Page 14 of The Publicist
“We can be friends, but I’m sure you’re looking for more, and I’m not going down that road with you.” I take another sip of my martini. My head is really swimming. The bartender made the drink a little too strong. This drink mixed with the champagne from earlier has my head very fuzzy.
“How about you put your number in my phone and we can work on being friends then?” He hands me his phone, and I stare at it for a second, trying to get my brain to catch up to what I should do with it.I’m never allowed to drink this much again while working.I take it in my hands and add my phone number before handing it back. I look into his piercing green eyes, and he smirks at me. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
You have no idea.I risk a glance back at Caleb, who is now watching the exchange between me and Tait intently; the blonde on his arm is all but forgotten. “You know what, Tait? I need to have some fun, and you might just be the ticket.”
He leans in closer, his lips barely brushing my ear, and says, “I’m in room five-three-two-five. I’ll be waiting.” He finishes the rest of his beer, leaves a tip, and saunters away. I sit there in a daze, trying to figure out what I just did, when Caleb stalks up to me and plops down on the stool next to me.
“Oh, God, will this night ever end?” I roll my eyes and finish my martini. “Don’t you have a blonde bimbo to get back to, Caleb? She’s over there pouting.” I motion toward the girl who is shooting daggers at me.
“What the fuck was that with Tait?”
“None of your damn business is what it is.” I get up and walk over to the girl. She crosses her arms over her, presumably, fake chest, and I smile down at her. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you have nothing to worry about with me. I’m not sleeping with Caleb. He’s all yours.”
“I’m not worried. Have you seen what you look like? You’re fat. Why would he want you?”
This is why I stay as far from celebrities as I can.I nod once and walk toward the bar’s exit to leave the happy couple to their night. When I pass Caleb, he tries to stop me. I pull away from his grasp. “Enjoy your bimbo.”
I climb into the waiting elevator and hit the button for floor five.
Chapter 14
I watchthe exchange between the girls and I want to rip into the blonde—Sheila, Stacey… Who the hell knows what her name is. Quinn is anything but fat. She is perfect on so many levels, but I can see the hurt on her face as she passes me toward the elevators. I walk over to the blonde sitting there with a smug look on her face.
“That woman you just insulted is not fat. She looks amazing and is a better person than you can ever strive to be. There’s no chance in hell I’m spending the night with you, so run along to your next lay.” Her look of shock is exactly the reaction I hoped for. I walk out of the bar and watch as the elevator ascends, stopping on floor five.No, please no.We are staying on floor seven, not five. That means Tait is on floor five, and she’s going to him.
I bolt toward the stairwell and take the steps two at a time until I reach the fifth floor. I have no idea what room he is in, and I’m prepared to knock on every damn door until I find her. I’m not losing her to fuckingTait Flanigan.I fling open the stairwell door and look up and down the hall. There are so many rooms, and I’m at a loss. I know I can’t actually knock on every door; it’s ten-thirty at night, and a lot of people are probably sleeping.
I pull out my phone and text her.
Me:Quinn, don’t sleep with Tait. He’s not a good man and you’re going to regret it if you do. I’m not sure if you’re doing this to get back at me, but don’t sleep with him.
I’m beginning to panic. I need her to answer me. As I’m waiting, I see a small amount of green out of the corner of my eye and run toward it. I round the corner and see her standing in front of a door, her hand poised to knock.
“Quinn, don’t do this, please.” I run up to her and pull her hand down from the door.
“What the hell, Caleb?” She jerks out of my grasp, but I don’t care. She hasn’t gone into Tait’s room yet, which means I have a chance to talk some sense into her.
“Tait isn’t good for you. Don’t do this. You don’t want to sleep with him.”
She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. “Really? And is that because it’syouwho wants to sleep with me? Youdorealize I’m not like a slot machine, right? You can’t just fill me up when you want to?”
I run my fingers through my hair and groan in frustration. “No shit, Quinn. I just don’t want you to make a stupid mistake that you’ll regret. I want you to go to your roomaloneand not spend it here.”
The door in front of us opens, and Tait leans against the frame in a pair of dark blue sweatpants and no shirt, a smug look on his face. He’s been listening to the conversation from the other side. “Problem?” he asks, his accent coming through a bit stronger than normal.
“None whatsoever.” I glare at him and return my attention to Quinn, who hasn’t taken her eyes off me. “You’ve had too much to drink, and you aren’t thinking clearly. Go sleep it off.”
Shit.Wrong thing to say to her. Her eyes narrow into small slits, and can I see her mind is running double time. She takes a step closer to Tait, and I reach out for her. She flinches away from me. “Go have fun with Barbie downstairs. I’m sure the two of you are going to have a fun night. You can figure out what makeshermoan.” She throws my words from earlier back in my face.
She turns her body and walks completely into his room. I try walking toward her, but Tait blocks my entrance. I growl at him and he chuckles. He speaks quietly. “Always the dominant male, huh, Caleb? Don’t worry, I won’t break her too badly. Although, she might not want you once she’s had a taste of me.”
“If you lay a finger on her, I’ll rip your head off, Tait. She’s drunk and doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
He turns and watches her lie down on the bed, her feet dangling off the side. “Oh, I think she knows exactly what she’s doing. Night, man, see ya tomorrow, yeah?” He closes the door and I’m left standing there, confused as to why she would do that to me. I want to punch the wall, but I can’t afford a broken hand with filming starting soon.
I begrudgingly make my way down toward my room and let myself in. Plopping down on the bed, I kick my shoes off and text Steve.
Me:I need a new babysitter. I can’t handle her. She’s driving me nuts.