Page 41 of The Starlet
“The last guy I publicly dated used me to try to get ahead in his career. Needless to say, the press can be ruthless.”
“Well, I’m not using you to advance my career, so you don’t have to worry about that.” He kisses me on the forehead and slides out, holding his hand for me to take. We get our luggage out of the trunk and walk past the cameras and questions.
I stop dead in my tracks when someone shoves a screenshot of the video we made under my nose. I look up at the man, and he smiles before taking a picture.
“Anything to say, doll? Looks like you and Bradley had a great time on set. The whole video is online.”
I look up at Brad. He’s fuming. His face is red, the veins in his neck bulge, and he squeezes my hand tighter. We push through the throngs of people and past security, where we wait in the airline members club.
“How did they get it, Brad? I turned off the back-up on it. It’s not on the cloud and doesn’t show on my accounts. I made sure of it.”
“I don’t know, Elle. Someone must have hacked into your phone to get it.”
Our phones ring at the same time with a new message. I open it and watch the video of the two of us where I beg him to fuck me. The video ends, and another message pops up.
Restricted:You guessed wrong. See you in Cali.
What a sick, twisted fuck!An innocent man lost his job because of this asshole. He’s been blacklisted from all the studios, and he’ll never work in film again. I need to fix this. The question is, how?
* * *
I calledJustine after we got through security, and she’s contacting my attorney to get some notices sent out to get the video taken down from various websites. She heard about it just before I called and wanted to know how it was leaked.If only I knew.
I did ask her to get in touch with Kai Mahone, the production assistant who lost his job, as well as the studio to let them know he was framed. I also asked her to schedule a meeting with Brad and myself atReel Studiosthis afternoon. I’m going to pay him for any days he lost and make sure he’s able to work again if he wants.
We land and, just as before, a swarm of paparazzi find us coming out of the airport. They all ask the same question and want to know all about Bradley and me. I wish these people would get a life and butt out of mine. I keep my head down and my hand firmly in Bradley’s as we skirt past everyone.
The driver weaves his way through L.A. traffic, and we stop in front of the studio.
“We’ll be back soon.”
We walk into the studio and are met in the lobby by a pretentious looking woman, Rose. She offers us each a drink and, when we decline, walks us down the hall to a conference room. Kai is already seated, and Kevin, the head of the studio, is sitting with him.
They stand when we enter. “Seems I’m putting a lot of fires out for this movie,” Kevin states as we all sit.
“Kai, I want to apologize for everything that happened. You were put in a terrible situation, and I want to make things right.” I lay my hands open on the table, extending a metaphorical olive branch.
He doesn’t say much but allows me to tell him exactly what has been going on and why we thought he might be the one. It’s clear he doesn’t possess a great poker face because each emotion flashes as I continue the story—annoyance, anger, fear, understanding. Each one happens during a different part of the story. When I finish, I give him the chance to say whatever he wants.
“I’m sorry that’s happening to you both, and I know what it looked like having all that stuff on my computer and phone. It wasn’t mine though; it wasn’t there the day before, anyway. Whoever is sending you those messages is a definite hacker. My advice is to get the cops involved. You’re Elena Conners. You can do whatever you want. If you want it kept private, I’m sure that’s what will happen.”
“I truly am sorry. We are going to make sure you’re able to find work here again. I know you’ve worked with Joe on several other movies, and I’ll speak with him regarding this to let him know what actually happened,” Kevin says.
One fire put out… how many more to go?
Chapter 26
We leave the studio,and I can see Elena feels better. Her shoulders aren’t drooped, and the creases on her forehead are gone. I’m glad Kai was able to meet with us, and that he accepted our apology. I feel like such an ass for throwing him under the bus, but at least he understood I was trying to protect her.
I got a text from Sandy regarding the porno that’s making its rounds on the internet like wildfire. Needless to say, I’ve gotten chewed out for it. I got her Justine’s number and asked the two of them to work together on a press release or something.Maybe Quinn can handle it.Sandy told me to lay low for a while until everything is sorted out.
Elena was hoping for her bed, but she’s going to have to deal with mine for a few days. We know her stalker knows where she lives, but he doesn’t know where I live. We also ordered new phones, which should be here in the next day or so. Changing her number doesn’t mean a damn thing if he’s hacked into her phone since he already has the IP address.
The driver pulls up in front of my house, and I help her out then grab her bag.
“Come on, we’ll order Chinese or something and relax. I promise, my bed is extremely comfortable.”
I lead her on a tour of the house and let her decide if she wants the spare bedroom or to share a room with me. I smile when she puts her suitcase in my room.