in a home that was opulent and over-the-top massive. Everything was accented in gold, and the artwork on the walls were originals from the masters. There were rugs and silverware that cost more than my mother made in a year as the head housekeeper of the sprawling estate. Before I could even talk, I was juxtaposed between outrageous wealth and abject poverty. I was never sure on which side of the coin I fell, because while I was privileged enough to attend the fancy private school where the homeowners sent their two sons, I was by far the poorest kid attending the academy. I received the best education money could buy, but it was no secret I was a kid bound for community college or trade school, not the Ivy League like the rest of my classmates.
I was also trapped in a bitter back and forth between good and evil throughout my entire existence. I grew up in the shadow of two boys who were as different as night and day. My mom cared for both of them like they were her own…and treated all three of us the same. That couldn’t be said for the rest of the adults who haunted the halls of the ostentatious mansion. Both boys were the sa
me age, born mere weeks apart. One was the rightful heir to the family fortune, his mother the reigning society queen of the small, ritzy New England town where we lived. She called all the shots and was scary powerful in the right circles. Her child was the favored son. He could do no wrong in the eyes of the elite.
I knew better.
He might look like the prince of the castle, and the hero of every fairytale, but I knew he was the villain. He didn’t look it with his blond hair and bright blue eyes. He hid it well behind a perfect, pearly white smile and carefully crafted charm. He looked like a dreamboat, but underneath the polished façade, he was a living, breathing nightmare.
The other son was always an afterthought. No one wanted him. Not the mother who had him in order to blackmail his father and had quickly abandoned him after she got paid. Not the father who couldn’t be bothered to focus on either of his sons or care how hateful his wife was to his bastard child. He was gone for most of the boys’ childhoods, and when he was around, it was never pleasant. I learned at a very young age it didn’t matter how big your home was or how hefty your bank account was, you could never escape a fractured family by avoiding the problems that created the cracks in the first place.
The forgotten son didn’t fit in with the rich kids and social climbers any better than I did. He was an outcast. A blemish on the image of one of the most well-respected families in the nation. He was a burden and a problem that couldn’t simply be swept under the rug. I never understood why the father brought him home and promptly washed his hands of the boy, but as I got older and started to pick up on subtle clues, I wondered if he hated his wife. Forcing her to raise the dark-haired boy who looked exactly like him was his ultimate revenge on the bossy, demanding woman who took no joy in anything other than looking down on those she deemed beneath her.
The illegitimate son should’ve been bitter and angry that he’d been born into a family that only acknowledged him when they wanted to hurt each other. But unlike the golden child, he was easygoing and affable, not taking much of anything too seriously. He was a jokester and liked to play around. He was cute, and so much softer than his half brother. He looked for trouble and liked to cause a ruckus because he was bored in that fancy school and didn’t care about gaining anyone’s favor. He was the ultimate rebel and my very best friend in the whole wide world from the time I could walk until the moment I betrayed him.
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