Role of a Lifetime: Out of Hollywood Romance

by Cora Davies

  "Answer the door. I'll clean up the cereal," he rasped as he walked to the corner of the kitchen and grabbed the broom. Hailey ran her hands through her hair quickly-trying to make herself look presentable-then threw the door open as the group approached. Hailey stepped out onto the porch-grateful for the fresh air.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Scott might have been Eric's friend and was doing him a huge favor coming out here to the middle of nowhere, but from the second he stepped in the front door Eric could not wait for Scott to get the hell out of there. Eric knew Scott would be there the rest of the day, which made him ache all the more for Hailey. Hailey and Eric followed Scott from room to room, reviewing security threats, what Scott's plans were, and what security problems if any she had before, besides the letters. Turned out Hailey had a break-in the spring she had moved into the house, but they were not home and nothing irreplaceable had been taken. That was what prompted her to get the small security system in the first place.

  When they reached Hailey's bedroom, Scott was tinkering with the lock on the window. "This is not even set up to the alarm. This is the only lock not set up."

  Hailey looked a little surprised but shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. They told me that everything was set up."

  Scott shook his head. "Nope, doesn't even look like it was prepped. Anyone could have gotten in through here."

  Eric felt an irritation swell inside of him at Hailey's current security company. Anything could have happened to her, and here she was thinking she was completely safe and secure. They walked back into the sitting room and Scott took a seat on the chair facing the love seat. He laid papers out on the table and went over figures. Scott was true to his word. The cost was low, and the real bill would be sent to Eric.

  "Wow! I thought it would cost so much more than that," she said looking between the men and Eric could tell she was suspicious.

  "I'm branching across the country. Trying to get out of just being in LA," Scott said without looking up from his tablet. "You are one of the lucky ones who get this price, because in about six months I'll be asking you for an endorsement."

  "Oh wow. Thank you." Hailey seemed pacified by Scott's answer. Eric was impressed by how quick on his feet Scott had been. He reminded himself to thank Scott later for that.

  "I forgot something out in the car. I'll be right back in for a signature. Then the guys will get to work. Sound good?" Scott asked and Hailey nodded. As soon as the front door shut behind Scott, Eric's hand was on Hailey's leg sliding up her inner thigh to the seat of her pants.

  "Oh no, you don't." Hailey pushed Eric's hand away and he feigned a hurt expression. "Do you know how disorientated I was earlier? Then I had to be a professional businesswoman. You can't get me started again when I have to listen to any more of Scott's statistics."

  "I think he's done with the statistics portion of the seminar now. From here on out it will be security codes, door locks, idol threats about what will happen if you don't follow his directions to a T." As Eric spoke his gaze traveled over Hailey's perfect lips, then trailed down her neck to the rib of her t-shirt. How could a woman look so sexy in twenty-year-old cotton t-shirts? He'd never know.

  "Well, I should probably pay attention then," Hailey said as a coy smile played across her lips. Eric slid one hand behind her head and brought her in for a kiss before she could protest. He was welcomed by her hands wrapping around his back as she pulled him in closer. She was always pulling him in. Even when she was not physically touching him, all of him felt drawn to her. He began to kiss her down the side of her neck, nibbling as he went and Hailey gasped. He pulled away to look at her.

  "What's wrong?" Eric asked scanning her expression.

  "Nothing, it's just right," Hailey whispered putting a hand on either side of his face. "You are really good at that."

  He smiled sliding his hands under the back of her shirt and traveled up to the hook of her bra. Just one quick touch. He heard the front door open. "Shit."

  He let go of her and she quickly slid back onto the couch next to him. Scott walked into the room as Eric ran a hand through his hair, trying to straighten it out. The rest of Scott's team walked down the hall carrying cameras, cords, pieces of equipment.

  "Holy crap! What is all that?" Hailey asked watching them walk by. "It looks like you're turning this place into Fort Knox."

  She looked back and forth between Scott and Eric. Scott was the first to answer. "I promise you Ms. Rogers-I'm good. You'll barely notice the equipment is in your house. But you will feel a lot more secure once I'm done."

  Eric watched as Hailey raised an eyebrow at Scott. He was sure what Scott was bringing in looked a lot more complicated than she was expecting. "It'll still look like a ranch," Eric said. "Not a spaceship, I promise. I have the same setup, and Scott's right, I don't notice it."

  "Okay," Hailey sighed, then looked at Scott. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful-"

  "No no, Ms. Rogers, you're fine. Same thing I get from most of my clients-only you aren't throwing a big hissy fit about it." Scott laughed.

  "Did Eric throw a hissy fit?" Hailey asked winking at Eric.

  "Confidentiality agreement, don't forget Scott," Eric said, jokingly, and he laughed with Scott. From the corner of his eye he could see Hailey's posture stiffen as she moved a little further away from Eric on the couch. She leaned on the armrest and started to study her hands.

  Scott dropped a handful of forms in front of Hailey. "Here you go. X's by all the spots your signature is needed."

  She nodded and began to sign the papers, glancing briefly at each one as Eric and Scott caught up on some industry gossip. Thinking of it as industry gossip instead of Hollywood gossip allowed Eric to not feel so dirty talking about it. Mostly they talked about Jon, the actor who had disappeared over the ocean in a helicopter last week.

  "Won't be long now before they call him and the other two dead," Eric said.

  "Cold fact of it is... if he wasn't who he was they would have called it already," Scott said grimly, and Eric had to agree. Fame always had its privileges, like more being spent on your search and recovery effort.

  Hailey finished the papers and handed them back to Scott. "Now, you think you can track this guy down?"

  Hailey pointed at the brown shoebox that housed the letters from her stalker. Hailey and her family had been calling him the fan, but Scott insisted they call him a stalker to remind themselves at all times of the seriousness of the situation. Scott looked between the two of them. "If you don't mind, I'd rather just talk to you about this Hailey."

  Eric looked at Scott suspiciously. He knew Scott was secretive and discreet with his clients. Eric's name was not on any of Hailey's paperwork but he had put up the money for most of Scott's trip and work around Hailey's house. Of course, Scott knew Eric could not say anything in front of Hailey about the money. He drummed in fingers on his knee. "What's going on, Scott?"

  "The less people who are involved the better. You know the drill, Eric." Scott looked at Eric square on, daring him to say something.

  "I don't think Eric's going to tell anyone," Hailey said. Eric felt her statement was proof that she wanted him to stay in the room. She was probably feeling vulnerable and needed someone to share all this with.

  "Hailey, what we have to discuss, uh." Scott did not usually look uncomfortable but something was bothering him right now. "Some personal things from the letters. I don't think you want Eric, or anyone for that matter, here for all of this. We need to talk about your options, and how far you are willing to go to get this creep to back up, get locked up, or..."

  Hailey's eyes widened. Just as Eric thought, she had not realized how far this conversation was going to go. "What do you mean or...? That sounds kind of mobsterish."

  "You have a child, you live at a secluded location, as far as I can tell, you don't even have a gun out here to protect yourself. This guy seems to know an awful lot about you, there may have to be an or..."

  Hailey sta
red at Scott for two beats and Eric was sure she was about to tell him off. But instead, she looked at Eric. "I'll be fine, go see if Jason needs help with anything," Hailey spoke in her I'm-the-boss tone and seemed to regret it a moment later because she added, "Please."

  ***

  Eric stood on the back porch as Hailey talked to her mom about taking Risa to go stay at the sister's house for a while. Rebecca did not look like she wanted to go anywhere, but from what Hailey briefly told Eric, the letters were getting more personal. "It's like he knows me Eric, and Scott agrees. If he comes out here to the house, the best place for my family to be is not here."

  "Why is it best for you to be here then?" Eric asked.

  "Do you trust Scott? His security system?" Hailey asked him earnestly. Eric nodded. "Then if I'm here and this guy comes, we can catch him. If I'm not here, he won't stop looking."

  A car full of teenage girls drove up and Risa got out waving goodbye. She waited until the girls were gone before walking up to her mother and grandmother. She handed her mom a bundle of mail and started talking to one of the farm hands. Eric saw her kicking the dirt and realized the young goth girl might have a crush on this guy. If the guy knew what was good for him, he'd stay away. Eric would remind him of that later.

  He glanced back into the house and saw that Scott's team looked like they might be finishing up. The ranch house was not as big as the houses they typically had to set up-Eric had not even thought it would take them as long as it did.

  Scott stepped out onto the porch with Eric. "What's the deal with this one out here Eric? She your baby mama or something?"

  "No." Eric shook his head. "Just a friend, she's helping me get ready for a role."

  "Huh, a ranch movie?"

  "Something like that," Eric said.

  "Well, just be careful man. I've looked at some of these letters. This guy is deranged-serious about hurting her and anyone in his path. Won't be long before he figures out who she is."

  "You think I should be scared and leave?" Eric asked in surprise. It was not like his friend to scare easy.

  "No. Definitely not what I'm saying. Just help her, show her how to watch her back. You've had to do it long en-" Scott was interrupted as Rebecca started shouting at them. She was yelling for them to come over as she waved something in the air. A piece of mail. Eric looked at Hailey, she looked destroyed. A wisp of the woman he had been with just a few hours earlier.

  The two men jogged over to Rebecca and Eric saw Jason talking to a few workers, but was watching the commotion.

  "He found her," Rebecca said, her voice breaking.

  "What do you mean he found her?" Eric said but his eyes were on the envelope in Rebecca's hand and he knew exactly what she meant.

  "It came addressed to her real name. With her real address on it," Rebecca said waving the envelope around. Scott reached into his pocket and came out with a tissue taking the envelope from Rebecca. "Like that matters when you look inside."

  "Let's avoid any more extra fingerprints, please." Scott squinted looking at the envelope. "It's the same handwriting. Where's the letter?"

  Hailey held out a piece of paper as Scott slid the envelope into a Ziploc bag, then into his pocket. He reached out with the tissue for the letter. He studied it, and an outsider would not have seen the flash of worry cross Scott's face. But Eric knew Scott a very long time, and he saw it. He reached for the paper. "What does it say?"

  "It doesn't say anything," Hailey said quietly. Scott turned the paper towards Eric and he saw it. It was fuzzy because of the distance it had likely been taken from. But there was no doubt what it was.

  It was a picture of Hailey and Eric in the back of her truck the other night. His arm around her and her leaning up to look at the stars. Red ink splashed across the edges in hastily written words Eric could barely make out.

  "He's not the right man for you."

  Something looked wrong to Eric about the ink.

  "That's not ink is it, Scott?" he asked, feeling dread at the answer he knew was coming.

  "Can't be certain this second," Scott said quiet enough that only Eric could hear him as he bagged the picture. "But pretty sure that's blood."

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  "Mom, please... You have to go with her." Hailey tossed a suitcase on her mother's bed. "Don't make Risa go alone."

  "I'm not making her go alone. I don't understand why you can't go, too," Rebecca said stubbornly. The woman put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot in the doorway while Hailey opened drawers and started haphazardly throwing clothes into her mother's suitcase.

  "I will be fine here. Scott has this place locked down like a penitentiary," Hailey said. She grabbed a handful of socks and shoved them into the case. "Seriously, unless you only want to have socks and t-shirts to wear for the next few weeks, please help me. Or pack your suitcase."

  "If it's so safe here, why can't we stay? Wouldn't we be safer here?" Rebecca asked pulling the clothes out of her suitcase as Hailey stuffed them in.

  "We're sending a guy with you," Hailey answered. "Dana already knows. They're ready for the three of you. Four if I can get Jason to go too."

  "Why aren't you coming with us?" Rebecca asked grabbing her daughter by the shoulders. "Is it because of Eric? You're being reckless."

  "Why do people call me that? I'm a freakin' responsible grownup already," Hailey stomped her foot. Honestly, part of her felt like running to her room, slamming the door, and blasting Hole on the stereo until the world disappeared. "Eric wants me to leave, too."

  "Hailey," Rebecca said in her more authoritative tone. Hailey knew that one best from the first few months after Paul's death when her mother had to force her out of bed in the mornings.

  "Mother."

  "Talk to me, please." Rebecca steered her daughter to the edge of the bed and made her sit down. The suitcase shifted and tipped off the bed. Hailey realized it was empty.

  "Scott thinks he will act soon. Especially if he is already that close, taking pictures. If I'm not here when he comes, he'll leave, and then we will have to start this all over again." Hailey shuddered. "Scott will be here, and so will a few of his guys. They can protect me, but I need you two gone."

  Rebecca sighed and put her face in her hands.

  "Please mom, Risa is my little girl. If anything happens to her..." Hailey trailed off.

  Rebecca looked at her. "Don't you understand, Hailey? You're my little girl."

  "Oh, mom." Hailey rolled her eyes but warmed at the understanding that her mother was worried about Hailey as Hailey was about Risa. "But right now I'm a grownup, mostly, and Risa is a little girl."

  Rebecca sighed but did not say anything. Finally, Hailey hugged her mom. "Please, mom?"

  "Okay," Rebecca said and Hailey did an internal cheer. She gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and stood up. "I'm going to check on Risa now and see how she is doing."

  Hailey stepped out of her mother's room and looked back, grateful to see Rebecca was packing. One down, one to go. At least, Risa had no choice. She would be dramatic about it but she would go. She started the walk down the hall to her daughter's room, holding her breath and waiting for the fit that was sure to come. She paused at Risa's door and looked over the banister into the living room.

  Jason and Eric were both sitting in recliner chairs in the messy room next to Rebecca's looms. The chairs faced each other but the men looked anywhere but at each other. Their body posture was standoffish, arms crossed, puffed up to full size. Hailey figured you could not pay her to walk into that room right now. She turned and opened Risa's door instead.

  Risa sat on her purple beanbag in the middle of the floor, headphones on, staring out into the night. Her lights had been off, curtains open. Hailey walked straight to the curtains and pulled them shut. "What are you doing?"

  "I was just looking at the sky, mom. Like we used to." Risa had tears in her eyes. Hailey wanted to run over and grab her daughter and hug her. But the last few months of teenage ho
rmones running rampant through the house had taught Hailey not to act too fast around her daughter. Instead, Hailey sank to the floor below the window and leaned against the wall.

  "We can still drive out and do that whenever you want," Hailey said.

  "But not right now can we? Because there is someone out there watching you." Risa looked at her mother with anger in her eyes. "What were you guys doing out there last night?"

  "Just driving around."

  "I overheard Grandma telling Jason what she thought you and Eric James were doing out there," Risa said as she glared at her mother. "That's gross mom."

  "Risa, I'm not going to talk to you about what Grandma thinks we were doing out there." Hailey felt the heat rise in her face. "I wanted to talk to you about going to Aunt Dana's."

  "You already told me I'm going," Risa said shrugging, then she kicked her suitcase, and the old duffel bag on top fell to the floor. It had been Paul's bag. "I'm ready."

  "I wanted to talk to you about everything. See if you're okay with what's going on," Hailey said feeling like she was on unsteady ground with the person she should have been closest to in the world.

  "It doesn't really matter if I am, does it?" Risa asked and Hailey felt as if she had been hit in the chest. She remembered all too well what it was like being a teenager. It was an awful time of out of control feelings and decisions that were completely out of your hands. "Can you just go? I want to hang out in my room for a little bit longer before we have to leave and I don't get to see it again."

  "You'll see it again."

  "Uh-huh. Go, please," Risa said, and Hailey stood up and walked slowly out of her daughter's bedroom turning to look at her before she stepped out. It sucked as much being the mom to a teenager as it had been being a teenager. She heard Jason's voice coming from her mother's room and decided to go downstairs. Her stomach growled.

  Everything had been so busy all evening, there had been no time to grab even a quick bite from the kitchen. Hailey walked slowly down the stairs-looking into the living room. Eric was gone. He must have grown tired of his staring contest with Jason and went back to the hotel. She pushed the white swinging door to the kitchen open and smacked something solid.