“Shoot! You don’t think the interview’s over, do you?” I toss the question to Alex.
“Nah, this is too juicy. The show’s going to drag out the interview as long as they can. Two, maybe even three segments.” Hitting the info button on the remote, he brings up Late Night’s listing for tonight’s episode. “Looks like they bumped the other couch guests for Georgina as she’s the only one listed. There will be a musical performance from Miranda Lambert, so Meyers will have to leave time for that.” He exits the info screen just in time for the commercial break to end.
“And we’re back with tonight’s special guest, Georgina Knight, who’s here to share her perspective on the scandal she’s currently embroiled in.” Turning to the Brit, he recaps, “Before the break, you told us you were an unwitting participant in the extramarital affair that appears to have split up Hollywood’s favorite couple, Jax Reid and Jaz Johansen.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Georgina’s face is dry and her makeup flawless, so she must have had a touch-up while the cameras were turned off. “I was seduced by Jax under the pretense that his marriage had been in name only for ages and he was free to pursue whomever he pleased. Naturally, I was flattered that I’d caught the eye of one of the most gorgeous, sexy, and talented men on the planet and I fell head over heels for him.”
“Finally, she says something truthful,” Jax grumbles.
I don’t have to ask him to clarify because I know the truth he’s talking about is Georgina referring to him as “gorgeous, sexy, and talented,” not that Jax seduced her or that she was so besotted with him.
“If that’s the story Jax told you, and you truly believed he was estranged from his wife, what did you make of Jaz visiting her husband in England twice while you were filming?”
“Yes!” Jax exclaims, doing a fist pump. “Go for the jugular, Seth!”
“The two of them were photographed looking very much like a happily married couple all over the city.” Seth holds up picture after picture with a brief description of what the camera captured.
“Flying kites on Primrose Hill.” The Js were laughing and seemed to be having a fabulous time in that one.
“Wandering through Borough Market hand-in-hand.” Jax was feeding Jaz some chocolatey treat, and she looked totally blissed out.
“Sipping wine by candlelight while staring deeply into each other’s eyes.” This picture was taken through the window of some hipster wine bar, and I can’t help but feel a surge of pity for these two young lovers who’ve never been able to enjoy a night (or day) out without having it recorded and reported on.
Georgina’s back stiffens. “I thought all of those romantic outings were staged for the benefit of the press. I didn’t realize until later that poor Jazmin was being duped by Jax just like I was. Or, I don’t know . . .” She shrugs in a seemingly nonchalant way. “Maybe she’s only acting like the betrayed woman now because those pictures of her man snogging my face off came out. She couldn’t very well admit that her marriage has been a farce for years.”
“Yikes!” I exclaim with a wince as Jax growls, “Bitch.”
“Damn,” Alex tacks on his own curse word, “I didn’t think she’d trash Jaz in this interview too.”
“Best not to speculate,” Seth immediately stops Georgina from saying anything further on the subject, and I silently applaud him for it. “How did things end with you and Jax, the man you say you were romantically involved with for months? Have you seen or spoken with him since the night of that wrap party?”
“No,” she chokes out the word. “He’s deserted me, and after all we shared. I still can’t believe how wrong I was about him.” The floodgates open once again as tears stream down her face and she reaches for another tissue.
“Well, thank you for coming on the show and giving us your side of the story.” Although he has been a consummate professional throughout, Seth Meyers looks very uncomfortable and I imagine he’s relieved that this interview is over.
“My pleasure, Seth.” She dabs at her tear-streaked cheeks. “I just hope my experience can serve as a cautionary tale for other naïve women. Keep your guard up, ladies. Men, especially the handsome ones, are not to be trusted with your heart.”
“I guess my wife has nothing to worry about then,” Seth jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Georgina just gives him the stink eye. He clears his throat and fiddles with the collar of his buttoned-up dress shirt before saying, “Stay tuned for Miranda Lambert who’ll be debuting the first release off her new album.”
Alex turns off the television, and the three of us sit there in stunned silence, digesting what we just witnessed.
“I knew it was going to be bad, but that was just . . .” Jax can’t even find the right word to describe Georgina’s interview.
“A complete character assassination,” Alex helps him out. “What in the world did you say or do to that woman to make her turn on you like this?”
“Beats me.” Jax rubs the stubble on his jaw while he thinks about it. “I mean, I might have freaked out a little when I woke up with her in my bed the morning after the wrap party and realized what I’d done.”
“Define ‘freaked out,’” Alex commands in a flat tone.
“Well . . . I remember pacing the room, clutching my head because it hurt so bad from the hangover, and I kept saying different variations of, ‘I can’t believe I did this. I’m such an asshole. What’s wrong with me?’ Georgina tried to lure me back to bed, saying she could make me feel better. She was naked and had her hands all over me. I told her that us having sex was a terrible mistake and it was never going to happen again because I loved my wife, but she just wasn’t getting it. She said we were so good together and didn’t I want a real woman who could keep up with me in bed and at work, implying that Jaz couldn’t, which really fired me up. I pushed Georgina off and told her she disgusted me and I needed to take a shower to get the smell of her skanky perfume off my skin, then I locked myself in the bathroom for twenty minutes and when I came out, she was gone. So I figured she’d finally gotten the hint. I did feel shitty about being so harsh with her, but she didn’t leave me much choice since she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Christ,” Alex mutters, shaking his head.
“Yeah, that’s . . . not good. Georgina’s vindictiveness makes a lot more sense now. You rejected her in favor of Jaz and you wounded her womanly pride, so now she’s got a major hate on for both of you.”
“So I’ve lost Jaz for good, the world thinks I’m a lying, two-timing douchebag, and my career’s probably over because no one’s going to want to work with an actor who has this kind of stink attached to him. Hell, they’ll probably reshoot all my scenes in New Frisco, subbing in Noah Centineo as Pyro.” Looking dejected, Jax buries his face in his hands.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alex says, patting his client on the back. “The movie’s being released in a few weeks. Even if the studio wanted to, there’s no time for them to replace you and reshoot anything.”
“And Noah Centineo may be cute, but he’s no Jax Reid,” I assure him.
“I don’t even know if I’m Jax Reid anymore,” he mumbles, his head still down.
“Of course, you are. This is just a temporary setback. Lots of actors have come back from worse. You can’t change what happened or control the actions of someone with a vendetta, but you can move forward with as much grace and dignity as you can muster and show everyone what type of man you really are.”
He raises his eyes to mine. “And how do I do that? Go on a different talk show and offer a rebuttal?”
“I’ll make some calls,” Alex says, picking his phone up off the coffee table.
“No need,” I declare, standing up. “How are you at monologues, Jax?”
CHAPTER 22
“Cut!” I yell for what feels like the hundredth time in the last two hours.
“Crap! What did I do wrong now?” Our star’s broad shoulders, which are nicely showcased in the clean t
ank top I made him change into, slump. “Did I curse again? Call Georgina something I shouldn’t have?”
“No,” I say, walking over to the arm of the couch where he’s perched with his long, denim-clad legs stretched out in front of him. “But you made a snide remark about her story being as fake as her boobs, which is not okay.”
“Well, it’s true,” he retorts, crossing his sinewy arms over his chest. “They’re hard and heavy, like big, droopy bags of change.”
“The purpose of this video isn’t to remind people you’ve felt up Georgina. Do you think Jaz wants to hear that?”
“No. You’re right. Sorry.” He rubs his eyes, which are bloodshot with fatigue.
“I know you’re worn out and it’s been a long, tiring night, but you can do this. I believe in you.”
My encouragement elicits a half-smile from Jax. “Thanks, Red. Let’s go again.”
Turning toward Alex who’s been filming our attempts at a video on Jax’s phone, I proclaim, “Jax Reid Fires Back, take uhhhh . . .” My wits have been dulled by the late hour as well.
“Fourteen,” Alex fills in the blank for me.
“Right, take fourteen.” I move over to stand next to Alex.
“You acted earlier today, and now you’re directing,” he murmurs. “Viv’s entertainer DNA is finally surfacing.”
“Don’t expect me to give up my day job anytime soon,” I bandy back with a smirk. “Action!” I shout, pointing at Jax, and Alex lifts the phone to start recording.
“Hey, everyone. It’s me, your boy, Jax.” He places a hand on his chest, drawing attention to his bare biceps. “I had hoped that what I posted a few days ago was the first and last time I’d have to address what happened after the wrap party for Heart on a String because I’m ashamed of my behavior that night and reliving it over and over again has become my own personal hell. Unfortunately, certain things were alleged during an interview that aired tonight on Seth Meyers’ show—No hard feelings, bro,” he assures the talk show host. “I know you were just doing your job.
“Anyway, I’m here to tell you that most of what came out of Georgina’s mouth in that interview was BS. If she’d just bagged on me, I’d probably let it slide, but she brought my wife into it, which is messed up. Getting wasted and sleeping with Georgina was my mistake, and Jaz has already suffered enough for it. So I’m here to set the record straight. My relationship with Georgina Knight was purely professional until the night of that wrap party. There was no months-long affair, no gifts, no declarations of love, no romantic weekend trips. I barely knew the woman prior to our one-time hookup! I wasn’t attracted to her, I didn’t pursue her or make any promises. Hell, I didn’t even look at her sideways the whole time we were working together.
“My marriage to Jaz was rock solid when I left for England to make Heart. We texted multiple times a day while I was gone, we spoke every night before she went to bed. When she could get time off, she flew to London to be with me because we missed each other so much and those reunions were amazing. We weren’t staging anything for the press; we weren’t lying about the state of our marriage. I love Jaz and only Jaz and I have never screwed around on her before, and the only reason I effed up this time was because I was under the influence of Satan’s Sweaty Bollocks. That’s an alcoholic beverage,” he clarifies, “not some weird sex thing. If anyone ever offers you one of those drinks, take my advice and say no, or you will live to regret it big time.
“At this point, you’re probably confused and wondering who’s telling the truth: Georgina or me? Rewatch tonight’s interview and you’ll see that she offered no proof to back up what she said about me. None. And that’s because there isn’t any. I invite the media to dig around as much as they like because no one is going to find anything that ties me to Georgina outside of that one drunken night. Ask anyone on set who wasn’t on my payroll or Georgina’s. We were never in each other’s trailers, we never arrived or left together, every time she suggested the two of us rehearse privately, I turned her down flat, and there are multiple witnesses to that. Check the security footage in the hallways outside my hotel room and hers, which were five floors apart. The only time you’ll see the two of us together is after that damn wrap party. I have nothing to hide. Can Georgina say the same?” He raises an eyebrow with skepticism.
“One more thing before I go because I think it’s important and I’m afraid it may have gotten lost in all of this sordid, real-life drama.” With a weary sigh, he drags his fingers through the front of his dark, wavy hair and a few curls fall rakishly down on to his forehead.
“Heart on a String is a beautiful movie about life, love, and the human condition. The writer of the film, Barb Lewison, and the director, Joanna Hogg, are both incredibly talented and along with a stellar cast and crew, they have made a truly special film that deserves to be seen and win all kinds of awards. Their wonderful work should not be overshadowed by what I did; this movie is so much more than a stupid scandal and I hope ticket buyers and reviewers will judge Heart on a String on its own merits when it’s released at the end of the year.
“Thanks for listening. Peace out.” Jax makes the V-sign with his index and middle fingers.
Turning to Alex, I slice my hand across my throat so that he’ll stop recording. “That was perfect!” I exult, rushing over to Jax so that I can give him a congratulatory hug.
“Yeah, now we just need to upload the file to IGTV and post it,” Alex says as he saunters over to join us.
“I can do it,” Jax offers.
Alex is handing off his client’s iPhone to him when his own cell starts ringing. He pulls it from the back pocket of his jeans and checks the Caller ID. “Shit,” he grumbles when he sees the name on the display screen. “This can’t be good.”
Receiving a phone call at one o’clock in the morning never is. I hope everything’s okay with his family.
Tapping the phone to accept the call, Alex raises the device to his ear and answers in an upbeat, professional tone, “Hey, Danielle. Shouldn’t you be in bed? I thought you had an early call time tomorrow.”
Even though Alex turns his back on Jax and me and takes a few steps away from us, I can still hear a female voice shrieking like a banshee on the other end of the line.
“All right, okay, take a breath,” Alex instructs in his most soothing voice after he’s patiently endured this verbal onslaught for a solid minute. “I know this is bad, but—”
He’s interrupted by even more enraged shrieking, which reaches such a high pitch Alex has to hold the phone at an arm’s length to save his eardrums. You’d think that this hissy fit thrower would eventually wear herself out, but she seems to have an unlimited capacity for hysteria, not to mention some seriously impressive vocal power. Finally, with a grimace, Alex returns the phone to his ear and shuts his client down firmly by saying, “Danielle, every minute you waste having this meltdown is more time your underage daughter sits in a holding cell with a bunch of crackheads and prostitutes, so pull it together and let’s formulate a plan to get her out of—
“No, you can’t send your housekeeper to the police station to deal with this! The press would have a field day with that. Of course, there’s going to be press! The paps are always staking out the police stations in LA to see if anyone famous gets arrested, and Sierra is the offspring and lookalike of an Oscar-winning actress. So you need to be right there by her side, playing the role of concerned parent, when she’s sprung.
“Is one of your lawyers on the way to the police station? You sent the whole team? That might have been overki— All right, all right, I’ll leave now and meet you there in thirty. And Danielle, remember this isn’t a red carpet event or photo op, so resist the impulse to style your hair and put on a full face of makeup. You need to look disheveled and distraught so that people will empathize with you instead of questioning why your fifteen-year-old daughter was out with her friends on a school night, using a fake ID to gain access to a trendy club. Got it? Good. I’ll see you
soon.”
Alex disconnects the call and turns back to face us with a deep furrow of worry lodged between his brows. “There’s a situation that requires my immediate attention, so I need to bail.”
Not even bothering to look up from his phone, which he’s been typing away on, Jax says, “Do what you gotta do, man,” from the couch where he’s now sprawled.
“Yeah, no worries,” I assure him. “I’ll stick around and make sure Jax gets his video posted.”
“Hell no,” Alex retorts, “that’s all any of us needs right now, someone seeing a beautiful woman that’s not Jaz coming out of Jax’s hotel suite alone at this time of night.” Stalking over to the couch, Alex scoops up my purse from the floor, then walks back over and shoves it into my arms. “We’re leaving together. Jax, call or text one of us if you run into any problems.”
We receive a thumbs-up from Jax as Alex ushers me toward the door of the suite, the warmth of his fingertips on my back seeping through the flimsy silk of the white button-down blouse I have tucked into my jeans is a pleasant sensation that doesn’t last long because he drops his hand as soon as we’re out in the corridor and takes off in the direction of the elevators. He’s already pushed the down button by the time I catch up to him. I can only walk so fast in these leopard print slides without my feet coming out of them!
“I hope I can trust your discretion in regards to anything you might have overheard on that call I just received,” Alex says while staring straight ahead at the closed elevator doors and I can see him clenching his jaw, another sign that he’s seriously stressed, and I have to dig my fingernails into the palm of my hand to stop myself from reaching out and stroking the taut muscle to try and ease the tension from it.
“Of course. I didn’t realize Danielle Jamison was one of your clients.” It was easy enough to identify the shrieker on Alex’s phone when he mentioned her first name, then referred to her as an Oscar winner. Danielle is one of the most recognizable women on the planet since she’s been in the public eye for close to two decades. She was only a little older than Sierra when she first appeared on the primetime teen soap, Doheny Bay, which catapulted her to fame and a movie career. Over the years, Danielle has cultivated a sweet, friendly, “nice girl” image in the press and fans adore her, but I’ve heard plenty of rumblings in the industry about her being a demanding diva behind-the-scenes, a rumor that’s now been confirmed by Alex’s interaction with her. “She seems like a . . . handful.”
Straight from the Hart Page 21
