“Good. Great.” Carmen checked her watch. “Odetta is on her way. I just need to go check that everyone else is there.”
The conference was starting in less than thirty minutes. Until then, Odetta Olson and the rest of the crew would wait in a private lounge on the next floor down. I’d stay here to welcome the press, and then Carmen would shepherd the team over. I scanned the room once more, making sure everything looked perfect before they arrived.
There was something else on my mind, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. I bit my lip and took a deep breath. Carmen was going to walk out any moment. This was my chance.
“I heard a funny story earlier,” I started, uncertain. “Peopleloveto talk in this town.”
“People love to talk everywhere,” Carmen said. “Parties are just chatter with booze.”
“Right.” I straightened the chairs once again, avoiding her gaze. “It’s just fascinating, everything that goes on behind the scenes. Like that story about Tyler Charles.”
Carmen raised a curious eyebrow. She glanced toward the door, but no one would arrive until the last minute. The schedules in Cannes were so tight that journalists had no time to spare between conferences and interviews.
“What about Tyler Charles?” Carmen said. “Apparently he’s working with a new stylist who’s, like, a sex maniac.”
I tried to keep my face still, but I found that story so juicy, in a totally disturbed way.
Carmen was suddenly interested in rearranging the chairs with me.
“A man?”
“No, I think women can be maniacs, too.”
Her eyes sparkled. I had her hooked.
“How kinky are we talking?”
“It’s not really about the kink level,” I said. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say to my boss. “But she wasobsessedwith Dorian Fisher and texted sexual photos and videos of herself to him constantly.”
“That woman was making porn and sending it to one of the most unattainable actors in Hollywood?”
I nodded. “It went on formonths.”
“Respect,” Carmen said.
“I think it’s considered sexual harassment,” I said carefully. “It’s pretty serious.”
“Right. Do you know what he did?”
“Nothing for a long time, apparently. He didn’t want it getting out. And he never responded, so she couldn’t screenshot it and share it with anyone.”
“So he never…” Carmen tried to think of an appropriate word.
“Reciprocated?” I suggested.
“Sent her dick pics in return? Or tried to get it on with her?”
I shook my head. “From what I heard, it all came crashing down when she broke into his hotel suite and Dorian Fisher found her naked on his bed. Her boss, Carly Wolf, was with him at the time, so they both saw the extent of the…obsession. Obviously the woman, Carly Wolf’s assistant, got fired on the spot.”
Carmen made a face, like yikes, but I could tell she was eating it up. It was time to share my devious plan.
“It might take the heat off Odetta Olson.”
“Is that story out already? I would have heard about it.”
I kept moving around the room, not wanting Carmen to notice how nervous I was.
“It’s probably going to get out. I mean ifIheard it…”
