“I will.” Star left the penthouse, completely forgetting about the text message.
Chapter Twenty-Two
STAR
“Your star is rising, kid,” Vivienne said.
“You’re just saying that since we’re approaching your six-month mark.”
“I haven’t scheduled anything new for you, since filming forMy One-Night Standstarts in a couple of days. If I know Anubis, he'll have you guys on set for over twelve hours every day,” Vivienne said with a tsk. “All that guy thinks about is work; he needs a fucking hobby or a lover.”
He has a new hobby, keeping me fucking satisfied, Star thought cheekily.
He and Vivienne met for lunch to review his schedule and catch up on what was happening lately since he had just filmed his last scene with Nexus Crimson. He originally planned on telling Vee about his relationship with Anubis but wanted to keep it to himself for a little longer. Except for work and events they had to attend separately, they had been attached at the hip. Or, in Star's case, filled with the man's cock.
A smile graced his lips, recalling the day they fucked on theMy One-Night Standset. After they cleaned up and left the studio, they went to an Egyptian art museum that Anubis had rented out and had lunch served just for them. The following day, they stayed in and vegged out on the couch, talking, smooth jazz playing in the background, with Anubis playing the big spoon and his cock nestled nicely inside of Star the way they both liked it. Not many would guess that Anubis had a somewhat dark sense of humor that Star found charming, but then again, he liked everything about the man, so maybe he was just biased.
“What's got you smiling like that?”
“Nothing,” Star said, coming to his senses.
“Okay, so I wanted to talk to you about something I should have covered when we signed our contracts. I was so excited to get you working that it slipped my mind.”
By the look on Vivienne's face, the conversation seemed serious. Star's brows furrowed, and he sat up in his seat. “What's up?”
Vivienne was about to speak, but a distraction at the front of the restaurant drew their attention. Star swirled around in his seat and looked in that direction and was surprised to see who was causing the commotion. Sundi Noxx and Thornton Miller.
“Do you know who I am?” Sundi shrieked.
“Madam, as I have stated, you need a reservation to eat at this time of the day,” the host tried to explain, but Sundi cut him off.
“Reservations, my ass,” she yelled. “I am Sundi Noxx, daughter of Daniel Noxx, CEO of Equi-Noxx Entertainment.”
Star grew tired of watching Sundi arguing with the host and was about to look away when his eyes connected with Thornton, who was staring at him intently. Star felt a chill run down his spine with the way Thornton's eyes were boring into him.
“Those two are fucking trouble,” Vivienne said, and Star found a good excuse to unlock his gaze from Thornton’s.
“Do you know them?” he asked.
“Not really,” Vivienne answered. “Since they showed up in town, they've caused nothing but trouble.”
“What kind of trouble did they get into?”
“You name it, they've done it. Kyron refused to sign a contract with her. Oh, and she's no longer a part of theMy One-Night Standcast.”
“What?” Star sat upright in his chair, shocked at what he just heard. “Why, what happened?”
“Her manager pissed off the one person he shouldn't have. Anubis Ahket.”
“Really?” Star said, wondering if it had anything to do with him. He hadn't told Anubis anything in detail about his past with Thornton because it was from a different lifetime. So, maybe it wasn't because of him Sundi got fired from the cast. “How do you know all of this?”
“Valleywood might be a big city, but the entertainment aspect is small. Nothing stays hidden forever.”
Star would have laughed at her words. But that was the second time he'd heard that in so many days, and he couldn't help but wonder if the cosmos were trying to tell him something.
“That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Be careful who you associate with in this industry. Someone with a hidden agenda is always waiting to take you down, and the bigger you get, the harder you fall and the bigger you get the more enemies you have. Also, don't keep anything from me. I understand that there might be some things you won’t want to tell me, but if I know in advance, I can stop any storm from coming our way. I looked into your background before I signed you, and so far, you've been the perfect client, but shit happens, and I want to be able to protect you.”
Star's gaze dropped to the table as he thought over Vivienne's words. They might not have been the same person in both lives, but one thing that remained was their need to protect those they cared about. He'd made the mistake of not telling Vivienne about his relationship with Thornton, and he recalled the look of betrayal on her face when she found out about them. And he almost made the same mistake again, keeping his connection to Anubis from her.
