Chapter Nine
Alex had just finished his post-show talk when Isaac raised his hand and asked, ‘Will you be watching tomorrow night’s performance?’
He thought for a moment, and realised that it was time to let go.
His tweaks had been in place for a week now and the show was running smoothly.
‘You know what? I think you guys are doing brilliantly without me watching every night.’ He chuckled at the relieved sighs, but understood it was more because they feared the reason he stayed was because he wasn’t happy with the show.
Deciding to lavish some more praise on his hardworking actors, he added, ‘Sasha and Louise have really taken on board my suggestions and run with them. There’s a real depth and authenticity to your characters now that blows me away – it’s fantastic.
The whole production is doing an incredible job. You should all be proud, I know I am.’
Sasha, who played Myrtle, brightened at his words. ‘I hope you thanked Ellie for that,’ she teased.
Alex grinned. ‘You got it.’ He’d ordered flowers for his leading actors through Jones Floristry and told Ellie’s nanna to ensure that there was an extra bunch for her granddaughter, as her insight had really lifted the production to a whole new level.
He stood up from his seat on one of the set chairs. ‘Well, break a leg. I’ll come to a couple more shows here and there, just to check in and keep in touch. But either way, I’ll see you all at the Olivier Awards.’
The cast and crew cheered. The Oliviers were a highlight for many of them who had never been invited before as they were still so early on in their careers.
As he was walking offstage, Russell appeared from behind one of the giant party sets – a huge sparkly clamshell – not exactly the Aphrodite he’d want or hope for. ‘Hello, Alex. May I bend your ear for a minute?’
Instantly suspicious, Alex nonetheless moved out of the way of the rest of the cast as they hurried to their dressing rooms so he could stay behind with Russell.
‘Well, I’m pleased to tell you, we’ve had a little uptake in sales recently.
Your Arts Review interview certainly piqued public interest. I have to say, it seemed a nicely balanced write-up, despite some of the leading questions.
’ He gave an awkward chuckle, aware of how sore that issue was for Alex – he’d kept his word about no more interviews and not done another since.
‘Many of our patrons seem keen to spot you in the audience again.’
‘I was with a friend that night,’ Alex said coldly.
He was aware from Richie that there was at least one grainy picture of Ellie and himself watching the performance.
Snapped on someone’s cell several rows behind them in the interval, the photo only showed his side profile and the back of Ellie’s head.
Richie had forwarded him the post asking if it was his date, and Alex had ignored him.
‘Yes, well. If you are so inclined, feel free to do so again.’
‘Like I said, I’ll come and see a few more shows during the run. But I don’t want my presence to distract from the performance.’ It was a polite way of saying that Alex wouldn’t be sitting in the auditorium again, and Russell’s hopeful expression faded.
Alex’s phone began to buzz in his pocket. Grateful for an excuse to leave this awkward conversation, he took it out and glanced at the caller ID. ‘Sorry, my mom is calling. Is that everything?’
Russell seemed more concerned about keeping his mother waiting then annoying Alex, and waved him away. ‘Of course, and, if she ever fancies treading the boards in London, let her know our doors are always open. Wide open!’
Alex strode away, not entirely sure if he’d left one awkward moment simply to jump into another far worse one. ‘Hiya, Mom.’
‘Hello, darling, so glad to get a hold of you.’ His mother’s voice skipped down the line with forced joviality, as if she hadn’t heard from him in months. Granted he’d ignored a couple of calls from her, but that was normal; their family was always busy and often in different time zones.
Alex rolled his eyes. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Sure…’ She paused. ‘Your plus one for the wedding. What’s her name again?’
‘I never gave you her name, and you won’t know her anyway.’
There was another pause, and then a deep exhale. ‘Alex. I would like to know the name of the person coming to stay in my own home. Security will want to do their usual checks, and there’s the jet to organise, and the seating plan for the wedding breakfast and rehearsal dinner.’
Alex stiffened, reluctant to give her Ellie’s name.
As soon as he did, his family would know all there was to know about her, and that felt like an invasion of her privacy.
‘I am not entirely sure of her legal name, but I’ll email it over as soon as I can,’ he lied.
He knew Ellie’s full name; he’d needed it for their deal, to sort out the flat and payments.
Eliza Dorothy Jones. He thought it the cutest name on the planet, as adorable as the woman who owned it.
Appeased, his mother replied, ‘If she’s using a stage name that’s fine, just give us both names for the checks.
’ Of course she would presume he was dating an actress.
‘Let me know as soon as you have it, there’s still so much to do…
’ She sighed, as if it was her swansong, and Alex chuckled.
He suspected she loved the party planning.
Savannah didn’t have much family, so he supposed his mom was doing all of the heavy lifting when it came to planning the wedding.
‘It’ll be fine. I’ve gotta go, speak soon,’ he lied again, and quickly ending the call.
He ducked into one of the rehearsal spaces and took a moment to check through his emails. The mention of a security check had got him thinking about the press. He should probably check what the latest gossip magazines and sites were saying about him.
Richie had set up an automatic alert for his name, so that whenever he was mentioned online it would send him an email with the links.
Long ago he’d set up an inbox folder that immediately filed all of the alerts.
There were thousands, mostly unread, but occasionally when he needed to check something, like now, he would go into that folder.
The last ones he’d opened were from a couple of months ago when the story about Savannah and Liam’s engagement had first broken.
At the time, he’d only managed to read a few lines before he’d felt physically sick.
Thankfully, when he opened the folder today, his stomach no longer lurched at the headlines.
ALEX KING’S brUTAL HUMILIATION!
TWO KINGS, ONLY ONE QUEEN
THE TRUTH BEHIND ALEX it was the usual click-bait.
He was just relieved that there’d been no mention of Ellie.
The kindly nurse made her sound elderly.
Alex, on the other hand, sounded like some drunken loser – which wasn’t completely off the mark, but he didn’t mind that if it saved Ellie’s family from further scrutiny.
Even the photos were mostly of him looking stupidly confused, or the back of Ellie’s bath-robed figure as they ran back inside.
He suspected she’d been too close to the photographers while opening the gate to be distinguishable in the photos, which was a relief – he imagined Ellie wouldn’t appreciate them publishing clear images of her in her bathrobe and bunny slippers.
He opened the next alert. It was the grainy photo from the theatre.
IS ALEX KING FINALLY PULLING HIMSELF TOGETHER?
Alex King was spotted with an unidentified woman at a recent performance of his theatre-directing debut, The Great Gatsby.
Onlookers described Alex as unable to take his eyes off his date throughout the performance.
In a recent interview with the Arts Review, Alex described himself as ‘optimistic for the future’.
Perhaps Alex’s new mystery lady is leading him towards a more hopeful future?
Sources close to Alex have informed us that he is even considering purchasing a home in London.
Speculation and half-truths. Alex could cope with that. What he was most concerned about was how Ellie would cope with the inevitable press attention when her name broke, which it certainly would after the Olivier Awards.
His leg began to bounce with anxiety. Was he doing the right thing?
He’d lived with this kind of attention his whole life, but how would Ellie cope?
Alex knew it was wrong of him to put such a burden on her.
After all, he had experienced how hellish it could be, how the constant scrutiny and speculation could wear down even the most resilient of people, break them.
He hadn’t been joking when he’d said there was no one else he could trust to pull off this facade.
The first girl he’d ever kissed had sold her story and bought herself a car with the proceeds.
She hadn’t been the last romantic interest or close friend to betray him like that – he’d just never expected his brother to be one of them.
His celebrity friends were as fickle as the wind.
They’d all quickly chosen Savannah and Liam’s side.
After all, he was the lesser brother, the less likely to get them any further on in their career.
Not only that, but his parents had been quick to take ‘no sides’– which may as well have been a public pardon.
But was he being fair to Ellie? She had no idea of the burden it would place on her and her family.
Would everything in his life turn to shit like it always did? And would he unwittingly drag Ellie down too?
He opened his messages and texted Ellie.
You probably won’t see this until after your nightshift. Did you see my earlier txt? You might see a photo of us online from our theatre night. It looks like the news of our dating will break soon… are you still okay with that? I understand if you wanna call it off.
To his surprise the message was read immediately, and she began typing a reply. The three dots flashing caused his heart to thunder in his chest.
Oh, that? Yeah, Mum showed it me. She’s practically your stalker now – soz. I’m just on my way to work. But I’m still up for it… If you are? I wasn’t sure about giving you my bank details. Not because I don’t trust you, LOL. But wanted to be sure you were still okay with it too?
Alex took a deep breath, relief and guilt washing through him in equal measure.
I’m 100% sure, he replied.
Ellie responded straight away: London flats aren’t cheap though. Look, I’ll send you the link of the flat I like. Feel free to back out.
She posted a link and he clicked through. The flat was just as she had described, and the price didn’t faze him. With a smug smile, he typed his reply.
I think we can do better.