“What do you mean you’re retiring?” I all but shouted into the receiver, forgetting for a split second who I was talking to. My roommate Jesse stared at me with wide eyes from where she sat on the couch across the living room. I could practically feel the curiosity radiating off of her, but the panic coursing through my veins wouldn’t allow me to turn my head.
“I’m not completely retiring, dear; I’m just taking a year off with Stuart”, Charlize soothed, “I promise that I will make sure to mention your name to everyone I meet. You’ve been such a big help, but I just won’t need you around anymore…”
I sucked in a breath and fought back tears of desperation that were threatening to spill. I just won’t need you around anymore… Even if we were talking in terms of business, those words still cut through me, painful and agonizing. I knew very well that I couldn’t argue with the Charlize Theron, well known actress and number 6 on Hollywood’s Top Celebrity List. She had been my saving grace when I had just started out as a personal assistant, and I owed it to her to be respectful and dignified in our parting.
“I understand… It’s been a pleasure working for you, Miss Theron. Have a good time with Stuart” I said, barely managing to keep my voice even and cheerful (as cheerful as I could get at that moment, anyway).
“And it’s been a pleasure working with you, Leighton. You’re the best PA I have ever come across. It won’t take you long to find another person in need of your services.” With that the line went dead. Two years of doing anything and everything for a person, and I didn’t even get a goodbye.
“Well”, I sniffled, ready to let the dam break, “I don’t have a job anymore.”
“What, how- why?!” Jesse shrieked, sprinting over to put her arms around me. As a personal assistant, I knew that there would be a time when I would have to switch employers, and that this might leave me without a job for a small amount of time. I just never actually prepared for it. Sure, I had plenty of money in my savings to keep up the rent in my nice apartment, my car was a gift from my dad and therefore already paid off, and my resume was practically flawless. But I had just been fired. Who wouldn’t be bawling right about now?
“She said she didn’t need me around anymore. Who am I going to work for now? I’m not that established, my name isn’t out there for other celebrities to consider… I’m never going to get hired again!” Okay. So maybe I was being a tad bit melodramatic.
“Cooper Leighton Moore, do not go feeling sorry for yourself”, my roommate snapped, stepping back to hold me at arm’s length, “You are a strong successful young woman and you will find a very respectable someone to represent.” I waited for her to slap me or start shaking me, but she didn’t. She just gave me that look.
“Okay, okay, so it’s not the end of the world. Can we at least order Chinese and pick up Ben and Jerry’s? I would like a night to wallow.” I dropped my shoulders in defeat and moved towards my bedroom to get ready for the pitiful ‘girls-night-in’ festivities that were sure to come.
“You just want an excuse to pig out on ice cream and watch chick flicks” Jesse called behind me. I grinned to myself in spite of the lingering shock that had yet to dissipate, slipping my skirt off to replace it with a pair of shorts.
“You caught me”, I shouted, struggling for a moment with my heels before I changed into an over-sized t-shirt to complete my transformation. Classy lady by day, hand-me-down slob by night.
“I’m in!”
Hopefully Charlize hadn’t been lying when she’d said that she would mention my name in her celebrity circle. I hadn’t exactly put any effort into making myself known to other possible employers before I had been hired on as Charlize’s personal assistant. I knew that either way I was going to keep going with my career; I loved it. I was damn good at what I did, too, and it didn’t bother me in the slightest to say that I was one of the best in the business- even if I was also one of the youngest. I would not go back home yet, or ask my parents for help. I could do this on my own, and that was exactly what I had planned. I would do anything, even work for one of the Disney kids, if it meant that I could continue making my living as a successful, independent woman. I would not lean on someone else for support.
}{
“You’re not listening to me, Teresa (I don’t actually know her real name), I don’t want to do anymore High School Musical appearances”
Zac was very close to having a meltdown as he argued talked with the woman who had been helping him through his career since he had played in The Derby Stallion.
“It will be a great chance for you to show the public that you’re still the young, sweet Zac Efron that everyone loves, trust me! You have such a big following of fans thanks to Disney; it shouldn’t hurt to do just one more movie.” The older lady lectured, unaware of the frustration that her star was feeling at the moment. Zac Efron had wanted to be done with Disney for a while, and he had hoped that with after his lead role in Charlie St. Cloud, he could launch into more mature characters better suited for his older appearance. He hadn’t been working out and growing facial hair for no reason.
“Look, Teresa… I can’t. I’m not going to go back to Disney, as thankful as I am of how much they helped me in my acting career. If you can’t respect that then I’m going to have to let you go.” Though this was hard for him to say, it just had to be done. He had been struggling with Teresa and his acting career for too long, and it was time that things started moving forward. He didn’t want to seem like a brat, but he was going to start getting his own way, with or without anyone’s help.
This seemed to bring his personal assistant back down to Earth, at any rate, and she stared at him from behind her horn-rimmed glasses for a moment before clearing her throat.
“Right, you have expressed this to me many times before. I apologize, Zac, and I will call Disney right away.”
“Thank you”, he breathed, feeling a weight lifting from his shoulders. He ran a hand through his light brown hair and fell back into the recliner in his living room. Zac Efron was going to grow as an actor, even if it meant making some major changes in his staff and in his own life. Nothing was going to stand in his way.
