"The picture of you kissing her posted next, and the fans went nuts over it. Once the last photo with the bitch made the rounds online, though, it all shot straight to hell, man. The headline on TMZ was that you cheated on Allie. The comments on social media are even worse though. From what I could tell, most of them are bashing you for being a cheating asshole. The rest are dogging on Allie. I only made it through a few dozen before I got too fucking pissed to read more. It was fucking brutal to read."
"I need to find my phone. I've got to try to talk to her. I have to make her listen," I said urgently, as I jumped up and began to look around the room for it.
"Ok, I'll check the bedroom," Tony said. Josh and I looked all around the living room and small kitchen, while Matt tried calling my number to see if we could hear it ring.
"Got it!" Tony came out of the bedroom, holding it out to me. "It was in the inside pocket of your suit coat. It's dead though. Is there a charging port out here?"
I spotted a docking station on the desk in the corner and set my phone on it to charge. I started pacing back and forth, anxious for it to charge enough for me to try to at least send a text off to Allie.
"Come on and sit down, Nico," Matt said. "We need to figure out how to fix all the other shit going on. I've already talked to Lana and Michael. She's working on a statement but needs your input. Michael has already contacted the security company he uses and has arranged for security at your house and at Allie's. He also wants to get a bodyguard to shadow Allie until this all dies down."
I sat up in alarm. "Bodyguard? Does he think she's in danger over this. Oh, shit. Gracie. Where was she staying last night? Has anybody called Allie's family?" My thoughts were completely jumbled. I couldn't even think straight at this point.
"Calm down, man. The bodyguard is just to help keep the paparazzi from getting too close. They are swarming the hotel. The hotel manager was able to sneak Allie out the back apparently. The guy told Michael he felt sorry for her, and had her car brought around to the employee entrance so she wouldn't be spotted leaving." Matt shot me a look that told me he felt sorry for her too, before continuing, "Lana checked with her sources at the news rags, and the paps are camped out at your house, and have figured out where Allie lives already. Her neighbors called the cops, but you know how that is. They have the fucking right to stand on a public sidewalk."
I leaned back against the sofa and stared at the ceiling again. I felt like I wanted to throw up, and it had nothing to do with my hangover. I couldn't believe that one of the best nights of my life had ended like this. I had planned to see Allie today, to talk to her and tell her how I felt about her. After kissing her last night, I had known that I had no choice. I couldn't just be her friend. I had to try for more. Now, I was worried sick about her, and about Gracie. God, this was so fucked up!
Matt's phone rang, and we all stared at him anxiously as he checked the caller ID. "It's Michael," he said, before answering. "Yeah, we're here with him. No, nothing from Allie yet." He paused, listening to whatever Michael was telling him. "OK, I'll let him know."
"Lana will be here in about 10 minutes. Michael is going to meet her in your suite, so you guys can prepare your statement," he said as he put his phone down. "The security companyconfirmed that there is no sign of Allie at her house, your house, or the office. Michael got hold of her dad. Apparently, she called her sister this morning and asked her to keep Gracie for one more night. She didn't act like anything was wrong, so Hannah assumed she had just partied too much last night and wanted to rest. Hannah hadn't seen the news at that point, so she had no idea. He told Michael that Hannah tried to reach Allie once she saw it on Twitter, but Allie didn't answer. She did text Hannah shortly after that, to tell her she was fine, couldn't go home because the paparazzi were there, and would call her later when she could talk."
I was still sick to my stomach, but felt better knowing that Gracie was safe, and that Allie had at least checked in with someone. I reached over to check my phone, and it had charged to twelve percent. I pulled up Allie's contact and pressed 'send'. It went straight to voicemail, so her phone was either dead or turned off.
"Allie, please call me right away. That picture wasn't what you think. I swear to you Sunshine, I didn't touch her except to push her away. We're all worried sick about you. Please call me. Please. If you don't want to talk to me right now, call one of the guys. Please....just call." My voice broke by the end of my message.
I sent a text saying the same things in case she didn't check her voice mail. I then tried to call her brother Scott. He answered on the first ring. "What the fuck do you want?" he asked. Great, just fucking great.
"I didn't do anything. I didn't cheat. I know the picture looks bad but - " I was interrupted by my phone beeping as the call was ended. He had hung up on me. I texted him with a quickexplanation and asked him to have Allie get in touch with me or one of the guys.
I tried Hannah next. She declined the call, sending me to voicemail both times. I left her a message, then sent her the same text I'd sent to Scott.
Michael and Lana arrived and listened to my explanation of my run-in with the redheaded bitch. Michael had already talked to the hotel manager, who was running down the names of the security guards who hauled the bitch away from the elevator last night. He had also requested any video footage from the security cameras outside the ballroom and by the elevator. Lana hoped to be able to have that footage available to back up my statement.
I looked at Lana and asked, "You think we need all that?"
She gave me a pointed look. "Nico, I don't think you realize how angry people are with you. Even your die-hard fans are pissed. It's bad enough when people think a celebrity has cheated on another celebrity, but with someone like Allie...they feel for her. They empathize because she's an everyday person. Plus, you have the added burden of your reputation as...," she paused, trying to be diplomatic, "as a ladies' man"
Josh snorted at that. I shot him the finger.
"So, bottom line is, I need the guards' statements and the video footage for people to believe me."
"I'm afraid so," she confirmed.'
Josh spoke up at that point. "Since nobody else is gonna ask, I will. Nico, are you and Allie even a couple? Until last night, I thought you were just friends. I mean, I saw you kiss the hell out of her at the party, so yeah, there's obviously something goingon there, but I thought maybe it was because you'd both been drinking. Have you guys been dating? Otherwise, if you're not a couple then even if you had done something with the redhead, would it really have been cheating?"
Tony and I shared a look, and Michael cleared his throat. Lana looked like she'd been smacked. Well, that was a good fucking question, now, wasn't it?
"Uh...I guess I just assumed...I mean, I saw the red-carpet pics and then the kiss, and I just assumed that you really were a couple now. Is that not the case?" Lana asked, almost as if she didn't want to know the answer.
"Allie and I haven't had a chance to talk about any of this yet," I sighed heavily. "Shit, I should be telling her this, not you assholes," I muttered. Tony and Matt nodded in agreement. Josh just looked confused. "I want to be with Allie. As far as I'm concerned, I'm fucking committed to her. She just doesn't know that yet." '
Tony snickered, Matt chuckled, and Josh just laughed like he thought I was an idiot. I shot the finger to all three of them that time.
Lana rubbed the bridge of her nose, as if I was giving her a headache. Hell, I probably was. "Ok," she said. "How about we release a statement giving a clear, concise account of everything that happened with the redhead. We won't address the issue of whether you and Allie are a couple or mention anything about cheating. We can add a statement about the struggle celebrities face with overzealous fans, and how hurtful unsubstantiated rumors can be, and end by saying you won't comment further on your private life and ask for Allie's privacy to be respected as well."
"That sounds good to me," I said.
"I'll have a preliminary draft ready for you to look over within half an hour. Michael, can I use your suite to work in? I want to call the hotel manager back to see if he's made any progress on his end with his security office. I would like to have that information 'anonymously' leaked to the major outlets within the next couple of hours to add even more credibility. It takes a lot to win people over when they are this pissed off"
"Sure, Lana. If you want to head up there now, I'll give my wife a heads up so she can let you in, and I'll make sure she gives you privacy while you work."
"Oh, and Nico?" Lana turned to me before leaving the suite. "Don't forget that you still have to be in New York this evening for your interview with Late Night Live.
"Fuck, no. I'm not going anywhere until - "
"Nico, she's right," Michael interrupted. "Aside from the fact that you are contractually obligated to go, you'll just fan the fire if you bail on them. The public would take that as an admission of guilt. You have to go on the show and focus on the Grammy win."
Lana added, "I'll contact the show's producers to make sure they know that you aren't going to talk about this situation in any detail. I'm sure Thomas Landry will ask anyway, but you just downplay it and redirect the conversation. After I get the press statement prepared, we'll head to the airport. Michael already arranged for a private charter, so I'll go with you, and we'll work out a more complete game plan on the flight there."
Seeing the defeated look on my face, she clearly took pity on me. "It will be OK, Nico. We'll set the record straight, your loyalfans will come around, and you and Allie can work out whatever this is between you."
