Tabloid Star

by T. A. Chase

  “Bear, what are you doing calling me now? I thought you’d be busy.”

  “Hey, honey.”

  Something was wrong because Josh didn’t sound very happy.

  “What’s wrong, Josh?”

  “I wanted to catch you before you went in to talk to Raz.”

  “Why? Is there something I should know about my agent?” He rested his shoulders against the wall and stared out the window.

  “Sweetheart, we’re on our way over to you. We won’t let you face him without proof.”

  “Proof?” Ryan didn’t like the sound of that.

  “Yeah. The private investigator came through for you. We’ll be there in five minutes.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Whether he liked the news or not, he knew it was important for him to at least hear it and make his own decisions on it.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Morgan and Vance strolled into Ryan’s agent’s outer office without looking around, acting like they belonged there. No one questioned them. They looked at Josh a little strange, but he didn’t care. So what if he was wearing dust-covered jeans and a sweat-stained shirt while the other two wore designer suits? He wasn’t there for anyone but Ryan.

  His lover stood by the elevators, staring at the floor and ignoring the crowd moving around him. Going up to him, Josh clapped a hand to his shoulder and squeezed.

  Ryan’s head jerked up and his dark eyes met Josh’s. He saw the worry and the low simmering anger burning in them.

  “Hi, honey. How are you?”

  He kept his voice low. He didn’t want anyone overhearing the endearment. This whole situation was fucked up.

  “I’m not sure. Will I want to kill Raz when I find out what he’s done?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on how you feel about it.”

  “I think you’re being evasive.”

  “You’re right.” He turned as Morgan and Vance joined them. “Are you guys ready?”

  “Sure. Do you want to tell him or should I?” Morgan glanced at Ryan.

  “I’ll do it.” Josh moved them all off to the side where no one else stood.

  “Just tell me,” Ryan spit out, frustration evident in his voice.

  Josh looked at the other men for encouragement. Morgan nodded and Vance gave him a quick smile.

  “Okay, so remember we hired a private investigator to find out who took those pictures of us and why.”

  “Yeah, I remember that. I’m not an idiot.”

  Sarcasm dripped from Ryan’s words. Josh held out his hand for the folder Morgan carried.

  “The guy knows his stuff, Ryan, and he found not only who took the pictures, but who hired him to do it.”

  Ryan took the folder from him and tore it open, grimacing at the pictures of him and Josh kissing in the alley. Josh knew there were more graphic photographs in there that he thanked God no one saw except the photographer and the investigator. Ryan’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed when he got to those photos.

  “Don’t worry. The investigator told me the photographer never showed those to the tabloid. The only people who have seen those are you, me, the investigator and the photographer.”

  Relief washed over Ryan’s face and he flipped through the rest of the pictures. Looking up, he said, “Are we sure the guy who took these doesn’t have the digital versions? I mean getting all his hard copies is one thing but he could still have them on his hard drive.”

  Morgan pulled a memory card out of his pocket. “Our investigator bought the card from the guy and wiped them off the man’s computer himself.”

  Ryan looked at the card, but didn’t take a move to take it. Josh gave Morgan a quick smile and took the card, putting it in his pocket.

  “So you found the camera guy and got the pictures. What does that have to do with Raz?”

  “He paid the guy to follow you and see if he could get pictures of you doing something embarrassing.”

  “Are you sure?” Ryan flipped the folder shut and slapped it against his thigh. “Raz had no idea that I would go out and do something stupid like I did. He couldn’t have guessed I was gay. I never did or said anything to make him think that.”

  “Yes, we’re sure,” Vance spoke up. “We wouldn’t have told you any of this if we weren’t a hundred percent positive. The photographer gave us Raz’s name and the investigator went to the bank where the money order was purchased. He showed a picture of Raz to all of the tellers. One remembered him coming in and getting it.”

  Ryan swung away, staring out of the window. Josh wanted to touch him or offer some kind of support, but he wasn’t sure if Ryan would accept it from him and they were in public. He wasn’t about to do something that would “out” Ryan if the man didn’t want that.

  “Why would he do this?”

  Josh shrugged, even though Ryan wasn’t looking at him.

  “I don’t know. That’s something you’ll have to ask him. Taking this kind of risk with your career is crazy.” Morgan frowned. “It could easily backfire on you.”

  “I had to sneak out of my apartment this morning to get here. The paparazzi have it staked out, probably waiting to see Josh stroll out of my building like he lived there.”

  “I can’t afford your place,” he joked.

  His friends laughed and Ryan did crack a smile, but it was obvious his lover was thinking about other things. Checking his watch, Ryan sighed.

  “I better get up to see Raz. He’ll be furious as it is since I’m a half hour late.” Ryan looked down at the folder in his hand. “I’ll keep these if it’s all right with you.”

  “They’re all yours, Ryan.” Morgan grabbed Vance’s hand and strolled toward the doors. “Call us later, Josh.”

  “Thanks, guys. I appreciate all you’ve done.”

  “We’re not completely finished yet. We still need to figure out what’s going on with your sister, but that’ll be taken care of soon enough, I’m sure.” Vance waved good-bye as they left.

  Josh reached out, touching the back of Ryan’s hand with the tips of his fingers. “Are you okay? Do you want me to come with you?”

  Surprise shot through him as Ryan turned his hand and threaded their fingers together. The other man tugged him close, resting his head on Josh’s shoulder. Without regard to the people wandering in and out of the area, Josh wrapped his other arm around Ryan’s waist, hugging him tight and resting his cheek on the top of Ryan’s head.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  Ryan laughed wearily. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m an adult and I’ll accept responsibility for my part in all this.”

  Josh let Ryan step back when the man moved. Ryan took Josh’s face in his hands and stared up at him with serious chocolate brown eyes. God, he could look into those eyes for hours and never get tired of them.

  “As much as all of this makes me furious, I don’t think I’d change one thing as long as it ensured I’d get to meet you.” Ryan paused. “Okay, so I’d change the fact that this has disrupted Erin and Pedro’s lives. That’s something I don’t think I’ll ever forgive Raz for. I’ll go face him alone. There’s no need for you to deal with the ugliness he can spew out.”

  “Okay. Letting you handle it is probably best anyway because I’m furious that he would do something like this to you. It’s your career, my jobs and it could be Erin’s life if Geraldo finds her. And all for what?”

  “I don’t know but I plan on finding out.” Ryan gave him a quick kiss before easing further away. “I’ll call you after the meeting. Bill and I are still planning on coming to Mia Leone’s tonight.”

  Josh nodded. “Great. I’ll make sure there’s a table reserved in my section. Take care and I’ll talk to you in a little bit. I have to get back to work. My boss was pretty understanding about me having to leave, but I don’t want to strain his good will.”

  “Oh, have you heard from Erin today?” Ryan asked, turning back to look at him.

&n
bsp; “Yeah. Having Chad and Winston there has really lifted a burden off her shoulders. I’m thinking there might be something going on between her and Chad. All I heard about this morning was how great Chad was with Pedro.”

  Ryan chuckled. “I noticed some attraction between them when they met. I hope things work out. Your sister deserves a good man and I think Chad might be the right one for her.”

  “We’ll see.” He waved Ryan away. “Get going before Raz calls out the National Guard to come looking for you. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

  He watched Ryan stride to the elevator and disappear inside. Damn, why did he feel like he was sending Daniel into the lion’s den? He shook that feeling off. Ryan was a big boy and could deal with Raz. No matter the outcome, he was glad they managed to get rid of the photographer. At least, now Ryan wouldn’t have to worry about someone snapping pictures of him at inopportune times.

  Josh went outside to find Morgan and Vance waiting for him.

  “We thought we’d drive you back to the work site. He’s going to confront Raz on his own, huh?” Morgan gestured to where Vance had their car pulled to the curb.

  “Yes. I guess since it’s his career that’s the most affected, he has the right to do it alone. He knows I’m here for him if he needs me.”

  He climbed in and after Morgan got in, Vance pulled away.

  “Ryan seems like a good guy. Too bad he has to make this decision so soon into his career. If he’d had a few more years and a couple more movies, coming out might not bother his roles.”

  Shrugging, he looked out the window as they drove away. “Ryan hasn’t made the decision to come out publicly yet, so who knows? This might not affect him as badly as we think.”

  And if Ryan didn’t come out, where did that leave Josh? Guess he couldn’t worry about what he couldn’t control. He would just go back to work and wait for Ryan’s call.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “It’s about damn time you dragged your ass in here.”

  Raz jumped to his feet when Ryan walked into the office. He didn’t reply to his agent, simply tossed the folder on the man’s desk and stared at him.

  “What’s this?”

  “Take a look and tell me what the hell you thought you were doing.” Ryan folded his arms over his chest and glared at Raz.

  His agent frowned, but Ryan saw a flicker of fear in his eyes. The man opened the folder and a sneer of disgust crossed his face. He shut it without looking through the rest of the pictures.

  “How did you get these?”

  “I had an investigator check into things for me. Imagine my surprise when I was told that my agent was the bastard who hired him to take pictures of me. Little did my agent realize just what kind of photographs his little camera guy was going to get.”

  “You hired a private investigator? Why would you do that? I told you I had things handled.”

  Raz sat, but Ryan remained standing, not interested in getting comfortable.

  “Sure you were handling things. You were making sure that more photos appeared in The Hollywood Enterprise every other day. You didn’t want the buzz to die down yet. Did you figure that no matter what they were talking about, at least they were talking?”

  Raz shook his head. “I really didn’t think you would get caught kissing some fag, Kellar. I never pegged you as queer. I was hoping to get photos of you drunk and being an ass or with some girl. That’s why I wanted you to go to the A-List clubs where all the big stars hang out. Little did I know your redneck friend would drag you to some piss ant club in WeHo.”

  “If you weren’t expecting to catch me with a guy, why did you send those pictures to the tabloid then? Did you seriously want everyone to know I was gay?”

  “Fuck no. I don’t want anyone to know a client of mine is gay. You’re going to burn in hell for sucking dick and I don’t want that taint on me. I’d never get any more clients.”

  His agent shoved the folder back at him.

  “You know what I was doing? I was planning on building up a buzz and get your name out there even more. The talk shows and the photo shoots are great, but no one really pays attention to them. They pay attention to the tabloid news and magazines. It’s working. I’m getting a ton of requests for interviews and even some casting directors calling me to get you.”

  Stunned, Ryan didn’t move or say anything. He just stared at Raz.

  “When the photographer brought me those pictures on Friday, I had my assistants do some digging. I found out who that queer was and about his sister up in Etna. I mailed the money order to her. I wanted you to think he did it. That way you’d have a falling out and never want to see him again. I should have known better. You fags stick together.”

  “It’s not just my privacy you invaded. You could cause Josh to get fired because of all this and you endangered someone else’s life.” Ryan clenched his hands at his sides.

  “What do I care about some bartender? I could care less if he loses his job. It has nothing to do with me or your career. I’ve set up a press conference for you at one today. You’ll be reading this statement.”

  Raz held out a piece of paper, but Ryan didn’t take it from him. No way was he doing anything his agent wanted him to do.

  “Cancel the press conference. I’m not going to be there and don’t worry about your reputation anymore. You’re fired and my lawyer will be contacting you about all the pertinent issues in our contract.” He leaned over and braced his hands on the desk. Staring straight into Raz’s eyes, he growled, “I better not see any more pictures of me show up in the tabloids or I’ll see what sort of damages I can collect from you for defaming my character.”

  He made his voice as mean and fierce as he could, channeling a little bit of Josh as well. Easing back, Raz paled and Ryan could see that his threat got through to his now ex-agent.

  Straightening, he grabbed the folder and headed toward the door. He stopped and turned at the entrance.

  “When and if I choose to come out, it’ll be at a time and place of my choosing. I won’t be forced into lying by anyone.”

  Leaving, he strolled to the elevators and pushed the call button. Raz stormed out after him.

  “You’re nothing but a no-talent fag. I’ll make sure you’re black-balled for breaking our contract. You won’t get one new role, so you might as well to go back to Ohio,” the agent screamed at him. “I can ruin that bartender with one phone call. He’s the one who has turned you against me. All I was doing was helping your career out. Any kind of scandal is good for a new actor.”

  He swung around and grabbed a hold of Raz’s shirt, fisting his hands in the fabric. He slammed the smaller man against the wall beside the elevator.

  “You make that phone call and you’ll regret it the rest of your life. I’ll ruin your career without a thought.” He shook Raz. “And don’t say you were doing this only for me. You did this all for yourself. The bigger I get, the more money you make, so there’s no way you can convince me all of this shit was for my career.”

  Pushing Raz away from him, he got in the elevator and left.

  He had forgotten all about calling Josh or the herd of paparazzi outside his apartment building. When he strolled up the sidewalk to the front door, several photographers jumped in front of him, blocking his way and snapping pictures of him.

  Stopping, he held out his hands and grinned. “Take all the pictures you want, guys.”

  “Hey, Kellar, where’s your lover? Has he moved in with you yet,” one of them yelled.

  Keeping silent, he let them get bored taking his picture. Bill pushed open the front door and looked out.

  “Ry, do you need help?”

  The sharks circled, sensing an interesting photo-op. Ryan shook his head.

  “No help, man, though you do realize that your photo’s going to be splashed all over the tabloids tomorrow. I’m sure these guys will think you’re my new lover.” He made his way to Bill’s side.

  “Oh hell no,” his friend g
roused. “They truly don’t believe I have that bad of taste, do they?”

  All of the camera guys laughed and Ryan ducked inside. He and Bill went up to his apartment.

  “Thanks for coming to my rescue.” He slapped Bill on the shoulder.

  “No problem. That’s what I’m here for. How did it go with your agent?”

  He grabbed two beers from the refrigerator and, handing one to Bill, joined his friend on the couch. He twisted off the top and took a drink before answering.

  “Raz hired the photographer to follow me and take pictures. Even though he didn’t plan on me actually being gay, for some reason, he decided to send the pictures to the tabloid anyway. I’m not sure what he expected me to do. Probably say it was the alcohol or that Josh seduced me. That I’m as straight as you are, I suppose.” Dropping his head back, he stared up at the ceiling fan and sighed. “Why are people so worried about who I sleep with?”

  “I just ask to irritate you. I don’t know what I’d do if you really ever told me about your sex life.” Bill grimaced. “Probably need to clean my ears out with bleach and see a pig slaughtered to get the image out of my head.”

  He rolled his head to the side to look at Bill. “Does the thought of two men having sex scar you that much?”

  “The thought of you having sex with a guy does. I really don’t care what two, or three, people do in their homes. You haven’t had sex or a boyfriend for so long, I think I’ve gotten to the point where I see you as asexual.”

  “Umm…thanks a lot.” He yawned. “You know what? I’m going to take a nap. When I get up, we’ll head out to Mia Leone’s. Josh said he’d reserve us a table in his section.”

  After saying that, he remembered he was supposed to have called Josh after his meeting with Raz. He found his phone and speed dialed Josh’s number.

  He got Josh’s voicemail.

  “This is Josh. I can’t come to the phone, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”