I see Frank arrive wearing a tux and looking very dapper, and Susanna is wearing a blue and champagne-colored dress with cap sleeves. Her hair is done perfectly, and the gold shoes make the outfit. I smile at her as she walks down the red carpet holding her husband’s hand. “Jessica.” I hear my name being shouted from behind me and see that Tyler is standing next to Alex, and he’s calling me. I ignore him, pretending I can’t hear him through the screaming of the crowd. He walks over to me, and I turn to him with the microphone in my hand, wearing a smile. “And here he is, the man of the hour,” I say to him, and he glares at me, then grabs the microphone from my hand and tosses it to the camera guy. “If you fight me on this, you are going to make me do something neither of us is ready for,” he whispers into my ear, and I swallow hard. “Now, get your ass on that red carpet and stand by my side where you’re supposed to be.”
“You’re making a scene,” I say, looking over and seeing that Yamina and Yolanda are rushing toward us.
“Tyler,” Yamina says, “we are so sorry. We got your request.”
“Wasn’t my request,” Tyler says, his teeth together almost hissing, and I look up at him. “The studio made this plan originally, and now I’m respecting that plan. I have no idea what happened.”
“Cassie said you wanted to walk down the carpet with your parents,” Yolanda says, and I see Tyler stand and put his hands in his pocket. “It was a simple request that you walk with your parents.”
“It was,” I say. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“No,” he snaps, grabbing my hand and bringing me on the red carpet to where his parents are standing and talking to Cassie. “Seems that there was a mix-up.”
“Hello, dear,” Susanna says, looking at me, “you look so good.”
“Cassie, you wouldn’t know about the mix-up, would you?” Tyler looks at Cassie, who stands there in her own black dress. This one velvet, strapless, crisscrossing over her chest and falling to the floor.
“I assumed with your parents here, you would want to walk down the carpet with them,” she says, not backing down. “It’s not every day they show up.”
I look at Frank, who watches me, and then turns to his son. “Why don’t we discuss this when there aren’t so many eyes on us?” he suggests. Holding out his hand to his wife, he turns to smile at the cameras. I feel an arm snake around my waist as I’m being pulled toward Tyler and look over at him as he’s all smiles for the camera.
“Tyler. Let me go,” I hiss through my smile. “You didn’t pose like this with any of the other journalists.” He doesn’t say anything, but he lets me go and puts his elbow out, and I place my hand in it. “Thank you.”
“Oh, trust me,” he says through his smile, “the last thing you should be doing is thanking me.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Tyler
This reality star just rented a yacht in Italy for the month of July! People wonder if she will be bringing her boy toy with her!
Coming to her room without calming down was not a good idea, but just letting her walk out of the interview room with her head down because of Cassie was more than I cared to see. I watch her walk into her bathroom and shut the door, sealing it with the click of the lock. I look up at the ceiling, trying to calm my temper, but it’s safe to say that nothing is going to work. I slam the door shut and get back to the interviews, trying to remain upbeat, but the change in attitude has shifted. I wait for us to be alone in my penthouse before I turn on Cassie. “What in the fuck was that?” I ask her, and she sits on the same couch that Jessica sat on this morning to have coffee.
“That was me making sure she knew not to fuck up or cross the line.” Cassie now sits up and forward. “That was me taking care of you because that’s my job.”
I look at her now. “There is a way to do that without being a bitch, Cassie,” I point out to her. “It’s one thing for you to do your job, but it’s another for you to be rude. I don’t like it.”
She gets up now, grabbing her purse. “Well, I don’t like her. She is sneaky and a snake. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. And when you least expect it, she is going to fuck you over, and I’m going have to clean it up.”
“She hasn’t done anything since she’s been on this tour. She’s been straight and to the point, and she has never, ever crossed the line like you did tonight.” I walk to the bar, grabbing a glass and pouring some scotch, hoping that it helps to calm me down. I take a gulp, hissing as the brown liquid burns going down. “Knock it off,” I say, and she turns and huffs. I go outside and sit on the balcony, listening to the honks and sirens that are Paris. I finish my drink, and my phone never rings or beeps. Well, not from Jessica. My mother does text me pictures of her during the different stages of her glam squad.
Her smile makes me laugh, and then I think that it was Cassie who made her smile like that. I’ve never seen her so cutthroat like this before. I walk back inside and take a shower, my fingers itching to call Jessica or send her a funny text, but I know I’m going to see her in less than an hour. I walk out of the shower, towel drying my hair. There is a knock on the door, and I walk to it, my heart beating, expecting it to be Jessica, but it’s my father.
“Hey,” I say, opening the door.
He walks in. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” I say, moving out of the way and watching him walk in.
“Your mother has all those people over there primping and priming and oohing, and now Cassie showed up with her dress, and there was shrieking going on,” he says. Walking to the bar, he opens it and grabs a beer. “I can do a lot of things, but I can’t handle all the shrieking and all that fussing.” I laugh at him and walk into the room, putting on boxers and then a robe, then walk back out. “So what’s up with Cassie?”
I look over at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“She came in and said you were having a hissy fit.” He laughs, taking a pull of his beer. Looking over at me, he sees the fury on my face now. “Is this going to be a problem?”
“Not on my end,” I tell him. “She was out of line today, and it wasn’t cool.”
He nods, waiting to ask me something more or see if I give it to him. When I don’t say anything else, he changes the topic to the ranch, and I finally relax. After my mother calls him and tells him it’s time to get dressed, I walk to my own room, getting my black suit out. I’m shrugging on my jacket when I hear voices coming from the living room. Walking out, I see Cassie in a long black dress. “Oh, look, we match,” she says, and I don’t say anything. My mother comes in totally glowing, her blue gold dress fitted with gold high heels. My father walks in with a scowl as he tugs on the tie around his neck, making me laugh.
A butler comes in with a silver tray with four glasses of champagne. “We might need an extra one,” I tell him, grabbing two and handing them to my parents. Cassie grabs her glass, and I grab my own. I don’t know if she is coming or not, but I really hope she is.