I fought back at the insinuation.
Then Rob came back into the room at the perfect time to confirm that it was a fan who had broken into the Landmark’s ballroom and taken the footage.
I cursed Paul for planting a seed of doubt in my mind about Christopher.
Rob had to hold me back when Paul labeled Christopher as collateral, dismissing him as nothing more than a whirlwind fling that I’d quickly forget about.
That’s when the red mist hit.
“It wasn’t a fling,” I snarled, taking off my baseball cap and throwing it at him. “He is my boyfriend. We’re meant to be together. Like star-crossed lovers.”
“That worked out really well for Romeo and Juliet,” Paul snorted. “One was ostracized from their family. Both of them ending up killing themselves, three days after they met.”
Connie sat there watching it all unfold, drinking her Diet Coke, like it was a reenactment of an episode from Real Housewives. Then she spoke up.
“It’s all handled now anyway. The interview will clear all this up. The movie is moving forward. And Christopher has agreed to go along with the story.”
“He did? What story? When did you see him?” I’d asked.
“I flew back with him. He signed another agreement stating he’ll honor whatever story we put out. He agreed to cut all communication with you to ensure this scandal dies out.” She waved her hand with a whimsical, blasé attitude as she explained it all away, like I was some fly who was bothering her.
“But why would he do that? Why would he be so willing to cut me out of his life, especially when we just agreed to be together?” I’d asked out loud.
“Money talks, darling,” Connie had said, rubbing her thumb and fingers together. “Everyone has a price.”
A knock on the doorframe snaps me out of my trance. Ericastands behind me. The towel to my left is covered in bronzer, and I’ll need to sit down and have more makeup applied.
“You ready for me to finish up?” Erica asks, stepping forward. She rests her hand on my shoulder.
My eyes start clouding up and my shoulders drop.
Everything has moved so quickly.
The damage control always seems to protect me, but causes untold harm along the way to others. To Samuel. To Rita. And now to Christopher.
“You don’t have to go through with this, you know.” Erica squeezes my shoulder tightly. “There’s still time to pull out.”
I lift my hand to wipe the tears falling from my eyes.
I had thought about just that. About leaving the building and locking myself away at my house. About telling the truth,my truth, live during the interview. But Connie made sure that the interview would be prerecorded, and that Paul got final sign-off before its broadcast.
“I don’t have a choice,” I say, turning to face her. I shrug my shoulders and head back out to the chair.
Lucy comes back into the room as I sit back down in the makeup chair, and hands Connie a pile of papers. Connie motions to her to pass them around to everyone. Paul takes a copy and Lucy hands one over to me.
“This is the final press release for the film. Everyone has signed off on it. We’ll go wide tonight as soon as the interview airs,” Connie says as I look down at it.
Alexander Morgan set to make his feature film debut in psychological thrillerDisposed. Set for release next fall in association with Jackal Entertainment and Universal Studios.
I read the headline and press release, trying to take it all in,but the words blend and blur into one. I’m unable to absorb anything on the page.
“Chin up,” Erica says, lifting my chin and sliding a towel into the neck of my white T-shirt so she can smooth out the tinted moisturizer from my jawline to my neck.
Paul stands up and heads to the table by the fridge, grabbing himself an apple and taking a bite.
“I spoke to the label earlier,” Paul says. “Stolen Momentsthe live version is now at number one on both Spotify and Apple, and they want to fast-track the studio version. They plan to drop it in an hour, along with a premiere on KIIS. They also want us to shoot a music video at the end of this week, to capitalize on the momentum.”
He smiles toward me, igniting a burning fire inside my stomach.
