“Okay guys, we need to make this quick. I’m going straight to the airport after this is done,” I said as soon as I entered my publicist’s office. Alvin was right behind me, typing away at his phone at an inhuman pace. I assumed he was making sure everything was ready for our arrival in Canada.
“Alvin,” Megan said as she got up from her seat across from Tom. “You are waiting outside. Close the door behind you.”
After getting a quick confirmation from me, he was out of the room.
“Okay. Lay it on me. What’s the damage?” I took my seat in the middle of the leather couch, draped my arms over the back, and forced my body to relax. This part of my job, talking about my image, my fuck-ups…this was the part I hated deep in my bones.
Megan gathered some papers from her desk drawer then took her seat again. They both had equally grim faces.
“What?” I asked when they glanced at each other, obviously trying to decide who should go first.
A few seconds passed and Tom sighed; any man would wilt under Megan McDowell’s hard stare. She was the best publicist out there, the toughest of them all, but that didn’t change the fact that she was the only woman Tom had a soft spot for.
“Megan got an email this morning and it changes everything.”
“Explain.”
“Last week, did you have sex with Jennifer Widner…in that alley, before the paps swarmed you?”
There was no use denying it. If I did, they couldn’t do the job I paid them to do. So, I didn’t. “Yes. They couldn’t have gotten any shots though. It was a close call, I’ll give you that.” I checked my watch. “Anyway, you both saw the pictures from that night. It was implied that we were having sex, but they didn’t get the shots. You already gave me a lecture on it, Megan.” I stood up. “If this was just to remind me to behave in Canada, there’s no need.”
“Sit down, Jason,” Megan ordered in a curt tone.
Tom was rubbing his forehead; something serious must have happened for him to show his discomfort so openly. Not much stressed him any more after working for me from the very start of my career.
“What’s going on here?”
She handed me a piece of paper. It was a copy of a single email sent to Megan’s email account.
I read the contents of it. Then I read it again.
“Is this a joke?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
“Unfortunately, it isn’t,” Megan replied. “You’re being blackmailed.”
I looked down at the paper in my hands again. “For two million dollars?” I balled up the paper and tossed it away. Leaning forward, I looked straight into Tom’s eyes. “If you’re playing me, if this is something you two concocted together so I’ll get scared and clean up my act, you tell me right now, Tom. If I find out later, you won’t be happy. Neither one of you will.”
Tom’s jaw hardened and I saw his hands form into tight fists. “You think I would do this to you? On top of everything else, are you out of your mind too?”
“I’m not stupid, Tom. That alley was empty. If someone was filming me having sex with Gemma, or whatever the hell her name is—”
“You don’t even remember her fucking name?”
“I would’ve seen it,” I continued over his rising tone. “Those paps came out of fucking nowhere after we were done. By the time they got to us, it only looked like we were making out or something.”
“Obviously someone was there, Jason,” Megan countered and drew my attention from Tom’s angry face. “What good would it do us to make it look like someone is blackmailing you? Stop acting like you know nothing about this industry. Whether it was a pap or some stranger just walking by, they have you on tape.”
“I’m not paying anyone anything,” I spit out. “We don’t even know if they have what they say they have.”
“I replied to his email, asking for proof,” Megan countered. “I’m hoping we’ll hear back today. As you’ve already read yourself, if you decide not to pay, he’ll sell it to whoever pays the big bucks. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to take it off his hands. We will send cease and desist letters, but once it’s online, you know that whatever you do it will always be out there, and that will screw your career in a matter of seconds. At this point, we’re beyond damage control.”
“Is this a new kink?” Tom piped up. “You have to fuck them out in the open, where anyone can get a free show?”
“Watch it,” I warned him wearily, all the fight seeping out of me.
Clearly not done with me, he got up from his seat and started to pace in the expansive room.
“This is the fifth incident this year,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Only this year, Jason. The first few, we managed to squash, but if there is a video and you refuse to buy it before it goes to a tabloid or a news outlet, there is nothing, absolutely nothing we can do to sweep it under the rug this time. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
Stopping next to me, he continued on his tirade. “Do you even grasp the fact that you’ve lost two projects? Two very important projects with some big names, and you lost them because of the constant negativity in the press. They aren’t talking about the movies you’re making. And now this? You’re not a useless reality star, Jason. Stop acting like it. If you were forty, I’d say you were going through a midlife crisis, but you have no excuse for your recent behavior. None.” He waited for an answer, but I wasn’t giving one. “What do you think will happen? None of the studio executives are happy with you. The press junkets you were supposed to do? The whole European tour for The Witness? You are kicked out. They don’t want you to be the center of attention when you are supposed to be there to promote their fucking movie. You’ll only go to the opening in London. You’re fucking up your entire career.”
I said nothing. Up to a point, he was right. Of course I knew that. I was literally fucking my career away for nothing and I had no compelling explanation. I wasn’t damaged because my mom had committed suicide, or because my dad had died from a heart attack while he was in bed with a highly priced call girl. They didn’t have that kind of a hold on me. They had been my biological parents and that was the end of it.
“I get it, and you are right, which is why I gave you my word that I would cool it down.”
“Cool it down?” He laughed. “You’re not getting it, my friend. Your little Olive’s movie? The one you are surprisingly excited to be a part of? Forget about it. The second the public sees this video, the studio will cut you out. I told you they had restrictions. They don’t even want you to have a relationship while you’re filming and promoting their movie. Do you think they’ll be okay with having your video out there while they are getting ready to announce your involvement with the adaptation?”
I sat up straighter. “You told me yourself they don’t want anyone else. They want me to play Isaac.”
“Yes, Jason.” He nodded and let out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s exactly what I told you. I’m surprised you were actually listening to me.”
He lost his smile and gave me a hard look, waiting for something.
The meaning of what he was trying to tell me finally sinking in, I sprung up. “She signed the contract, damn it! They can’t give up on it just because I screwed up. This has nothing to do with Olive’s book.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t. But what do they care? Olive signing the contract means nothing at this point. It is just an option. You know how these things work; let enough time pass and the rights will revert to her.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Megan rise up and get on her computer.
“They only reached out to Olive Taylor because I told them that I would get you on board. You’ve read the book. I know you’ve read the book. Think about it for a second. It’s almost as if it was written for you. Why would they want someone else when you are the perfect fit?”
Turning around, I faced him again. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Sometimes you can be so stupid,” he said, groaning. He approached me as if he was nearing a dangerous animal. “You said you were childhood friends with Olive, right?”
I nodded curtly. “I practically grew up in the same house with her. Her brother was my best friend.”
“Yeah, well, I believe her inspiration for Isaac was you.”
“No.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I don’t do drugs, I never did. You know this. And Genevieve is Isaac’s friend. They never live in the same house. Olive was…” Even though she had been my friend, I couldn’t quite say it. “Olive was my friend’s sister. It’s different.”
He rolled his eyes. “So what? She is a writer. She uses her imagination. That version of you does drugs. This version of you fucks everything that moves. In public. That version of you is her friend. This version of you was her brother’s friend. It’s the same fucking thing! The movie isn’t about drugs. It’s about Isaac and Genevieve. Maybe she wanted to write a happy ending for the boy she was in love with when she was a kid. What the hell do I know?” Taking a breath, he lowered his voice. “All I’m saying is, the execs wanted you because you were perfect for the role: Hollywood’s troubled boy finally falling in love on the screen. Isaac is a strong character; he would’ve changed things around for you. Opened up new venues. I wanted you in this project because it was going to help your image in the public’s eye if it was done right. You might see it as just another movie, but the viewers would’ve seen more than that. In the end, they would’ve left the theater thinking about all the heartache you’d gone through. Finally, they would’ve seen a different side of you, someone who is capable of love.”
“Now you’re just trying to piss me off.”
“You think so? Show me one stable relationship you’ve had in the last few years.”
I ran my hand through my hair and picked up the pacing where Tom had left off.
“It doesn’t mean I’m not capable of love, Tom. For Christ’s sake, why are we even talking about this? I’m just not looking for anything serious, especially not with someone who is in this industry. And don’t talk to me as if you don’t know my schedule. I don’t have time for a serious relationship. It isn’t as if I never had any love interests in the movies I’ve been in.”
“Don’t give me that. You’ve never been in a relationship with this intensity—on screen. Sleeping with your costar while you are running away from bullets and bombs doesn’t count.”
Megan waved her hand at us and her voice stopped whatever Tom was about spew. “I think you guys need to see this.”
I reached her side right after Tom did. There was a video on the screen. She clicked play.
We were all silent as we watched the forty-second video.
“That’s it?” I asked once it stopped before either of them could start up again.
Megan spun in her chair to face me. The fire in her eyes was visible from that close. “That’s it? That’s what you have to say?”
“It’s a fucking forty-second video some creep took with his phone’s camera. What do you want me to say?”
“So,” she started, linking her hands in her lap. “What you’re saying is, no one will understand that this is you”—she glanced back at the screen—“clearly fucking Jennifer Widner’s brains out? Because my eyes are working perfectly fine, Jason, and I can see your hips pumping into her while her dress is scrunched up around her waist. I can almost make out your dick going into her.” I winced—not exactly what you want to hear coming out of your publicist’s mouth. “Or are you telling me you were just dry humping her out in the alley? Because if you are about to suggest we tell the media that, I’ll have to inform you that it won’t work because we can clearly see the condom you are throwing away when you realize there are paps around. Which is exactly when our little camera man zooms in on your face and then the fucking CONDOM you filled.”
I flinched and got back to my seat without making any further comment.
“Do we know if there is more to the video than that?” I heard Tom ask Megan.
“It doesn’t say. Thankfully, there is no sound.”
“I’m not paying him,” I said from where I was sitting, interrupting them. I looked away from their blank stares. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it. He can sell it to whoever he wants. I won’t make him rich. For all I know, he will just forward it to everyone after he gets his money.”
Tom walked toward me and sat down. “Look, Jason. This isn’t a joke. This will ruin you. If this had been the only thing, you would’ve been fine. Hell, we would be laughing about it. But the pictures with Zoey in your car and everything else before that… They won’t let this one go that easily, not when they have proof like that.”
Leaning back, I looked at Megan. “You have the best team in Hollywood. Do something. Hell, find me a good girl to date, someone to go grocery shopping with at Whole Foods hand in hand every now and then. Divert their attention from this. Jason Thorn dating someone would be more of a shocking story than a blurry sex tape,” I added with disgust.
“Do you think everyone is stupid and won’t see through the publicity stunt?” Tom asked, getting all worked up again. “Every idiot is getting into a fake relationship these days. No one will buy it with you.” His eyes flicked toward Megan, who was staring at me silently. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
She shrugged. “He’s right; dating someone won’t help you deal with all this crap. With the timing of this, they’ll see right through it. However, if we find someone—”
A knock on the door interrupted her sentence, and a second later Alvin’s head popped in. “We’re going to miss our flight, boss. We need to leave right now.”
I waved my hand. “I’ll be out in five minutes.”
When he closed the door, I gave all my attention back to Megan. “You were saying?”
“You’re not going to like it.”
“So far you haven’t said anything I liked, why change it now?”
“If we’re going to lie about a relationship, we have to go bigger than that. You have to do something that will pretty much swallow this whole thing up along with your previous transgressions.”
“Out with it,” I said impatiently.
Tapping her long fingernails on her desk, she let out a long breath. “We’ll have to find you someone to marry.”
I stared at her blankly. Then, looking at Tom’s interested gaze, I laughed. “I think you’ve both lost it. I’m not paying you to come up with a stupid solution like that. They won’t believe that I went ahead and got myself a girlfriend, but they’ll believe that I married someone for love? Do you even hear yourself?”
“You’re not paying the guy off.” She shrugged. “So I’m telling you that having your pictures taken with a fake girlfriend won’t make all this go away. You have to do something big and stop all of this at once. And what does it matter to you? I’m not telling you to fall in love with her. A fake girlfriend, a fake wife—it’ll practically be the same thing for you. The only difference is you’ll have to live in the same house for a few years.”
“Live in the same house? A few years?” I laughed harder. “You’re crazy. Tom, you can’t possibly agree with her.”
“Do you have a better idea?” he shot back. “The public’s perception of you has to change; if this is the way to do that…”
Glaring at them both, I got up from my seat and walked to the door. I was tempted to fire them both on the spot, but they were the best, and apparently I wasn’t in a place where I could do whatever the hell I wanted any more.
I stopped by the door. “I’m not paying anyone. Let him release it to whoever he wants.” Opening the door, I saw an impatient Alvin lifting his brows and tapping at his watch.
“Jason.” Tom’s resigned voice stopped me from moving farther.
“If this…after this gets out, you’ll still get offers, but trust me they won’t be the same offers you’re getting right now. You’ve been playing with fire, and frankly, you’re about to go up in flames.”
My grip on the door tightening, I turned to face the duo. Over the past few years, we had built a good relationship among us. They knew who I was and where I wanted to go in this industry, and I always appreciated their guidance. They had never cornered me like this. They always offered me options.
“I want Olive’s movie,” I said to Tom. “Do whatever you have to do to tie me to it. Leak the news today before this goes out if you have to. I don’t care what you do, just do something so they can’t back away.”
It was reluctant, but he nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
To Megan, I said, “I don’t like your solution, Megan. I get where you’re coming from, but…anyway, it doesn’t matter. I have to think about it. I assume you don’t have any blushing brides ready for me to choose from?”
Calmly, she shrugged. “I might have a few names.”
“Of course you do,” I muttered. Ignoring her, I continued. “When I get back from Canada, you can show me your list and I’ll think about it more. That’s about all I can do right now.”
I turned around to leave.
“Jason, in Canada you have to—”
“Don’t worry, Tom,” I interrupted him. “I’m not planning on letting anyone come near my dick. Not any time soon anyway.”
