No Stone Unturned

by India Lee

  “Could you be more tense? Squeeze those arms tighter and I’m afraid you’ll break your ribs. This is not what we want,” Cai lamented, cradly his camera sadly. “You must relax.”

  “I just feel like if I uncross my arms…” Gemma whispered, timidly. “I’m going to flash the whole room.” She looked up at Lourdes and Cai, ready for a scowl or some sarcastic remark about her being prude. Instead, Lourdes’s face softened and nodded.

  “Fair. I understand that not all are practicing exhibitionists like Cai and me,” Lourdes smiled. She turned towards the random crew members who were picking up around the set. “Closed set. Everyone out except Thierry and the four of us.” The crew dutifully exited the room without another word. Perrin, Tyler, Nicki and Elizabeth made their way towards Damian and Gemma.

  “Do we count?” Elizabeth asked. “I’m representing Damian’s management and publicity team today. And Perrin here is Gemma’s publicist and…”

  “I can speak for myself, honey,” Perrin interjected. “Bee, if you’re more comfortable without me in the room I can do approvals on the photos after they’ve been shot. What do you say?”

  “I think it’d help not to have too many people watching me,” Gemma replied, timidly. Perrin nodded.

  “Fine then, no problem at all. Do your thing and relax, but don’t let these two deviants make you too uncomfortable. Though a little discomfort is okay.” Perrin winked at Lourdes and Cai before turning on her heel and exiting.

  “What about me?” Tyler asked. He had his hands in his pockets with his eyes focused on Gemma’s.

  “I don’t know, Tyler… this is all just so weird.”

  “I can support you by staying in the room or I can support you by giving you some space. Which one do you prefer?” he asked simply. Gemma bit her lip. She knew it was a struggle for him to be so understanding.

  “I think if there are less people in the room I’ll be more relaxed,” Gemma replied. “Just for this shot at least. I’ll need you with me for the outdoor shots.” She concentrated on Tyler’s face, looking for any signs of disapproval. He smiled slightly and nodded, giving her a salute.

  “No problem,” he said. He turned towards Damian. “I know she’s irresistible, but remember she’s mine, okay?” Tyler and Damian shared a laugh as Tyler waved and left the room. Nicki rolled her eyes.

  “Well,” Lourdes sighed, exasperated. “Now what of you two?” She raised her eyebrows at Nicki and Elizabeth. Nicki pursed her lips, her gaze set on Damian. Damian shrugged, looking at Elizabeth.

  “I think I can handle myself and Aiden’s going to do final approvals anyway so it’s okay if you head out,” he said. Elizabeth shrugged and glanced at Nicki.

  “And me?” Nicki asked, her voice icy. “Do you want me to stay?” Damian stopped for a beat before looking over at Gemma. She took in a deep breath. Oh God, please don’t put this on me.

  “I…” Gemma shook her head at him but before she could finish her sentence, Nicki exhaled in disgust.

  “Sorry, Damian. I didn’t realize it wasn’t your decision.” With that, she stormed out of the room with Elizabeth jogging after her. They watched as the last two cleared the room. Damian sighed, burying his face in his hands.

  “Well, well. Look at all this drama. It almost makes me miss my teen years,” Cai said, laughing with Thierry. “Jealousy can be a beautiful catalyst sometimes. We should work with this.”

  “Maybe this was a bad idea,” Gemma said.

  “You’re not allowed to say that,” Lourdes smiled peacefully. “Besides, this is nothing. This is tame. It’s just playacting, my loves. If your significant others take offense to everything like this, you can just say goodbye to these types of jobs now. Don’t they know that this translates to paychecks and gifts?”

  Gemma laughed politely, though she was still visibly skeptical.

  “If you’re worried about how I’m handling this, Bee, I’m fine,” Damian said, placing his hands softly on her shoulders. “I know you’re thinking about Nicki and Tyler and how this is all coming off but you know we’re responsible people and this is just a job.” Gemma squinted up at Damian. She was worried about what he was thinking and she was impressed that he knew exactly what to say. Impressed but hardly surprised.

  “Okay,” she replied softly, a hint of a smile curving her lips. The remaining people in the room shared a collective sigh of relief. Gemma turned back towards the vanity mirror and felt Damian place his hands on her hips again. She loosened her crossed arms over her chest so that the satin straps sat softly on her forearms, the neckline revealed a perfectly tasteful amount of cleavage.

  She felt Damian’s breath on her neck as he leaned into her, zipping the dress up as Cai snapped away with the camera. She cleared her mind of any kind of thought and focused on the distant hum of fan. Lourdes stood at a distance, smiling with approval. Gemma returned a soft smile.

  “Got it!” Cai exclaimed. “Beautiful opening shot. Now let’s get the closer.” Gemma swallowed hard. She knew from Perrin that there would be a series of four photos, beginning with them getting dressed for the night. That show would be followed by the more innocuous shots of them strolling through The French Quarter with Damian helping Queen Bee off of a streetcar. The final shot would see them back in the bedroom – on the bed.

  Lourdes had Gemma change into a black lace slip and lie in bed. The photo was to look as if the two were relaxing after returning from their night out. For relaxing, however, the pose seemed overtly suggestive with Gemma reclining in bed and Damian kneeling beside her, undoing his cufflinks with his shirt un-tucked and unbuttoned. To Gemma, it was an image of what would have happened had she not stopped Damian in bed during post-prom two years ago. She held her breath as Lourdes pushed the two of them closer together so that their legs tangled beneath them.

  “Isn’t this too much?” Gemma squeaked. She furrowed her brows at the weak sound of her voice.

  “Nope,” Lourdes replied, simply. Damian laughed, touching her knee.

  “Why are you so worried? You know Tyler’s cool,” he said.

  “I know, but I’m more worried about Nicki,” Gemma blurted out. She pursed her lips immediately after saying the name. Damian’s smile faded into a frown.

  “Why?”

  Gemma laughed to herself. “Because she clearly hates me,” she said. “And I don’t want her to.”

  “You think she hates you?”

  “I don’t think so, I know so.”

  Damian shook his head adamantly. “No, she doesn’t. I think she feels a little insecure around you and Tyler sometimes, but that’s natural. Don’t take it personally.”

  “I’m not taking it personally,” Gemma said, her voice more bitter than she expected. As always, Damian picked up on her tone. He stayed silent, knowing not to exacerbate the situation. The camera continued to snap away on them, their bodies touching but their faces stone. Gemma kept hoping Damian would open his mouth to say something comforting, but he chose to remain quiet. She knew his loyalty wouldn’t allow him to utter a single negative word against Nicki, but she was hoping he would at least acknowledge his girlfriend’s increasingly jealous behavior. Guess not, she thought bitterly. She was officially alone in her recognition of Nicki as someone hostile, perhaps even sinister.

  ~

  The French Quarter was exceedingly charming with its open balconies and quaint, old-fashioned air. Gemma was back in the lavender satin gown and Damian back in his suit. Fully dressed, she felt a bit more at ease, a necessary feeling considering the entire crew, Tyler, Perrin, Nicki and Elizabeth had all returned. Seemingly satisfied with the racier photos they had gotten at the studio, Lourdes and Cai were content with more innocent shots of Gemma and Damian walking through the streets, though they insisted along with Thierry that they keep things “sensual.” Gemma found that meant instead of simply holding hands, Damian would keep a hand on the small of her back and his lips perpetually hovering at her temple.

  When Cai suggest
ed Damian lean in to smell Gemma’s hair, Nicki scoffed.

  “Nothing like the smell of a freshly sprayed wig,” she said to Elizabeth, though it was audible to everyone nearby. Gemma bit her lip. From afar, Elizabeth shot her a sympathetic glance and a shrug, which Gemma actually took comfort in. Lourdes, unamused by Nicki’s presence and snarky remarks, suddenly decided to do an impromptu shot of Queen Bee and Damian “window-shopping.” She seemingly decided to pose them in a way just to spite Nicki.

  “Remarks from the peanut gallery are unnecessary, thank you,” she said breezily.

  Gemma felt her entire backside pressed up against Damian’s body as they both faced a storefront boasting colorful Mardi Gras masks and beads. Lourdes wrapped one of Damian’s arms around Gemma’s waist while placing his opposite hand flat on her thigh. Nicki was predictably disturbed, but to Gemma’s surprise, Tyler appeared just as much so. She fixed her gaze on him, willing him to look up at her. When he did, she pouted playfully. His furrowed brows relaxed and he cracked a smile. It never took much from Gemma to disarm him. She was devoted to him despite the slight hurdles they had run into, and she wished that Nicki could see that, because Gemma was finished with trying to prove herself. She wasn’t about to let her take away the friendship that she had always had with Damian or the budding one between him and Tyler. It wasn’t easy keeping true friendships with the lifestyles that they led.

  But Nicki was clearly a ticking time bomb. It grew more and more apparent with every encounter they had. Mira had always said the quiet ones were trouble. Gemma was quickly realizing how accurately the saying applied to Nicki.

  ~

  Gemma sat alone in front of the vanity mirror in her hotel suite. She struggled to reattach the black feathers around her eyes. Damian had a game against the New Orleans Hornets the next day and was staying in a nearby hotel with the rest of his team. He invited Gemma and Tyler to have dinner with him and a couple teammates which Tyler surprisingly was very interested in doing. Gemma supposed it shouldn’t come as that much of a shock. As awkward as Tyler may have felt about the photo shoot, his love for basketball had a tendency to trump any other feelings he may have had.

  “Go first,” she had told him. “I still need time to do my makeup.” As much as it was true, it was also somewhat of an excuse. She needed some breathing room, some time alone. Tyler was reluctant, but eventually left, sensing her need for space. The moment he was gone, Gemma reveled in her solitude for a few minutes before feeling lonely once again.

  It wasn’t Tyler she missed as she wrestled with the various contraptions that aided in her makeup. She knew that her relationship with Penelope had been strained but she regretted denying her help on the New Orleans trip anyway. In fact, Gemma was shocked that Penelope didn’t fight to come with her. It was as if she didn’t care for Gemma or Queen Bee – not as much as she used to anyway. Gemma recognized that she may not have been entirely nice to Penelope in recent times but reasoned that Penelope hadn’t been exactly pleasant either. It was obvious that she was feeling left behind with Armand working so far away and achieving so much in his own separate career. It probably hurt to be surrounded by people who were finding their success when she was working a position that became more and more thankless as the days went by. Gemma supposed she didn’t express her gratitude enough, especially since she was allowing so many outside makeup artists and stylists to call the shots now. Penelope was losing her chances for creative expression when it came to Queen Bee, and she was strangely getting few offers from others.

  Just as Gemma was applying the finishing touches on her makeup, a knock came at the door. She quickly re-pinned her wig and adjusted the feathers around her eyes.

  “Coming!” she called, running towards the door. She looked through the peephole to see Elizabeth. Gemma wiped any visible confusion off her face before opening the door. “Hey, what’s up, Elizabeth? Are you guys leaving?”

  “No, not yet,” Elizabeth said, smiling. “I just came to talk to you.”

  “Oh. Okay, come in. Everything okay?” Gemma retreated into the room, gesturing for Elizabeth to follow her into the seating area.

  “Oh, yeah! Everything’s fine,” Elizabeth responded, perky ask usual. “I know Nicki was a little weird during the shoot before and I just wanted to come here and make sure you two would be okay if we all went out together.” Elizabeth took a seat and cringed. “I just want to avoid… awkwardness. I mean, as her friend, I feel bad about the whole situation and how much worse it’s been getting.” She paused, straightening her posture and laughing at herself, “And as a low-level intern that Aiden somehow trusted in handling this shoot, I want to make sure I don’t mess things up by allowing a public blowup to happen.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t do anything like that,” Gemma said, rolling her eyes. “Listen, I’ve dealt with drama in the past but I have to say that Nicki’s been pretty impossible.”

  “Well, you know. She’s not a celebrity or a socialite,” Elizabeth pointed out, leaning back in her chair and twirling her hair around her finger. “She’s pretty much… I mean, if we’re going to be blunt, she’s a nobody. So like, what I kind of want to understand is why you’re letting it bother you so much?”

  Gemma stared at Elizabeth, trying to decipher whether Nicki had sent her over as some sort of spy. “What makes you think I’m letting her bother me?”

  Elizabeth gave an incredulous, slack-jawed look that actually made Gemma laugh. “Okay, even if it weren’t my job to perceive how people feel about something, I’d totally have noticed anyway. You’re like… you’re…” Elizabeth’s mouth was open, but she seemed to be stopping herself from finishing the sentence.

  “Just say it,” Gemma smirked.

  “Afraid of her? You’re afraid of her,” Elizabeth said. She released a heavy sigh. “There, I said it, please don’t be angry,” she said all in on breath.

  Gemma muffled her laugh. She would have been offended were she not so amused. “‘Afraid’ isn’t quite the word,” she lied. “Frustrated. Confused. Irritated. Those are more fitting, and only because she’s always around. And she will be until the end of the charity ball.”

  “Okay,” Elizabeth nodded with a stiff professionalism as if she was just recalling how to handle such situations. “I’m going to talk to Nicki and see if I can work on how she’s been behaving, because I definitely don’t think that a jealous girlfriend looks good for Damian’s brand. Not only that, and I believe I speak for Aiden and Perrin when I say this as well, but I’d like for everyone to be perfectly relaxed and happy before the charity ball.” She smiled and folded her hands when she was done speaking, as if to punctuate her point. Gemma pressed her lips together tightly, observing Elizabeth and the silly, kind of strange ticks she had – staring into space, constantly fixing her perfectly placed headband, abruptly straightening her posture out of absolutely nowhere. Gemma had silently made fun of her for the past several months for all that, though she could guess now that it was really because she viewed Elizabeth to be some sort of co-conspirator with Nicki. But now she understood that all Elizabeth wanted was to be friendly and professional.

  “Can I just say something to you?” she finally said. Only after Elizabeth nodded eagerly did she continue. “Thank you for actually seeing how Nicki’s been acting. I really needed that.”

  “Oh, it’s no problem,” Elizabeth waved her hand in the air. “I’m on the same page as you because I want everyone to get along. Nicki’s a good friend but I know for sure that jealousy can make people do some crazy things,” she said, grimacing. “Anyway, I’m going to go spruce up and get ready before dinner. I’ll see you later?”

  “Yes, I’ll be there.”

  “Great!” Elizabeth chirped. She made her way towards the door before she slowed down near the desk. She bent over and picked something up. “Oops, looks like you dropped this.”

  “What?” Gemma asked as she strained her neck to see. Elizabeth placed the object on top of the hotel stationary, e
ven tweaking it out so it sat perfectly straight.

  “There you go,” she smiled. It was a crystal paperweight shaped like an angel. It looked near identical to the one that she had seen at her previous hotel. “It’s pretty,” Elizabeth remarked, patting the angel’s head. “Lucky you. The suites always have nicer decor than the regular rooms. Anyway, I’ll see you later!” Elizabeth waved as she exited. Gemma waved back before picking up the paperweight immediately.

  “Ugh,” she said aloud. Why would anyone choose something so creepy to decorate these rooms? The place she had stayed in after visiting Damian was a boutique hotel in San Francisco. It had no affiliation with the luxury Bartlett Hotel chain that the team had arranged for her to stay at in New Orleans. The quirky paperweight made sense for the smaller hotel but Gemma found it a strange choice for Bartlett. It bothered her to have a reminder of that strange night in her room again.

  The angel once again appeared to glow. Gemma pursed her lips and grabbed Tyler’s scarf, wrapping it around the paperweight and pushing it to the back corner of the desk. It was still a half hour before Tyler was to come back and pick her up. She pulled on a jacket and rushed out the door. As much as she had been wanting alone time these days, she could never seem to shake the strange feelings that accompanied her whenever she was alone.

  ~

  “So which one’s Josh?” Gemma whispered in Elizabeth’s ear, eyeing Damian’s teammates from across the table. She had had at least two glasses of wine on an empty stomach, and it was bringing out the affection in her. When Elizabeth shook her head and kept mum, Gemma nudged her hard. “Point him out to me! The one you were flirting with on New Year’s.”

  “Sh!” Elizabeth giggled, putting her finger to Gemma’s lips. “I’m much more subtle than that, Bee. Gosh.” Gemma guffawed at the word “gosh,” drawing the attention of the table to her.