Media Darling

by Fiona Riley

  Tremont clucked. “Well, now. Bad decisions, you say? That sounds like there’s been something on your mind to make a decision about.”

  Shit. So much for keeping things to herself. She decided to try and play it cool. Share but not share too much. She did it with the media all the time. She could do it with Tremont, right?

  “Ooh, girl. You like her, don’t you? It’s because she’s sassy, isn’t it?” Tremont clapped and held up his hand. “It’s her butt. She’s got a great butt. I noticed. I’m a butt guy.”

  Emerson nodded. That was a fair assessment. Hayley had a really fantastic ass. She’d gotten more than a handful last night. Stop. Stop thinking about Hayley naked, or he’s going to figure it out. “Wait, you’ve been looking at her butt?”

  “No. But that nod tells me that you have.”

  He was so sneaky. She loved it. “Maybe a little.” More than looked. She crossed her legs again as she felt herself flush from last night’s memories. She was glad he was on the phone and not in person.

  “Okay. Progress. Tell me more. What it is about Lois Lane that’s got you holding her hand on an airplane of all things? The flying metal coffin of doom isn’t exactly what I would have picked as your most romantic first date preference.”

  She’d been sorting through some of this on her own for the last few hours, so when Tremont opened the door, she stepped through it. “She’s different. It’s like she knows we’re in this bubble, right? Like we’re in this very fragile existence and any outside or inside force can cause it to burst so she savors the moments in it. I never feel like she’s distracted around me—”

  “So, you’re saying she’s obsessed,” Tremont joked.

  “Not even. That’s the thing. I really get the impression that she doesn’t give a crap about my celebrity or my presence or what other people think of me. I don’t know how to explain it.” This was all true, not just intuition on her part—Hayley had confirmed these beliefs last night. Her gut told her this was a fact. Time would tell, she supposed.

  “It’s like…” She paused. She was normally so well-spoken. So rehearsed. So practiced. “It’s like when we’re alone, talking about the movie or nothing at all, I feel free. Like I can just be a person who exists on this planet, talking to a pretty girl with an enormous brain who is smart and funny and sarcastic, and for a few blissful minutes I’m not Emerson Sterling. I’m not Willow Path, and I’m not being head-hunted by my crazy ex-girlfriend for her fifteen minutes of fame.”

  Tremont just looked at her with big eyes. “Well, damn.”

  “What? I said a lot of things there. You’ll need to be a little more specific.”

  “That’s the first time you’ve ever called Rachel your ex-girlfriend. Ever.”

  She gaped at him. “Seriously? That’s where you went with all that? Back to Rachel?”

  He shrugged. “It seemed relevant to mention.”

  She huffed. “Rachel is a complicated mess. Hayley isn’t.”

  Tremont crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow at her. “Oh, sure. Falling for the one person who’s supposed to give a clear and unbiased account of you as a person and a media personality sounds as uncomplicated as possible. No complications there. None.”

  She gave him a look.

  “I’m just saying, maybe give this a little space. You’ve got some heavy lifting to do in the family department. Maybe focus your energies there while we wait for Rachel’s next bombshell.” Tremont looked pained. “I hate having to say that.”

  “I hate hearing it.” Emerson pouted. “But we aren’t going to just wait around, Tremont. We have a plan. We just have to implement it.”

  He nodded. “All kidding aside, I really do like her, though. Hayley. She’s good people. And I think you two would be cute together if that ever happened.”

  She smiled, seeming to have convinced him it was just a crush and not already a bedroom encounter. A knock at her trailer door distracted her from replying. “Come in.”

  Hayley popped her head up from the stairs. Emerson turned the screen toward Hayley and she waved. “Hey, Scoobies. Having a meeting?”

  “That all depends. Where are your glasses, Velma?” Tremont asked.

  Hayley stuck her tongue out at him and settled into the bench next Emerson, so they could talk to him together. “They’re reading glasses, Tremont. Not investigation glasses.”

  Emerson snorted. She was happy to see Hayley. She was hoping to use the downtime today to discuss last night’s events.

  “You’re smiley.” Tremont gave Hayley a suspicious look.

  “It’s sunny. And I’m caffeinated. Plus, doughnuts are in abundance at the craft service table, which—conveniently—is immediately outside Emerson’s trailer.” Hayley patted her belly and sighed. “Delicious, delicious doughnuts.”

  Tremont frowned. “Don’t remind me.”

  “Missing those old sugar days, Montie?” Emerson teased. She’d been surprised how loyal Tremont had been to Sebastian’s diet and exercise plan. Doughnuts were a serious weakness for him. Something she’d mentioned to Hayley when they were gossiping the other day. If the glint in Hayley’s eye was any indication, she’d mentioned the doughnuts on purpose.

  “You’re evil.” He pointed at Emerson and his image vibrated. He smiled at the screen.

  “Speaking of the devil,” Hayley said. “Tremont smiling and a vibrating phone screen mean one and only one thing.”

  Emerson nodded. “Text from Sebastian.”

  “It’s like he knows we’re talking about glazed sugary goodness.” Hayley tapped her bottom lip and Emerson tried not to think naughty thoughts.

  Tremont covered the camera with his hand briefly before he glared at Emerson. “You need to stop gossiping about me to Velma. It’s rude.”

  Emerson merely shrugged. “It gets boring talking about myself all day.”

  “Yeah, see, calling me Velma is totally a compliment. She was the only smart one of the bunch. Like, genius,” Hayley said.

  “Mm-hmm. Terrible fashion sense, though.” Tremont’s image paused, and Emerson assumed he was firing off a text. When he came back to real time, he gave Hayley a teasing once-over.

  “That’s a matter of opinion. I think she made bold color choices.” Hayley stretched. “Some people look good in orange.”

  Tremont laughed. “No one looks good in orange. No. One.”

  Hayley feigned offense. “Agree to disagree.”

  Tremont’s screen vibrated again, and his picture froze momentarily. “When’s your next teaser due to run?”

  Hayley glanced at her naked wrist and her eyebrows rose. “Uh, about two hours, Pacific time.”

  “Have you finished it?” Tremont asked.

  Hayley clasped her hands behind her head and leaned back. Emerson decided she was adorable. “Why? You nervous?”

  Tremont scoffed. “Someone is getting comfortable.”

  “You two fight like siblings,” Emerson observed as Tremont’s phone buzzed again. “Tremont, go answer your phone. I want to go over some of these script changes with Hayley.”

  Tremont looked between the two of them. “Why with Hayley?”

  Hayley cleared her throat. “We were talking about the movie on the flight. I was curious about the process.” That was a total lie, but Emerson was turned on by how quickly Hayley thought on her feet. She reached under the table and ran her fingers along Hayley’s thigh. Hayley smiled, and Emerson took that as a good sign.

  “Fine. I’ll check in with my temporary replacement over there and find out how much time until they need you on set. I’ll be back in a bit.” Hayley’s fingers found hers under the table and she massaged Emerson’s hand.

  “Tell Sebastian I said hi,” Emerson called out, and Tremont flipped her off as he ended the call.

  Hayley turned in the seat so she was facing Emerson. She ran her hand through her hair, and it fell in soft looking waves around her face. “So…”

  “So?” Emerson replied.

&nb
sp; Hayley blushed and pointed to her wrist. “Any chance you stumbled upon a watch in your suite this morning?”

  Emerson cocked her head to the side and gave Hayley her best lazy smile. “What does it look like?”

  Hayley leaned back and motioned with her hands. “Oh, you know, it’s about yea big, black leather strap. It has little hands that move in a clockwise fashion.”

  “Silver face?” Emerson narrowed her eyes at Hayley. “Little hands, you say?”

  Hayley nodded.

  Emerson reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out the watch, examining it closely. “I’m not totally sure, but could this be it?”

  “That’s the one.” Hayley sounded relieved.

  “It’s important to you.” Emerson traced her fingers along the watch face. It was simple but elegant. She hadn’t noticed it before. The leather straps were worn but remained in good condition—Hayley obviously took care of this.

  “Very.” Hayley added, “It was a gift.”

  Emerson turned the watch over and read the inscription on the back. There’s no time to waste, Love GG.

  “Who is GG?” Emerson held it out and motioned for Hayley to extend her wrist to her.

  “Grandma Ginny.” Hayley obliged, and Emerson took her time slipping the watch over Hayley’s delicate wrist. She adjusted the strap to the stretched hole indicating Hayley’s desired fit. She marveled at the smoothness of the stitching along the leather.

  “What’s she like?” She abandoned the watch strap in favor of making circles on the skin on the underside of Hayley’s wrist.

  “Was like.” She looked up to see sadness in Hayley’s eyes. “She passed away right after I moved to LA. This was the gift she gave me before I left. She told me that I’d wasted so much time and talent running from my own dreams that I had to take the leap and head to Hollyweird, as she called it. She told me time was precious and I shouldn’t squander it.”

  Emerson took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry for your loss. She sounds like a very smart lady.”

  Hayley traced her thumb along Emerson’s as she spoke. “She was smart all right. A smart-ass, a smart aleck—you name it, she had it in spades. That woman could slap you with sarcasm so effectively it left your head spinning.” She gave Emerson an impish look. “She taught me all kinds of amazing things. My grandfather died young, so she raised my father and his siblings alone for most of their childhood. She was resourceful like no one I’ve ever met.”

  “Is she the one with the cabin in Maine?” Emerson asked.

  “You remember that?” Hayley looked surprised.

  “I pay attention to the important things.” Emerson gave her a wink and Hayley entwined their fingers.

  “Something tells me you pay attention to all the things.” Hayley held her gaze before she spoke again. “My grandmother was Maine through and through. She cut her own lumber, drank moonshine from a growler, and cursed like a sailor. She was the best.” Emerson liked seeing the happiness return to Hayley’s eyes as she spoke of her grandmother. She could tell there were endless stories behind those eyes. She wanted to hear them all.

  “Tell me about one of those amazing things she taught you. Can you throw an axe from across the room and split an apple with it?”

  “Sadly, no. Although I can fish with just a stick, some fishing line, and a hook.” Hayley separated their hands enough so that she could play with Emerson’s fingertips. It felt magical.

  “That’s useful, I guess.” She watched their fingers dance along each other.

  Hayley paused her movements and Emerson looked up at her. “She did teach me one thing of note.”

  “What’s that?” Emerson wished more of Hayley was touching her. Although she enjoyed the opportunity to sit next to her, it wasn’t enough. She missed the closeness they’d had last night and this morning. She couldn’t remember another time in her life when she’d felt so drawn to someone. So needy for their touch. It frightened her a bit.

  “She taught me how to whistle.”

  Emerson thought back to the night on the red carpet, the night they sort of met. “That whistle nearly got you blacklisted from my entire existence.”

  Hayley frowned and took Emerson’s hand between both of hers. “Because you thought I was working with James Drake.”

  Emerson nodded. She had. She’d even cursed her for it.

  “I knew it the moment I saw your face.” Hayley looked remorseful. “If it’s any consolation, I felt awful that I silenced the crowd enough for him to grill you like that.”

  Emerson winced. “It wasn’t my best poker face, huh?”

  Hayley shook her head. “Still a beautiful face, though.”

  “Ha. Thanks, Hay.” She thought about their near conversation about Rachel last night and the pictures in today’s celebrity newsreel. They had to talk about the elephant in the room, no matter how much Emerson wanted to avoid it. She owed that to Hayley, and Hayley would need it to properly write her piece. Even if she fought her about it. Hayley’s respect for her privacy was noble, but it was foolish. “We should talk.”

  Hayley’s shoulders sagged, and she released Emerson’s hand. Emerson missed her touch immediately. “I figured.”

  “Have you seen today’s gossip columns?” Emerson kept her voice light. She didn’t want to alarm Hayley.

  “I saw your name pop up on E! and TMZ and my notifications have been buzzing all day. Is there one in particular you were talking about?”

  Emerson pulled up the link Tremont had texted her. “The one you’re in.”

  Hayley looked at the image. “This is that amateur paparazzi jerk from the other side of the plane, huh?”

  Emerson shrugged. “Hard to tell without the image of the linen queen standing guard.”

  “It was a valiant attempt.”

  “It was.” Emerson smiled at the memory.

  “Are you mad?” Hayley looked sheepish.

  “That your cotton blockade didn’t work? I thought it was genius. And very chivalrous, I might add.”

  “Ha-ha. Thanks.” Hayley sighed. “I meant, were you mad that someone snapped a pic of us together again. That’s twice in as many days. And this one has us holding hands.”

  Emerson leaned back in her seat. “Better an innocent picture like that than one of the not-so-innocent activities of last night.”

  Hayley blushed. “Yeah. So, about that…”

  Emerson’s confidence wilted. “Do you regret that?”

  Hayley looked caught off guard. “No. Not for a second. Never.” She face-palmed. “That wasn’t nearly as overeager sounding in my head. Let me try that again.” She closed her eyes and took a breath before opening them. “No, Emerson. I don’t regret last night. I had a lovely time, thanks for asking.”

  Emerson burst out laughing. She needed that. “You’re one of a kind, Hayley Carpenter.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?”

  “The best.” Emerson reached out to cup her cheek. Hayley leaned in to connect their lips, and those familiar butterflies from last night reappeared. Emerson closed her eyes and savored the feeling of Hayley’s lips on hers. She felt an unexpected safety through Hayley’s touch.

  Hayley pulled back and gave her a broad smile. “I’m all for you telling me how great and wonderful I am, but I feel like we got sidetracked from a more serious conversation.”

  Emerson frowned. “I’ve been watching Drake take the offensive with you more and more lately. And Tremont told me that Drake gave out your work number recently. Is that true?”

  Hayley pursed her lips in frustration. “That guy is a first-rate asshole.”

  “I’ve also noticed that he seems to be working with Rachel these days.” Emerson hating even saying Rachel’s name.

  “If she is anything like him, they deserve each other.” Hayley crossed her arms and huffed. Her expression softened. “I saw her Extra interview last night.”

  Emerson nodded. She figured that was inevitable. “We should probably t
alk about that, too.”

  When Hayley didn’t say anything, Emerson slipped past her out of the booth and began pacing her trailer. She felt like she had to be moving to drum up the courage to talk about this. “We need to talk about Rachel and what happened between us.”

  “There’s more to the story than what she’s been telling.” Emerson found herself vibrating with anxiety. She wanted to tell Hayley everything, to protect her, because she knew the photo on the plane was a tipping point, that Hayley’s loss of privacy because of the proximity to Emerson’s celebrity was only beginning. She could just feel it. And she needed to talk about Rachel, so she could talk about the more important issue of Rory. “I’m not a bad person, Hayley. Contrary to what Rachel might say, I’m not.”

  On the fourth trip through the trailer, Hayley intercepted her.

  “Hey. You don’t have to tread a hole in the carpet.” Hayley loosely gripped her arms and held her still. “And you don’t need to tell me you’re not a bad person. I already know that.”

  Emerson didn’t feel like that, though. She felt like she’d made a lot of bad decisions that led her to this moment in her life, and although she felt the need to verbalize her good intentions, she realized that was because she had such staggering guilt, guilt that had more to do with Rory than Rachel. She had to own those bad decisions, even if Rachel had blown them way out of proportion. But she was afraid of coming off as an ass, all the same. She sighed. “I’m not a good person, Hayley. I’ve made mistakes. And Rachel Blanche was one of them.”

  Hayley had been rubbing up and down her arms up to that moment. She stopped and pulled her hands back from Emerson’s skin, and Emerson felt the rejection like a punch in the stomach. “You had a sexual relationship with her.”