Katie started sounding nervous. “Wait! What? Tyler, where are you going? What about the concert tomorrow? What about the show? You signed a contract. You can’t just leave.”
Tyler twisted the black leather cuff on his wrist as he walked down the hall. “Oh yeah? Watch me.”
***
Tyler stood in the far corner of the deserted hotel lobby watching the elevators, waiting for Sam where he could easily duck out of sight if Katie came looking for him.
He found Scott’s number on his phone and called. He hated disturbing his manager when he was enjoying some time in Las Vegas with his wife, but this was important. It wasn’t the first late night call his manager had ever received from Tyler anyway.
Scott answered and from the background noise, Tyler was relieved that Scott was probably still out on the town.
“Hey man. I got a call from Sabrina. It’s fucking happening. I gotta go.” Tyler frowned, his voice sounded shaky.
Scott’s voice boomed across the phone. “Jesus, Tyler. That’s fantastic. Okay. You’ll miss tomorrow night. Will you be back for San Fran?”
Tyler rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know, man.”
Scott must have moved to a quieter place. The noise was gone and his voice was more modulated. “Right. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything. Just keep in touch and let me know how everything is going.”
“Tell the guys I’m sorry for fucking up the schedule.”
Scott sighed. “The guys will understand.”
Tyler watched a worker roll a floor polisher into the massive lobby. “Scott, I don’t want anyone to know. Keep it within the band. Don’t let the media find out.”
Scott answered quickly. “No. We’ll put out a statement that you’re sick or something. Resting your voice. The rags will probably speculate that you’re in rehab or something, though.”
Tyler grunted in disgust. “I don’t care about that. Just keep it under wraps for me.”
Scott paused before answering. “I will. But you’re going to get spotted out in public. Especially if you’re supposed to be on tour. You’d better keep a low profile. And bring your bodyguard with you. He can help you avoid getting spotted and if you do, I want someone with you.”
The man in the gray jumpsuit began polishing the floor. “I’ll take Sam if I can get two airline tickets on the first flight. I’m not waiting around, though.”
“All right. Let me know what’s going on. I’ll be worried until I hear from you.”
The elevator binged and Tyler watched Sam step into the lobby. “I’ll keep in touch. Thanks, Scott.”
Tyler disconnected the call and then stepped out of the shadows to approach his bodyguard. “Sam, pack your bags. We’re heading to Cleveland.”
Chapter 13
I woke up groggy with a pounding headache. Where was my water bottle? It took me a few moments to remember that I was still in Tyler’s hotel room. I had found a gray t-shirt that he had left behind in his hurry to leave and had slept in it. Unfortunately, Tyler had never returned.
Worried thoughts soured my mood as I slipped back into my fancy dress and heels for the ‘walk of shame’ back to my hotel room. I tried calling Tyler’s phone several times that morning, but it was clear he wasn’t picking up. Work was scheduled to begin at 10AM that morning, so I needed to get ready. I hoped like hell that Tyler was back at the bus when I arrived, but I had serious doubts. No, he had walked out.
I met my assistant, Michael, in the lobby as we waited for our car to take us back to the stadium where the concert was to be held that night. The rest of the production staff had to leave much earlier to get set up.
Michael looked panicked. “What the hell is going on?”
I tried to ignore the nervous flutter in my stomach. “What do you mean?”
Michael’s hands were flopping around wildly. “The show has been cancelled tonight. There’s a rumor that Tyler walked out on the band. I asked Alex, but he’s not saying anything.”
I repeated dumbly, “The show’s been cancelled?”
Michael stopped his pacing for a moment and turned to me. “Where have you been? You don’t know anything? What are we going to do?”
Swallowing, I tried to contain my growing panic. “Calm down. Who told you the show was cancelled?”
“I don’t know where it started, but it doesn’t matter. Alex confirmed it. The show is cancelled. And Tyler is nowhere to be found. The band is staying at the hotel again tonight so it’ll be impossible to film them. We didn’t plan to shoot in Vegas on the streets or anything, so no setup has been done for live shoots. Everything is a total mess.” Michael’s voice had begun to rise in near hysteria.
Trying to sound in control, I placed my hand on Michael’s arm, halting his maddening pacing. “It’s okay. It’s not going to hurt us if we stop filming for one day. Let’s get back to the bus and sort this out. We have plenty of work to do on episode 4 still and episode 5 is still really sketchy. Let me make some phone calls before we let the field crew go for the day.”
With half the crew hung-over from the party the night before and the assumption that the band would be at the stadium for sound check, no one seemed to know where any members of Cold Fusion were when I arrived at the production bus. One thing for sure, Cold Fusion’s bus was empty.
I sent Michael on an errand so I could have the bus to myself. I tried calling Tyler’s phone, but it went straight to voicemail. My stomach was churning when I pulled up the number to call the band’s manager, Scott.
Scott sounded tired. “Oh, hi Katie. Glad you called. You were on my list.”
“What’s going on? I hear the show is cancelled tonight?” I tried to keep my voice even.
Scott cleared his throat. “Yeah, Tyler felt sick at the party last night, that’s why he left early. He just needs a few days of rest and he’ll be back to normal. These things happen unfortunately.”
The obviously false explanation only raised my anxiety. “That’s bullshit, Scott. You forget that I saw him last night, too. And he wasn’t sick. What’s really going on?”
Scott sounded annoyed. “I don’t really give a shit what you think, Katie. You can read the official press release in about an hour. The show was cancelled because he’s sick. End of story. Now, I’ve got a fuck ton of work to do because of this, so I’ve got to go.”
Normally, I would have been bristling with anger when he hung up on me, but I was too scared. Scott had clamped down hard. Something wasn’t right.
Was it possible that Tyler had just walked away from Cold Fusion? As far as she could tell, Cold Fusion was his life. She remembered Michael going over the research he had found on each band member, before she had gotten to know them all. Tyler’s life was focused around Cold Fusion. Apparently, his parents were deceased, so he had made Cold Fusion his family.
But something had been bothering him for weeks. Did it have to do with Rock Star Diaries? Or even her, specifically? Would that make him walk away from the tour?
I snatched my phone back off the table and found Alex’s phone number. Just before I was about to give up, Alex answered.
“Alex, it’s Katie. Where is Tyler? I know he’s not sick. He took off. Why?”
The line was quiet for a moment. “It’s between Tyler and the band, Katie. It’s not fodder for a reality TV show.”
Only months ago I had had the same amount of disdain for people in my job. It was ironic how people I respected, that I worked hard for to further their careers, now held me with that same contempt and mistrust, but I could understand it wholly.
I swallowed down the angry denial that flew to my lips. “I’m asking as a friend, not a TV producer.”
“I guess Tyler would have told you if he wanted you to know. I gotta go.” Alex hung up.
Another dead end. The band wasn’t talking. Was Rock Star Diaries crumbling all around me? Was it all falling apart? I needed to find Tyler fast.
It took me about a half hour to think of Tyle
r’s bodyguard. Thankfully, Michael was so organized that it only took me a few minutes to locate Sam’s contract. He had signed a filming waiver. Michael had meticulously taken down all of his information, including his cell phone number.
I tried to sound normal when Sam answered. “Hi Sam. This is Kaitlyn Winston, the Executive Producer and Director for Rock Star Diaries.”
Sam sounded startled. “Oh, hi Katie.”
I used my best authoritative voice. “Sam, Tyler’s not answering his phone and I need to talk to him. It’s something very important for the show. Are you with him?”
Sam replied, “No, not now. He’s still in the hospital.”
Hospital? My heart was beating wildly. “Oh, right. I just need him to sign some important paperwork, or he’ll be in breach of his contract. What hospital was it again? I can fax the paperwork over to him.”
I held my breath and waited to see if Sam would tell me. “The Cleveland Clinic.”
I had narrowed it down, but still The Cleveland Clinic was huge. I needed more information. “Sam, I’m sorry to bother Tyler, but I don’t want him to get into any legal trouble. Are you going to see him later?”
Sam paused for a moment. “I wish I could help, but I don’t know. He said the surgery could to take from 4 to 18 hours, depending on how it all went. I’m just waiting at the hotel until he calls me.”
My stomach plummeted to the floor. Surgery? A major surgery from the sounds of it. “Sam, what hotel are you staying at?”
“I’m at the Crowne Plaza on…” I heard papers shuffling around. “Lakeside Avenue.”
“Okay. I’ll call you back soon.” I disconnected.
I didn’t even pause to think. I was heading to Cleveland.
***
I had a lot of thinking to do, but I couldn’t do any of it with Michael chattering incessantly in my ear as he drove me to the airport. Michael was still freaking out about the disruption to Rock Star Diaries, but now he was worried about handling the job all on his own while I was gone. Despite my reassurances that he’d do fine, he was still a nervous wreck.
I wasn’t thinking much about the show; I was thinking about Tyler. Wondering about the phone call he got before he left. Worrying about the surgery. I was a hypochondriac by nature; my head was filled with worst-case scenarios.
It was after midnight when I checked into the Crowne Plaza in Ohio. It was obviously too late to get anywhere with the hospital and probably too late to check in with Sam. I couldn’t help it; I called him anyway. When I got no answer on his cell phone, I asked the hotel to connect me to his room phone. I was frustrated that I still got no answer. There was nothing I could do until morning.
I waited rather impatiently until 7am before I called Sam. “Hi Sam, it’s Katie Winston.”
Sam sounded more upbeat today. “Hi, Katie. I told Tyler about the breach of contract thing. He didn’t seem to give a shit, so I’m glad you’re looking out for him.”
My heart started to race. “You talked to Tyler? Is he okay?”
“Yeah. He’s just tired. He’s eating breakfast downstairs right now.”
Tyler was eating, that must be a good sign. “At the hospital?”
Sam answered, “No. In the hotel. I picked him up last night.”
He was discharged already? “He’s at the hotel restaurant right now?”
“Yeah. You should try calling his –”
I interrupted. “Sam, I have to go. Thanks.” I hung up.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I wanted to see Tyler right away. I grabbed my room key and headed down to the first floor.
As soon as I walked into the restaurant, I spotted Tyler. The restaurant was fairly crowded even at this early hour, but Tyler stood out to me. He was seated in a booth attacking a heaping plate of food from the buffet with an obviously hardy appetite. He looked perfectly healthy, although unkempt. His hair was tousled as if he hadn’t showered, he definitely hadn’t shaved in days and he looked pale and tired.
I approached tentatively. “Tyler!”
He looked up, wary surprise registering on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t get angry. I came as a friend.”
He put down his fork. “As a friend? For what?”
I slid into the booth across from him and lowered my voice. “I heard about your surgery.”
He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know about my surgery?” He raised an eyebrow. “So what kind of surgery did I have?”
I shifted awkwardly in the booth. “Well, I don’t know exactly. But you seem to be doing okay, although you look like shit.”
Tyler shook his head, “Gee, thanks. So you rushed halfway across the country because you thought I was getting surgery?”
Uh oh. It sounded like I mixed something up. “Yes. Well, no. Originally, I thought you were quitting Cold Fusion. That’s the rumor that’s been circulating. Then when I talked to Sam and heard about the surgery…”
Tyler picked up his fork and continued eating. “Jesus. Sam’s supposed to be protecting my privacy, not giving it all away.”
I cringed. “Well, to be fair, I kind of tricked him into telling me.”
Tyler grunted his disapproval as he chewed on his pancakes.
I kept my voice low so no one could overhear. “I was worried about you. I thought you had walked out on Cold Fusion because of me or because of the stupid TV show. I know you haven’t been happy.”
Tyler remained frustratingly quiet.
How could I get through to him? “I know I have been single-minded in making Rock Star Diaries a success. When I get on a project, I dump all my energy into it. But I would never do it at the expense of our friendship…”
I continued when he said nothing. “And I know what happened between us the other night was probably a big mistake on my part. I let my feelings override my brain. But I don’t regret it. I just regret that it ended so badly.”
Tyler looked uncomfortable. “I’m not good at talking about this kind of stuff.”
“Believe me, I’ve noticed. But I’ve been so confused and worried about you. And I really care, so I wish you would try. I’m really good at talking. I can do enough talking for the two of us.”
Tyler finally smiled. “You’re not going to give up, are you?”
“Nope.” I returned his smile.
Tyler rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you get some food and then we can talk about our feelings and stuff.”
I visited the buffet and then sat back down at the booth, sipping at my freshly poured cup of coffee. “First off, obviously you didn’t have surgery. Sorry, I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Can you tell me who is at the hospital?”
Tyler looked like he was weighing a heavy decision. “I’ll show you after breakfast. You can come with me.”
I was curious, but I didn’t press him any further on that. “When you started this tour, I could tell how much you loved performing. You loved the spotlight and the attention; it was exciting to watch. Now it’s almost as if you’re just going through the motions. What happened? Is it the constant filming?”
Tyler sat back against the booth. “No. I was getting used to the cameras always being around. And you’re right. I do like being in the spotlight. The only thing that worries me about being on TV is that I might be portrayed as a jackass or something. But I’m okay with it in general.”
I kept digging. “Did I say or do something to upset you? I was disappointed when you stopped coming to the production bus to talk. I missed that.”
Tyler dragged a hand wearily through his hair. “Katie, I guess if you’re going to force me to chat like a girl, I might as well get this off my chest. I saw the Rock Star Diaries’ script. I think it was called the bible or something. I looked through it.”
My mind raced, trying to compile all that he could have possibly seen in the bible. And what would have pissed him off the most. “Okay. We organize storyline ideas in there. We have to be very organized
because it’s almost impossible to set up shoots on the fly. It’s really complicated. Was there a storyline in there that you didn’t like?”
His brow furrowed. “More like the whole fucking concept. Every little thing that happened to us was faked. The bus breaking down, the crazy fans, the dog-shit on Nick’s shoe… every last thing was manufactured by you.”
It was true and I had done my best to underplay the extent of it. It was just how things were done. We would spend hundreds of hours filming the band and still couldn’t fill a full show. It took weeks of endlessly following Cold Fusion around before we produced any workable drama-filled incidents and almost all of them had been staged. There were more light-hearted or even funny moments that came about naturally, but most of them had to be staged as well.
I poked at my breakfast, stalling so I could pick my words carefully. “That’s just the nature of reality shows, Tyler. We have to create a little drama to keep it interesting. We don’t tell you how to react or what to say when you’re confronted with those situations. We just plant the seed. Wait till you see the editing we do. That’ll have you crazy, too. But I’m not trying to shine any of you in a bad light. I’m hoping your fans will adore seeing these little peeks into your world.”
“My fake world,” he said bitterly.
“It might help if you compartmentalized it a little more. Don’t let the lines between reality and the show blur for you.” My advice sounded ridiculous even to my own ears.
“That’s a bit difficult if I don’t even know it’s happening. When I flipped through those pages and looked at the supporting cast photos, I recognized face after face. It was like my own personal The Truman Show; everyone was in on the joke except for me. Night after night, you threw women at me and I slept with every single one of them. It was like you paid those women to have sex with me. Do you know what that made me feel like?”
Now it felt like we were getting closer to the heart of the matter. Frankly, I wouldn’t have expected this to especially bother him, but I know it would have crushed me.
Rock Me: Sexy (New Adult Rockstar Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Erotic Romance) Page 11