Typecast

by Kim Carmichael

  “Hollywood Stardust created you. Hollywood Stardust created Drew.” Ryder lifted his head up high. “Hollywood Stardust did not create me or Erin.”

  Almost every day of filming, he had to hear about how Ryder was classically trained, a seasoned actor. Heat burned through him until he broke out into a sweat. Erin wouldn’t even look in his direction, and he remained silent waiting for the rest.

  Ryder stood and took his time walking around the coffee table. “Here’s the deal. We need your help in breaking the contracts. If Erin and I are seen as people who go back on our word, it could ruin our careers and the roles we have lined up.”

  “You want me to take the fall?” Refusing to look up at Ryder, he stood and stared him down.

  “Logan.” From her hiding place at the corner of the couch, Erin squeaked out his name.

  “Let’s face it, you’re going to do an indie film or two and that’s all. Drew was smarter than all of us and walked away. Erin and I need to move on. We don’t want to be stuck as Roxy and William our whole lives. That may be okay for you, but not for us.” Ryder held out his hand to shake. “Come on. Work with us, and I’ll make sure we get you some parts in real films.”

  “Go to hell.” He shoved Ryder away from him.

  Ryder stumbled back, tripping on the side table that held a huge decorative vase. The entire collection crashed to the marble floor, sending shards of pottery and pieces of furniture shooting through the room.

  Erin screamed.

  “I’m done with both of you. If you’re such great actors, you get out of your own contracts.” He made his way toward the door.

  “What? Are you afraid to finish the fight?” From behind, Ryder yelled at him.

  Logan turned with enough time to catch his enemy charging toward him, but before Ryder collided with him, he pulled back his fist and swung. The sick vibration of his fist connecting with Ryder’s jaw rang through him.

  “No!” Erin burst into tears.

  “You will forever pay for this.” Wiping his face, Ryder charged toward him.

  The next moments whirled by in a blur. An angry storm, the two of them raged, throwing punches and shoving the other, and leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Together, they knocked pictures down, broke every knickknack in the room, and when Ryder grabbed him by the collar and thrust him against one of the walls, a huge mirror came crashing down, shattering and shooting sharp glass everywhere.

  The pain throbbing through his body from Ryder’s blows was only overshadowed by the sharp stabs in his arms and back of his neck from the pieces of mirror embedding in his flesh.

  Erin sobbed. Amid the shards, he and Ryder panted and then the phone rang.

  The three of them turned toward the intruder.

  On the third ring, Erin lunged for the phone. “Hello?”

  Both he and Ryder stood still as Erin nodded at whomever dared call them.

  “Thank you. Good-bye.” Her hands shook, but she managed to hang up the phone. “That was the valet. He wanted to warn us. People are complaining about the ruckus. The police are on the way.”

  “Shit!” Ryder ran toward her and grabbed her shoulders and glanced around the ruined room littered with booze and illegal substances. “It’s too late to run. We’re ruined. They’re going to find everything. Do you know what that means?”

  Erin’s eyes widened. “We have to hide it.”

  At the turn in events, Logan couldn’t stop his smile. “Well, the sequel is done, but so are you.” He added, wiggling his fingers at them.

  “We only wanted you to help.” Erin scrunched up her face.

  “We thought we could take you with us. We’re the ones with the potential and you know it.” In a sad attempt to fix the situation, he picked up a bottle and an ashtray and dumped it in the one trash can that wasn’t knocked over.

  Only the fact law enforcement would break down the door at any second stopped Logan from going after his foe once more.

  “Wait!” Erin pressed her hands to her chest and ran to him, her shoes grinding the pieces of mirror into the overpriced floor. “Wait. Don’t you see? We only wanted to take you with us.”

  Not following and not caring, he crossed his arms.

  “Logan.” She took his arm. “Logan, please hear me out.”

  He glanced down at her, hating that even through the mess she was still beautiful. “Every word you say may be held against you. Don’t worry. You’ll hear that soon enough.”

  “Listen. Help us, please.” She held on to him for dear life. “Take the rap. Say it’s all yours. You’re seventeen, you’re a minor, and you’ll get off without a scratch.”

  “Are you insane?” He tried to pry her off him.

  “Look, either way the sequel is through. The minute they see what’s in the other room, the studio will drop the movie. Let us have our future.” Tears streamed down her eyes. “I promise we will take care of you.”

  Ryder came forward. “I swear on everything I have, we will take care of you.”

  The possibilities ran through his head. Erin was right. The sequel was over no matter what. They had sure things, and he could have everything. “I don’t need you to take me with you. I need a vested interest.”

  Both his dollar signs stood before him, hanging on his every word. He held their future and therefore he held the power. “A percentage of everything you make and I want a contract.”

  “For how long?” Ryder asked the most important question.

  He took his time looking at each one of them. “For as long as the career I’m giving you lasts.”

  “Done.” Erin shook his hand. “I’ll have Brian draw up the contracts, but no one else can ever know.”

  Like earlier, Ryder held out his hand, but the attitude, the entitlement had left him.

  “Hollywood Stardust may have created me, but never forget who created you.” Logan took the gesture and stared out the window overlooking Beverly Hills and waited.

  Logan took a breath and looked out on his property once more. Two handshakes and a contract later, he had given Erin and Ryder their careers and thought he had given himself freedom.

  Well, this was over. That night needed to vanish, and with it, the foolish agreement among three desperate people who hadn’t been close to being adults but had needed to act like it anyway.

  With or without their contract, he was through. He would have a life with Ivy, and she would never know what had happened. He only wished he could tell her about his heroics tonight. Maybe some stories were better left untold. Funny what happened when he tried to be the good guy. The role of villain always suited him better. At least this time he got the girl.

  “So let me get this straight, you hacked into Erin Holland’s e-mail?” Matt chomped down on his chocolate.

  “Hack is a very strong word.” Ivy pushed her candy bar aside. All the nougat in the world wouldn’t take away the swirl of nausea in her stomach at even thinking such a heinous thing. “I just started typing different passwords and on the third time.” She motioned toward the machine. “Oh my God, I’m going to go to jail. Please fix it.”

  He swallowed and took a swig of his soda. “You know, if you would have asked me this before I almost asked you to marry me, I would have given you the answers you seek in a heartbeat.”

  “What do you say now?” She tried to smile, but was sure her upturned lips appeared more like a person who just got something shoved up their backside with no lubricant.

  “Before I give you my official answer, I have a question of my own.” He met her smile with one of his own, only much more genuine.

  “All right.” She sat up a little straighter.

  “If it weren’t for Logan, would you have said yes?”

  If nothing else, she owed it to him to pause and honestly consider his question. She rewound her life, the one before Logan, or at least personally knowing the teen idol turned true love. With Matt, that special pit-of-her-stomach breathless feeling didn’t exist. Her amazing
friend and confidant never changed. “I love you too much to do you the disservice of giving you less than the best. I could have never been what you deserve, Logan or not.” The woman who ended up with the man in front of her would be lucky, and she prayed whoever that ended up being would know it.

  “Thank you.” His eyes glossed over, and he nodded. “For that, we will resume our normal relationship.” With a little bit of bravado, he raised his arms, mock cracked his knuckles, and leaned over the desk. “Since you logged in with her password, you are pretty much fine. All you need to do is log out and no one will know the wiser.”

  “So just log out and it’s like it didn’t happen?” She glanced between him and the computer.

  “Yeah, our e-mail is made for remote users. As long as you didn’t reset anything, you’re fine. It’s not like a bank where you get a notice that a different computer was used to log in to an account. The Chargge.com e-mail is made for users on the go. They have a history of logging in from multiple locations.” He sat back. “Just log out and take a breath.”

  Once again, her gaze traveled between the screen and her friend. “It must be illegal to log in to someone’s e-mail and then sift through them, right?”

  “There’s no must about it. It’s illegal. E-mail is like your underwear drawer. No one really wants anyone sifting through it.”

  “Yeah, it is very wrong.” She never did anything wrong. In fact, she was barely bad.

  “All you need to do is log out and eat your candy bar.”

  Stuck in limbo, she didn’t move.

  “Are you going to log out?”

  “Well, I’m not going to stay logged in to her account forever.” She wrung her hands together.

  “Ivy.” His voice rang out a warning.

  “I’m logging out.” She turned to her computer and took hold of the mouse. The “Log Off” button loomed at the top of the screen.

  Matt cleared his throat.

  “If one glanced through the e-mails but didn’t change anything, it wouldn’t show, right?” Her finger hovered above the mouse. One click and it would be over. She wouldn’t betray Logan, but then if she didn’t have all the facts, she couldn’t save him either. “She probably deleted them all anyway.”

  “Well, I think I’ll leave you and your conscience alone.” Her friend pushed out of his chair and backed up toward the exit. “Whatever you do, make sure you log out when you’re done.” He closed her office door behind him.

  “Thanks.” Alone, she inhaled, filling her lungs to capacity, and then let the breath loose.

  Her mind swirled. In those e-mails there had to be at least some of the answers she sought—about Logan, their relationship, what happened the unmentionable night, Drew. How did Logan expect them to move forward without ever telling her the truth? What was hidden?

  One look.

  She stared down at the screen. The list of incoming e-mails were mostly unopened advertisements.

  As she moved the mouse pointer up to the search bar, her hand shook. She still had time to log out and chock the whole experience up to a jealous mistake.

  Though some would call it an opportunity.

  All her life she had been told she didn’t have what it took to make it in this business. Fear. Fear of failure, fear of success, or fear of appearing as a fool stopped her from doing what she dreamed. Stories about her grandfather’s antics filled her mind since she could remember. His motto—take a chance.

  “I have to do this for Logan.” At last, she clicked in the box, typed his name, and hit “Enter.”

  The screen flashed. Her heartbeat reverberated through her ears, and she was 100 percent certain she would throw up all over her keyboard, but finally the e-mails appeared, lined up in a perfect column.

  No, Erin didn’t delete e-mails—in fact, quite the opposite. If there were some sort e-mail hoarding, Erin would need to go into rehab.

  At least fifteen years of messages scrawled out before her, both sent and received, and she scrolled to the last one.

  The first few were simply mentions of Logan, a lunch date or his name in combination with others in conjunction with a party or event.

  A trickle of sweat made its way down her spine, and she scrolled to the next e-mail, one to Ryder.

  Hello Love,

  Got a residual check today and made sure to make a payment right into Logan’s account. It’s almost like we are parents giving our child his allowance. Do you ever wonder what he does with the money? When do you get back from location? I miss the nights. With you, things feel normal. We need to figure out how to get on the same project.

  Wren

  Deposit to Logan’s account?

  Her throat dried out, and she continued her way through the e-mails. Next came Ryder’s response.

  Hey. I think Logan uses the money we send to buy more cars. One day we will open up his garage and a million vehicles will come tumbling out. I sent him a check that I swear was more than I made, but I guess since I get to make movies, I should be happy. His career tanked.

  You’re just bored ’cause you’re between projects, but don’t worry, I’ll be back next week and be right there as long as you promise to do what you did the night before I left. Get on your hands and knees and get ready, but make sure you take your pills. Make no mistake, you and I would make the worst parents ever. The only one who deserves us is Logan.

  Later,

  Ry

  Bile rose in the back of her throat, but she couldn’t stop. She scrolled through several of Erin’s and Ryder’s exchanges of the same nature and stopped at an e-mail from Erin to Logan with the subject of Drew.

  I saw him. He looked so different, not at all like he did that night. He lost weight, looked older with a sadness surrounding him.

  I ran after him, but in a move I can only assume he learned from you, he shooed me away, got in his car, and left.

  Why does it feel like I’ll never see him again?

  Why does everyone leave?

  He doesn’t want to hear me. No one does.

  I don’t want these feelings. I’m in pain all the time, and it’s easier just to put myself in a place where I can forget it or at least not think about it all the time.

  When you see him, tell him I’ll never forgive him for not speaking to me even if it was just to say good-bye.

  Erin

  Minutes later, Logan had responded.

  Don’t do anything or take anything. I’m on my way there.

  L

  The pain in Erin’s words was tangible. Logan’s loyalty to his costars dripped off the computer screen. What on earth happened between them to make Drew walk away from everything? Ivy swallowed back the tears and continued her quest, stopping at an e-mail from Brian.

  Just got a call from Smithstein. You didn’t get the part even with the strings I pulled. Director complained you seemed distracted and messed up your lines. Did you even read the script? Are you on something? I’m not doing this with you again. Next time there won’t be a Logan to clean up your mess. You complain about me, you complain about him, but remember without the two of us, you would probably be a junkie with your costar in the gutter.

  Don’t bother showing up at my place with nothing but diamonds and perfume on again. The diamonds are fake, and the perfume cheap. Get it together, I am running out of balls of twine to make strings from.

  —Your agent for now

  The next e-mail wasn’t Erin’s reply, but instead an e-mail to Logan.

  Lost a part today. Thought I should let you know you lost a revenue source. Maybe you should be my agent. Brian is furious. The director accused me of being distracted, and Brian accused me of being high. I did the audition on Drew’s birthday. Probably no one but you or me even realized the date. Though while I suffered, I’m sure you got to see him. Do you bother giving him my messages or is it all a big joke to you? I know the answer. I sometimes think I should have sided with you and done the sequel. At least I would have had more time, but you manag
ed to get us out because I begged you. Maybe one day you will deliver on what I really want. Don’t bother replying. Needed to vent.

  Apparently Erin had been on a roll. Only a couple of minutes later, she had written a message to Ryder. The first part of the e-mail consisted of a similar rant to him, but the last part of the message caught her attention.

  Do you ever think about it? Do you ever just want to go into that little magic place? Remember how we would go lock ourselves away with our stash? Smoke, eat, and make love for what seemed like an eternity? Too bad we got caught. It was so good back then.

  You know I love you,

  Wren

  As if she were addicted to a soap opera, Ivy rushed to the next message.

  Logan’s response had come about two hours later.

  Temper tantrums and stomping your feet won’t get you what you want this time. Go running to Ryder to make it better. Remember this: there is a clause you stay clean in our contract. I swear I’ll stand there and watch you pee in a cup myself. Stop your tears about the one you can’t have. Just like the rest, you would toss him in the trash once you achieved your goal. Well, in your case, you recycle, but that’s as much my fault as yours.

  Don’t give me your tears about the sequel. You and Ryder wanted an out and you got it. You’re welcome.

  Get to work. Your true love is not any of us. It’s your image on the screen, so go make it happen.

  LA

  Ivy tried not to shudder at the reference to Erin and her man together and went to Ryder’s reply.

  Baby, you and I are one destructive pair. If left to our devices, we would have been a mess. We both know it. We were too high on our careers, our drugs, and ourselves to notice how badly we failed. The percentage taken out of each and every check I receive—not to an agent or a publicist, but for a screw up mistake—only reminds me of what I have lost. I suppose I will fall back on my mantra and say I hope I make Logan a very rich man because I will be even wealthier.

  I need to tell you something, but I want you to promise me you won’t get upset.

  I met someone. She’s not in the industry. I want to see what happens if I leave my baggage at the door, and I wanted to be straight with you.