Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy

by Lila Moore

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you find him?”

  “No. I talked to the bellboy that delivered your room service. He said a man paid him fifty dollars to slip the note onto the cart. I tried to get a description, but he wasn’t much help. He said the guy was ordinary. He looked like anyone you’d run into on the street.”

  “So, that’s it? He just slips in and out of my life without fear. Meanwhile, I have to live like a prisoner.”

  “We’re reviewing security footage.”

  “You have his face then?”

  “No. He was wearing a baseball cap, obscuring his face. We’re still looking through the footage though. We might get a better angle.”

  I groaned and put the pillow over my face. “Like I said, you have nothing.”

  “I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier, but I got in contact with the editor of that website-Gossip Guru.”

  “Yeah?”

  “It turns out they were telling the truth-they didn’t pay for the pictures. They were anonymously emailed to him. The pictures have all been pulled from the site, by the way.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Once something’s on the internet it’s there forever. Every time someone Google’s my name, those images will show up.”

  Theo rubbed my back gently. “There’s more.”

  “What else can go wrong?”

  “I think the photos stolen from your phone didn’t come from a policeman or a hacker.”

  “Who did they come from?” Theo’s jaw tensed. He looked down. “It was him, wasn’t it?”

  “I think your stalker somehow got ahold of your cell phone. He leaked the photos.”

  I sat up in bed. “But how? Was he there last night? I never saw him.”

  “I didn’t either, but the scene was chaotic. After you left more cops showed up, paramedics and the press. A few bystanders wandered over to. He could have been hiding among them. At some point, he was able to sneak onto the scene. He must have gotten into your limo looking for some personal memento he could take with him. Instead he found your cell phone.”

  “Can’t you review the footage taken by the press?”

  “We tried, but there’s not much of it. Because of your PR team’s efforts to keep the truth under wraps, no one knows that you were involved in the incident with the limo. That bullshit story you sold about being saved by Louis outside of the restaurant means that no one was paying attention to the actual crime scene. The local press is under the impression that there was an attempted carjacking and a death that came as the result of self-defense. They haven’t linked it to you. And to be honest, I doubt they will. People die in this city every day. They don’t have much interest in one dead driver.”

  “So, there’s nothing. He slips away again…” I said bitterly.

  “We’ll find him.”

  “And then what? This isn’t the first time I’ve had a stalker. The last guy wasn’t as batshit crazy as this guy, but he was a mess. I got a restraining order, which he violated-of course. He broke into a house I was renting. They arrested him, but his sentence was just community service. Thankfully, he got tired of stalking me and moved on with his life, but the justice system is no help. They don’t take stalking seriously. Even if you catch this guy, nothing will happen. We’ll get a restraining order and he’ll just keep threatening me until eventually he succeeds in getting what he wants.”

  “That’s not going to happen. You can trust me when I say that once I identify this guy I will make sure he never threatens you again.”

  What Theo didn’t realize was that it was already too late.

  11

  The limo ride to the movie premiere was completely silent-well, almost completely silent. Louis was in the corner of the limo with his new, hot bodyguard Antonio. Officially, Antonio was part of Louis’ security team. Unofficially, they were sleeping together.

  I watched as they leaned in to one another, whispering intimately. Louis twisted Antonio’s long, dark hair around his finger and laughed. A pang of jealousy cut through my stomach. I looked to Theo. When my gaze fell on him, he looked away quickly, as if he didn’t want me to know he’d been staring at me.

  I frowned and looked out the window and wished I had someone to lean on through all this.

  Shonda cleared her throat. “Time to meet your fans,” she said as the limo pulled up to the red carpet.

  Louis separated from Antonio with difficulty. I could tell he’d much rather be walking the red carpet with him. Louis and his PR team had been less than kind to me over the years, but I still felt sorry for him. It was a shame the studio forced him to stay in the closet. Hollywood is a fucked up place.

  Theo got out of the limo first. As soon as the limo door opened, a wall of sound hit me. Fans screamed nonsensically and jumped around. The place was packed. In fact, I’d never seen this many fans show up for a movie premiere. The magazine interview had turned into a bigger deal than any of us anticipated. It was the single best selling issue of the magazine in over two decades. Pictures and quotes from the interview went viral. People shared them online and quoted me on their social media pages, praising me for staying strong and being a survivor.

  I’d listened mutely as Shonda had shared the ‘good news,’ with me. I didn’t see it as good news. Knowing people were cheering me on left me feeling empty. They didn’t understand how close I’d come to tragedy. To the fans, I was just a character in a story. They didn’t see my life as real.

  Shonda was overjoyed of course. We received a ton of positive press. The studio was back onboard with me as the lead in their new superhero franchise. I’d already signed the contract. My agent had renegotiated the deal; I ended up with almost twice the original amount we’d agreed upon. I signed off on it in a daze. I felt like a zombie. Money, movies, fans-none of it filled the loneliness that opened up inside me. My near kidnapping had left a gaping wound that couldn’t be healed by fame.

  As I waited for Theo to give the okay, I found myself wishing he would say it was too dangerous, that we had to return to the hotel. I was sick of show business. I wanted to spend the rest of my life in bed eating room service.

  To my dismay, Theo leaned into the limo an announced it was safe. Louis slid past me. As soon as he emerged from the limo, a roar of cheers filled the air. His fans were even more rabid now that he was a ‘proven’ hero.

  Louis waved and blew kisses. I let him have his moment in the limelight. I was in no hurry to sign autographs and deal with the paparazzi. I could have stayed in the limo all night, but that wasn’t an option. It didn’t take long before Louis leaned in and offered me his hand. I took it and emerged from the limo with a smile. I waved and bowed my head modestly to the crowd. I did my best to convey how unworthy I was of their adoration. In truth, I didn’t care. Feigned humility was what was expected of me though, so that’s what I gave them.

  Louis squeezed my hand. For a brief second, I looked at him and imagined we were a couple. He loved me; I loved him. We were happy and normal. Theo’s face flashed through my mind. His image left me shaken. I felt queasy. Suddenly, Theo was there in the flesh at my side.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered.

  “No, not really.”

  “I’ll call the limo back to pick you up.”

  “No. I have to see this through to the end.”

  Theo looked away. “Have it your way,” he said distastefully.

  He stepped aside and let Louis lead me down the red carpet. I wanted to pose for pictures then head into the theatre but he dragged me to the fans and made me sign autographs. The fans were sweet and well-behaved for once, so in the end I didn’t mind, but I was eager to get inside the theater.

  Once we made it past the firing squad of photographers, we slipped into the theater out of sight. I dropped Louis’ hand and looked for Theo. He was standing in the corner of the room, scanning the crowd inside. Everyone in the theater worked in the industry; they were actors, producers, agents-no one I suspected of being my st
alker.

  I relaxed a bit and grabbed a champagne glass from a passing server. Louis walked off to talk to an actor I suspected he was sleeping with. It was an open secret in Hollywood the actor was gay, but like Louis, he’d found a girl to pretend to be his girlfriend. She was a young, pretty girl-an aspiring actress who, to be honest, wasn’t very talented. Not that talent really matters in Hollywood. Success is all about who you know, and more importantly, who you fuck.

  Rumor had that when she wasn’t pretending to be Louis’s girlfriend she was busy sleeping with the head of the biggest studio in town. The arrangement she’d worked out had secured her a multi-million dollar role in an upcoming action movie.

  I raised my glass toasting her. When she locked eyes with me, she glared and looked away. I was sure she saw me as competition. Worse than that, I was old. She was barely eighteen, fresh-faced with a banging body. I was twenty-four, which in Hollywood made me ancient. I was sure she was eager to steal every part I was offered. A part of me felt like letting her have them. The fight had left me after my near-kidnapping a few short days ago.

  Louis’ publicist walked over to me. She was pale with dark circles under her eyes. She looked like death warmed over.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “You. You royally fucked up that interview.”

  “What are you talking about? Everyone loves it.”

  “Wrong. They love you. They don’t love Louis. The whole point was to cast him as the hero. Instead, they focused almost entirely on you.”

  “Well, I am the one who was attacked. Louis had nothing genuine to say because the whole story was bullshit. Maybe if he was a better actor he wouldn’t have this problem. Or maybe, it’s his publicist that’s fallen asleep on the job. You should have come up with a better story.”

  She looked at me like she’d been slapped. No one talked to her this way. I didn’t care if I burned a bridge between us. I was fed up with everyone.

  “Do you enjoy being rich and famous?”

  I started to say: Lately, no.

  I didn’t get the chance. She cut me off before I could respond. “Because if you do, I suggest you do what I say. Actors like Louis come around once a generation. He could be the next George Clooney.”

  I laughed at that idea. Louis’s a decent actor but he doesn’t have the charm or charisma of Clooney. Still, there was something about Louis that drove girls crazy. His past five movies were all hits and he’d signed on to six big budget projects. His future was bright. If he played his cards right he would have a long career.

  “Do you want to be his wife? I can make that happen. And I can ensure that you get first dibs on the best scripts. Don’t you want an Oscar? I know you’re sick of this blockbuster trash. You want a serious, meaty role. You’re never going to get that if you keep signing on to these superhero movies.”

  I refused to give her the satisfaction of admitting she was right. I was desperate to do something that felt genuine. Playing a superhero was fun, but there’s no art in it.

  “On the flip side,” she continued, “I can make your career vanish. You’ll be doing commercials for tampons and adult diapers by the time I’m done with you.”

  “I just signed a three picture deal with the studio. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You think I can’t make that deal go away?”

  “The studio would have to buy out my contract. It would cost them at least thirty million dollars to do that. They’re not going to drop that kind of money just because I bruised the ego of a publicist who thinks she runs Hollywood.”

  “You naïve little bitch. Do you think you were Louis’ first ‘girlfriend’? We had another young actress all lined up for the part. She got arrogant and started making demands too. Good luck finding her now. I think she works at the mall in one of those kiosks that sell knockoff perfumes. Unless you want to join her, you’re going to learn to play ball. We’re going to do another interview. This time you’re going to stick to the script. You don’t utter a word unless it was approved by me first. Is that clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  “Excellent.”

  As she turned to leave, I said: “There’s just one little problem.” She turned on her heels to face me. “I know Louis’s big secret,” I spoke loudly so that anyone within earshot could hear me.

  If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead. She quickly approached me, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of earshot of the crowd.

  “I can expose Louis,” I said.

  “Your career is over if you do.”

  “You said it’s over anyway. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

  “No one will believe you.”

  I laughed. “Are you kidding? I’m America’s Sweetheart. They’ll believe whatever I want them to believe.”

  “Listen me to you little bitch, if you think-”

  “Is there a problem?” Shonda said, stepping in. “You know I prefer to be present during all business talks.”

  “We weren’t discussing business,” she lied.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “No. Everything’s fine.” Louis’ publicist turned on her heels and left.

  “What was that about?” Shonda asked.

  I shrugged. “Don’t ask.”

  “Did she threaten you?”

  “Of course. She’s pissed that I got more press out of the interview than Louis.”

  “She’ll get over it. Today’s news lines tomorrow’s trash bins.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means the news moves quickly. No one will care about this-or your nude photos-in a week’s time. You just have to ride this out. You’re a strong girl. You fought your way up from nothing. We’ll get through this together.”

  Shonda wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back. At least I still had one person in my corner. I took a deep breath.

  “Now,” Shonda said, “the producer of your next movie brought his niece. She’s a huge fan. Are you up for meeting her?”

  “In truth, no.” Shonda gave me a look. “But I will.”

  Meeting the kids, family members, nieces and nephews of people who work in the business is part of being an actor. You have to play nice so as not to piss off their wealthy, well-connected relatives. As it turned out, the producer’s niece was a sweet, shy twelve year-old girl. I found myself laughing and talking to her like she was my own niece. I suppose she reminded me of myself at her age. When she confided in me that she wanted to be an actress when she grew up, I felt sick.

  “Don’t,” I whispered. “Be a doctor or a lawyer-anything but an actress.”

  She laughed as if I was joking. I wasn’t.

  Louis’s publicist showed up. I expected her to start trouble, but she put on a phony smile and asked to speak to me. I said my goodbyes to the producer and his niece, then followed the publicist away. The movie was set to premiere shortly. I wasn’t eager to watch it or suffer through the after party either.

  “You look tired,” Louis’ publicist said.

  “That’s because I am.”

  “Why don’t you go back to the hotel? You’ve already done the red carpet, the rest isn’t important.”

  “Thanks.”

  Her offer surprised me. Maybe my threat had gotten through. If she wanted me to cooperate then she was going to have to start treating me better.

  “You can sneak out the back. The limo will pick you up there.”

  “Okay.”

  I started to apologize for being so hard on her, but quickly changed my mind. I’d put up with a lot from her. She deserved to get a taste of her own medicine. So instead, I said goodbye and headed out the back of the theatre.

  I looked for Theo. We made eye contact as I headed for the back exit. He made his way through the crowd. He was quick to follow me, but he always hung back twenty to thirty feet. He wanted to blend into the crowd. If my stalker somehow managed to sneak into the premiere Theo wanted to spot him before he spotted my security team.
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  Theo was hoping to catch him. He’d promised to take care of him. I shuddered to think what that meant.

  I pushed open a fire exit and braced for an alarm. One didn’t go off. Odd, though not entirely surprising. A lot of old theatres aren’t up to code. I stepped out into the alleyway. It was dark and a fine mist had started to fall. I could hear cars and the chatter of the few fans that had remained behind outside the theater hoping to catch a glimpse of a celebrity.

  I frowned. My limo was nowhere in sight. I turned to go back inside. A man stood in front of the door, blocking my entrance. He wore a blue baseball cap, jeans and a jacket. His eyes were small and grey; his skin sickly pale. Other than that, nothing stood out about him. He was an average looking guy that would blend in in any crowd.

  Instantly, I knew it was my stalker. I froze like a deer in the headlights. My hesitation gave the man enough time to grab the end of one of the dumpsters and pull it in front of the fire exit. I stared at him dumbly. What was he doing? Had I made a mistake? What if this was just a random guy? In hindsight, these thoughts were absurd, but I was scared. I wasn’t thinking clearly.

  It wasn’t until the fire door opened an inch, banging into the back of the dumpster that I understood what was happening. This man was blocking Theo and my security team from following me into the alley.

  A voice in my head said run. I turned to flee. I was in towering heels; he wore sneakers. I was no match. I didn’t make it five feet before he tripped me, knocking me to the ground. His hand slid around my mouth, silencing my screams. He twisted my arm around my back, then forced me to stand.

  We walked around a corner to a waiting car with the trunk popped open. He’d been waiting for me, but how? How did he know I would be in the alley? It was insane.

  The man forced me into the trunk. As soon as his hand was free from my mouth I screamed as loudly as I could. My cries of help were cut short by a tire iron coming down on my head. Instantly, I blacked out.

  12

  I was scared to open my eyes. I squeezed them shut and listened. Distantly, I heard a dog bark. Water dripped somewhere nearby and above me voices spoke and laughed.