3RD PERSON POV
"In Hollywood, brides keep the bouquets and throw away the groom."
~ Groucho Marx
Mina was, as always, flawless. Lisa studied her face, the perfect lines of her makeup, and wondered, as Lisa often had, why Mina bothered with the team that arrived every morning, equipped with makeup brushes and extensions, their home's dressing room turned into a circus for a valuable hour in the morning that'd be better served sleeping. She didn't need all of it; she was beautiful without it. And for a day like today, for her to know she'd be sitting across from Lisa, her jilted wife, the extra effort seemed cruel. But that was Mina. She'd always wanted everyone to want her, especially those who she rejected. She looked up from the document and met Lisa's eyes.
"You have beautiful eyes." The first line after their first screw, which had happened minutes after Lisa walked into his her and found Mina stretched out on her bed. Mina said the word shyly, her feet sliding to the edge of the bed and off, and Lisa shrugged.
"Thank you." That had been Lisa's unimaginative response. She hadn't needed imagination.
"They distract from your nose." Mina had wrinkled her own and raised to her tiptoes, the movement pushing out her bare breasts. From her new height she had peered at Lisa's nose, then dropped to her heels again. Her breasts had bounced back into place; Lisa had stared. "I have a guy, if you want a referral. He did my roommate's nose. Really great work."
"My nose?" It had drawn Lisa's attention away from her breasts and to her eyes. "Are you joking?" Even then, Lisa had been a superstar, one Oscar already in the bag. And her nose, broken twice—once from a fight and once from a snowboarding injury—was one of her trademarks. It took the polish off her pretty girl features and made her rugged. Now, looking back, she could see how calculated Mina had been. Playing the part of the cool girl who wasn't impressed by the big star. Mina played her hot and cold, didn't fuck her again until a third date, and had her tie her up on the fifth. Mina been a porn star in the bedroom and used every bit of her money, power, and name to fuel her own star. Mina hsd been an unscripted extra on that first movie. On Lisa's second, Mina played a minor role with lines. Then graduated to supporting roles. Five days after their wedding—a gaudy affair that had made every magazine cover—Mina got her first big-budget, starring role. From nothing to famous in a year.
Lisa hadn't been stupid; she'd known Mina's ambition. It had been one of the things that had attracted her to her. And Lisa been happy to help. But now, glancing down at the agreement, red pen marks all over the page, she wondered if there had ever been any love between them at all. Had she just been a mark, perfectly played?
"Okay, so we've worked through all of the assets. Lisa will get the boat, plane, and the Montana ranch; Mina will get the California and Hawaii real estate. All bank accounts will go to their respective owners with the joint account split, leaving five hundred thousand for any outstanding items and attorneys' fees. Attorneys' fees will also be split. Mina's future earnings will be hers, as will Lisa's." The mediator stopped and looked to Tuan, a stumble in her voice before continuing, "Mina has agreed to forfeit all ownership or claims on The Fortune Bottle in exchange for five percent of recurring royalties on Lisa's current backlist of movies and endorsement deals." She took a deep breath. "Do we all agree on the basics of this agreement?"
Lisa looked at Mina, who nodded, her mouth tight. Mina was pissed; Lisa could see it in the small wrinkles around her mouth, in the glower of her eyes. Lisa should have been happy about that, but she wasn't. She was sick—over the day's worth of arguments, over the reduction of their relationship to insignificant line items and who gets the fucking Picassos. Thank God for Tuan, who'd been worth her weight in gold, and the mediator, a beady-eyed woman who was actually competent.
