Chapter 29
VICTOR
She really looks so fucking good.
Josie walks through the front door to my mansion, and I follow closely behind. To be honest, I’m starting to find it hard to be around her. I’m starting to really appreciate her. It’s very unlike me. And it’s not just her looks, but I actually like the woman. Yeah, she does look so fucking good in her makeup and the way she moves, but she’s also so very kind and nice and too damn good for a degenerate like me.
I watch her as she starts to head up the staircase toward her room.
“Stop, Josie.”
She slowly turns around and looks at me. I recognize that apprehensive flicker in her eyes.
She’s terrified of me. Terrified of my star power. Of my wealth. Of how very different we are. The interview today merely rubbed that in. The more I show her my life, and what I have to do as an actor, the more the distance grows between us.
She does look so fucking good...
“Yes, Victor?” she asks.
I take in a sharp breath.
“I’m going to give you an acting lesson,” I say.
Josie’s eyes narrow.
“What?”
“Follow me.”
I gesture, but she is hesitant to follow.
“What’s going on?” she’s asking.
“Let me show you.”
We are heading for my office. This is a room she hasn’t been in before. To be honest, I don’t usually use it much except for online meetings. Set up on one side of the room is a tripod and a white wall. This is where I film and practice scenes in preparation for my roles.
Josie looks around the set-up, curious.
“Stand on the mark on the floor,” I tell her, pointing at the duct tape marking an X in front of the tripod.
“I’m not really good in front of a camera,” she says, eyeing all the equipment apprehensively.
“This is just for us,” I reply. “Don’t worry.”
“Yeah? It will only be for us?”
“I promise. I’m not going to show it to anyone else.”
“Okay.”
“Now stand there,” I say, and she gradually moves across the room to plant her feet on the mark.
And she stares at me.
“I’m trusting you with this,” Josie says slowly. “What is it all about, Victor? I’ve had a crazy day, and I don’t think I can take any more craziness.”
“You’re going to need to learn how to respond to interviewers now that you’re with me,” I instruct her. “You’re going to have to be comfortable in front of a camera because there’s going to be a lot of them thrust in your face from now on.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. A lot of cameras.”
“I was afraid you’d say that...”
I take up my spot behind the camera, facing her. I turn it on.
“Okay,” I mutter. “Let’s do this.”
“What’s that camera for, then?” she asks.
“For you to watch back what you’ve done,” I say. “Trust me, it works for me to watch myself. It’s how I got better at acting.”
“Ah, I understand. And you honestly think that’ll help me?”
She’s still so uneasy.
“I think it will, don’t you?”
“Maybe,” Josie replies. “I mean, I’ll take anything that makes me feel comfortable in front of journalists and cameras and all that.”
“This will help.”
“I trust you, Victor.”
“Okay, so I’m going to be a journalist asking you a question, and I want you to answer,” I explain.
Josie nods.
“Sure.”
I stand up straight. Josie watches me as I become a different person. A journalist.
I’m playing the part of a hard-nosed interviewer like Van back at that factory.
“What initially attracted you to Victor Penmayne?” I ask her, my voice low.
She seems uneasy with that. Her eyes flicker from mine to the floor.
And then she looks at the camera.
“His smile,” she finally says.
There’s a slight blush on her cheeks as she speaks.
“Can you handle the attention that’ll come from dating Victor?” I ask her bluntly, still in journalist mode.
“I think so...”
“Have you experienced any challenges with Victor’s fame?”
Josie continues to glare down the camera lens like a pro.
“I guess we’ll see when the whole world finds out,” she says.
“What do you admire most about Victor?”
Josie doesn’t need to think that question through.
“His passion.”
“What’s been the best thing that’s happened to you since you’ve met him?”
“Talking to him.”
“What’s your favorite physical aspect of Victor’s?”
“His smile... and his eyes.”
“And do you love him?”
Josie pauses. She looks at me from over the tripod.
“Are you really going to ask me that?” she questions me. “Seriously?”
“Answer it. The people who are going to interview you will certainly ask you that question.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
“Do you love Victor Penmayne, Josie?”
“Yes. I love him. He’s my boyfriend and I love him.”
I turn the camera off.
“Good. Does that make you feel better? More comfortable?”
Josie nods.
“Yeah, it does,” she replies softly. “It actually does.”
“See, you don’t need anything else,” I say. “You don’t need to pretend to be anyone else, Josie. Trust yourself. You don’t need to be anything else or anything more. You are more than enough.”
“You think so?” she asks, still tentative.
“I don’t just think so,” I reply. “I know so. You are perfect as you are, Josie.”
The way she looks at me is enough to make my heart stop.