Chapter 19
Usingthe back of my arm, I wiped the sweat off my forehead and made my way into the kitchen before reaching for the remote off the counter to turn the TV on in the living room. I had just finished working out. We were due on set in an hour, and I wanted to relax for a few minutes.
The day ahead was filled with us filming the first lovemaking scene in the ocean, where I was going topless for the first time as well. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Even with that anxiousness, I never expected what was about to unravel in the span of a few minutes.
Within seconds, my focus shifted from the thought of being topless in front of the world to the familiar voice of the reporter announcing, “And if the weather isn’t catching your attention this chilly morning, then this breaking news definitely will. Hollywood’s sweetheart Bailey Pierce-McGraw is back in the spotlight this week and not just for her phenomenal talent.”
The mere sound of my name stirred an adrenaline rush to course through my veins at the speed of lightning. I stood there frozen in a state of shock with my heart in my stomach, hoping this wasn’t what I thought it was.
Maybe it was my intuition, but something told me my life was going to change in a direction I wasn’t prepared for.
“Fuck,” I exclaimed, immediately recognizing the video in front of me.
“TMI has the exclusive breaking news of walk of fame’s good girl not being such a good girl.” A clip of us with the bag of pills in my hand from the night Aires got arrested was quickly shown on the screen. “Bailey was allegedly partying with bad boy co-star Nicholas Aires the night he was arrested for possession of illegal narcotics.”
My hand flew to my hair, seeing this all play out before my eyes.
“The twenty-five-year-old renowned Oscar-winning actress has more than made a name for herself in the industry for over a decade. Since her breakthrough role on The Kids Club to her current movie, Say You Love Me, directed by legendary producer B. Night. From the beginning of her career, she’s gone on to make several movies that have been smashed box office hits, making her the top-grossing actress in the business.”
I shook my head, adding my own commentary. “For fuck’s sake.”
I hated this reporter. He was a snake and the worst of the worst. He had no decency or moral code and was constantly painting celebrities in the worst light because he was on a power trip for no reason at all.
I waited on pins and needles for whatever footage he had at his disposal.
“Bailey has been honored with her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and no one deserves the recognition more than her, but now… now she’s been caught red-handed with her hand in the cookie jar!”
I sat down, resting my elbows on my knees, unable to hold myself up any longer. My legs shook. Clip after clip took over the screen as the son of a bitch continued with more of the developing story. A few clips of us talking from that night, along with us dancing and appearing obviously royally fucked up in the recordings, were displayed for all to see.
I was mortified.
I could hear the headlines now.
I couldn’t breathe.
It felt like I couldn’t fucking breathe.
“We all know this young superstar is a workaholic and hasn’t taken time for herself in who knows how long. Bailey is known for putting her career before anything else, including her personal life, so to see her with a bad-boy heartthrob in such compromising positions isn’t going to sit well with her fanbase.”
This was the exact reason I stayed away from everything concerning this breaking news bullshit and let my team handle it, but it was never close to this.
This was bad.
Really fucking bad.
“Now, of course.” The asshole appeared back up on the TV screen. “We have yet to confirm any allegations.”
I couldn’t tell you what I was waiting for.
“It gets worse…”
Three words had the power to end me.
The next clip was of Aires and me up on the roof deck, where we were basically screwing each other with clothes on. I remembered that night, but I didn’t realize it was like a dirty porno.
As if reading my mind, the reporter added, “This isn’t the first time Nicholas Aires has been caught with his pants down. With the number of leaked sex tapes this man has had, you’d think he’d be the one behind them getting leaked.”
My heart was in my throat.
My stomach dropped again.
He wouldn’t… would he?
I swear all the blood drained from my face as soon as he proceeded to narrate what was being shown on the footage through the screen. “As you can see on the video, it appears that Aires is grabbing the bag of drugs from Bailey’s purse right before the cops raided the roof deck. Do you see that? It seems like he’s ordering her to make a run for it, and she keeps shaking her head while her best friend, supermodel Alexis Monaco, is tugging her away.” His hand shot to his face in sheer shock. “Can you believe what we’re seeing? This would allegedly lead us to speculate that the illegal narcotics indeed belonged to Hollywood’s Sweetheart and not notorious troublemaker Nicholas Aires. That means this bad boy has gone to hell and back for his woman, and we’re here for it!”
I jerked back, surprised by his reaction.
“How romantic! If he’s not getting felonies to save my ass, then I don’t want him!”
My eyes widened, grabbing my chest to make sure my heart was still intact.
“And now they’re making a movie together! I can already feel the chemistry on the screen between these two! It’s going to be straight-up fire!”
“Ugh!”
“As always, TMI will be sharing any coverage we receive. Keep following us as this story unfolds. Either have yet to release a statement. As always, you heard it here first. Back to you, Melanie.”
I shut the TV off, throwing the remote on the coffee table like it was suddenly on fire. I was going to be sick.
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t speak.
I was frozen in the place I sat.
Glued to the floor beneath me.
I didn’t have to dwell on it long before my cell phone rang and endless text messages dinged.
“Oh god…” I finally whispered to myself, anticipating the ceiling falling down on me next.
What else can go wrong?
I think I waited for the other shoe to drop, and it came in the form of Aires slamming the front door shut. I closed my eyes, anticipating the wrath about to be unleashed.
And I wasn’t referring to him.
His feet pounded against the floors. “Bay?!” he shouted, looking for me.
“Yeah,” was all I could reply.
From the moment he stepped into the room, he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of me.
“Are you okay?” he immediately let out.
“I’m not entirely sure.”
“Thomas has never let me down, and he’s already working on getting whatever other bullshit evidence they managed to get their hands on.”
“Can it get any worse than what they’ve already found?”
“Bailey—”
I abruptly stood. “Shit!” I grabbed a pillow off the couch, chucking it across the room. “Shit! I’m so fucked!”
“Bay—”
“My family… oh my God! My parents are going to flip!”
“Bay—”
My body whipped around, connecting with his concerned stare at me. “My dad is a recovering addict, so is my uncle Austin… this is bad, Aires. This is so bad. They’re going to be so disappointed in me.”
“Bay, I?—”
“The world is going to think I’m a whore. Did you see the video they have of us on the roof deck? We’re basically screwing with clothes on.”
“Bay—”
“And they shared the proof of you taking the fall for me. Thank God they didn’t have audio, but anyone who can read lips is going to know what we were saying.” I shook my head, overwhelmed and confused.
“Bay, no one is going to think that. I made sure of it.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What do you mean?”
“I have something to tell you. I?—”
Aires was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. We both instantly followed the echo that felt like it was impending doom. Seconds later, Robert stomped his way into the living room with us, and the expression on his face was enough for me to know he wasn’t happy.
Not that I expected him to be.
Before I could even say a word, Robert didn’t waste any time and spit fire at Aires, “You sure as shit know how to make yourself right at home when you’re not welcome, don’t you?”
“Get used to seeing me. I’m not going anywhere.”
Robert’s intense glare snapped to me. “You lied to me.”
“I’m sorr?—”
“How long?”
“I’ve only done it a couple times.”
“Aires begs to differ.”
I glanced at Aires. “We’ve only done it once together.”
He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the archway that separated the living room from the dining area.
The animosity between Robert and Aires was palpable, and I was finding it hard to breathe again.
“How many times, Bailey?”
“Robert, I just told you. Maybe three or four times max. That’s it.”
“Aires says it’s been going on for years.”
I gasped, glaring at Aires. “It has not been happening for years. What are you talking about?”
Aires arched an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side as if he was taking in what I was saying.
“Bailey,” Robert warned with a hard edge in his tone. “I don’t have time to play this ring around the rosy with you. I’m here to find out the truth, so we can figure out how to spin this. So, I’m going to ask you again, how long has it been going on?”
I huffed. “What part of three or four times do you not understand?”
“Really?” he mocked, nodding to Aires.
“Yeah. Robert, I swear to you I don’t do drugs often. It was a par?—”
“Oh, we will get to the drugs, Bailey… but first I want to start with the truth…”
I shook my head, utterly confused. “The truth about what?”
For what felt like the hundredth time that morning, Robert rendered me speechless and almost knocked me on my ass when he roared…
“How long have you been fucking him because he just told the press that it’s been going on for years?!”