“Yes, as are you. You’re Sydney Tannen, aren’t you?”
My blood turns to ice when he says that. I stiffen up and start to close down. He must notice the change in me, and how could he miss it? My face always reads like an open book.
He holds his hands up in a gesture meant to calm me down, “It’s not like that. I’m not a fan or anything.”.
My brows pull together in bewilderment.
“I mean, obviously I’m a fan,” he smiles, gesturing to my body in a suggestive way. I clench my teeth together and twitch.
What a giant asshole!
“Ahhh… crap. Sorry, I don’t mean… I’m not saying…” He drags his hand down his face in mortification. “God, I suck.”
Wow. Super-hot guy isn’t so smooth.
It’s so comical to watch him stumbling over his words that I start laughing. I can’t help it. I’m angry and annoyed, but most men who are this good-looking and cocky aren’t prone to being tongue-tied.
My laughter makes the corner of his mouth quirk up in amusement.
“Well, I’m glad you’re entertained by me,” he says petulantly. When I don’t respond he continues. “Are you just going to laugh at me or are you going to say something?”
“I’m sorry, but you just keep digging yourself deeper and deeper in that hole you’re sitting in over there. I wouldn’t want to interrupt the show.” I can’t stop giggling.
He gives me a genuine smile. “I’m normally better at this, but you make me nervous.”
“I make you nervous?” I’m astonished that a man like this would find me intimidating. He can have any woman he wants.
“Yes, of course. You’re beautiful and intriguing,” he pauses, “And I have no idea if your boyfriend is going to jump out of the shadows and beat the ever-living crap out of me.”
He’s smiling, but I can see it in his posture. He’s afraid of Drew.
“I can’t be on Andrew Forrester’s bad side. He has a lot of friends in Hollywood. I would hate to be blacklisted for upsetting his girl.”
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Why would he care what Drew thinks? And clearly, he doesn’t believe anything that he’s read in the tabloids about me and Drew breaking up.
He puts his hand out to shake mine. “Sorry, I’m Luke Harrison. You really don’t know me?”
I shake his hand and twist my mouth in disgust. “No. I don’t.” He’s an actor. He has to be. The unbelievable looks, the cocky attitude, the fear of Drew’s connections, it all makes sense now. “Why do you care what Drew thinks?”
He smiles shyly, making it difficult to stay angry. “I’m a singer. A pretty good one, or at least that’s what my fans say. I’ve had my first acting job recently and want to transition to films full-time. His approval would mean great things for me. And his, uh, disapproval would be pretty bad.” He takes the stick out of his mouth and puts it on the table. Looking down at his hands, he continues. “I’m not hitting on you. I just wanted to meet you, that’s all.”
When he finishes talking, he looks up at me and his handsome face looks vulnerable and somewhat fragile. This guy, this famous singer, was nervous to meet me. Me, Sydney Tannen. I shake my head trying to wrap my mind around everything. New Sydney doesn’t freak out, I remind myself.
“Well, talking to me won’t get you blacklisted. Beat up? Maybe. But not blacklisted.” I laugh and he joins me. “So, Luke, obviously I’m a little out of touch with current events. What songs do you sing? Maybe I’ll recognize one.”
He grins at me. “My biggest hit is Hat Trick.”
I get excited. “I love that song! Drew put it on my iPod with a bunch of others that he likes, so I don’t think you have to worry about him hating you.”
“That’s great,” Luke says. His body slumps in relief. “I’d hate to think that I was such an asshole to you that you’d sic your scary boyfriend on me.”
“He is pretty scary sometimes.” Luke and I laugh together at Drew’s tendency to have problems with his temper.
“Holy shit!” I hear Leah exclaim from behind me. I whip my head around and see Leah and several of the girls staring openmouthed at Luke.
Luke and I stand up to greet everyone. “Luke, these are my friends Leah, Brittany, Rachel and Sarah. Girls, this is…”
“Luke Harrison!” Brittany says excitedly, her eyes wide and lashes fluttering.
Jeez!
They all swarm Luke, shaking hands and chatting. I take a seat further down on the table so they can all get a chance to talk to him. I feel much more comfortable not being close enough to Luke to be photographed together. If Drew saw that, no doubt Luke’s fear of Drew hating him would come true.
I have no idea how much time has passed since Luke sat at our table. All of the girls are back from the dance floor and are eagerly chatting with him and each other. Luke’s friends, Dean and Miles, have joined us and everyone is having a great time.
I’m happy to sit on the far end of the table and chat with Leslie, one of the set designers for the Quantum Stranger movies. We have a lot in common and get along well. So well in fact that I exchange phone numbers with her. Old Sydney would never trust someone enough for that, so I’m proud of myself.
After a while, I tell Leah that I’m exhausted. Leah offers to leave with me, but I let her know that I’ll tell the VIP bouncer to hail a cab for me so I won’t have to stand outside by myself. She’s having way too much fun to leave because of me.
“Bye girls.” Everyone gets up and we hug and chat for a minute.
Luke has gotten up and is standing next to me so he can say goodbye as well. He leans in to give me a hug and I hold up my hand to stop him.
“Nothing personal Luke, but I can’t have any more incriminating photographs of me with hot Hollywood men.” I hold out my hand to shake his. “And if you want to be on Andrew Forrester’s shit list, that’s the fastest way to get there.”
Smiling, he gives my hand a friendly squeeze. “You’re right. And I wouldn’t want to piss off your boyfriend, especially now that I know he’s a fan.” He grins and releases his grip. Pulling a card from his pocket, he hands it to me. “Here’s my number, if you ever need anything or want to see a concert give me a call,” he shrugs innocently.
I take it warily and put it in my tiny clutch.
“I’m not hitting on you, I swear,” Luke laughs.
“Nice to meet you, Luke. And thanks.”
“Thanks, for what?” he asks, confused.
“Thanks for not being a douche and for respecting me. That’s been pretty hard to come by lately.”
Luke offers to walk me to my cab and I decline. “No photos, remember?” We exchange small smiles and I make my way through the club to the front door.
The burly bouncer has a black cab ready for me at the curb as I leave. As I cross the sidewalk and start to get in, that creepy feeling returns. Cold chills creep up my back and neck, making my skin break out in goose bumps even though it’s warm out tonight. I turn and look around me, certain that someone is watching. I’ve been having the strangest sensation that I’m being followed everywhere.
The sidewalk in front of the club is too crowded to see anyone stand out. I shake off the suspicion and get into the car, not one-hundred percent sure that my intuition is wrong.
Chapter 19
The next week passes quickly. I spend most of my time upstairs in the gutted space that will become Vertigo. Oliver Clarke proves to be a competent project manager, getting the workers to strip the place down to its bones in just a couple of days. He’s also pleasant to be around, something Jeff Talley was most definitely not.
After a week of getting her voice mail, I’ve spoken to my mom and decide to keep our conversation light, not mentioning Drew at all. She sounds so happy to be acting again, telling me all about the city of Atlanta and how I’ll have to visit there sometime. She also lets me know that I can make all decisions on Vertigo myself, since she’s not going to be available while filming her futuristic Go
ne With the Wind remake, Atlanta Burns.
When I’m not working, I’m either hanging out with Leah, or my new friend Leslie, the set designer from Ryker’s movie. We always make sure to sweep our rooms for listening devices before we have normal conversations. It’s irritating, but there hasn’t been anything printed in a while. Well, they did print an article about our girl’s night, but there was no mention of Luke Harrison anywhere. We’ve been out since, even with Ryker and still, even though there are tons of photos there are no accusatory articles. Sweeping for the bugs must be helping.
I’ve also gotten back to running six miles every day, covering up my hair and wearing big sunglasses to hide my face. No one has bothered me on a single one of my runs and I feel so much better being able to take that time for myself. I even downloaded all of Luke’s music to listen to and find that he’s very talented.
I still have the creepy feeling that someone is watching me, though. At least once or twice a day I feel that tingling sensation, but I’ve never seen a single person who looked out of place whenever I’ve checked behind me.
I miss Drew terribly, but I also feel better equipped to handle some of the things that were tearing us apart. Like standing up for myself when someone is getting a little too familiar or working with people who think they know everything about you but have never met you before. I’ve made friends on my own, something I’ve never done before as an adult, and made my way through crowds of paparazzi outside of London nightclubs without having a panic attack.
The thought of doing any of those things scared me to death a month ago, so I feel I’ve come a long way. New Sydney is emerging and I kind of like her.
Suddenly, it’s Monday again and I’m on my way to get Allie at the airport. I spot her from my big leather chair in the Costa coffee shop at Heathrow Airport. Hopping up, I hurry over to meet her in the middle of the enormous terminal. I stand directly in front of her and she stops, eyeing me cautiously for a minute before breaking into a huge grin.
“Holy crap, Syd! I didn’t even recognize you!”
I’m wearing my Joan Jett wig again, not wanting to be swarmed by the ever-present airport paparazzi. “I didn’t want to get held up by the crazy photographers.” I throw my arms around her and hug her tight. Who would have thought I’d have the guts to take on Heathrow Airport all alone?
I feel tears welling up behind my eyes. Allie and I hit it off immediately when we met the morning of Drew’s premiere. We didn’t know each other all that long when I was attacked, but in the weeks after we spoke on the phone a lot. Part of it was her checking up on Drew, since she knew he wouldn’t tell her how he was holding up, but mostly it was her concern for me. She’s like a sister to me.
Allie releases me and sees my face. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Just like her brother, taking charge of the situation. I’m grateful for it too, happy to let someone else make the decisions for a while.
“You got it. The car is waiting for us.” I grab one of her bags and we exit the bustling airport.
Once in the back of the hotel car service, Allie turns to me and takes my hands in hers. “Can we talk here?” she whispers.
“I don’t know.”
She presses her lips into a tight line. “So, Syd, tell me about the remodel.”
I burst out laughing at her phony attempt at normal conversation. We giggle the whole way to the hotel, making fake small talk in weird voices the entire time.
Allie shows the bellhop out and shuts the door to the suite behind him.
“So, what now?” she asks.
I grab the bug detector and show her how I have to sweep the room each time I come back. When it doesn’t find anything, I put it down and we fall onto the chairs in the living area.
“What the hell is going on Sydney? Drew won’t talk to me, Jane says she’s taking care of him, you’re here with Adam Reynolds, he’s in Vancouver with Kiera Radcliff, you say you’re being spied on, what the fuck is happening?” Allie is seething with anger, her gorgeous face contorted into a fierce scowl.
“I have no idea, Allie. I haven’t spoken to Drew since I left Vancouver.” I choke a little on the words.
“Why did you leave, Syd?” Her voice is gentle as she takes in my obvious distress, seeing the tears that start to run down my cheeks.
“I just couldn’t take the pressure, Allie. I’m so used to hiding from everything… relationships, the paparazzi, stalkers, life! I don’t know how to act. Drew was so angry all of the time and he wouldn’t let me go anywhere or do anything. I know it’s because he was scared for my safety Allie, but I was going out of my mind!”
I get up and stare out of the big windows that span the room.
“I have to be able to live this new life in the public eye. I need to relearn how to do all of the things I used to do as Sydney Allen, only now as Sydney Tannen. I couldn’t do that with Drew hovering. He wouldn’t let me figure it out on my own. He was too afraid for me.”
I turn to face her. “I don’t blame him, Allie. He loves me and was doing the best he could under really bad circumstances. It was just too much at once, the fame, a new relationship, the attack, Kiera and Adam, paparazzi, someone listening to my conversations … Then to top it off I didn’t have a job and was in a strange city with no friends, three former Navy SEALS following me everywhere and a perpetually angry boyfriend who was so on edge that he attacked a fan on the street!”
Angry, I dash away the tears from my face. Allie gets up and comes over by the windows, standing next to me.
“You don’t have to do this alone, Sydney. You have people that love you and want you to be happy.” She purses her lips and seems to choose her next words carefully. “Does Drew know about the spying?”
“I tried to call Jane last week…” I break down and put my hands over my face.
“What? What happened?”
“K-kiera answered Jane’s phone!” I cry into my hands.
“Excuse me?” she yells, her face furious. “Oh, hell no!” Allie whips out her phone and puts it to her ear.
“Allie, please!” I beg her. I have no idea what she’s doing but if she’s anything like Drew, this is going to be ugly.
She stalks over to the couch and sits down. “Hello big brother,” she says calmly.
Fuck! She called Drew.
Allie sees my eyes bugging out of my head and waves me off, “It’ll be fine,” she mouths at me. I sit down and have no choice but to listen to her one-sided conversation with the man I love and left.
“No, I’m in London.”
“With Sydney, yes.”
“Not really.”
“How about you tell me what the fuck is going on? Why is Kiera Radcliff visiting your hotel room and answering Jane’s phone?”
I can hear him yelling on the other end of the line. Allie moves the phone away from her ear because he’s so loud. She rolls her eyes and yells right back.
“Yes she did! Sydney called Jane and Kiera answered!”
She pulls the phone away from her ear again. More yelling.
“Shut up and listen to me jackass! Someone is recording Sydney’s conversations and she thinks they’re recording yours too.”
“No, not on the phones, some kind of bug in the hotel rooms.”
“Hold on.”
She holds the phone out for me and I jump up like I’ve been hit with a cattle prod.
“I can’t,” I whisper.
She scowls at me. “Take the damn phone Sydney.”
I extend a trembling hand and curl my fingers around the phone, slowly lifting it to my ear.
“Hi,” I say so softly I’m surprised he can hear me.
“Sydney, what’s happening baby?” he asks in a gruff voice.
Dear God don’t let this break me.
I look at Allie and she gets up and pushes me into the bedroom and leaves, shutting the door behind her.
“I … I … I miss you so much.” I break down into the phone.
“I m
iss you too, baby. Please tell me what’s going on.” The pain in his voice is evident.
I tell him about all of the times I felt like we were being listened in on, the CelebCast website and all of its accurate articles, how I didn’t want to worry him with my unproven suspicions, and finally how Ryker got a former MI6 agent to help us find the bugs.
I’m met with silence on the other end of the phone.
“Drew?”
“Yeah,” he says huskily.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not even anywhere fuckin’ close to being okay Sydney.” I hear him sigh into the phone. I know that he’s running his hand through his hair and pacing back and forth.
“I’m sorry for leaving,” I choke out between sobs.
“Please don’t cry. I can’t stand it.”
“I’m sorry about the photos with Adam. It wasn’t like that.” I implore him to understand.
“I know baby, I know. The article with Kiera. Syd, everyone from the crew was here for dinner, not just her. Jane was here with us for God’s sake! I have no idea why they printed that she was here alone.”
I feel a rush of relief course through my body as he explains that night to me.
“Why did she answer Jane’s phone?”
“I don’t have any idea, but believe me, the next time I see her I will be asking her. Her scenes are finished so she left Canada yesterday. I won’t have to see her until the press tour. Thank God. I really can’t stand being near her.” He pauses. “She was wicked pissed when I showed up to the set all rank and unwashed.”
A laugh bubbles up out of me unexpectedly at his blunt admission. “I can’t stand her either. She’s been really … not nice to me.”
“Why didn’t you say anything to me Sydney?”
“I didn’t want to add to your stress, Drew. With everything else going on, I wasn’t going to cause animosity with your co-workers on top of all the other stuff. It seemed like it was no big deal at the time.”
“Anyone and anything hurting you is a big deal, Syd. Shit, you were dealing with her and the knowledge that someone was recording us, and all of the other crap all at once. No wonder you bailed. I’m a selfish bastard.”
Absolutely Famous (Famous Series) Page 12