Page 41 of The Publicist
He sighs. “I can’t give you that information, Quinn.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, a wave of dizziness hitting me hard.
“The pictures from last night. He sent them to me, told me to tell you he doesn’t want to talk, and shut off his phone. He also wanted me to tell you that he is no longer in need of your services.”
“Steve, what pictures are you talking about?”
“Google search yourself. I’m sorry, Quinn. I was rooting for you. You seemed to make him happy. I’ve got to go.” He doesn’t give me the opportunity to say bye before the phone disconnects.
My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears. I open a new search page and type my name in. I’m flooded with pictures of me cuddled up with Tait, a large grin on my face. There are at least twenty-five of these photos, all from different angles; the last one is me getting into a car with Tait. My phone rings, and it startles me. The new call is coming from Thad.Shit!
“Thad,” I say.
“You’re coming home, Quinn. You’ve been kicked off the assignment, and I’m giving it to Amanda.”
“Thad, I can explain. It’s not what it looks like, and you arenotkicking me off this assignment. You know I can turn this around with a snap of my fingers.” The words are strong, but the force behind them is not.
“He’s asked to be assigned another publicist. Pack your things. It’s time to come home. I’m sorry, Quinn. Amanda is on a flight out there in three hours. Julie is helping book something back for you now, and I’ll send you the details as soon as I have them.”
“Please don’t do this, Thad. Those pictures are not what it seems. Tait was helping me. We weren’t doing anything. All those pictures were innocent. He was just trying to help a friend.” I’m too embarrassed to admit I was roofied to my boss, so I leave that part of that story out of it.
“Regardless, Caleb has requested a new publicist and is paying extra to make it happen quickly. My hands are tied. I really am sorry. I’ll be in touch soon with your return flight. We’ll talk when you get back. Bye.”
“Bye,” I whisper. I look up at Elena, who is standing by the door, listening to the exchange. She comes over and kneels down in front of me. “Where’s Tait?
“He’ll be back. I’ll make Caleb listen. Don’t worry, babe. Do what he asks for now because he needs time to cool down. He’s hot-headed like that.”
I wipe the tears that have begun to fall and stand on shaky legs. I clear my voice and try to keep my tone even. “I have to pack. Caleb has asked for a new publicist, so I’m going to be leaving soon.”
“He didWHAT?” Elena yells.
“It’s fine. We will keep in touch, and you can tell me how everything wraps up here. I was going to be leaving soon anyway. Filming wraps soon, and I was heading back to California at that time. My contract was going to be up.”I would have finally been able to be with him and not feel bad about mixing business and pleasure.
“I can’t get through to him. He’s turned off his phone. When you talk to him, please don’t say anything about what happened. I want to be able to tell him myself, but I need him to cool down so he’ll listen to me.”
“I don’t think that’s the best idea, Quinn. He should know the truth sooner rather than later. Please let me tell him?” she asks, her eyes pleading.
I weigh the options. It would be best coming from me, but since he doesn’t want to talk to me right now, maybe it would be fine if she talks to him on my behalf. “Fine, you can tell him how nothing happened between Tait and me, but you can’t go further than that. I want to be able to explain what happened.”
“I don’t like it, but fine.” She stands. “Let me help you pack.”
Between the two of us, I am packed and ready to go in about thirty minutes. There are a few items of Caleb’s, and I give them to Elena so she can return them to him. I’m trying my damndest not to cry, and I try his phone again. It rings this time, but halfway through the second ring, it clicks over to voicemail. He ignored me. I leave a message for him. “Caleb, you have to let me explain. You owe me that much. Remember your ex? You owe it to me to talk to me.”
My phone buzzes with the flight information, and I also get a call to the room to let me know the car has arrived to take me to the airport. Tait and Elena are in the room, and I hug them both goodbye.
“Text me when you get there and when you get home. I want to know you’re safe,” Tait says.
“I will. Don’t be too hard on him. He’s hurt, but things will smooth over,” I tell him.I hope, anyway.
The flight is easy, and I make it back to California with no problems whatsoever. I turn on my phone, hoping to have something from Caleb, but nothing.He has to talk to me eventually.
Chapter 36
This has beenthe longest day ever. I’ve had to smile and act as though nothing is wrong, while inside, I just want to die. She knew what I went through with Cassandra, yet she did this to me anyway. She went behind my back with the man I can’t stand of all people! I’m currently sitting alone at some club here in Denver. A few of the smaller named celebrities were going out and they were nice enough to extend an offer to me.
I keep up with their conversation, but after a while, I drift to the bar to be by myself for a bit. Quinn has called a few times, and texted, too, but I can’t bring myself to check the messages. Elena got in touch with Giselle, and she delivered a few messages to me, asking to return Quinn’s call. I’m a true glutton for punishment because I keep looking at the pictures on Google, getting angry all over again. I toss back another whiskey sour and motion to the bartender for a refill.
I smell her before I see her. Some blonde bimbo wearing too much perfume takes up residence on the barstool next to me. I give her a small smile, and she returns the gesture tenfold. I know she recognizes me, and I hold back my annoyance.