Page 115 of Reckless Hearts

But before I can clarify anything, the door opens and Tom comes in.

Saskia straightens, her demeanor changing like she’s putting on armor.

“How is he?” Tom asks in a low voice.

“We’ve just found out he’s improving,” Saskia says stiffly.

“I came as soon as I could,” he says, his voice strained.

“I’m sure you did,” she replies.

“Saskia…” he begins, but she cuts him off. “Don’t worry. Marcus has been here.”

He glances around the room, doing a double-take when he sees me.

“Marcus. Hi.”

“Hi.”

Fuck. Saskia has alluded to things not being great in her marriage, but this is worse than I realized.

I’m almost relieved when my phone starts to buzz, cutting through the tension.

Although my relief is short-lived when I see the name lighting up my phone.

Jake.

“Sorry, I need to take this,” I say as I quickly step outside.

Unfortunately, the hostile tone in Jake’s voice when he greets me indicates this conversation won’t be any better than the one I’ve just escaped.

“What the hell is this message? You have to pull out of the Gucci campaign?”

“Yes.”

“Where the fuck are you?”

“I had to fly back to New Zealand. Family emergency,” I say.

“I thought you didn’t have a family.”

His words hit me like a sucker punch, leaving me winded.

“I have people who matter to me,” I say quietly.

“Fuck, Marcus, this is not a good look to pull out at the last minute. Do you think Gucci is going to wait around for you to sort out your personal life?”

As he talks, a familiar dizziness washes over me. The fluorescent hospital lights suddenly seem too bright, too harsh.I lean against the wall for support as I fumble in my pocket to extract my bottle of Xanax.

Jake started me on Ambien for sleep, but it quickly became not enough. The anxiety that gnawed at me during the day needed its own solution, which led to the Xanax prescription. It’s a slippery slope I always swore I’d never go down, but Jake reassures me that prescription drugs are simply a necessary tool to cope with the crazy pressures and lifestyle that come with celebrity.

I dry-swallow a tablet, trying to quiet the storm raging in my head.

When I finally manage to extract myself from the conversation with Jake and go back into the room, there’s still awkwardness hanging in the air between Saskia and Tom. They’re not looking at each other.

I take a deep breath.

Time to bring out some of my Hollywood charm.