Hot Set

by Ivy Blake

  “That is probably the best thing for you to do right now. You’ve only been there for a little over a month and that is hardly enough time to really get to know someone. Who they are in the first few weeks can change by the first few months, and then change again and again, so just be patient.”

  I had to stifle an eye roll, even though I suspected she was a little bit right. “I know, mom.”

  We stayed on the phone for a while longer until I told her I had to rest for work in the morning. After I hung up, I thought about what she said. She was right; I hadn’t known Hudson for that long. What if he is putting up a front? I mean, he is an actor. What if he really has other women in his life right now, or he really doesn’t like me as much as he says? I tried to push the thoughts out of my head, but as much as I tried, they came back even stronger with more logic. A part of me wanted to call him just to see what he was doing. Just to check and see what he was doing… but I resisted the urge and forced myself to go to sleep.

  Chapter 16

  Hudson

  I paced back and forth in my room, thinking about what I was going to do about Simon. He had me by the balls, and if I didn’t handle this right, I could ruin Chloe’s career and risk both of us being blackballed by the movie industry. I had heard stories about things like this happening before I even started acting, but for whatever reason, I never imagined it could actually happen to me. When I heard my phone ring, I saw that it was Chloe, but I couldn’t answer her. Not yet, at least. I was at a crossroads; I could either give into Simon’s demands, or just allow everything to go to shit. The phone stopped ringing, and then a few moments later, a text message popped up on my screen.

  Reluctantly, I read it.

  Chloe: Hey. Haven’t heard from you much all day. I know that we have a few days off from shooting, so I figured that we could hang out or something, but… if you’re busy, just let me know.

  I cared about Chloe, enough that I didn’t want to risk her entire career in the industry just for our relationship. I thought about going to someone to tell them, but I was sure that it would make things worse. How could I explain that I wanted to break the director’s rule to date his assistant? Everyone would side with Simon. All anyone would see was that I was violating the basic tenants of working on a set. No one would care that Chloe and I met before the movie, or that Simon was a complete douchebag.

  As I sat there beating myself up, a new text message pinged on my phone. This time, it was from Simon.

  Simon: I want you to talk my personal assistant, Ariel. She is going to give you instructions on how to move forward. Meet her at Pierre’s at 7pm.

  My stomach lurched at the thought of whatever Simon was planning on unloading on me.

  Me: Pierre’s? Does it have to be there? Anywhere else, please?

  Simon: No. Pierre’s. Be there at 7 or find a new job. Ask the host to take you to Ariel. She’ll be in a booth in the back.

  I had to stop myself from chucking my phone across the room and into the wall. I couldn’t believe that he had put me in this position. It was either meet his assistant and deal with whatever she was about to demand of me, or risk everything. I scrolled through my phone until I landed on selfies of me and Chloe that were in my photo album. We looked so happy, but now, I couldn’t image what would happen between us, especially if somebody saw me out in public with Simon’s assistant. I dialed Chloe’s number with shaking hands.

  “Jeez, Hudson. It took you long enough to call me back. Are you okay? I thought you wanted me to come over tonight?”

  The fact she was worried about me made me feel worse. “I’m good. I was just wiped out after shooting all day.”

  “Oh. Well, if you’re tired, maybe I can just come by there and we can watch a movie? I can bring some pizza with me and we can just pig out. Does that sound good to you?”

  Normally, that would’ve been perfect. I was a homebody, so anything that involved staying home and ended in sex was perfect. I massaged my temples, dreading my response. “No. I think I just need to be alone tonight. Honestly, I wouldn’t be good company for you anyways. I would probably just end up falling asleep on you.”

  She laughed. “That’s fine. I mean, you’ve done it before...” Chloe paused for a second. “Hudson, what is going on? You aren’t acting like yourself.”

  I hated myself for what I was about to do. And I hadn’t even done anything yet. “I know, I just said I’m tired, Chloe. That’s it. I’m emotionally exhausted and I need to sleep. I need some peace and quiet tonight. So, let’s just drop it. Please. Can we just drop it for once?” I heard her steady breathing on the other end of the line. I wasn’t mad at her at all; I was upset with my situation and she just happened to be the person that I took it out on. “Chloe, I am sorry. I just…”

  “No, Hudson, you’ve made your point. You need some time alone. I get it. We have been spending a lot of time together for the past month. Working together and then spending our time off together, so I get it. I’ll just give you some space, so you can get some rest.”

  “Chloe?”

  “No,” she said, masking her pain with soft chuckling, “it’s fine. I get it, and honestly, I should get some sleep too. So, you sleep. I’ll sleep. Then I’ll just talk to you later or something.”

  “Chloe, please…”

  “Goodbye, Hudson.”

  She hung up before I could say anything else to her, but honestly, I had no clue how to make anything better. I was being forced to go meet this Ariel girl at the very place where me and Chloe met. It made me feel like an even bigger jerk, especially because I didn’t know what I was walking into.

  * * *

  I walked into Pierre’s wearing shades and dark clothing, doing all I could to remain inconspicuous. I stopped near the bar and gestured to the bartender for a shot to calm my nerves. I was actually starting to calm down when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

  Unknown Number: Hey Hudson… this is Ariel. I’m here. Meet me in the booths up the stairs. I have pink hair.

  I closed my phone and slid it into my pocket, then made my way through the crowd, avoiding eye contact with anyone in my path for fear that they would know who I was and ask who I was there with. I made it up the stairs without being spotted. When I got to the top, I saw a girl who looked younger than Chloe with pretty pastel pink hair sitting in the back, fiddling nervously with a spoon. When she spotted me, she waved happily for a second, but then… she looked sad. I walked over to her and slid in to the booth.

  “So… you do Simon’s dirty work?” I asked as I finished the drink I’d brought with me. A VIP waiter showed up with seconds later with two drinks and a tray of appetizers that I had no desire to eat. My stomach was in knots. Ariel just shook her head.

  “I heard stories when I took the job, but I wasn’t expecting it. It’s doesn’t make me feel any better, if that makes you feel any better.”

  I snort laughed. “Not really. Why am I here Ariel? I’d really like to get this over with.”

  Ariel sighed. “Simon wants you to back off Chloe. He won’t say anything about you to anyone. But if you don’t, he will fire you both by the end of the week.”

  “And why didn’t Simon come here and tell me all of this himself?”

  “Because,” Ariel said with a sad laugh, “he doesn’t like being seen in public with his actors. Something about ruining his mystique.”

  “Does he ever care that I met her before the movie started?” I grumbled as chugged down the drink in front of me. I didn’t even care what it was. I just needed to not care about anything that was happening.

  “Listen, Hudson… I’m really sorry about all of this. Simon is a shit and I hate that he zeroed in on you two. I wish there was something I could do. But he is super strict on his rules. Let me buy you a drink, at least, okay?”

  Ariel raised her hand to order more drinks from the waiter, and while I waited for her, I looked through the window beside us. It overlooked the dancefloor and most of the bar area. I was
happy that we were at least up here and away from the regular crowd. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with people. But then, out in the crowd, I saw a familiar face.

  Fuck.

  I squinted my eyes and looked closer. It was Jade and Mariah. They were both at the bar ordering drinks when Jade looked into the VIP section where we were seated. We locked eyes for a few seconds until I quickly ducked my head and moved away from the window, nudging the table in the process.

  “Hudson? Is everything alright?” Ariel asked.

  I remained low with my head beneath the table. “Yeah, I just, um, I dropped my cell phone on the floor.” I pulled it out of my pocket and placed it on the ground, then kicked it further into the middle of the room so I could get up. “Shoot, I don’t know how that happened. I need to go and get it. Excuse me. And I am going to go to the restroom. Um, do you need anything?”

  “From the restroom?”

  “Oh, right. I just um… I’ll be back.”

  I got up and went to the middle of the floor to grab my cell phone. As soon as I picked it up, I scrolled through my text messages until I found Chloe’s thread. I texted her frantically as I walked to the restroom.

  Me: Hey… are you out tonight?

  I waited in front of the bathroom mirror for her to respond.

  Chloe: No, I stayed home like I said I was going to. But Jade and Mariah went to Pierre’s. Why?

  Goddamn it. I knew Jade saw me. We locked eyes long enough for her to recognize me, and if she was as close to Chloe as they’d led me to believe, then I knew I was fucked. I should have been honest with Chloe from the start and now there was no way to fix this without ruining everything for both of us.

  Chapter 17

  Chloe

  “Are you sure it was him? A lot of people look like Hudson in LA.”

  Jade, Mariah, and I were sitting in the living room, and the bomb Jade had dropped on me was making my whole body vibrate with stress. I felt like I was going to throw up.

  Jade shook her head sadly. “Chloe, it was him. I’ve seen him enough times to know that it was Hudson in the VIP with another woman. We locked eyes for a second and then he ducked down. If it wasn’t him, then why would he act so guilty?”

  “Yeah, Chloe,” Mariah added. “It wouldn’t make sense for a random guy to avoid Jade like that. Have you texted him or anything?”

  I sighed and hunkered down lower into the couch. “No, not tonight. Well, wait… he did text me and ask me if I was out tonight.”

  “When?” Jade asked with her eyebrow raised.

  “I don’t know.” I grabbed my phone to look at the time he sent the text message. “It was 8:45.”

  “Yup. That is around the time I saw him, and I remember because I had my phone in my hand at the time. It was him, Chloe. Trust me, it was him and he was with a little chick with pink hair and a bunch of tattoos. I could see her too.”

  The conversation me and my mother had just a couple of days ago echoed through my mind. I wasn’t sure how my mother had managed to be right without knowing the situation, but that was pretty standard for her. I didn’t want to believe it though. Not right away. “Hold on. I can call him, and we can get to the bottom of it right now.”

  Jade nodded resolutely. “Yeah, call him. Put his ass on speakerphone, too. If he tries to deny it, I will call him out on it. I’ll even tell you what he had on. A black, collared shirt, and sunglasses on his head. That’s all I could see because he was so high up.”

  I called his cell phone, but he didn’t answer. It was almost midnight and it was unusual for him not to be awake now. Even if he was sleep, he would pick up with a groggy voice and ask me if everything was alright. I called him again, but it was the same response. “He didn’t answer.”

  “You should just take my car and go over there, Chloe. Go to his house and see what’s up. There’s no point in letting this fester all night and driving yourself crazy wondering who he’s with. Just go. Do you want us to drive over there with you?” Jade asked.

  “Yeah, we can go,” Mariah said. “We can all go over there and whip his ass. Bust the windows out of his car, too. We can do it all.”

  “No, I need to go by myself. Also, that is a massive overreaction. I really don’t want anyone going to jail tonight, Mariah. I am sure this is just a misunderstanding. I mean, he said he just wanted to stay home tonight, so I left him alone. You guys probably just have it all wrong.”

  “I hope we do, Chloe. I hope we do.”

  I put on my sweats and a t-shirt, then headed straight to Hudson’s place. When I got there, I rang the doorbell, but nobody answered. I called his cell phone, but again, it kept ringing until the voicemail picked up. What the fuck is going on, Hudson? I went back to my car across the street and sat quietly in the driver’s seat, wondering what exactly I had gotten myself into with this man.

  Just as I was about to start the engine, a car pulled up to Hudson’s house, and the back door flung open. I wrinkled my eyebrows as I watched Hudson stick his leg out of the car, and then stumble to get to his feet. Is he drunk? Hudson fell to the concrete when he tried to shut the door, and when I got out of my car, I could hear the driver screaming at him before they sped away. He was laughing when I got to him.

  “Hudson? What the fuck? Seriously?”

  He looked at me as if I was a ghost. His eyes widened. His mouth opened, but he couldn’t get the right words out, so he stuttered. “Chl… Chl… Chloe. What… What are you doing here?”

  “I am wondering what the fuck is going on with you.” I looked at his clothes after I got him to his feet. He had on the same collared shirt that Jade said he would be wearing, but the first few buttons were undone. “Why is your shirt unbuttoned? And why are you out? You said you were going to stay home and rest, but you’re out drinking?”

  “I can explain… just… help me in the house and I will explain.”

  His breath reeked of liquor as I put my arm around him and helped him inside. When we got to the door, I noticed the scent of a woman’s fragrance emanating from his body. As soon as we were in his living room, I pushed him onto the couch. He plopped onto the cushion face-first as my eyes began to water. “You smell like you’ve been partying with underwear models, Hudson. Can you just tell me what the fuck is going on?”

  “What? I was um, I was um…” He laughed out loud as if it was a joke. He was too drunk to hold a coherent conversation and I knew it.

  “Fuck it, Hudson! I’m not doing this. If you can’t be honest with me, if you’re going to lie and screw around, then it’s over. I’m not a side piece. I’m not going to risk everything just so you can get your rocks off with me during the day, then troll for something better at night. Lose my number. Ignore me at work. We’re done.”

  “Noooo… But Chloe, wait... wa... wait.”

  He tried to stand up, but he fell back to the ground like a ton of bricks. I closed the door behind me and cried all the way to the car. I couldn’t believe that I had let this happen. I had let myself get distracted from my work, my plans, by a man who didn’t give a shit about me.

  How could I have been so stupid?

  Chapter 18

  Hudson

  I woke up the next morning to a floor covered in vomit. The rancid stench floated into my nose and nearly caused me to throw up again. Pain shot through my head as soon as the morning light hit my eyes.

  Fuck. What the hell did I do?

  I pulled myself off the couch, rubbing temples and trying not to scream. Like a zombie, I walked through the front room and into the kitchen where I made a Bloody Mary to try and fight off one of the worst hangovers I’d ever had.

  Flashes of last night popped in and out of my mind, as I pieced together fragments of what had happened. I saw glimpses of Ariel and me in the VIP section at Pierre’s, then me alone at the bar after she left get hammered, mixed with quick images of Jade peering at me from the main floor below.

  Shit. Chloe! I dropped the glass out of my hand. It made a thud when
it hit the floor, but it didn’t manage to shatter. I stumbled back into the front room, pain radiating through my mind, as I grabbed my cell phone. I remembered the way she came over and helped me into my house. Her voice echoed in my mind as I remembered parts of an argument we had. She saw me coming in late at night, drunk, when I told her that I was just going to stay in because I needed rest.

  Her phone rang three times before she sent me to voicemail. I hung up and called again, but this time, it was sent to voicemail after the first ring. Before I could leave a voicemail, a text came through.

  Chloe: Don’t fucking call me. Don’t text me. I literally can’t be any clearer.

  Me: Chloe, please. Let me explain. It is not what you think. Please, answer your phone.

  I called her again, but she sent it to voicemail before it was able to ring one full time. She sent a text just as fast.

  Chloe: You are wasting your time. I do not want anything to do with you, Hudson. Just live your life however you choose and forget we ever happened.

  Me: Chloe, just let me explain!

  She didn’t respond again. I unbuttoned my shirt and sat down in one of the chairs near the couch. The stench of vomit hung in the air like a kite as I shook my head, trying to recall the conversation I’d had with Ariel. What did Simon want from me? What had I agreed to? And why the hell couldn’t I remember anything that had happened with any clarity?

  Just then, there was a knock at my door, and soon after, it opened. “Um, so, you just leave your door unlocked these days?” Keith said as he stepped in. “Oh my God. What the fuck is that smell?!” he said, lifting his hand over his nose. He looked at the pile of vomit near the couch. “Jesus Christ, man, what did you do last night? Did you sleep in that shit? It smells like somebody died.”