“I shouldn’t have left you alone,” he says. It’s the most apologetic I’ve ever heard him.
“It’s fine. It happens all the time.”
“How do you cope?”
I shrug. “It’s part of the job.”
Sunday’s headlines must be exactly what Ace had imagined when he decided to blackmail me. The papers are all calling him a hero, one who saved me from the creepy stalker. I roll my eyes and toss them all in a heap on the couch.
“You can start a scrapbook,” I tell him.
He barely looks up from the TV. “Nah, I’m okay.”
He’s wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. My eyes linger on the powerful muscles in his thighs. I can see a faint line just above the hem, where his legs are a shade lighter than the rest of him.
“You see something you like, Josie?” I whip my head up to find him watching me, a teasing light in his eyes.
“You are so full of shit.”
His eyes drift toward the Baby Grand. “Do you ever play anymore?”
“Not much.”
“Why not?”
“No time.”
He gives me an arch look and then swings his long legs off the couch. He’s at the piano in three strides. I shake my head when he pats the small space on the stool next to him. His long fingers play a few test notes.
“It needs tuning,” he announces cockily.
“It does not.”
A few more chords and then he shrugs. I hold my breath as his fingers launch into action, playing a melodic ditty I’ve never heard before. He hits more than a dozen wrong notes, but he plays through them, not bothered.
“You’re terrible,” I say when he’s done.
He grins. “Music was never my forte.” Then, his face turning serious, “but I always thought it was yours. I thought this is what you’d be doing, in the end.” He makes a sweeping motion over the keys to emphasize his point. “Not acting.”
It’s my turn to shrug. “Acting pays better.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” He gets up and offers me the stool. “Why don’t you play something now?”
I shake my head. “I’m going to get something to drink.”
“Could you grab me a soda while you’re there?”
“How positively domestic.” We both jump at the new voice which cuts through the room.
“Alex!” I breathe. He’s standing at the doorway to the living room, still wearing his traveling coat. He must have come straight from the airport.
“Hello, Jojo.” His voice is pained, and dark circles shadow his eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
He stares at me, as if he’s memorizing every inch of my face. “I don’t know,” he admits. “I thought you’d be alone.”
“This is―”
“I know who he is.”
Ace gets to his feet. Holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you… Alex, is it?”
Son of a bitch. It’s a wicked move, as disrespectful as it is condescending.
Alex doesn’t move a muscle and Ace lets his hand drop back to his side with a smug grin.
“Let’s go into the kitchen,” I say quickly, drawing Alex away from Ace. The second we’re out of sight, Alex lowers his guard.
“What the fuck is going on, Jojo?” his voice is more venomous than I’ve ever heard it. “You end things with me, and a couple of days later this stranger moves into your house!”
“I know. It’s a lot to take in, I get that. I don’t know what to tell you―”
“Why don’t you start by telling me exactly how long you’ve been seeing him?”
“I didn’t leave you for Ace if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Bullshit. What kind of a fool do you take me for?”
“I know it looks that way, but I swear to you, Alex, I wasn’t seeing Ace before we broke up. We dated back in college, as you’ve probably read, and we bumped into each other at―”
“Your book launch. I know, I was there, remember?”
“Yes,” I admit. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” he barks. “You’ve made me a laughing stock and all you can say is you’re sorry?”
I’ve never seen him so out of control. He’s always been so poised and perfect, and I hate that I am the cause of it. “I don’t know what else to say.”
“Are you sleeping with him?”
My mouth drops open. “No!” I exclaim, perfectly outraged, when all I can think is I’m so relieved he worded it like that and not ‘have you slept with him’.
“Forgive me for assuming the worst,” he snaps, “but it’s hard to know what to think when your fiancé leaves you, and another man moves into her home a week later.”
“He’s sleeping in the spare room,” I mumble. It’s all I can give him. Alex slept in my bed every time he stayed over, and I hope that that means something, however small.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“No. In fact, I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. We broke up, Alex. What I do with my time and who I spend it with, is no longer your concern.”
He drags his hand across his face. “This is ridiculous. You don’t just throw away two and half years for some deadbeat.” At my look of surprise, his lips curve upward in a cruel smirk. “I did my research, Jojo. Your new boyfriend doesn’t even have a job. He’s obviously here for one reason.”
“Oh really,” I snap. He’s absolutely right, but it still hurts to hear that he doesn’t believe Ace could give a damn about me. “And what reason is that?”
“Your money, Jojo. In fact, I’ll prove it.” Before I can stop him, he strides out of the kitchen.
Ace is still lounging on the couch, but I can tell by his body language that he’s not half as calm as he’s pretending to be. He glances up as Alex enters, then shoots me a curious look.
“Logan is it?” Alex asks, and it’s such a territorial thing to call Ace by his last name that I want to laugh, until Alex opens his mouth again. “Well, Logan, I have a proposition for you.”
“You’re not really my type,” Ace drawls.
Alex’s feigned laughter is grating. “I’ll give you a million dollars to break up with Jojo.”
I actually take a physical step backward. This isn’t some romantic notion in a role I’m playing. This is my life. And Alex just put a literal price on my head.
“Are you for real?” Ace’s voice is low, lower even than when he confronted the man in the park.
“You’re obviously not here for any noble reason,” Alex continues calmly, “so rather than waste all of our time, let’s get to the point. A million dollars for you to walk away.”
Ace gets to his feet. He’s a full head taller than Alex. My feet are frozen in place, I couldn’t move if I wanted to.
“A million dollars,” Ace muses. His eyes meet mine over Alex’s head. A storm is brewing. “What do you say, Josie?” Ace asks me, and his voice is so gentle I want to weep. “You think you’re worth a million dollars?” His eyes pose a question, a challenge, and I rise to it beautifully.
“Alex,” I say in a voice like honey, “get the fuck out of my house.”
14
“I can’t believe he offered me a million dollars,” Ace muses, digging deep into the popcorn bowl for the burnt bits.
“I can’t believe you turned it down.”
He chuckles. “I think I could’ve pushed him for more.”
“I think I could push you right down the stairs.”
We’re sitting on opposite ends of the couch. It took a full ten minutes for my heart rate to return to normal after Alex had left. Ace cocks his head to the side and fixes me in that intense stare of his.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did.”
“Why did you fall in love with him?” I arch my brow, and he holds up both hands in surrender. “I know, I know, he’s perfect… God’s gift to womankind and all that, but he just doesn’t seem like someone you’d get in
volved with.”
“How would you have any idea what kind of person I’d get involved with? You don’t even know me.”
“I know the girl you were. People don’t change that much.”
“I think you’re proof that they do.”
It’s his turn to be silent.
“What happened, Ace? How did you go from being one of the nicest people in the world to this?”
“I wasn’t that nice to begin with,” he teases. “I did take advantage of you when you were drunk, remember?”
I blush crimson. I’ve become so used to denying it that any mention of that night turns me into a nervous wreck.
“Why did you lie?” he asks, “In the book, I mean. It would’ve sold no matter what you wrote, so why did you even say you were a virgin in the first place?”
“I guess I tried to forget it ever happened.”
“Why?” his probing is gentle, but significant.
“You know why.”
“Tell me.”
“Because it hurt. I really thought… well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. Once you left, I just wanted to forget it ever happened. I guess I considered myself a born-again virgin. It’s very on trend at the moment,” I add as his mouth falls open.
“Wait, so you haven’t… I mean, since we…?”
I flush all the way down to my toes. “No, I haven’t.”
He whistles, low and loud. “Wow.” His lip tugs upward. “And how did Mr. Forbes List feel about that?”
“I’m not discussing this with you. And wipe that smug smirk off your face.”
I spend most of the following week on set, my emotions in chaos. Ace is a world-class prick, and yet I find myself enjoying his company. I even agreed to get back on his motorcycle after he called me out for being a wuss. And despite his claims that he wants to use me to further this own career, he hasn’t done a single thing about it. Even Fenn is smitten. Once she got over her initial shock, she fell right under Ace’s spell. She even offered to write up his resume and send it out on his behalf. Yesterday I overheard her telling him about a casting call downtown, and I had to take Noodle for an hour-long walk to calm down. George, of course, is thrilled, because with all the additional publicity I’m getting, the book sales have skyrocketed.
I have got to get out of this mess.
By Friday afternoon, I’ve started hatching a plan. I still haven’t spoken to Jude but, as soon as filming ends, I make my way down to The Office.
“What are you doing here?” Jude asks when he sees me approaching the bar. It’s happy hour, and a crowd of people fills the confined space. The only good thing about The Office is that the regulars have been around so long they knew me before I was famous, and they barely notice when I walk in.
“Can we speak, somewhere private?”
“As you can see, I’m a little busy.”
“Fine.” I slam open the hatch and move behind the bar.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jude hisses.
“I’m freeing you up.” I turn to the nearest crowd. “What’ll it be?”
“Three beers, a scotch and soda, and a glass of red.”
“You don’t work here anymore, Josie.”
“Don’t worry,” I say as I pull three beers from the cooler, “you don’t have to pay me.”
He curses under his breath. “Rachel!” a dark-haired girl taking a food order raises her head. “Cover for me, will you?”
The second she’s behind the bar, Jude hauls me by my elbow to his tiny office down the hall.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“I’m not in the mood, Josie.”
I cave. “You were right. I’m in trouble.”
He hesitates for only a fraction of a second before pointing to the chair behind his desk. “Sit.”
Once he’s perched on the desk before me, he instructs me to start from the beginning. So I do. His response is predictable as ever.
“Holy shit.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me. No, wait, don’t answer that, I get why you didn’t tell me. But why are you telling me now?”
“Because I have a plan.”
“What is it?”
“George very clearly said that unless I’d slept with someone between getting engaged to Alex and writing the book, I was in the clear.”
He pulls a face. “I really don’t want to hear the specifics of your sex life, Josie.”
“Bear with me. I was a ‘virgin’,” I put air quotes around the phrase, “when I wrote it.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“I know, but you know what I mean. The point is, it doesn’t really matter if I’m not a virgin after the fact.”
“I literally have no idea where you’re going with this. And please stop saying that word, it’s freaking me out.”
“I’m going to tell the world I had sex with Ace.”
His expression is blank. “That’s great, but I still don’t get how it helps.”
“I’m going to tell them I had sex with Ace now. That I’m not a virgin anymore. That way, I can control the story. If Ace tries to say we did it six years ago, no one will believe him, not after I make it front page news. It’d take the wind right out of his story. I’ll be free.”
“Okay, but you said he had photographs – evidence?”
“I haven’t aged that much,” I tease. “And they’re not full-face photographs. He’d have a hard time proving when they were taken. I don’t think he’d even bother, not when I’ve scooped his story. He’ll run back to whatever hole he crawled out of, and I’d never have to see him again.”
“Leaving you free to get back together with Alex?”
I hesitate. I hadn’t even thought that far. In fact, Alex hadn’t even crossed my mind.
Jude senses my distraction. “You do want to get back together with Alex, right?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
“Don’t sound so sure, you might hurt yourself.”
“Alex offered Ace money,” I blurt out. “To leave me.”
“He what?”
“He came around, claimed that Ace was only in it for the money. He offered him a million dollars to walk away.”
“Fuck me. What did Ace say?”
“He turned him down.”
Jude steeples his fingers under his chin. “Why would he do that? A million dollars is a lot of money, and he wouldn’t have to spend the next year of his life faking things with you.”
“I have no idea. Who knows how Ace’s brain works.”
There’s a pregnant pause, and then, “Alex really offered him money?”
“Yes.”
“I never liked him.”
I smile a small, sad smile. “I know.”
15
Buoyed by the idea that I have a plan, I practically waltz home. The only downside is that for said plan to have any chance of success, I’m going to have to actually sleep with Ace.
As luck would have it, we’re attending a premiere this weekend in Vegas, the original Sin City. We’re catching an early flight tomorrow, so I spend the evening closeted in my bedroom, packing everything I might possibly need to stage my seduction. I’m absolutely terrified.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ace asks when I get up from the table to wash up after dinner.
“What do you mean?”
“You haven’t insulted me in at least thirty minutes. Something isn’t right.”
“Maybe I just want an evening of peace?”
“Lies. You’re up to something.”
I cast around for a change of subject. “Have you packed for tomorrow? You know you can use my name at any of the designer stores if you need something to wear.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“It’s a premiere,” I remind him, “you need to look the part.”
“Are you worried I might embarrass you by showing up in jeans?”
“Yes.”
“Ah,” he
teases, his eyes sparkling, “there she is.”
In the greater scheme of things, his outfit is the least of my concerns, but I do find myself worried that he’s going to embarrass me in front of the world’s press.
On Saturday evening, having been primped and preened by a crew of hair and makeup artists, I wait with bated breath for Ace to emerge from his room. When he does, I almost fall over in my six-inch stilettos. I don’t know where he got the suit, but it’s perfectly tailored to show off the breadth of his shoulders and his long, lean legs. His shoes are leather – Italian, I’d bet my life on it – and his blond hair is slicked back, exposing the smooth tan of his forehead and his wicked blue eyes.
“Good enough for you, princess?” he asks arrogantly. He looks incredible, and he knows it.
I narrow my eyes. “Where did you get that suit?”
“I had it lying around. Shall we?” He offers me his arm, and I link my own through his. Once again, Ace blows me away with his performance. When we arrive at the Orleans Arena, he stands tall at my side, smiling expertly for the cameras, but not once does he step forward and command attention in the spotlight. I am hyper-aware of him, standing always at my back, guiding me through the reporters and foreign press. Watching the screening, I find I am analyzing every move I make, trying to see my performance through his eyes. It’s not my favorite film, but I want him to like it. I don’t know why I care.
Ace doesn’t say much. At the after party, there are a few instances where he disappears and, despite scanning the crowd, I can’t find him. I think I catch him talking to a serious man in a black suit who doesn’t look as if he belongs here, but then one of my co-stars steps into my line of vision and I’ve lost him again. All in all, he’s attentive and charming, but he falls silent the moment we get into the limo for the ride back to our hotel. My heart is hammering at a hundred beats a minute in anticipation of what I need to do, but Ace appears utterly relaxed, draped over the leather seat.
“You’re very quiet,” he remarks as we take the elevator up to the penthouse.
“I’m just tired. It’s been a busy night.”
He nods, but I don’t think he believes me.
Awkward in Print (Awkward #1) Page 7
