CHAPTER 18 ALEXIS
They say ignorance is bliss, and I’m blissfully ignorant as I text Danny after filming is done for the day.
Tomorrow is my last day filming here on location in Vegas, and then we will return to Los Angeles to film there starting Monday. I’ll be back home with my dad. I won’t get to come to Danny’s house every night after the shoot to decompress and destress.
We’ll be back to hiding this secret from a distance, and even though I believe in us, that doesn’t make any of this any easier.
He’ll have to watch as the wedding approaches. Tomorrow is the first of December, which means we’re only two weeks away from this sham of a marriage becoming my new reality, and I know, I just know that my father will have the wedding splashed all over the media the minute I arrive back home.
The thought is heavy on my mind as Gregory pulls into Danny’s driveway.
I want to show Danny how much I love him. I want to prove to him that he’s it for me, that this wedding is only for my brand. But I have no idea how.
It feels like too much pressure. Tonight is our last night together. I have to leave for LA tomorrow after filming wraps, and I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.
I’ve built tonight up way too big in my mind to meet expectations, but that’s what I do. I always build things up bigger than they are. Hopefully history will repeat itself in this case, and things won’t be as dramatic as I think they are.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six unless we hear otherwise from the studio,” Gregory tells me, and I thank him with shaking hands before I get out of the car. I head toward the front door and fall into Danny’s waiting arms when he holds the door open for me.
He closes the door behind me, and he feels…stiff.
Something is wrong, and I get it. It all feels wrong to me, too.
“Are you okay?” I ask, my face buried in his chest.
He tightens his grip around me. “No.”
“I’m not, either. How are we going to do this? How do I leave and go marry another man in two weeks?”
He doesn’t respond, and an alarm rings in my head.
Why isn’t he responding?
“Danny?” I ask softly.
He heaves out a long, heavy breath, and then he reaches down into his pocket.
I take a step back from him, my eyes on his hand before he opens it.
“I, uh…I have something I need to tell you.”
My brows draw together. “What is it?”
He clears his throat, obviously nervous to tell me whatever it is.
“What’s in your hand?” I ask, the alarm ringing louder in my head as fear grips its icy claws into my chest.
He opens his hand, holding what looks like a tiny video camera.
The crease between my brows deepens in confusion. “What is that?”
“A recording device, like a nanny cam.”
“Why do you have it?” I ask. Fear pounds between my ears, a loud, constant thunder.
He averts his eyes to the ground. “My father…he planted it in my bedroom.”
“He what?” I practically yell. “Wait…when?”
“Yesterday morning.” His eyes won’t meet mine as he says the words.
I press my lips together as my heart races. My first thought is the sex we had last night where he completely obliterated my body and my mind.
My second thought is the sex we had this morning.
And my third thought is…what the hell did we say to each other last night?
I was exhausted—emotionally spent after a hard day on set, wanting to be there for Danny because his father showed up out of the blue. He told me not to marry Brooks. We definitely talked about how this is all a sham and how I should be with him instead.
Oh my God.
As if the fact that his father videotaped us having sex wasn’t bad enough, he also caught our very private conversation?
“Why the hell would he do that?” I demand quietly.
“He wants money.” His voice is defeated.
“How much? I’ll buy the damn video from him. Better yet, call the police! This must be a felony or something, right?” I reach into my back pocket and pull my phone out to make the call, but he shakes his head and takes the phone gently from my grasp.
“If we go to the police, that video becomes evidence.”
“Have you…have you seen it?” I ask.
He closes his eyes and nods.
Shame fills me. I’m “cheating” on my “fiancé,” and Danny’s father took full advantage of that. He never knew when he planted that camera the absolute gold mine he was about to stumble upon, but he got pretty damn lucky.
“Are there more?” I ask.
His brows dip. “More what? Videos?”
“Cameras.” I glance all around me, suddenly feeling scared to even be here at all.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I spent the day looking around for more, but he got everything he wanted last night.”
“What kind of sick person—” I cut myself off before I say more.
This is his father, and I don’t want Danny to feel like he’s anything like that man. But I’m not sure how to approach any of this.
“Let’s ask Gregory what to do. He’s here to protect me, and—”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think we should tell anyone, Alexis. I already paid him what he wanted, so maybe this all goes away now.”
“You gave him money?” I ask.
“I didn’t have any other choice. He told me he’d release the tape if I didn’t put fifty grand in his private account by the close of business today. So I did what I had to do,” he says sullenly.
My stomach twists violently, and I feel like I’m going to be sick.
I can’t believe any of this right now.
“And you think that’s it?” I ask. “Fifty grand and he’ll keep quiet?”
He lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know. No, not really. I don’t think that’s it. But what other choice did I have?”
“Let’s talk to Gregory,” I beg as tears start to pinch behind my eyes. “He’ll know what to do.”
He shakes his head. “Let me handle him. I don’t want to drag anyone else into this mess.” He says the words with finality, and it feels like there’s no more arguing.
“I’m scared, Danny.”
He grabs me into his arms again. “I am, too, Lex. But we’ve made it to here. We’ll figure this out, too.”
“What if we don’t? What if he releases that tape? It’ll ruin everything I’ve worked for. My image will be destroyed. My brand decimated. My reputation wrecked. And the merger my dad wants so badly…” I trail off as I start to cry in earnest.
“I won’t let that happen,” he says fiercely.
“What are you going to do? Is all this even worth it?” I ask through the tears.
He pulls back and his eyes fall to mine, and for the first time, I see my own fears reflected back at me. “Of course it’s worth it,” he says quietly.
And then he hauls me up into his arms and carries me up to his room, where he gently rubs my back until I stop crying.
But just because the tears stop doesn’t mean I’m any less scared about what the future holds for us.