personal. When mention of Tori’s baby comes up again, I get a tickle of excitement.
“I can’t wait to hold that chubby little bundle in my arms,” I sigh.
“Oh yeah?” she says. “So when is Luka going to knock you up?”
Laughing, I say, “One baby at a time, okay? We haven’t even really talked about it.”
“You sure about that?” She looks like she’s ready to say more, but a rapid-fire succession of notification dings hit her phone, and she starts pawing through her bag to look for it. “What the heck is that all about?”
A second later, my phone begins to chime, too. I pull it out and see a barrage of incoming messages blowing me up. Before I get a good look, I hear a sharp intake of breath.
“Brooklyn…” Emzee says, voice tinged with horror, “look at your notifications. Now.”
My scalp prickles at her tone. As I click through a link, my heart starts to race.
Danica Rose Insider Leaks SHAM Zoric Marriage
Sources reveal Brooklyn Moss initially approached Luka Zoric while under contract to Elite Image, coercing Zoric into marriage with intent to commit corporate espionage. At stake are Danica Rose Management’s upcoming campaign plans, information regarding their new talent roster, and the agency’s operational procedures and marketing methods, according to sources close to the couple.
I freeze on the sidewalk, the words on the screen jumbling as I struggle to make sense of the damning exposé. My lunch is churning in my stomach as I read the article. And then, further down the webpage, I see a familiar name that sends me into a fiery rage:
DRM model Monica Shore broke her silence after longtime friend and current manager Luka Zoric confided about his “sham marriage” to Moss, who Shore claims signed a contract to deliver DRM intel to Elite in exchange for a modeling deal. A copy of a legal document entered into by both Moss and Elite Image’s CEO, dated earlier this year, appears to confirm this allegation. Neither Elite nor the agency’s CEO Austin Spears responded to requests for comment, but in the months since the Zoric marriage, Moss has received a number of high-profile modeling contracts with major players on the national scene.
Now, after months of rebuilding the company’s PR status following family patriarch Konstantin Zoric’s arrest and subsequent criminal trial for trafficking, it seems the future of Danica Rose Management is once again on shaky ground.
I can’t read any more, my eyes blurry with tears and my blood pounding in my temples. My phone won’t stop vibrating with messages and notifications, so I turn it off and drop it into my purse. Emzee is still staring at me, a mixture of heat and judgment in her eyes.
Luka had to have told his family about the Elite contract he’d found with my name on it. Didn’t he?
“Is this true?” Emzee asks coldly.
“Em,” I say pleadingly.
“Did you sign that contract with Elite?”
“God, no.” I see her shoulders slump with relief, and then the guilt of my half-truth slams through me and I know I have to spill it all. “Can we sit down for a second?” I say.
We find a picturesque bench under a tree, and I drop onto it and take a few deep breaths.
“Look,” I tell her, keeping my gaze steady on hers. “Elite called me in after I auditioned with them in LA last year, and they offered me a deal if I’d get them intel on DRM. And yes, I said I’d think it over. I took a copy of the contract with me when I left their offices. But—”
“How could you?” she interrupts, crossing her arms and doing nothing to hide her anger.
“Wait! I never signed that contract, I swear to God. And you know what? After I met with Luka, I stopped feeling like spying for Elite was my only way out.
“It was my original plan, true, but I decided not to go through with it. I burned that document on our honeymoon. Luka knows all about it already, and things between us were shitty for a while because of it…but we’re better now. So much better.”
I stop to catch my breath. Emzee is still nodding, processing everything I’ve said.
“So my brother is fully aware of this.”
“Yes,” I say. “Water under the bridge.”
She taps her chin. “But…it still looks really bad to everyone else.”
“Yes,” I admit. “And I have no idea how to tell the rest of the world the truth.”
Emzee goes quiet for a moment. “This is not good for DRM’s image.”
“No.”