Melissa looked frustrated. “I went over that with him hundreds of time. Gucci will be pissed,” she said.
“The girls are dying to know if you are seeing anyone?” the reporter asked.
“I’m single, so look out girls,” Grayson said and flashed his sexy smile at the camera. He then looked over at me and gave me a warm wink. I knew he was doing his job and that the studio would be proud.
“You’re not even dating your co-star, Holly?” the report pushed.
“I enjoy Holly’s company, but we only date in the movie,” Grayson said.
“I heard you were in the news yesterday being escorted into a police car. Care to comment on that?”
“That was a big misunderstanding. I accidentally got caught up with a group of enthusiastic fans. Officer Miller was so nice to help me out of the situation,” Grayson replied without missing a beat.
“Thank you for your time, Grayson.”
Grayson waved and walked off into the auditorium. As soon as the door shut, he ran over to me and gave me a loving hug and kiss.
I had noticed all the celebrities from all different genres and eras around, and was beginning to feel a bit star-struck. Just then I saw Billy Idol. I had loved him since I was thirteen. I couldn’t believe he was here.
“Is that Billy Idol?” I asked.
“He’s handing out an award. Would you like to meet him?” Grayson asked.
“Yes, she would,” Lisa exclaimed. “She is his biggest fan and has every album. She has forced me to listen to them all for years.”
Billy was dressed in black leather pants and a sexy T-shirt and jacket. He still had his trademark spiky blond hair. Months ago, I would have been too shy to speak to him. He had a few people in his group. One was a teenage girl, who I guessed was his daughter.
Grayson walked over and talked to Billy, pointing me out. The teenage girl was going a bit crazy to see Grayson. Soon I realized that Grayson had traded a picture of himself with Billy’s daughter for a picture of me and Billy. Billy strolled over to us and introduced himself.
“Hi, Abby. Grayson said you would like a picture with me.”
I could feel my cheeks burning. I had been to several of his concerts and had loved him for years. Now he was standing in front of me saying my name.
“She is your biggest fan,” Lisa butted in as she pushed me over to him, camera already in her hand. She was having too much fun embarrassing me, but I was pleased she had said something since apparently I was unable to speak.
“I’m sure you hear that all the time. Please don’t mind my friend,” I said and gave Lisa a death look.
“It nice to hear that I have fans your age,” Billy said. “You did me a favor. My daughter only came to see Grayson Edwards, and I was wondering how to introduce her to him.” Billy put his arm around my shoulder to pose for a picture.
“Thank you,” I said.
“My daughter thanks you as well; we have so many “Team Scott” things around the house. She will think I’m cool now. Oh, and by the way, if it doesn’t work out for you kids, have your people call my people,” he said with a smile and a wink. Billy walked back and joined his group.
“Did he just hit on you?” Lisa asked, her voice was full of jealousy. “Why are you the celebrity type and I’m not?”
“Don’t worry about it, Lisa; you will meet someone tonight.” I gave her a reassuring pat on the arm.
Grayson made his way back over to us, and we went to go find our seats. I was surprised to see how close we were sitting to the stage. My guess was this was where the winner sat, so they could get up on stage quickly. Melissa was trying to round us up and go over last-minute instructions. The rest of the Texas High cast had also joined us.
“Okay, Grayson and Holly, you have won Best Kiss and Best Couple. Please get up on the stage as quickly as you can. You have thirty seconds to make your speeches. Once you leave a stage, there will be a reporter back stage to interview you.
“They already know they won?” I whispered to Lisa.
“I guess so,” she whispered back.
By this time, other celebrities had come into the auditorium, and it was filling up fast. The show was about to begin in five minutes.
Grayson turned around in his seat and stroked my leg. “You look hot tonight,” he said. “Do I need to worry about you running off with Billy Idol?”
“You don’t look so bad yourself. And no, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Grayson, please! There are hundreds of people with cell phones that can take pictures,” Melissa scolded.
I was beginning to realize that the studio had hired Melissa as more of a babysitter than a personal assistant.
The auditorium went dark; the show was about to begin. A musical number opened the show. I looked around and could not believe how many A-list celebrities surrounded me. Grayson turned to give me a wink from time to time, and each time I saw Melissa scowl at him.
The first few awards were given out. I soon realized how tiring these shows were. Everything came to a stop during commercial breaks. The only amusing thing that happened during the breaks was that I could watch the Jumbo Trons and see the actors who had won the awards being interviewed by reporters or droning on with a never-ending list of people they wanted to thank but hadn’t had time to during their thirty-second speech.
Grayson, sitting nearby, looked incredibly hot, but I could tell he was uncomfortable. He had his hair done the way Scott wore his hair in Texas High. He never wore his hair like that unless he was at an event for the movie. I was glad I was sitting behind him and got to take him all in. I did the love Scott look, but I would never tell him that. I wanted Grayson to know that I loved Grayson, and it had nothing to do with Scott.
The show started back up, and the hostess announced the category for Best Kiss.
“Nominations for Best Kiss are …” the actress read, “Grayson Edwards and Holly Long, for Texas High.” A brief clip of the big kiss in Texas High played. The other nominations were for movies I hadn’t even seen. Most were silly: one movie was about a frat house and two recruits that were forced to kiss. It didn’t matter; I knew that Grayson had won. I watched him sit nervously, waiting for his name to get called.
“And the winner is … Grayson Edwards and Holly Long, for Texas High.”
Grayson and Holly got up and waved to their fans as they made their way to the stage. Once they were at the podium, they of course kissed, just like they had in Texas High.
“Well, this was unexpected,” Grayson said as he held the award. “What a lucky guy I am. I get to kiss one of the prettiest girls in Hollywood and then get an award for it! Seriously, I would like to thank all the Texas High fans who voted for us. We couldn’t have won this without you.”
Holly had a long list of people she wanted to thank, so Grayson stepped back and let her have her moment. Soon the music came up and cut Holly off, and they both walked back-stage. It was, of course, another commercial break, but I would get to watch Grayson being interviewed back stage on the large Jumbo Tron screen.
A young reporter with some papers in her hand quickly approached him. I thought that was kind of odd that she had a bunch of questions written down for him.
“Grayson, how did it feel to win tonight?” the reporter asked.
“Of course I enjoyed winning. It’s not every day I get an award for making out with a beautiful woman,” Grayson stated.
“You have been linked with Holly long since the filming of Texas High, but lately you have been seen around town with a mystery girl,” the reporter said.
“As always, I like to keep my personal life personal,” Grayson said, a bit annoyed.
“Well then, what do you think about the mystery girl writing a blog about your relationship?” the reporter asked.
I felt a massive pit start to well up in my stom
ach. What was this reporter saying to him? And what was she showing him?
“What are you talking about?” Grayson asked, looking confused and hurt.
“Recently a blog has been published called ‘My Life with the Movie Star.’ Abby Smith has published letters and pictures and stories about you on this blog, and has even sold some of your personal things,” the reporter stated. “Were you not aware that she was doing this?”
Just then, of course, the commercial break was over, and the Jumbo Tron went dark. I had no idea what Grayson was thinking. I looked over at Melissa, who was beyond pissed. She whispered over to me to get up and meet her in the hall. I swallowed hard and followed her.
“Please tell me this is a lie, Abby,” Melissa snapped.
“I have no idea what that reporter was talking about,” I said.
Melissa took her phone out and searched the web for the blog. It didn’t take her long to find it. I took the phone and looked at the blog in disbelief … sure enough; my name was on the front. The blog had two tabs: “My Life with the Movie Star” and “My Real Life.” It had love letters from Grayson to me, pictures from Fish Day, and even a section where you could bid on some of Grayson’s things, like toiletries, shirts, and even boxers.
Under the tab “My Real Life” is pictures of me and John. It made us look like a couple. Most of the pictures were old, but one was recent. It had been taken the night I went out to dinner with Rachel, when he kissed me. She must be the one behind this, I realized, and somehow she had put John up to helping her pull it off. How could anyone do this to me? Just then, Melissa’s phone rang.
“Yes, I have her here,” Melissa said. “Yes, I will go get her friend. Consider it done.” She ended the call and said to me, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
This is so bad, I thought to myself. Grayson is going to be so pissed – not to mention an enormous list of executives would be too.
Melissa was only gone a few moment when she came back with Lisa. She walked us out to a limo and made short order of getting us inside.
“We’re going back to Grayson’s house. You two will have one hour to pack your belongings before you get on the next flight back to Milwaukee. Grayson has asked that you not touch any more of his personal things,” Melissa barked.
I was too shocked to say anything. Lisa and I just did what we were told.
Melissa had security at Grayson’s house to watch us as we packed. I was beyond humiliated. I just wondered if I would get a chance to speak to Grayson and let him know that I had been set-up. After Lisa and I had changed and packed, Melissa shuffled us back into the limo, headed for the airport.
“Abby, Grayson wanted me to let you know that your relationship is over,” Melissa said bluntly.
“Don’t bother trying to call him. I already had his number changed. You will be hearing from his lawyer soon about the terms for taking down the website.”
There was nothing I could say; I just burst into tears. At the airport, Lisa helped me out of the limo, and we made our way into the airport.
“Abby, what happened?” Lisa asked, looking as shocked as I felt.
“I have no idea,” I said. “I didn’t write that web page. I have no idea who did or how they got all that information.”
“I have a hunch about who might be behind this,” Lisa said. “When we get back, I’m going to confront her.”
“Does it even matter? She won. He will never speak to me again.” I started to cry again. I could feel the tears burning my eyes. I just had to try and hold myself together until I got home. I couldn’t believe that I would never see Grayson again or feel his kisses. I knew that I should never have dated him. This was a pain I would not get over easily.
The flight home seemed to take forever. Lisa tried to comfort me and tell me everything would work out.
I had hoped that he might have tried to call me while we were in the air. As soon as we landed, I checked my phone – there were no messages. I tried Grayson’s number, but just as Melissa had said, it had been disconnected.
Lisa and I made our way to baggage claim. We had to rent a taxi, because we had no ride home. Once I walked in the door I collapsed on my bed and just cried.
Chapter 19
I was relieved that I had the entire day on Sunday to pull myself together – to try to come to terms with what had just happened to me – before returning to work. I could not believe that my fairytale had come to such an abrupt ending, and through the hand of his personal assistant, not my prince charming. It was a moment like this that I wished my mom was still alive. I needed someone I could just run to, someone who would hold me as I fell apart in their arms. I had never felt so hurt or betrayed in my life.
I knew who had done this to me, but I still had no idea how Rachel had broken into my email accounts, or how she had found my personal pictures or managed to put some of his items up for sale on the website. She must have had help from someone else. I knew that Rachel was not tech savvy, but John was. Why would he work with her and try to ruin my life? He had dumped me … I was the jilted girlfriend in that story. I could understand why he would do this if I had left him for Grayson, but he had ended our relationship years ago.
I decided that I would call him first thing after I woke up from a much-needed nap. My body was at the point of exhaustion. I cried my eyes out and eventually fell asleep.
When I woke up, I couldn’t open my eyes. I had cried them shut. I made my way to the bathroom and started my shower. I figured the steam would help unglue my eyes. I was glad that I couldn’t see what I looked like in the mirror. I’m sure I would have frightened anyone who saw me.
I quickly jumped in the shower and let the warm water flow over my body. It felt comforting. I knew Lisa would be coming over some point in the day to check on me, and Make sure I was okay, so I tried to pull myself together for that.
I pulled on some old, comfy sweats and waited to hear from her. I decided to try and veg in front of the TV. Big mistake: E! was showing a replay of what had happened last night at the award ceremonies. I saw the same reporter showing Grayson the fraudulent website. For a split second, I could see the pain in his eyes. He also had to be hurting from this. I just wanted to go to him and comfort him, to let him know I had not done any of it, but all I could do was look down at my phone and try his number again. No luck.
I went to my computer and pounded out an email to him, but as soon as I hit the send button, an auto-reply came back: his email had also been disconnected. Grayson would slip back into the world without any way for me to contact him.
Lisa came over shortly after that and found me sitting in my office with tears flowing down my face.
“Abby, you’re going to be okay,” Lisa said hopefully. “Grayson loves you. He will see that this was all a setup.”
“I don’t think so Lisa. I think it’s over.” I could feel the tears in my eyes again. I choked back my sobs.
“Well, it was fun while it lasted,” Lisa said.
“How am I ever going to date a normal guy again?” I asked. “It took me four years to get over John, and that didn’t hurt half as much as this,” I wailed.
“Abby, it’s his loss really. He should have come out and spoken to you last night. Instead, he did the cowardly thing and let his people take care of the problem for him,” Lisa said. “I’m very disappointed with how he reacted.”
“Who do you think could have done this?” I asked.
“I think Rachel did it,” she replied. “But I think she had help.”
“Do you think John would help her?”
“John? Why?”
“Well, remember when I met her for a drink, and he showed up and kissed me?”
“What about it?”
“One of the pictures on the site was from that night. Someone in the restaurant took it when Rachel went to the restroom.” I rubbed
my eyes.
“Why would they be in on this together?” Lisa said, thinking out loud. “I know Rachel was very jealous of you dating Grayson … perhaps she convinced John to help her?”
“I never would have thought John could do something like this to me,” I said.
“Maybe he wants you back?”
“That’s a long shot. What if he is hooking up with Rachel? I’m sure he would do anything to get in her pants.”
Lisa stopped and thought for a moment. “That would make some sense. John is in IT. He dated you for so long he would most likely know your email passwords, or he could easily guess them anyway. He would also know how to build a website, and set everything up to make it look like you had done it.”
“I guess I have to call him and ask him about it,” I said.
“Good luck with that. You know he will deny it.”
“I wish I could find a media outlet to tell my side of the story,” I said wishfully.
“Maybe Oprah will have you on,” Lisa teased.
“Thanks, Lisa I know that I can always count on you.”
“Listen, I need to get going, but get some rest. Don’t go to work tomorrow if you don’t feel like it. I’m sure Melanie has already seen what happened on TV.”
“Thanks for reminding me that others can see what happened,” I said.
Lisa left, and I was alone with my thoughts again. It made sense that John and Rachel must be the ones who had done this. He could have used details he knew about me to access my email, and Facebook accounts …, but it was still bugging me how they had gotten some of Grayson’s items to sell.
Chapter 20
The next morning, I woke up and got ready for work. I decided I would put my best foot forward and try to have a normal day. That thought lasted until I opened my front door to let Thor outside. I found myself surrounded by people screaming my name and the flashing cameras. Argh, the paparazzi had found me. I would have to thank Rachel and John for putting my actual address on the website. It had made me an extremely easy target.
My Life With The Movie Star Page 12