I couldn’t take the rant.
“Liam, you’ve always said I just do grunt work.
I’m sure anyone could do it.”
<
“I’m not coming back to your studio. I’m not
your manager and I won’t be your wife, either. I
don’t owe you anything.”
“As for your next show, I was the one who
smooth–talked all those investors. You ruined it
when you left the dinner with Chloe, so good
luck getting their money.”
“And you should hurry because I am going to
try and get them for my new show.”
Liam stuttered before giving up. I was done,
and decided to post something on social media:
[I’m currently finalizing my divorce with Liam
Walker, and I’m not his manager. Contact him if
you need business. ].
- 9.
After I washed my face, I got about eight or
nine messages from studios, inviting me to be
their manager. I politely declined, saying I was
<
84)
their manager. I politely declined, saying I was
working with Matt.
The messages were all supportive:
[Matt is super talented, a power duo!]
[I heard Matt has his global show coming up. Ashley will definitely be a huge help!]
[Ashley has always been too good for Liam. She
was just a tool for him. I once saw Liam’s
assistant give her attitude].
[Chloe messed up on a contract and cost the
boss a bunch of money].
[Where did Ashley go? I came here to learn
from you! You’re gone, and now I have to work with a fake?]
[Ugh! That woman stole his man!] One of my
friends from the press wrote that. She’d been
<
seen Liam destroy my painting, protecting
Chloe. She’d secretly pulled all the security
footage and saved it for a rainy day.
She messaged me. “Sorry, Ashley. I was going
to show you the stuff before you left, but you
were never at the studio. Now you’ve made the
right choice, I’m going to help you bury that
jerk.”
“Oh, and think of it as a free push.”
I wasn’t going to be weak. It made me feel
good. I replied: “Go for it. I’m now Matt’s
exclusive manager. Get the word out! The world
needs to see him.”
She squealed, “Oh my god, you’re working with
that new French artist Matt? He’s way better
than Liam. You two will take over the art
world!”
- 10.
<
- 10.
3:33
Liam was a known artist in America. The heat and the gossip tanked his rep. His paintings stopped selling, and all the people who’d bought his paintings wanted refunds and
compensation.
My old colleagues at the studio told me that Liam was a mess. Chloe tried to be her sweet self but it didn’t work. He finally told her to go get new investors and to dress a little more… provocatively. Chloe tried to play the innocent card, and Liam slapped her and told her to get
out. Chloe went, and some old man got her
drunk. Chloe thought that she’d get some money out of it, but he just told her, “Everyone
knows that you’re Liam’s girl, and I’m not
buying it. You’re no innocent.”
After that, Liam dumped her, too. Both of them
had their reputations ruined, and now they
couldn’t find real work. But it had nothing to do
with me. They were just gossip to me.
I was busy working with Matt, helping him set up his shows, and getting new investments. I also helped my friends get new work, so I was constantly busy. Matt didn’t need me to sweet
talk people at dinner, and the few parties we
did go to, he’d take my drink for me and he’d
even have antacids. I wasn’t being forced to
hurt my body anymore.
Later on, I got a call from Liam through a
mutual friend. Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry, he
actually sounded like he’d given up.
“Ashley, you won. Chloe is ruined, you got what
you wanted.”
“Stop it and come back. If you keep this up, my
career is going to go down.”
I thought that maybe Liam had gone insane.
<
3:33
I laughed. “Liam, why would you even think I’d go back to you after everything you did?”
“Why would I think it was all Chloe’s fault? You were the one that said that you wanted to protect her. You’re the one that babied her, so why are you blaming me?”
