Beautiful Lie (Dirty Hollywood Book 3)

by Claire Raye

  Sadie smiles now, her bottom lip between her teeth as she steps closer. “Uh huh, and it’s not because you missed us all or anything now, is it?”

  Gus bursts out laughing, slapping me on the back before he stands and excuses himself. When he’s gone, I turn back to Sadie, who’s still watching me. “You’re okay if I’m here?”

  She steps closer, sliding her hand across my shoulder to the back of my neck. I feel mine instinctively move to her hip, even though I’m sure everyone is watching us, a million questions on their lips as I totally blow our cover.

  “I’m totally okay with you being here,” she says, smiling at me. “Can I get you anything, drink? Something to eat?”

  I grin up at her, my fingers squeezing her hip a little. “Dunno,” I say feigning uncertainty. “How about a quickie in your trailer?”

  Sadie bursts out laughing, her fingers tightening at my neck a little as she steps even closer. “Kinda in the middle of a scene now,” she whispers. “But how about before we head home?”

  My grin widens. “Sounds like a plan,” I tell her, before she wanders off to cue the next scene, both of us ignoring the stares from everyone, as though what’s just happened between Sadie and me is all totally normal.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sadie

  It’s been about two weeks since Paul and I silently announced to the set that we’re a couple and like the consummate professionals they are, they’ve carried on as if it isn’t an issue. And why should it be?

  Nothing has slipped at all on set. We’re on schedule, the scenes have never been better, and we work like a well-oiled machine. Paul has even started to help out with small things on the set. Something I never thought I would accept in my life again after working with Noel, but Paul is different. He adds to my success in a way that never undermines it, allowing me to take control.

  Today Paul’s cheekily taking on an extra role and slipping himself into a few scenes, walking boot and all. I call action for the scene and the two main characters begin talking and walking along what is supposed to be a virtually empty street with the exception of a few people passing by or sitting on park benches. This is all set up on the backlot of the studio with an array of house facades making it look like a suburban street in any town in the United States. Everything about it is fake including the trees and grass, but yet it looks strikingly realistic. The houses are even made of Styrofoam and expertly painted by set designers. Even sitting only a few feet away, I can’t tell it’s all staged.

  I keep my gaze on Paul as he walks along the street, feigning a conversation with another extra and I can’t help but smile. He wants to be a part of what I do, to support my dream even if it’s just as someone walking by the camera. There’s nothing in what he does that pushes to be more, to outshine me or my work. Just being close to me is enough for him.

  The scene has to be re-shot a few times and when we finally call cut on the final take, we break for lunch. Some of the stars are filming on-set interviews today and their assistants are quickly filling plates for them from the catering tables. Paul offers to grab me some food while I review the scenes we just shot with the editing department.

  “Can you bring me a bottle of water and if they have it that chicken salad with the cranberries? If not, then a ham sandwich.” Paul nods his head, leaning down and kissing me quickly before he starts to walk away. Hating the idea of him hobbling to the catering area in his boot, I call out after him, “Are you sure you don’t want me to grab it? Or I can have Shannon do it. I feel terrible. Your ankle and all.”

  “Sadie,” he says, his words almost a reprimand, “I was doing nothing but lying around for the last two weeks and now that I’m free, I’d walk to craft services a thousand times for you if it meant I’d never have to use those crutches again.”

  “Fine,” I reply, teasingly shooing him off with a flick of my hand and remembering how he never actually did any lying around. He’s a hard one to keep down.

  When Paul returns with my food, the editing crew and I are laughing so hard we can hardly speak. Tears are streaming down our faces as one of the guys takes the reel back and pauses it.

  “Oh my god, Paul, you have to see this,” I say, my words coming out in hiccupping gasps of laughter.

  “What?” he asks, a confused look on his face as squats down next to me, leveling himself with the small screen and slipping on a pair of headphones.

  Once the scene is perfectly cued up, the editor hits play and it begins to roll. All of us watching and trying to control our laughter knowing this will be Paul’s first time seeing it. We don’t want to ruin it for him.

  I stop watching the screen and watch Paul’s face for the moment when he realizes what the editor has done. It’s not something that will probably stay, but it’s definitely something that has made this set a little more fun today.

  “Ha ha, real funny guys,” Paul says, feigning annoyance as we mock his injury.

  The editor had magnified the sound of Paul’s boot as he walked making it sound far louder than it really is. It’s like step, thump, step, thump and it builds as he comes into view in the scene.

  Once again we’re all laughing hysterically, and I’m sure it’s just on-set humor, but it’s certainly making for a good time.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s not nice to make fun of the injured,” Paul says, now standing with his hands on his hips, looking down at me.

  “Oh come on, Paul,” I say back, taking his hand in mine. “You have to admit it’s really funny even if it is at your expense.”

  “Fine, fine, but you aren’t leaving it in there!” He’s now pointing at one of the editors, but I jump in.

  “We are totally leaving it,” I say, deciding in that moment it will bring an element of humor to the film that maybe only everyone working on the set will know. Something that will bind us all and something they can share with friends and family when they see the movie. Kind of a secret from the set.

  Paul and I are at the set late, well after shooting has wrapped for the day, but there are still some of the crew left. Paul is helping the set designers organize things for tomorrow’s early shoot and I’m reviewing a few reels from the day. Things are quiet and I can’t remember the last time I was on a set where I felt so comfortable.

  The door to my trailer opens and I think nothing of it, calling to Paul that I’m working in the back. Not that it’s all that big, but when he doesn’t answer and I don’t hear the telltale sound of his booted foot thumping, I realize it can’t possibly be him.

  Jumping up from my chair, I come face to face with Noel in the small hallway of the already confined space. I choke back the scream I feel pulling at my throat. He shouldn’t be here and he knows that.

  We’re done.

  We’ve been done.

  “What are you doing here?” I demand, but the words come out softer than I plan. A small bit of unease comes through and I wonder just how far he’ll take things this time. “You don’t get to show up here whenever you want. This isn’t your set and I’m not your wife.”

  My confidence grows as I look him in the eyes and see he looks broken. He’s once again manipulating me, but I’ve learned now and I won’t allow him to take control of me. I push past him but he grabs hold of my wrist, his grip firm, but I tug back equally as hard.

  “You know things are good for me right now and the last thing you want is to distance yourself from me,” he says, a smarmy smile on his face as he once again tries to use his success to win me back.

  “I don’t need your career to make mine successful anymore. Honestly, I never did. That was your bullshit projected onto me.”

  I pull away from him when I feel his grip loosen. He’s not used to me asserting myself like this and his face is a wash of confusion. In the past I would’ve gone back to him willingly because I thought I had no other options. I was beat down and tired.

  None of this has to do with Paul or that I’ve gained the autonomy in my career back, but mo
re of the fact that I can see things for what they are now.

  I can see Noel for what he is: a manipulative user who preys on people like me. He can be on his way to find the next actress or director whose life he will ruin.

  “I don’t need this anymore. Look around, Noel. This is my set, my movie—written and directed by me and it’s going to be huge. You know it, I know it, the production company knows it and it’s killing you.”

  I move toward the door, opening it and stepping outside, because while Noel has never hit me, I have no idea how far he will take things. His career is teetering on the edge and while he landed this three-part movie deal, it doesn’t mean that things can’t change on the drop of a dime. It’s why he’s back here. I’m good for his image, I always have been. Our connection made him likeable, made him more human.

  He follows me out the door, again reaching for me, his fingers closing around my wrist like they did in the trailer, but this time his grip is looser, and it could almost be perceived as kindness.

  Almost.

  “Listen,” he hisses, his mouth now close to my ear. “There are fucking pictures of you splashed all over the fucking tabloids.”

  “And I should care, why?” I spit back. “I don’t read the tabloids.”

  “Because they’re pictures of you with another man, Sadie,” he says and his words have a bite to them, a sense of shame, but he’s the only one who should feel shame.

  “Yeah?” I shoot back, but the question is more of a slap in the face to him than a question of shock. Like I care if the tabloids caught me with Paul. We haven’t been hiding anything and never planned to.

  Let the public think I’m cheating on my husband. Let the tabloids run their salacious stories. I know the truth and one day they will too. It might not be today or tomorrow or even a year from now, but one day, people will know and I’ll sit back and bask in the knowledge that I made the choice long before they ever knew.

  “We’re still married,” he growls back, and I can tell he’s growing more and more angry at my inability to just give in. His face is red and his chest begins to rise and fall rapidly, and it’s taking everything in me not to laugh in his face. I want to ask him how it feels to be manipulated, to feel helpless in a situation, but I again pull away.

  “We’re getting a divorce, remember?” I say, pushing back.

  “I’m not signing the papers!” he screams and then quickly looks around the nearly empty set to see if anyone has heard him. His eyes shooting in both directions, searching for any last on-set stragglers who may come to investigate.

  “Then don’t. I’m done chasing you down for this shit. My lawyer will now and we’ll do things the hard way.”

  “It doesn’t have to be the hard way,” he practically purrs and my stomach churns at the false kindness in his words. “We were good together once, Sadie. We can get back there.” His desperation in sickening and bile rises up into my throat, burning and reminding me his words are all lies.

  “We were never good together. You don’t have any idea what good feels like, but I do. I have someone now who supports me, who believes in me, who would never manipulate me the way you did for all those years. We’re done, Noel.”

  My last words are said with infinite finality, and they have nothing to do with my relationship with Paul. Even if our connection only lasts through this movie, he’ll have taught me more about respect and reciprocation in a relationship than I ever learned from Noel in the ten years we were together.

  “He’s using you,” Noel says, and I know he’s now in retaliation mode. He’s desperately running through every way he can work his way back into my head.

  “He’s not,” I spit back, even though I don’t need to defend myself. It’s an argument we shouldn’t even be having.

  “He is and he’s going to walk out on you when you don’t make him a star. That’s what they all want, Sadie. They all want to be a part of something huge. You can’t tell me you’re that stupid, that you’re that blind. He’s a fucking stuntman. He’s nobody on a movie set and somehow he picks you? Please.”

  I hate everything that comes out of his mouth. His words sting and for a split second I start to wonder. My face falls, my eyes move to where I know Paul is helping the set crew, and a string of thoughts run through my head.

  What if he is just using me?

  What if I am just that naïve, that stupid as Noel said?

  But when I look up and take in Noel’s face, I know none of this is true. A smile spreads across his lips, his eyes glaring at me with an evilness that burns like a fire in a dry forest. He’s always made anything that was mine his, and this time he doesn’t get to take this from me.

  “You need to leave,” I say, my words firm, my eyes never leaving his. “You aren’t welcome here and I’ll call security if you don’t.”

  My hands are on my hips now, my stance and words a matching pair, but Noel doesn’t budge. There’s not a chance I’m giving in and even if it means I’m the one to walk away from this situation, then so be it.

  “Sadie, come on,” he says, his bottom lip pushing out a little, his eyes now turned down at the corners as he reaches for me.

  He’s disgusting.

  “Leave!” I scream, pushing up on my toes so my face is only inches from his. My hands are clenched into fists and for a split second I want to hit him. I want to beat the shit out of him.

  “No!” he screams back, his reddened face moving closer to mine, spit flying from his mouth.

  And that’s when I turn to walk away, but his hand snakes around my waist, pulling me against him.

  I struggle against him and before I can tell him to let me go, a voice in the shadows does it for me. It’s a voice I know and relief floats throughout my body, almost making me sag against the weight of Noel’s body. The shock of hearing someone else’s voice causes Noel to step back, releasing me and I walk over to where Paul is standing.

  Standing next to him, he slings an arm around my shoulder and we both stand looking at Noel.

  “Care to tell me why you were just all over my girl?” Paul says, his head tilted to one side, his words a harsh mix of intimidation and anger.

  And honestly I’d love the answer to that question, too.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Paul

  Noel’s mouth opens and closes making him look like a goldfish as he stares at us, his eyes flicking between Sadie and me and not missing the way we are standing together, so obviously a couple.

  “Noel?” I prompt.

  His jaw snaps shut at his name as he swallows hard and his face reddens. “Do you know who you’re speaking to?” he spits out.

  I roll my eyes, a humorless chuckle falling from my mouth. “Yeah, a guy who can’t understand when to fuck off because nobody wants him around anymore.”

  I feel Sadie’s fingers tighten at my back, at my words as she presses her body against mine. I’m sure I’m risking making everything worse speaking to him like this, but I kinda don’t care. But to reassure her, I turn and press a kiss to the top of her head, my eyes never leaving Noel’s face.

  Of course, this only gets him worked up even more as his nostrils flare and he barks, “Your career is over!”

  “What, mine?” I ask, hand on my chest in mock disbelief as another laugh falls from my mouth. “You really think you have that much control over my career? Please.”

  Noel shakes his head as he takes a step toward us as though he actually thinks he can intimidate me. “Yours and hers,” he says, his hand flicking between us.

  Now it’s me shaking my head as I pull Sadie closer. “Nope, not hers either,” I tell him. “In fact, her career is only getting better and that’s not just because she’s an amazingly talented writer and director,” I say, leaving the rest unsaid because we all know the other big reason.

  Noel stiffens, the anger radiating from him as he glares at me. I’m sure he’s wishing he could say or do more. Truth be told, so am I, but I’m not about to jeopard
ize anything for Sadie, so I force myself to stay put.

  “Should we go home?” I ask instead, turning to Sadie now.

  She looks up at me, an unreadable expression on her face as she says, “Yeah,” before turning to Noel and adding, “Next time you show up here, I’m calling security and then the police.”

  We turn and walk away, my arm still wrapped around her shoulders as we both feel the wrath of Noel’s stare in our backs. Sadie feels tense in my arms, so I try and lighten the situation by murmuring a low thump every time my boot hits the ground, just like she added to the scene we shot today.

  Her head falls to my shoulder as she pinches my side and I press a kiss to the top of her head. “You okay?”

  Sadie nods, but says nothing. I don’t push it, knowing of course she won’t be okay, not when her dickhead ex-husband storms onto her set and does something like he just did. As much as I know she tries to act tough, it has to bother her, him creating a scene like that.

  She’s quiet on the ride home too, neither of us saying much more than agreeing on something for dinner, which we grab on the way.

  When we finally get inside though, Sadie visibly exhales, her body almost sagging in on itself as though she can finally stop trying to hold herself up against it all.

  “Come here,” I whisper, pulling her into my arms as we stand in the kitchen, the silence of the house surrounding us.

  She rests her head against my chest, her arms wrapped around my waist. I can feel her heart pounding as it rests against mine. Sliding my hands up her back to her neck, I cup her face and angle it so she’s looking at me.

  “Talk to me,” I tell her.

  Sadie shrugs. “It’s nothing,” she says.

  “Bullshit.”

  I watch as she takes a deep breath, letting it out in a long slow exhale. “What are we doing here?” she finally asks.

  “What do you mean?” I reply, confused.