The Has-Been and the Hot Mess - Isabel Jordan Page 0,20

for a calm demeanor when all she really wanted to do was slap him and tell him to just trust her, for the love of Chris Hemsworth’s abs, “the studio has already put out a call to their top choices for the project. Do you know who’s on the top of their list? Dylan Conroy.”

Jackson leaned forward and his expression took on an almost feral quality. “Dylan Conroy is a hack. He’s like, what, twenty years old and grew up in Beverly Hills? How could he possibly relate to the material? He doesn’t even write his own songs! He couldn’t score a film to save his life.”

She leaned forward too, mimicking his intensity. “It’s true. He’s not as talented as you, and there’s no way he could relate to the material like you could. But do you know what he has that you don’t? That thing that makes every studio and record label in the world want him right now?”

“What?”

“Followers. Millions and millions of followers across all of his social media platforms where he regularly posts what he’s doing. He brings a built-in audience with him. Those fans will go see the movie just so they can hear Dylan’s work. They don’t care if he actually wrote the songs, or if his feelings about the material are authentic. They’re just eager for anything they can get from him.”

“I would take whatever I could get from him,” Ray confirmed.

“Not helpful,” Kendall said, her gaze still locked on Jackson.

Ray shrugged. “Not trying to be helpful. Just saying he’s hot. And in interviews he seems like a good guy.”

The frown line in Jackson’s brow was so deep at this point it looked painful. “So, you’re telling me my ability to get this one job is basically just a popularity contest?”

“No. You’ll get the job because you’re the right artist for it and your work will kick Dylan Conroy’s ass. But I can’t get you an agent or on the short list for the job unless you’re at least as popular as he is. Right now, to the studio, and to agents, frankly, you’re a risk. You haven’t worked in a really long time. You have a troubled history. You have zero social media presence, so you’re not bringing an existing fan base to their movie. We have to make you less risky so that they can focus on your talent. That's all.”

He raised a brow at her. “That’s all? You want me to go from zero followers anywhere to millions practically overnight, and you say ‘that’s all’ like it’s nothing?”

Ray snorted. “Dude, have you seen you? I could post a shirtless pic of you on my Instagram right now and it’d get a hundred thousand likes in an hour.”

Kendall lifted her hands, palms up, in the universal sorry-but-it’s-true gesture. “He’s not wrong. But I’m thinking maybe we start off a little more subtle than that. Featuring the dog rescue is perfect. A daily video of you holding whatever dog you want to find a home for that day would be huge.”

And that really pissed him off. There was practically steam rising off his head. Great. She was about to lose another job. This was just not her week.

He stabbed a finger at her Han Solo-style. “No. I will not use that rescue for my own gain. That’s—”

“Smart?” Ray supplied helpfully.

“Disgusting.”

Kendall crossed her arms over her chest. Now she was pissed off. “It’s disgusting to put those dogs—those dogs who all need homes—on social media, where they can be seen by millions of people who might want to adopt them? That’s disgusting?”

“That’s not what—”

“Is it disgusting that you could clear every kennel here, find homes for all these animals probably in a month or less, then be able to refill every kennel with more animals who need homes? Being able to help twice as many animals as you do now? Is that what’s disgusting?”

He still looked angry, but he was wavering. She could see it. “I don’t want to use those animals for my own personal gain,” he mumbled. “That’s all.”

“It’s a mutually beneficial thing, Jack,” Ray said. “Your celebrity will get them into homes. That’ll allow you to rescue more. Besides, do you think the animals will give a flying fuck how you got them adopted?”

Kendall grinned at him. “I could so kiss you right now.”

Ray grinned back and blew her a kiss that she pretended to catch and pocket.

“Jesus,” Jackson muttered. “There’s no way around this, is there? You’re going to make