The Love Raffle

Chapter 14

Both Amber and Levi paled at the realization of who was at the door.

Levi moved his hands from Amber’s shoulders, sliding them down to her wrists and then to her waist before returning them to her face. “Shit,” he whispered, like a teen caught in the act by a parent. He kept switching his attention from the door to Amber.

“Hello! Levi. We’re here. A little late but better late than never!” Rachel sang between laughter. Amused voices chattered softly behind her own. Levi recognized one as Fiona’s, her British accent vanishing in her slurring words.

“Coming!” Levi held Amber by the elbows, staring deep into her eyes. “I got to, uh… You should…” He faced the living room, staring at the doors to the balcony.

“Levi!” Amber demanded that he look at her. “There is no way I’m climbing out there,” she whispered so as to not cause suspicion. Whoever’s outside sounds pretty hammered though. She guessed even agents deserved to take things easy from time to time.

“I-I never said you should. I’d never want that for you.” Levi slipped his hand in hers and pulled her to the back of the couch. “Come on.” He ran hurried over to a white door with a silver knob. “Here.” He let go of her to open up. “Quick.”

Amber frowned, peering inside. “Is this your storage room?” All the pain returned tenfold. She jutted her bottom lip like a pleading child, staring at Levi with widened eyes. “What a way to treat someone you love.” She shook her head, gesturing to the surprisingly spacious closet. His mops, brooms, and cleaning supplies were stacked on shelves that lined all three walls. Left, right, and back packed with a year’s worth of bleach, detergents, vacuums—the works. It was about the size of Amber’s childhood bedroom.

“I know it sucks but if Rachel sees you, she’s going to get…mad,” Levi breathed out, staring at his feet.

Amber opened her mouth right when Rachel knocked harder, cooing for Levi. “Are you not a grown man?”

Levi recoiled as if she had slapped him. “Well yeah, but agents can be uh…a little um…”

Those once gentle knocks turned to pounding, Rachel demanding to be let in. “We don’t have all night!” she shouted.

Levi hoped she didn’t wake the neighbors. “Get in quick before she sees you and everything gets ruined,” he begged, his guilt threatening to swallow him and force him into a curled ball on the carpeted floor.

“I’m practically in. And does it even matter how quickly I move? It’s not like she can let herself inside. She doesn’t have a key.” Amber was rarely difficult but being stuffed in a storage closet after hearing “I love you” just didn’t feel right. A lot of this doesn’t. Except when they kissed and touched and looked into each other’s eyes…

Levi had started to refute when he heard his door swing open and the voices grow clearer. He gasped.

Amber slipped right in and shut the door, her reaction surprising even herself. She took in long breaths with a pounding heart then rested her ear against the door. Damn it. Was she scared of Levi’s weird agent too or had his fear simply rubbed off on her? I hate this. But she did care about Levi’s feelings. He’d known this Rachel lady his whole life. Amber had heard of her too. She was a beast. That woman could book anyone a gig. Her clients were the best of the best no matter what they did. Heard she got a Vegas show for a tap-dancing clown. For that, Amber respected her. And I guess someone’s got to be a little crazy to be that good. What would she do if their secret relationship got out?

Outside, Levi held his arms open to welcome Rachel, Fiona, and her agent. “Guys.” He walked with them, keeping an eye on the storage closet. Went from metaphorically to literally hiding her in a closet way too quickly. He was officially the worst. “You all came…” He looked at his phone. “At nearly three a.m. when we should all be sleeping.” He stepped up to Fiona after rounding his couch.

Fiona hugged him and kissed both his cheeks. “No time’s better than after dark, I always say.” He detected a British inflection in her American accent. She looked at his couch. “Oh, you were cozy while waiting, huh? I’m loving the comforter.” She laughed and hiccupped as her agent—Stacy Gray—and Rachel took seats.

“Of course, of course.” Rachel was wearing a suit despite claiming to have been at a nightclub earlier. Fiona was dressed pretty casually in a blouse and jeans while Stacy was clad in a fitted pantsuit similar to Rachel’s, causing Levi to question the reasoning behind this outing.

Couldn’t have been planned , he thought. “So, how’d you get in exactly?” he asked, listening for signs of life in the storage closet.. He needed to make it up to Amber for this. She’s way too good for me. He put his hands in his back pockets.

Rachel jingled a small key hanging from her finger. “It’s Agent 101 to keep a key to your clients’ abodes. Just in case of emergencies.” She crossed her legs while eying the snacks on the center table. “Such as breakups that keep them from work.”

“Mmm. The worst,” said Stacy, sitting with clasped hands on her knee.

Rachel noted some roses on the center of the kitchen table. “Hangovers…” she said skeptically.

Stacy snapped her fingers. “I forgot how bad those were.” She put both arms over the backrest of Levi’s couch, holding her head back. She was at least a decade Rachel’s senior with high arching eyebrows and wide gray eyes. Not very approachable in Levi’s opinion. The intensity of her eyes paired with her pointy nose and her clipped way of expressing herself just made her…scary. But somehow not as terrifying as Rachel. Rachel seemed to be inspecting his penthouse a little too closely.

“Overdoses. Worst case scenarios,” Fiona supplied, since Rachel seemed hesitant to list more. She shifted her eyes to Levi. “Ms. Gray here has loads of horror stories.” He detected a bit of Russian in there now. Was this Fiona’s drunken form? A mix of accents?

“Ah…yeah, I’d imagine that. Anyway!” Levi clapped his hands before Rachel could point out the pricey wine on his dining room table. I put everything else away except that? I thought it set the mood for romance but now I feel like an idiot for leaving evidence behind. “You want to take some homey pictures? Let’s do that in my room.” He held Fiona by her wrist to lead her to the bedroom beyond the kitchen. “Let’s go, go, go…”

Stacy got up reluctantly and followed on wobbling legs. “Wait for me. We’ve got to do this right.” Her high heels tapped against Levi’s floors as she followed them into the kitchen, leaving the carpeted living room.

Rachel was surprised by his rushing. “Well, someone’s eager to work for once.” She scooted to the edge of the couch then stood up and narrowed her eyes at the rumpled comforter she left behind. Hmm. Fiona and Stacy both seemed to chat up Levi on the walk to his room. She watched them disappear then squished a portion of the blanket.

Bringing it to her nose, Rachel took a sniff, closing her eyes. Rosemary. She tossed it back down and then whipped her head to the roses on the table.

Levi came bounding out of his room to the hall. “Rachel, we got work to do.” He could not let her stick around any longer. If she found Amber, she’d give him hell for being so stupid as to keep seeing her while publicly seeing someone else. The backlash he’d get if they were spotted could be image-ending. More like career-ending. Rachel knew all about public perception and what was ruinous and what was not.

He saw her step slowly away from the couch, meeting him in the kitchen with half her blouse out of her Vicuna dress pants. “Of course, we need to keep the public invested as long as possible. I swear the film promotion team should pay extra for my involvement.” She laughed, pocketing both hands in her blazer.

Levi didn’t understand her composure. She’d been so giddy a while ago. Unless seeing all the evidence that I had someone over has made her sober. He swallowed thickly, looking to the storage door and hoping that Amber wouldn’t hate him after this. “Yeah…you do too much,” he said, a nervous laugh following.

Rachel’s smile seemed plastic. “Levi?”

Levi grew fearful, recognizing her warning tone—the precursor to showbiz lectures and her emphasis on why taking heed of instructions was necessary. Oscar would always be there to reiterate her points with a gentler approach. They’d really taken on the role of parents when his parents weren’t around. Not that either were ever fully present after the money rolled in. “Yes, Rachel?” Could he sound any guiltier?

Rachel’s shoulders went up as she inhaled. “Be careful.” She held his shoulder with a tender hand then walked to the hall, which branched out beside the fridge. An old fairytale song floated from her lips. “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast .

He knitted his brows as his eyes followed her out. Be careful? How ambiguous…

“You won’t only have the public to worry about if you slip up.” Her voice carried into the kitchen even after she entered his room, no longer visible.

That wasn’t any less confusing but Levi could at least react appropriately. The public? What else could he possibly have to worry about apart from that? And what did she mean? Had she put the pieces together that quickly?

He contemplated her words on his way to the storage room, opening the door for Amber.

Amber fell onto him. “Oop—”

“Oh no.” Levi held her steady. “You okay?” he whispered, already guiding her to the door.

Amber hurried after him. “Yeah. I was just kind of listening.” She sighed. “No one noticed I was here, right?” As awful as it felt, this was just how things were right now. They’ll improve with time. If they kept going that long. Do I want us to? He’d said he was in love. She’d been ready to profess the same until people showed up. She wanted to see him for a while. As long as she could.

“Rachel might have but…” He opened the door while whispering, keeping an eye out for Rachel or anyone else. He could hear their drunken giggles from here.

“What?” Amber’s eyes bulged. She flung her head back. “How!” she whispered, stepping outside. “I didn’t even say anything.” She gulped. “Do I have to contact the witness protection program? Am I in trouble here?” That woman was not to be played with.

“No, no,” said Levi, slowly closing the door. “Don’t worry about her, okay? Whatever happens with her, I will take care of it.” He smiled a bit. “Just know that I won’t let anything get between us.” He stared intently into her eyes, wanting her to know that he cared. “And…I’m sorry. You’re not storage room material.”

Amber had taken her coat and hat off the rack before going out. She pulled them on. “Why did you say that like it’s a letdown? Like you’re sorry I’m not storage room material?” She laughed. “Like this is some reality competition where people sign up to find out if they’ve got the storage room flair.” This was killing her in their time of despair.

Levi could at least laugh right now. He’d figured it out, though. Rachel’s words. I’ll be a dead man if we don’t keep this under wraps. Would Rachel go as far as to drop him? She’d never. She wasn’t that heinous. “Too funny you are.” He rubbed his eyes, suddenly exhausted.

Amber yawned. “I try my best with you. To make you…” She paused to yawn. “Laugh. Jeez.” She swiped at the trickles of tears that slipped through the corners of her eyes. “I guess we’ll text, right?”

He sighed, finding her adorable in that oversized trench coat. “Yeah.” He closed his eyes and leaned in.

Amber shut hers and connected her lips to his.

She pulled back first.

“That’s all for now?”

“I think you should worry about your agent, who’s expecting you.” Amber smiled and adjusted her hat, turning around to head out.

Levi half-smiled but waved. “Bye.”

* * *

A bittersweetness filled Amber while leaving Levi’s penthouse.

She was utterly worn out from being up so late despite resting all day. Her mattress’ comfort was tempting even if she’d only have it for a second before commencing the new work week. Resting her head seemed so appealing but at the same time, her head itself was a clutter of confusion.

Amber checked her watch for the hour. Nearly four. She’d have a long cab drive to her place. Levi was supposed to drive her but, of course, his career got in the way. I’m used to being independent. She’d had to be her whole life. Her mom had provided necessities, not luxuries. Calling herself “poor” would be a reach but she had never been rich. Extra cash for field trips and special lunches at school she’d put together herself. She’d become the neighborhood chore girl from a young age.

It always worked. At the time, she’d been mad at her mom for being inadequate but after moving away and grinding on her own, she kind of appreciated that part of her. Amber had always been confident in her self-sufficiency and capabilities and it was all thanks to that. Call it trauma but it’s part of why I always believed I’d make it. And now…she was about to make yet another TV and acting appearance.

A smile played on her lips as she strolled down the seemingly never-ending hallway, her hands in her pockets. When she’d first entered the white-walled, orange-doored world, she’d feared she’d stumbled into The Backrooms . Every door was identical apart from the orange numbers in the center. I’m sure that behind them all is a multimillion-dollar penthouse like Levi’s. Although, his was much simpler than she’d anticipated.

It wasn’t all you, you know. She slowed down as the version of her mom from her dream came to mind. It had been a while ago but somehow the dream still haunted her. It’s okay. I did my part. It counts. This is showbiz. So what if my association with Levi jump-started things? That didn’t count because her short-lived fame was already over. So soon you’ll fall into obscurity.

She stopped altogether, thinking back to what Beca had told her about her appeal to the producers of that new show, A Season for Us . It was the same as before. She’d play a love interest to someone due to her affiliation with Levi Marks.

Amber looked down, pressing her lips together. I will just blow everyone away every time I show up on their screens. It’ll only get better from here. Negativity would get her nowhere. She needed to listen to the people around her and press on.

But what if this wasn’t negativity and simply reality? Acting delusional could be just as harmful. Like how I refuse to acknowledge the elephant in the room. She chewed the inside of her mouth as her strides grew shorter and more hesitant. Being shoved in a storage room just now had not exactly been romantic. As much as Amber wanted to believe this was the status quo for now, she also feared it was a red flag. It’s so stupid. Levi was not some teenage pop star with wicked fans. No, he’s a grown actor with heinous fans, so they’d hate it if he’s human and dating someone who’s not a comic book character in his franchise. She wasn’t being ridiculous, right? This setup was indeed absurd, wasn’t it?

Just for promo. It’s not all about the fans. He would be Captain Evolution for a while, though. And Captain Evolution dated Mrs. S. Well, yeah, but it won’t be an effective promotion tactic for all eternity. Eventually, people will get used to it and not care. And if a new face appeared as Levi’s actual partner, the masses would suck it up because they weren’t idiots.

Then again… Once more, Amber’s motions ceased. She turned to the orange door beside her and sighed. Red flag or unfavorable circumstance?

Her brain went blank, lost for words on how to respond. Or perhaps she refused to answer. Do I really want to worsen his trauma? His first girlfriend dumped him over the same thing. How was one’s career an obstacle in a relationship in this day and age? I get that with Jenny it was a—

Suddenly, with no warning, someone opened the door beside her.