“Fine,” I say. “I’ll go in.”
Rex
I just want to get through this lunch. The clients seemed confused when they arrived to find me by myself after I had promised to keep this casual by bringing Addison. They thought I was lying, or tricking them just like I feared they would. I’ve been working overtime to act like nothing is out of the ordinary, that this lunch really is casual and making sure they’re all having a pleasant time visiting Los Angeles.
They look surprised when I walk back in with Addison by my side. I introduce her to Kin, Wong, Helen, Queenie and the others, and Addison makes pleasant apologies about her tardiness. When she tells them she was at an acting audition, you’d think she just said she was Meryl Streep herself.
“Wow, an actor,” Helen says. “You come to Los Angeles and all you hear about is the movie industry. You think you’ll get lucky enough to see someone famous but look at us—sitting at a table with an actual actor!”
“Well, I’m working at it,” Addison says. “Still auditioning. But I did get a callback today.”
I’m pretty sure she says this to get back at me for not congratulating her enough. Luckily Kin is there to dig the knife in a little deeper.
“Congratulations!” he says. “That’s extraordinary. I’ve certainly heard how competitive the field is. Rex, you must be so proud.”
Addison turns her eyes to me and awaits my praise.
“Of course I am,” I say. “I plan on taking her out tonight for a special celebration.”
“Can you tell us about the role?” Queenie asks, leaning closer to hear all the details.
“It’s a small part,” Addison begins.
“No small parts,” Helen says knowingly. “Only small actors. Isn’t that how the saying goes?”
“Exactly right,” Addison tells her. She begins telling the table about the role. Turns out it’s a bit bigger than I had originally thought. Still small, but she has more than one line.
As I listen to her tell everyone about the part, I get distracted by sudden murmurs throughout the restaurant. I look around and notice that a lot of people are casting looks at our table. As I listen closely to the talk, I notice something on someone’s phone—I see a picture of Addison and me. I also see the headline.
Croft’s Courtesan!
“Excuse me,” I say at once. “I’m just going to step off to the men’s room.”
They hardly notice me they’re all so interested in Addison’s life as an actor.
I stand out of sight in a hallway near the restrooms. I find the article on my phone by searching that hideous headline.
We never would have thought that playboy billionaire Rex Croft, 25, would need to pay for a beautiful women to enjoy his company but sources say that’s the case with his new lady love, Addison Gilmour, a struggling actress from Oregon. While Croft has more money than Gates and better looks than Clooney it seems that he can’t get a date the old-fashioned way and has resorted to paying an escort service to find a girl. Gilmour, a striking, curvaceous woman to be sure, has been spotted out and about with Croft in recent weeks, lending the new romance to something of a Pretty Woman vibe.
“He met her at a pick-and-choose party,” says an insider. “Rich men go to a secret, invitation-only party where there is no shortage of beautiful—and willing—women. He had an instant connection with Addison and took her home that night.”
Not a bad gig for Gilmour, who is a struggling actor and lives near the abandoned warehouses in downtown.
“She’ll do whatever she can to get out of poverty and into the movies,” said another insider.
“Hey, you.”
I turn quickly from the horrendous, lying article when I hear Addison’s voice.
“You okay? You dashed off so fast.”
The fact that she’s checking on me, worried, so soon after an epic fight cracks my heart. She doesn’t deserve this.
“What is that?” she asks, looking at my phone. “Is that a picture of me…?”
I didn’t turn my phone away from her fast enough, and now she’s seen it. She snatches my phone right out of my hand and is reading the article, her face full of disbelief and maybe a bit of shame, although she has nothing to be ashamed of.
“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “It’s all lies, and we both know it.”
“But it’s not all lies,” she says. “That’s what makes it so awful. Oh my god…”
“I’m calling my lawyer right now,” I tell her, taking my phone back. “We’ll sue the shit out of them.”
“You can’t just throw a lawsuit at this and hope it goes away, Rex,” she says. “That’s it.” She gestures to the phone. “It’s out there. It’s on people’s minds. It’ll be on the casting director’s mind when she sees me at the callback.”
She turns and storms through the restaurant. I follow her.
“Addison, slow down,” I say, following her outside. She’s already handing her ticket to the valet. “It’s just a story. I can get it retracted. It’s just some petty site trying to make money off of lies.” Then I realize where the story came from. “That pencil dick Damien,” I mutter. He’s behind this, I’d bet my house on it. “He did this because of me. He’s trying to get me back because I refused to pay him off. Addison, I’ll take care of this. I promise.”
“Yeah, sure. You and your money are going to take care of a problem that you and your money created,” she says. She gets her keys from the valet and snaps at me when I try to pay. “I should have known better. From the beginning I knew this was a mistake but I let myself get sucked in by you. I compromised what I knew was right and wrong and now look at me. I’m going to be famous for being a whore to Rex Croft.”
“Addison, no,” I say. “Don’t say that. It’s not true.” It’s crushing me to see her so pained, and knowing that I did this to her only makes it ten times worse.
“I’m done, Rex,” Addison says. “This is the last straw. I’m not doing this anymore.”
“Addison, wait. We can talk about it,” I tell her as she gets in her car. “Please.” But she slams her door shut on me.
I stand on the sidewalk and watch as she drives away, feeling shocked and helpless. She doesn’t mean she’s done with us. She’s just stunned and upset over that article, which she has every right to be. She’ll calm down. I’ll talk to my lawyer and he’ll clear this all up. I’ll go see her tonight and tell her everything will be fine, because it will. It has to be. I won’t accept anything less.
I make new excuses for Addison to my lunch guests. They seem genuinely disappointed to see her go so quickly but all I want is to get out of here and start taking care of things with Addison. It’s all I can think about. Throughout the rest of lunch I keep checking my phone for a text from her, hoping she’s okay, hoping she didn’t really just leave me.
That night, after giving her a little space, I call her. She doesn’t answer. I send her a text. She doesn’t respond. I go by her apartment but she doesn’t answer the door. I can see a light on upstairs in her window but she doesn’t make a sound. I stand at her door, my hand flat on it as if I might be able to feel her through it. I stand there long enough that I think I hear soft footsteps on the other side of the door.