by Julia Bright
“What?” Cam wiped his hand over his face, trying to clear some of the cobwebs.
“Are you home?”
“Yeah, I just—” Pounding at the front door startled him. He sat up, glancing around for his shorts.
“Open the fucking door. I’m out here. Open up now if you want any chance of working with me ever again.”
Cam swallowed over his fear and anger. He had no idea what Andrew was so upset about, but he sure as hell needed to act quickly to appease him. Cam thought back over the last few days. He’d done nothing other than being at that party. When he and Rose had been running around in the costumes, he’d thought no one would be able to recognize them. Plus, none of the girls had their phones, and the security guards had all been well paid, though they were talking, Andrew had told him as much. That had to be it. One of the security guards had to have snapped a photo. He tugged up his shorts as he raced to the front door, stepping out of view of the street as he pulled the door open.
“Fuck, Cam, why didn’t you tell me?” Andrew didn’t even say hello as he breezed in and tossed his things on the couch. “Shut all of the curtains and blinds. No windows open.”
“Okay.” Cam pulled the curtains in the living room and shut the blinds over the kitchen sink before he turned to face Andrew who had followed him around the house. His heart was hammering and his head swam. He hadn’t even had one sip of coffee or brushed his teeth.
“What is going on?”
Andrew narrowed his eyes, his lips down in a frown. “You don’t know?”
“No. I stayed up late, waiting for Zach. Wait, is Zach okay?”
“I’ve got no clue, but I thought Zach would have pulled a stunt like this, not you.”
Confusion filled him. “Andrew, you’ve got to give me some clue what’s going on. I’m flying blind.”
“You don’t know? Fine, watch this.” Andrew went to the couch, pulled out his computer, and came back, setting the device on the kitchen table. He connected to his hotspot and clicked on a browser window that had the TMZ site up.
Cam’s heart sank and his hands started shaking. If it was on TMZ and about him, it had to be bad. Weird scenarios came to mind, but he couldn’t even begin to grasp what the gossip site could have come up with that would be so damming.
The video started playing and Marci, one of their columnists, came on. “Stop what you’re doing. This is big news. I received this photo and note from a concerned friend about a young woman who has been dating Cam Harris. I know, right, no one knew he was dating anyone. He’d been paired with Shana Black, but she says they haven’t seen each other in about two months, which would give credence to this story.” Marci gave a fake smile and turned to face a different camera, showing a video screen behind her. On the video was a shot of him and Rose lying in bed. The photo he’d taken while Rose slept. He’d not deleted it, and now that fucking photo had surfaced. Cam hugged his chest and gripped his arms with his hands, trying to keep from punching something.
“Anyway, this woman, Rose, who has been seeing Cam Harris for a few months, confided in a friend that she’s—wait for it—PREGNANT! Yes, Cam Harris is going to be a father. It almost makes my ovaries hurt thinking about how cute his kid is going to be. But poor Rose is concerned because Cam said he didn’t want anything to do with the kid. Come on, Cam, don’t be that way. Step up and be a real man. Take care of that kid.” Marci turned and switched back to the original camera. “In other news—”
Andrew shut the computer, his gaze drilled into Cam’s. The accusation didn’t need to be spoken. Andrew had already deemed him guilty.
“I—”
“Before you speak, know that if you lie to me, I will drop you so fast you’ll have rug burns on your ass and no one will ever work with you again.”
“I’m not going to lie. I’m going to tell you exactly what happened. Can I brush my teeth first and fix some coffee?”
“Yes. I’ll fix the coffee because I need something to calm this raging headache that was caused by you. I swear to God, Cam Harris, my friends told me not to take you on. But did I listen? No! I sure as fuck didn’t.”
Cam nodded, his heart sinking fast. He was about to lose his agent and that would kill his career. He headed to his bedroom, ditching his shorts and pulling on some underwear, a pair of jeans, and a black T-shirt after swiping some deodorant on his pits. He brushed his teeth then rinsed his mouth, wondering how he was going to get out of this. That girl had fucked him over, and he had no idea what he could do to fix it.
Andrew was pouring fresh coffee from the pot into two mugs when Cam stepped into the kitchen. Cam drew in a deep breath, hoping he could convince Andrew he had no idea how this story had come about and that it was as fake as all the high cheekbones and puffy lips in Hollywood.
“Speak, and no lies.” Andrew’s voice was unforgiving, his stance stiff.
“Five days ago I went with Zach to a diner, that little place that was awarded the best burger in Hollywood. Rose, the woman in that picture, works there. Zach took a liking to her.”
Andrew held up his hand. “Are you telling me you only met her five days ago?”
“Yes. I swear I’m telling you exactly what happened, and I won’t leave anything out.”
“Keep talking.” Andrew took a sip of his coffee, and Cam did too, hoping the caffeine would ground him and stop his head from spinning.
“Zach liked her. We were there with Jeff, my old agent, and his assistant, Chip. Zach was planning on inviting the waitress, Rose, to his party. I told him not to, that she wasn’t the type of girl who was into that type of thing.”
“This was his private party that if word got out it would ruin you?”
“Yes. Anyway, I begged him not to invite her. He had Chip and Jeff ask her to come, but he wasn’t one hundred percent upfront with her. She didn’t know it was a sex party. I begged Zach not to send a car to pick her up. He did anyway. I went to the party and didn’t have sex with anyone, though it was offered. Rose showed up late, and I intercepted her in the entryway. Zach had no clue she was there. I took her up to a bedroom, and she threw up. Zach may have drugged the drinks, and I hadn’t been quick enough to stop her from taking more than a few sips. She slept off whatever was impairing her, and I made sure she was safe. I didn’t leave her side once.”
“So you knew she’d been drugged and you didn’t take her to the hospital?”
“I made a mistake. I didn’t know for sure, I just…Zach is an ass and who knows what he did. Of course, if I’d showed up at a hospital with a girl high on Rohypnol or whatever Zach might have spiked the drinks with, we would be having this conversation with me in jail. I made sure she was breathing, and had she not thrown up, I probably would have taken her to the hospital or called for a doctor. It hit her quick, and she got it out of her system really fast. Anyway, she slept for about two hours and I didn’t touch her. She woke up and we talked. She thanked me for watching out for her. We watched another movie and then she said she was hungry. We found some Halloween costumes and disguised ourselves. She dressed as a gorilla, and I was in a belly dancer’s outfit with a scarf across my face. We got pizza, some chips, and a couple of bags of cookies. We had water and Cokes to drink, no alcohol. After eating, we watched another movie and fell asleep. I woke up before she did and took those photos with her phone. I’d planned on writing her a note, telling her to contact me in six months, but I deleted it—the note, not the photos. I was going to delete the photos, but she woke up and I was embarrassed. She wanted to leave and I called a car for her. I walked her downstairs and put her in the car. No one saw us other than a couple of people who saw us in the costumes. So yes, I’ve spent one night with her, I took that photo, but I’ve never had sex with her.”
Andrew took another sip of his coffee and stared at him for a long moment. “So there is no baby?”
“No. No baby at all. We didn’t have sex. If she’s pregnant, it’s not mine.”
“Not the first time that
’s happened.” Andrew blew out a breath and shook his head. “What do you think she wants?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I can’t believe she went to TMZ.”
“Please, she’s in Hollywood, working at some trashy diner, and she needs money. She’s doing it for cash. Everyone here fucks each other over for money.”
“But she was so real, so nice. Really, I can’t believe she would do this. She was such a wonderful person.”
Andrew rolled his eyes. “Obviously, you misjudged her.”
“What do we do?” Cam took another sip of his coffee and set the mug down. Coffee wasn’t helping, and he didn’t think food would settle his stomach. The only thing that would help was talking to Rose.
Andrew tapped the lid to his computer. “We need to find out what she wants. I can pull her in and talk to her.”
“No, I’ll do it. I need to hear with my own ears why she did it.”
Andrew’s mouth twisted into a half smirk, half scowl and his brows were pinched together tightly. “Do you have her number?”
“No, but she’ll be at the diner. I’ll go there.”
Andrew held up his hand and shook his head. “You can’t do this where people can snap photos of you two arguing.”
“I’ll be smart. I won’t talk to her where anyone could see or hear us.”
After a few seconds of silence, Andrew nodded. “Okay, but I’m going with you.”
“I need to shower and try to eat something before I go.”
“I’ll set up in your den and work there. Once you’re ready, we’ll head out.”
Cam nodded and took his coffee cup to the sink, pouring the contents down the drain. Trying to improve his standing in Hollywood might prove to be more of a headache than it was worth. Before, when he’d been satisfied being a bit actor in oversexed college hijinks movies, his life had been easy. Now it was stress and pain, all of it making his stomach turn and his head ache. He felt old, ancient, not at all like the twenty-three years of his actual age.
By the time he’d finished in the bathroom and had somehow managed to consume half a sandwich, it was after one. He opened the door to the garage to find the shoes he wanted to wear and Zach was there, his eyes full of anger. Cam opened his mouth, but Zach threw a punch, landing it squarely on Cam’s jaw, dropping him to his knees.
“What the fuck was that for?” Cam reached up and grabbed his face. He couldn’t believe Zach had actually hit him.
“You fucker. You lying fucker. How the hell can you stand there and tell me you need to clean up your act and so do I when you go off and get some ho pregnant. You goddamn little fucker.”
Cam rubbed his jaw as he pulled himself to standing, unsure how to get it through Zach’s head that he had been telling the truth. Andrew barely believed him, and after the fight he and Zach had had, he didn’t think his brother would listen.
“I didn’t lie and I didn’t get her pregnant.”
“You’re a piece of work. You bastard. I should toss you out of the house now.”
“Zach, I didn’t get her pregnant. I only met her at the diner five days ago.”
Zach threw up his hands and screamed, his yell echoing through the house. “Is that why you didn’t want me to have her, because she’s your girlfriend?”
“Dammit. She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Hey!” Andrew yelled.
Cam turned, and Zach stepped into the kitchen, sneering at Andrew. “What is he doing here?”
“Zach, I didn’t sleep with her. I don’t know what’s going on, but I swear I didn’t have sex with that woman.”
“You make me sick, telling me I need to clean up my act. What right do you have to say anything?”
Cam shook his head, unsure how it had come to this. How the hell had Zach gone from being his closest friend to being someone who hit him first and asked questions later?
Andrew changed his stance, squaring his shoulders. “Zach, you need to clean up your act. I’ve already heard rumors about your party. Your agent isn’t doing you any favors. You may think it’s fun to fuck around like you do, but people aren’t amused. How long do you think the money will keep rolling in once people find out you drugged those women?”
“They were paid and I didn’t—”
“What?” Andrew asked.
“Never mind. They got money, they knew what to expect.”
“That doesn’t matter, Zach. It’s wrong. It’s irresponsible and you were lucky no one was injured or had to be hospitalized. God forbid someone died while you were partying. You still have some good qualities, and I could probably get you into a movie or two, but if word got out that you drugged women, even if they were hookers and had agreed to it, you would be blackballed.”
Zach blinked a few times before shaking his head. “Get out of my house. You may be Cam’s agent, but you can’t come in here and talk to me that way.”
Andrew puffed out his chest even more and his nostrils flared. “Someone needs to talk to you this way. If Jeff isn’t willing to tell it to you straight, you need to get rid of him. I know he buys you hookers and drugs, but is that really what you want?”
Zach’s lips trembled, and Cam knew he was close to breaking. The drugs were wearing on Zach, and Cam could see it. He had pretended that everything was fine for long enough. It was time for a change.
“Zach, I care about you. You are my big brother, and I know it seems like I’m coming down hard on you, and maybe I am, but I love you. I want to sit down and have a real chat with you about this. You need some changes.”
Zach nodded then turned to Andrew. “Do you really think my brother could get a part in a big movie?”
“He’s got a huge shot at it, but this story may change everything.”
Cam didn’t know what to say. Was Zach actually okay with him trying to get a better part in a movie? Could they still be friends after this? He didn’t want to lose his brother, but Zach had changed so much, or maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he’d been too young when he’d come to Hollywood and too afraid to stand up for himself.
Zach met his gaze and nodded once. “What happened?”
Cam shook his head. “I don’t know. But I’ve never had sex with her.”
Zach stared at the floor for a few beats before he nodded then met Cam’s gaze. He blew out a breath and closed his eyes. “Okay, I’ll be home when you get back. We can talk then.”
“Sure. And, Zach, you do mean a lot to me. I don’t want to lose you.”
Cam grabbed his shoes then left the house, wishing he had more time to talk to Zach, but he and Andrew needed to figure out what the hell was going on. He followed Andrew to his car all the while wondering what the hell he was going to say to Rose. How could she have sold their photo to TMZ? He felt like he’d been stabbed in the back with a sharp knife. Anger, fear, pain, loathing, betrayal—all of the emotions twisted through him. By the time they arrived at the diner, he’d settled on anger. It was the purest of his reactions and the easiest to deal with.
Andrew stopped his car and grabbed Cam’s arm before he could get out. “Do you want me in there with you?”
“No, I’ll handle it.”
“If you’re not back in five minutes, I’m coming in.”
Cam nodded, knowing it wasn’t going to take him five minutes to give this bitch a piece of his mind. She thought she could screw him over, but he wasn’t going to end up on bottom because of her. He pushed open the door, maybe a little too forcefully, and glanced around, searching for Rose.
“Lunch rush is over, you can sit anywhere,” a woman called from behind the register.
Cam turned in her direction, staring at her for a long moment, trying to reconcile what she’d said. He didn’t want a seat. He wanted to get even with the bitch who had wronged him. The woman lifted her brows, and he blew out a breath, trying to ratchet down his anger enough to speak.
“Rose. I need to see Rose.”
“Um, sure. Rose,” the woman called out and he heard a plate cla
tter in the kitchen. “Get out here, Rose.”
Cam saw the door to the kitchen and stalked over, approaching just as Rose swung the door open.
“Oh, I didn’t expect to see you. Want some lemonade? It’s fresh squeezed.”
Cam sucked in a breath through his nose and narrowed his eyes. This woman had to be totally fucking mental. Lemonade after she’d tried to destroy him? He moved close to her and grabbed her arm, clutching it tightly as he shoved her back into the kitchen and then deeper into what looked to be a stockroom. He slammed the door behind him and let go of her arm before he pushed her up against the wall. Abuse was never the answer, but if he kept touching her, he might accidently harm her. He stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest, holding them tight so he didn’t do something stupid.
“Talk.”
“What is wrong with you?” Rose asked.
“What is wrong with me? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Shh, everyone can hear you if you yell.”
Cam blew out a breath and shook his head. “What are you playing at?”
Rose narrowed her eyes and turned her head, looking at him as if he were a little crazy. She was questioning him and he’d done nothing wrong.
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Her eyes went wide and she lifted her hands. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking—well, screaming about.”
Cam pulled out his phone and opened up TMZ’s site, showing her a photo of the two of them in bed. Rose stepped closer and snatched his phone out of his hands, gasping at the image.
“When did you take this? How dare you take a photo of me while I was sleeping.”
Shock coursed through Cam. “Are you blaming this on me?”
Rose lifted her head, her brows were pinched together and her mouth was open. “You took a photo of me while I was asleep.”
Cam threw up his hands as anger raced through him. “You sold that photo to TMZ. What the fuck are you trying to pull over on me?”
Rose’s lips thinned and her eyes narrowed. “If you yell again, everyone will hear. I didn’t know anything about any photo, and I sure as hell didn’t sell it to TMZ.”