by Alexa Aston
Rhett had enough time to make it to LAX and grab a paperback for the flight. Maybe Stuart Woods or Harlan Coben had something new out.
Traffic wasn’t bad for a Saturday afternoon. He made decent time, blaring Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits and singing along since he was in such a good mood.
After parking, he picked up a book, a pack of gum, and a bottled water. He left his ballcap and aviator glasses on as he walked down the terminal to the security checkpoint. He was glad since 9/11 that the paparazzi couldn’t hang out in the gate area. He hated being ambushed after a long flight.
Despite his attempt at a low profile, two people in line recognized him. Rhett declined to selfie but gave both an autograph. Then he saw Ramon La Pearl approaching, camera in hand, cell phone pressed to his ear. The sleazebag must live at the airport. Rhett knew he couldn’t avoid him.
“Rhett Corrigan!” the photographer boomed as he pocketed his cell phone. Heads immediately turned in Rhett’s direction as the line shuffled forward.
“Care to make any comment?” La Pearl called out as he snapped Rhett’s picture.
Rhett shook his head and pulled out his passport. Three more people and he would clear the area.
“Why are you breaking up with Randal James, Corrigan? She’s a hottie with a lottie. And who’s the copper-headed ponytail chick? She doesn’t look like your usual type.”
Rhett froze. What was La Pearl talking about?
The photographer’s smirk told Rhett he was being blindsided but he couldn’t think. It was as if his mind had turned to mush.
“You haven’t heard, have you?” La Pearl scrolled through his phone and closed the distance between them. Holding it up, Rhett ducked under the barrier, drawn to the man.
La Pearl handed the phone to him. Rhett saw it cued up to the E! News entertainment site. The headline screamed “Rhett Corrigan dumps Playmate Randi James”. Rhett skimmed the few lines. His heart stopped at a picture of Cassie labeled “Corrigan’s New Cutie”.
Where had they gotten this info? Only Cassie and Carreen knew of his plans to end his relationship with Randi and neither would have breathed a word. The picture of Cassie had to be from today. Rhett had seen her in the same outfit this morning as she and Jolene left for their shopping date with Melanie Cameron.
“Boy, Corrigan, letting the media end a relationship for you takes the cake.”
Rhett was tempted to slam his fist into Ramon La Pearl’s face but knew it wouldn’t be worth the consequences.
Instead, he turned and walked away. He had to get home and see Cassie.
As he walked through the airport, his cell rang.
“Are you nuts?” Becky Bloss screamed at him. “What’s going on, Rhett? You couldn’t mention this at lunch two hours ago? Do you know what it’s been like to be blindsided by every media outlet?”
“I just was, Becky.”
“Where are you? I want to see you now, in person. We’ve got to fix this mess.” She paused. “And I’ve got to know if it’s true or not.”
Rhett sighed. “I’m leaving LAX now. I was headed to see Randi in person. I have no idea how this got out.”
“It doesn’t matter, Rhett. We’ve got to do some damage control. This is a PR nightmare. At least it’ll probably mean bigger box office for Fireball’s opening. Beyond that, we’ve got to spin this fast. If not, you’ll be crucified from Entertainment Weekly to Access Hollywood.”
“Meet me at my house. I’m headed there now, Becky.”
Rhett hung up and dialed Cassie’s number. Her voice mail came on.
“It’s Rhett. I’m headed back to the house. It’s a little after two. I really need to talk to you. Call me when you get this.”
He left the terminal and began jogging to his car. A sense of urgency drove him. He reached the car and pulled out of the parking lot and decided to try Cassie at the gatehouse. When she didn’t answer, he left a second message.
“Cassie, it’s Rhett. We have a situation that I need to talk to you about. Pick up if you’re there.”
He waited a minute, his insides twisting. Rhett was about to hang up when he heard the phone click.
“Rhett Corrigan, you better get back here.”
“Jolene?”
“You bet your sweet ass it’s Jolene. I’ve fucked up royally. Cassie’s ended our friendship and she’s already packed her bags and moved out. No forwarding address.
“Get over here now before the whole damned ship sinks.”
His gut churning, Rhett raced home, screeching up the drive and leaping from the car. He ran to the guesthouse and threw open the door, finding a weeping Jolene leaning into Breck, her face buried against his chest.
His friend smoothed Jolene’s hair. “Rhett’s here, baby.”
She pushed away, sitting up, and Rhett saw the comedian was a total mess. Her red, swollen eyes were filled with tears. Streaks of dark mascara ran down her cheeks. She looked like a nightmare.
“It’s all my fault,” she said. “Everything. Cassie tried to do damage control but it was too late.”
Rhett took a seat in the club chair next to the sofa where Breck and Jolene sat. “Tell me. Everything.”
“Cassie and I met Melanie Cameron at Vanity. So she could find something to wear to the premiere. We were in the dressing room. She was trying on stuff. And I opened my big, fat mouth.”
“How did you know about Randi?” he demanded, trying to keep his anger reined in. “Did Cassie tell you?”
“No,” Jolene denied, pushing her fingers through her hair. “I overheard Cassie on the phone with Carreen. That’s when I figured out you were breaking up with Randi.” She eyed him sullenly. “About time.”
Suddenly, she pushed to her feet and began pacing the room. Then she wheeled and faced Rhett.
“I’m the one who broke the NDA. Not Cassie. I’m stupid and thoughtless and have no filter. Cassie just looked so damned hot in that dress and I told her how she’d turn your head.” Jolene swallowed hard. “Then I let slip that you planned to dump Randi. Someone in the dressing room overheard what I said. By the time Cassie changed back into her clothes and we left the dressing room, the entire shop knew. People snapped her picture. One bitch gave her the evil eye.”
Rhett could see it all. Women turned on one another quickly. He imagined it had been a feeding frenzy, with Cassie the main course.
“I take full responsibility,” Jolene continued. “You can sue my ass but not hers. I’m the idiot. I’ve already told Breck I’m moving out.”
She went and plopped next to him on the sofa. He placed a comforting arm about her shoulders.
Jolene’s eyes, still brimming with tears, tore at his gut. She was a good person. A little raw but never deliberately thoughtless.
“I am sorry, Rhett,” she said softly. “More than I could ever convey to you. You’ve been nothing but generous to me and Cassie. I blew it.” She brushed away her spilling tears. “It’s cost me my friendship with Cassie, something I can never get back.”
“She’ll forgive you,” Breck said. “It’ll take time but The General will know you weren’t being malicious.” He glanced to Rhett, asking with his eyes what was left unsaid.
Rhett knew how much Breck cared for this woman. Breck was a constant in Rhett’s life. That meant Jolene would always be around. No sense in burning bridges he’d only have to rebuild.
“I won’t sue you, Jolene,” he said. “I’m not happy with you but I’m not kicking you to the curb. You’ll have to repair the damage you’ve done to your friendship with Cassie.”
She burst into fresh tears. “I told her you were too fucking nice.”
He leaned forward, hands gripping his knees. “The important thing is to find Cassie. She has to be hurting. Badly.”
“She’s gone,” Breck said. “Jo doesn’t know where she went.”
“I’ll find her,” Rhett promised, determination filling him. “And when I do, I will never let her go.”
CHAPTER 18
/> “Turn on Today’s Hollywood,” Rhett’s mother said when he picked up the phone. “Randi is about to crucify you after this commercial break.”
“I knew it would happen, Mom. Thanks.”
Rhett picked up the TV remote and flipped around. The program returned from commercial with the teaser “Randi Fights Back”. As Randi began to speak, Rhett thought it was like passing by a massive car wreck on the 405. He couldn’t look away. He couldn’t get away. He simply sat in a stupor and listened to her brutalize him.
She looked amazing. Sexy without being slutty, which she leaned toward on most occasions. Her publicist must’ve cautioned her about how she’d come across if her dress was cut too low. Her hair and makeup were perfect. Subtle. Almost demure. Randi tended to favor bright reds for her mouth and had a heavy hand with the eyeliner. Today, she could’ve been mistaken for a very attractive third grade teacher instead.
“What was your relationship with Rhett Corrigan, Randi? We barely heard about it before it was over,” the interviewer asked.
Randi sniffed. “Rhett is very secretive. He didn’t want word to get out about us. He’s a little possessive—no, I’ll admit it—he’s insanely jealous in that respect. He doesn’t want another man looking at his woman. Obviously, I never knew about the tawdry affair with his assistant.”
Randi frowned, as if she’d gotten off her prepared script. Before the interviewer could ask about Cassie, she pressed on.
“Rhett was always very controlling. He never let us go anywhere. He told me what to wear and what to say.” She pouted prettily for the close-up. “I realize now how restrictive that was.”
Randi sulked as only she could. If he didn’t know her like he did, Rhett would’ve been turned on by it.
“I learned to handle it. What really hurt is how cheap he was.”
The interviewer looked shocked. “How so, Randi? I would think Rhett Corrigan would’ve dazzled a woman like you with gifts.”
She laughed. “Not in a million years. Rhett is a tightwad. To make as much as he does per film, he hoards it all. I constantly lavished gifts on him but he never gave me anything in return.” She paused dramatically, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
“Not even his love. I understand now that Rhett Corrigan used me, plain and simple. He can’t love anyone but himself.”
Rhett seethed. What did she call those three carat earrings that set him back a pretty penny, much less the purebred Maltipoo he bought her?
“Rhett has a huge ego.” Randi’s eyes grew large. “The focus was always on him and his career.”
The interviewer leaned forward. “Did you ever talk marriage with Rhett, Randi?”
“Yes.” It came out in a whisper as she wiped away a tear with her perfectly manicured fingernail. “I thought of all the beautiful children we might have.” Her lips began to tremble. “Rhett didn’t want any. He said he knew he was being selfish but he needed all my attention. A child would just take away from that.”
“What about your career, Randi? Did Rhett Corrigan expect you to give that up?”
“What career?” Rhett yelled at the TV. “You don’t have one other than posing in Playboy and getting in the tabloids.”
“Rhett insisted I give it up. I had to focus on him. Besides,” she shifted self-consciously in her chair, “my past exposure made him . . . uncomfortable. Posing nude.”
“I’ve heard Rhett is close to his family,” the interviewer pressed. “I’m sure you spent time with them. How are they taking your breakup? Anyone on your side of the fence?”
Randi pursed her lips. “To tell you the truth, I feel Rhett is too close to his family. For one thing, he should cut the apron strings from his mother. He’s a grown man, for goodness’ sake.”
Rhett chuckled. Nadine would explode with that comment.
“His sister, Carreen, was his assistant but she’s dying of cancer now.”
“What?” Rhett jumped to his feet, anger pouring through him.
“Is it true Rhett is paying for Carreen’s cancer treatments?”
Randi cocked her head. “I suppose so. Rhett never shared anything about money with me. Ever. His other sister, the one in law school, is all about money. And the other sister—”
The reporter interrupted. “How many sisters does he have?”
“Just the three. Suellen is plain weird. Rhett pays off people all the time to get her out of scrapes.”
“Sounds like the Corrigans are the original dysfunctional family.”
Randi held up a hand. “I don’t want you to think I’m bitter, Carolyn. I did enjoy my time with Rhett. Even around his strange family.”
She batted her doe-like eyes and looked wistfully into the camera. “Rhett can be quite charming. He made me feel so special. Not that I was only beautiful but he recognized how smart I am. Despite this nasty breakup in the media, which is so immature on his part, I’ve learned to believe in myself.”
Randi smiled brightly. “I can do anything I want now. I feel empowered being out from under Rhett’s thumb. I know I can do better for myself than Rhett Corrigan.”
“If you saw him, Randi, what would you say to Rhett?”
She shrugged and smiled sweetly. “Absolutely nothing. My mama always said if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”
Rhett cursed as the reporter wrapped up the segment, hurling the remote across the room. Randi made him sound like an egocentric, penny-pinching jackass.
His cell rang. He snatched it up from the coffee table. It was Becky calling. “What?” he barked.
“Did you see that?”
“It’s all garbage. Surely, the media knows she’s playing them.” Rhett paused. “Don’t reply to a thing, Becky. No statement.”
“None? Come on, Rhett, the press has been hounding me for two days now. After Randi’s dog and pony show, it’ll be ten times worse.”
“I’m taking the high road. No reply, Becky. I won’t budge on this.”
She sighed. “As your PR person, I think you’re wrong, but I understand where you’re coming from.”
“I know you wouldn’t betray a confidence, but . . . have you heard from Cassie?”
“No and I wouldn’t tell you if I did. I like collecting my paycheck too much to choose sides in this fiasco.”
“I know about that girl loyalty thing. I have all those nutty sisters, you know.”
“Sure, you do.” Becky sighed. “I doubt I’ll hear from Cassie.”
“If you do, tell her to call me. Please.”
“Okay.”
Rhett hung up, frustrated and depressed. As much as Randi’s interview pissed him off, he expected the model to play the martyr. What really bothered him was Cassie vanishing. How could she have gotten under his skin so quickly in such a short time? Not seeing her the past couple of days had driven him crazy.
His cell rang. Ken’s number flashed on the caller ID.
“Hey, Ken.”
“You coming to the premiere, Corrigan?”
“No. It’s your night, buddy. I won’t pull the spotlight from you. It’s your first movie. Your big night. You don’t need the negative publicity I would generate by showing up on the red carpet.”
Ken laughed. “Hasn’t Irv told you that even bad publicity is good? Come on, man, get out of the house. Face those mongrels head on. Besides, I won’t take no for an answer. Actually, Melanie instructed me to tell you that no isn’t an option.”
“You’re scared of a five foot two woman, Cameron?”
“Damn straight I am. I do what I can to keep her happy. She ordered me to call you and figure out the time we’ll pick you up.”
He hesitated. “I won’t go with you in the limo. I'll go on my own. I promise.”
“Hmm. At least sit with us when you get there. We’ll be on the back row. I’ll save the end seat for you.”
“Okay. Deal.”
“Thanks. There’s an after party at Pomodoro. Promise you’ll come to that. It’s smal
l. Only about eighteen, twenty people. Private room. No one will bother you.”
Rhett thought a moment and decided he needed to commit. Ken had been a good friend to him over the years and he wanted to help celebrate the start of his film career. “See you in a few hours.”
Rhett hung up, hoping he’d made the right decision to venture out where the press would be swarming like crocodiles on fresh meat. He figured if things got really bad he’d simply retreat home and lick his wounds.
And wonder where Cassie was.
◆◆◆
Cassie sat without moving, stunned by Randi’s interview comments. Talk about an issue snowballing. She accused Rhett of things the public would now consider as gospel. Rhett would be known as a manipulative, conniving egomaniac, which was as far from the truth as possible.
She was powerless to change that perception. She had no status in the situation. If she tried to refute Randi’s allegations, the press would simply point to her as the other woman who wrecked a Hollywood fairy tale.
It hurt her—but she hurt more for Rhett and his damaged reputation. He’d still sell tickets but maybe not as many as before. His charity work would be seen as a farce, a way to suck up to the public in order to get back in their good graces. That angered her. She knew there was no way Rhett would reveal the truth about Randi. He was too much of a gentleman. Cassie had no leverage to force Randi to see her face-to-face and make the model take back all the untrue allegations.
She heard a knock and lifted a purring TJ off her lap, plopping him down in the chair she vacated. Cassie opened the door and Melanie breezed in, setting a garment bag across the back of the sofa.
“You hanging in there?”
“I just watched Randi torpedo Rhett in an interview that will definitely set tongues wagging.”
“Who listens to an ex-Playmate centerfold? She’s all looks and no substance. This’ll blow over, Cassie. Give it time.”
“She decimated him, Melanie.”
“So? Her fifteen minutes of fame will end soon. Knowing Randi, she’ll probably milk it for thirty. This is Hollywood, though. Old news fades fast. Rhett’s the one with staying power. It’ll be forgotten with his next good role.”