Mr. Ruin

by Maya Hughes

  “The studio loved the rough cut of the movie. Freaking loved it. And they are confident test audiences are going to go crazy for it. They haven’t even gotten that far yet, but they want you to sign a franchise deal with them. Four movies in the next five years.”

  Gabe jumped out of his seat. “What? Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me?” he nearly shouted as his heart raced and hands started to shake. The studio loved the movie? The studio loved the movie! “They really liked it?” he said, staring down at Aaron. “Holy shit, I can’t believe it. I thought you said that with reshoots like we had to do, the movie was probably sunk?”

  “Well, it looks like we have a Bourne Identity outlier here. Matt Damon thought the same thing; they had to do massive reshoots and usually that’s a terrible thing, but in your case, it looks like it all worked out!”

  He couldn’t believe it and started pacing all over the office. “So, when do they want to start the next movie? What are the next steps?”

  “Next steps are the contracts. They have given you a pretty hefty pay increase for the next four movies with bonuses depending on the box office returns. The press tour is going to be massive. I’m talking three months of non-stop travel and interviews for each one, but we’ve contracted for private travel, great hotels, and events all over the place to increase your exposure.”

  “Wow, I can’t wait to tell Alex about all this. She’s going to freak. I wonder if I can convince her to come,” he said, as a huge smile split across his face.

  “About Alex … ,” Aaron started and Gabe’s smile faltered.

  “What about Alex?”

  “I don’t think it would be a good idea for her to be seen with you very much, especially where the franchise is concerned, and the studio agrees.”

  “Why the hell not?” he said, incensed.

  “Well, for one, the fervor hasn’t even hit the country—hell the world—about this series and people are going to be all over you.”

  “Yeah, so what? It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “No, I don’t think you realize how much of a big deal this is. Every moment of your life outside of the four walls of your house—hell even then—are going to be scrutinized. Everyone you’re seen with is going to be living under a microscope. The studio also thinks that cultivating the appearance of a romance between you and Lesley would help raise the profile of the franchise even more.”

  Gabe stood looking out the window over the city that he almost had in the palm of his hand, and didn’t know if he wanted it anymore. He loved Alex, he knew that. But this was a dream he didn’t even know he had. He would talk to her, he could explain it.

  “I’m not sending her away. She’s going to be here until her next semester starts in January and she starts classes again.”

  “No one said you had to send her away. I can arrange for things for you guys to do and ensure that there aren’t any photos taken. Or make sure that the photographers know you’re just friends. For any official events, she’s going to have to stay away. Lesley is your love interest as far as anyone outside of you, me, Alex, and the studio goes. That’s the agreement you must make to get this deal,” Aaron reasoned.

  “Yeah, I understand. I just don’t know how I’m going to explain this to Alex,” Gabe said as he flopped back into his seat. “Can’t you go back to the studio and have that taken out? I can just be friends with Lesley.”

  “Gabe, you don’t really have a choice. In the first contract, it stated that if you backed out of the franchise, they would hold you personally liable for damages,” Aaron said, sitting down on the glass table in front of him.

  “What?” he asked, shocked at the revelation. “Why didn’t you tell me that was in the contract? I was supposed to be going back to school in January. What if I’d wanted to do that?” he questioned.

  “Gabe, come on,” Aaron said, giving him a disbelieving look. “Would you honestly turn down the chance for a four-film studio deal with points on the back end because you want to go back to college? Or for some girl?” He started to speak up, but Aaron cut him off. “I know, I know … you really care about this girl, but she knows this is your dream. If she cares about you, of course she’ll be supportive,” he said, pulling a pen out of his inside jacket pocket.

  “The studio needs this all by ten a.m., so let’s get signing,” Aaron said as he held out a pen to him.

  He stared at the pen for a long time. This was a dream he’d only recently discovered. The chance to star in a major studio franchise. How many people got to do that? He could get her to understand. He was sure she wouldn’t want to be in the limelight anyway. She wasn’t an out-there person. This would work.

  He’d make sure she knew how much he cared for her and wanted to be with her; they just had to play by the studio’s rules. All that ran through Gabe’s mind before he grabbed the pen and started signing where the sticky notes said he should.

  This would definitely work. She would understand.

  Chapter 10

  Alex woke with a yawn and stretch. She turned to Gabe’s side of the bed, but he wasn’t there. Pulling up the sheet and sitting up, she noticed there was a note on his pillow that said he’d be back by nine, and to order room service if he wasn’t back by the time she woke up.

  Alex called down and placed the order for them both and started to unpack some of her things. He said they would be here for about a month before a small press tour started for Stargazer. The movie wouldn’t be out until Christmas, but after they wrapped the reshoots the studio wanted some good press about the progress. Since the spring semester didn’t start until mid-January, she had a lot of time to relax and spend time with him.

  A couple of people had recognized him since they’d been in LA, which was a lot of fun. The promotional billboards and advertisements were going up even though the movie wouldn’t be out for a few months. It was crazy to think that people would be recognizing him more and more. His profile would be rising significantly in the coming months and she pushed back her fears about what that would mean for their budding relationship. This was a relationship, right?

  He took pictures with his fans and signed an autograph or two. Even with those fears creeping up, she was so proud of him. She knew Gabe was going to be a huge star, mainly because he starred in every one of her dreams and she could imagine that happening for women all over the world. That was both very cool and incredibly frightening. He was going to be the center of attention once things really started picking up for Stargazer.

  The front door opened. “Alex, are you up?” he called, walking back to the bedroom. She threw on her shorts and met him at the bedroom door.

  “You get a nice pre-toothbrush kiss, mister.” She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “You know I don’t mind.” He gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her tight against him.

  “Great news. The studio wants to sign me for four more movies,” he said, more subdued than she would have expected.

  “Are you serious?” she said, jumping up and down in his arms and squeezing him even tighter. “That’s amazing!” She pulled back, expecting to see a look of absolute joy on his face, but he looked practically despondent. Her heart sank. How could this not be the most amazing news?

  “What’s wrong?” She brushed his hair back from his forehead. Gabe rested his face against her hand. He nuzzled her hand and gazed into her eyes.

  “What’s wrong, Gabe? You’re really starting to freak me out.”

  “Alex, I—” A knock on the door stopped him from finishing his sentence and he slumped into a chair.

  “One second. That’s the food. I ordered room service for both of us.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him along into the living room. She led him to the table and went to open the door for the room service. Signing for the food and tip, she closed the door behind the waiter.

  “Gabe, what is it? We should be celebrating this, right?�
� Unexpectedly, he grabbed her around her waist and pulled her to him. Resting his face against her stomach, he just held her there for a while. She smoothed his hair and ran her fingers along his scalp.

  “You’ll do great. Don’t worry about that. Remember, you were just going about your day minding your own business and someone picked you out of a crowd. And not only that, you went to the audition and got this part. You didn’t even think the movie would be a success. You’re still registered for classes in January because you were so sure it wasn’t going to happen, and look where you are now.” She pulled back to try to look him in the eye.

  “There’s a catch to the contract,” he said solemnly, unwrapping his hands from around her waist he held both of her hands in his. He was looking down at where their hands were joined, not saying a word.

  “Okay, what is it?” she said, holding onto his hands and sitting down on the seat next to him.

  “I can’t go with you to the premiere in December,” he gulped, averting his gaze and training his eyes on the floor.

  “That’s not that big of a deal. Is that why you’re so freaked out?” She leaned down and tried to catch his gaze.

  “Gabe, it’s not the end of the world if you can’t get me a ticket. I understand. I might even have to go back home before then to get things ready for classes in January anyway,” she said, reassuring him. It didn’t seem to be working, as he still wouldn’t look at her.

  “It’s not that I can’t get you a ticket, it’s that I’m not allowed to go with you.”

  She let go of his hand and slid hers back across the table.

  “What do you mean you’re not allowed to go with me?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want you to be there,” Gabe continued, but wouldn’t look up at her. “It’s just that Aaron and the studio think it would be better if there was some hype about the movie. To help drum up more buzz. And they want me to go with Lesley.”

  “She is your co-star. That’s understandable.” He shook his head and finally glanced up at her.

  “They want me to go with her as my girlfriend.”

  Her jaw dropped and her heart stopped before it came roaring back, beating a mile a minute. The studio wanted him to be with Lesley, not just for pictures, but as his girlfriend. So where did that leave her? Was she even his girlfriend?

  “They’re pushing for some magazine photo spreads, gossipy-type stuff to get the name of the movie out there, and they think that some off-set romance would help with that,” he continued. “We can still be together. We can still go out and have fun; it’s just got to be a bit more planned to ensure that the paparazzi aren’t there and our photos aren’t taken. And if they are, we have to say we’re friends.”

  “What?!”

  “It’s only that Aaron and the studio think that it would be best if there weren’t any pictures out there linking me to anyone romantically other than Lesley. The public would see through it.”

  “Yes, because it’s a lie!” She pushed her non-existent glasses back up the bridge of her nose and noisily slapped the table in frustration.

  “Are you ashamed of me? Is that what this is about?” Her voice quivered and her tongue was numb. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears built behind her eyelids.

  “No, of course not!” he exclaimed, reaching for her hand. She pulled it back off the table and into her lap.

  “You’re going to be the star of your own little fairytale and that doesn’t include some geek from the shore town that doesn’t know how to fit in,” she accused, standing up from the table. That got Gabe’s attention. He finally looked up at her, but she couldn’t read exactly what he was thinking.

  “Alex, that’s not it at all. I really care about you,” he said, standing and holding onto both of her arms. He stared into her eyes.

  “I really do care about you, but this is something bigger than I imagined and I didn’t think that it would come with so many strings, but it has. Strings bigger and more controlling than I could have imagined.”

  “It seems that you’re perfectly fine with those strings, Gabe. You asked me to come out here with you. You made the big pitch about how much fun it would be and how great it would be to spend time together and now … .” She shrugged and stared at him with such disappointment in her eyes.

  “I know. It was wrong, I shouldn’t have made you come out here,” he said as tears poured down her cheeks. “I just didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think it would be like this. But I am glad you’re here now. We can still have a lot of fun before you leave.”

  “Why would I stay Gabe? Answer me that—why should I stay here knowing you can barely be seen in public with me?” He floundered, unable to respond.

  “I’m sure you just can’t wait to get rid of me. Now that the movie’s getting buzz, you’re going to be a hot new star, and I’m just some chick you screwed while you were bored on-set.” She stormed into the bedroom, grabbed her suitcase out of the closet, and started emptying drawers.

  “Alex, what are you doing? Of course we’re going to do this together; we just can’t be out in the open about everything.” She snapped up from her packing and stared at him, like she was seeing him for the first time.

  “Not out in the open about everything? Well, if you think I’m a woman you can screw behind closed doors and then pretend you don’t know in the light of day, fuck you!”

  She grabbed the rest of her toiletries and shoved them into her suitcase as best she could. She stormed out of the bedroom and grabbed her phone and purse off the bar.

  He stood in front of the door. “You are not leaving until we talk this out. I don’t want you to go. This isn’t coming out right at all.”

  “I think it’s coming out crystal clear. We’ve talked. You’ve said what you had to and so have I. Let me ask you a question. Will I be your date at the premiere?”

  He stared at her with his mouth open like a fish out of water. Exactly.

  *

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Alex looked at him like he had smacked her. Gabe struggled to tell her just what was happening. He didn’t want to mention the penalty clause for not going along with it. As it was, she thought that he couldn’t be with her because of the studio. If she knew that he was choosing to avoid the financial penalty over her, that would only make it worse. Could he have explained this better?

  “I would never be with someone who is ashamed of me.”

  “Alex, I’m not … of course I’m not. You don’t understand.” He pulled his hair and turned away from her, trying to think. “There are things going on that I don’t have control over. Things that I can’t change. And I don’t want you to get hurt,” he said, turning back to look at her. She stared up at him with tears spilling down her cheeks and such disappointment on her face that it almost made his knees buckle. He was ruining everything. It was all falling apart.

  “Too late,” she whispered as she wrenched open the door to the hotel suite and stormed down the hallway.

  Gabe pounded his fist against the door as it closed. He turned around and banged his head against it before finally sliding down the door, knowing that running after her would only make this worse. Why had he listened to Aaron and signed that damned contract?

  He hadn’t thought that they could even demand anything like that. But what kind of life could he lead if he were millions of dollars in debt? He would get through this, figure something out and go to Alex afterwards, when he could explain. His time with her had been some of the best he’d ever had, and that included living his dream on-set, and look where he was now. Alone again.

  *

  It wasn’t until the next afternoon, after sending eighty unanswered texts begging her to talk to him, making fifty unanswered calls, and leaving at least forty voicemails that jammed her inbox, that he began drinking. It was a very awkward night of sleep wedged against the couch with a bottle of Jack when he finally realized that she wasn’t coming back. He’d hoped that she might have seen so
me of his messages, listened to his voicemail, and come back. He pleaded with her to come back, even told her about the contract relationship clause and the penalty for breaking it. At that point, he had nothing to lose.

  Cracking open an eye the next morning was beyond painful. His head was throbbing, his stomach was a mess, and his mouth tasted like he’d eaten a bag of sawdust before he passed out.

  How could he have been so stupid? He crawled into the bathroom to relieve himself and splashed some water on his face, praying that the room would stop spinning. Leaving his pants behind in the bathroom, he decided a boxers day would be just what the doctor ordered. His press events didn’t start until tomorrow. After gulping down a liter of water and some aspirin, he made his way back to the couch and just lay there until sleep overtook him again.

  He awoke groggy and looked out the windows to see that it was now midday. Something had woken him up. He jumped up, hoping that she had changed her mind and came back. The room spun and he had to hold onto the wall to make it to the door. The incessant knocking was like a hammer to his head. He opened the door without even checking to see who it was.

  Lesley made her way inside his suite before he could tell her to go away. Her halo of curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes would captivate most men, but Gabe wasn’t in the mood.

  “What are you doing here, Lesley? I’m not really the best company right now.” She was wearing some kind of halter-top, pantsuit thing and the pattern on it was making Gabe dizzy.

  “Whoa, Gabe. You look like shit,” she said, staring at him with her hands on her hips. “I talked to Aaron and he said you didn’t know about the studio relationship clause.”

  “Nope, never even thought it was a thing.”

  “Gabe, you’ve got to make sure you get a lawyer to help you read these things in the future. Why do you think there are always so many co-stars in big movies falling in love?” She did air quotes around “in love.”