10. Griffin
GRIFFIN
E very instinct in me wants to chase after her.
She was shaking, on edge, clearly upset about something, but wanted nothing more to do with me. So I stand here, frozen, holding Roxy’s leash as she sits next to my feet.
Despite her repeated compliments on our progress, Ashton running away makes me feel like a failure. She was afraid of getting photographed together. The reaction is foreign. Most people can’t get enough of the fame that surrounds me, but after a single hour, Ashton’s already had enough of me?
The morning had been great otherwise. Roxy and I didn’t make much progress, but Ashton praised me all the same.
Kind of ironic, really. I’ve been pushing myself in my career for years, craving an ounce of praise from my father, and then this gentle, kind woman comes along rewarding me for mere attempts.
She’d been so patient with me. Being around her was easy.
Like breathing air. I didn’t have to pretend anything. I could just be .
I hate that she’s so opposed to being seen with me. If I had another chance to talk to her, I could fix?—
“Griffin!” a female voice calls from a distance.
I spin around to see a dark-haired, living, breathing workout Barbie heading in my direction.
Scarlet.
She’s wearing a matching hot-pink velour pantsuit with neon-yellow tennis shoes. My eyes are assaulted by the sight.
“Wow. You made it.” I say under my breath, “Sort of.”
“Sorry, I got held up on the phone with my dad, but I didn’t want to miss the chance for us to be seen doing domestic things together.” She bumps into my shoulder, her high ponytail swinging behind her.
I slip my sunglasses back on to dampen the retina-offending colors. “Sorry you missed your perfect photographic opportunity.”
“It’s already over?”
“Our session started a little less than?—”
She cuts me off. “Aw, it’s Roxy up close and in the flesh!”
Roxy tilts her head to the side and looks at Scarlet. Her ears perk as though she recognizes her name. That, or Scarlet’s offending high-pitched tone is hurting her eardrums.
“Look at your forehead wrinkles. They’re just adorable, but they make you look like a sad doggie.”
She’s talking in that baby voice people often use with dogs. It irks me, almost like she’s trying to claim my dog as hers.
Scarlet squats in her pantsuit and pats her thighs. “Come here, girl.”
Roxy cowers behind me and pulls the leash as far as it extends. She inadvertently wraps the leash tighter around my legs, immobilizing me. “She’s shy, Scar. That’s why we’re here. We’re working on it.”
Scarlet stands and looks around, finally noticing Luke at a distance. She waves. He waves back. He loiters there like he’s unsure if he should approach or not. I give him a slight head shake.
“Your trainer already left?”
“You just missed her.” And more than anything, I want to jog to the parking lot to check on her.
“Aw.” She whines and pouts her lips.
Not in a cute way.
“I was hoping to meet this mysterious dog trainer.”
“Maybe another time.” Assuming Ashton agrees to work together again. “Since we’re all wrapped up here, you ready to go?” I place a hand gently on her back to usher her toward the parking lot, forgetting my legs are tangled in a leash. I lose my balance and collapse into Scarlet.
With a yelp, we both tumble to the ground—me on top of Scarlet.
She’s laughing like I orchestrated the entire fiasco. She swats my chest. “Get off me, you big oaf.”
The interaction is like slipping into our Malibu Shores characters as a couple. I can’t help but laugh at her playfulness. I like this side of Scarlet, but it’s rare. Instead, she tends to seesaw between being extremely shallow or overly controlling.
I untangle from the leash and grasp Scarlet’s hand, helping her off the ground. “Sorry about that.”
She’s still laughing, combing her fingers through her ponytail. “Sure you are.”
I reach into her hair, removing bits of grass and leaves. “You know how I am. Smooth with the ladies.”
She smiles coyly. “You are to me.”
Her breathy tone draws my attention from her hair to her face, my hand freezing mid-pluck. I drop my hand and step back.
“I also came to discuss something with you.”
My stomach tenses. “What’s that?” I start walking in the direction of the parking lot, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ashton.
“My dad. He wants to set up a meeting with you about the film.”
Scarlet walks alongside me. To onlookers, we’re a family out for a Sunday stroll in the park together. Luke trails a few paces behind us.
“He wants us to meet him a week from today, seven o’clock.”
“ Us , huh?” My stomach clenches. Is he not happy with how I’m holding up my end of our contract? Is he going to pressure us to do more live interviews? I’m not sure my conscience could take it.
“Yeah, you know, an opportunity for us to have a little family get-together. Looks good for the tabloids and all that. Your dad is invited too, of course.”
“Right. Can’t miss a photo op.”
“While I’ve got my phone out, how about I put something in my calendar for just the two of us?”
I withhold a groan. When did my personal life become such work, too?
“I’m not sure about my schedule.”
Scarlet turns behind me. “Luke, do you have his calendar handy? Can you take a look?”
“Actually, we have a couple of pending meetings to pin down first. Then I’ll hit you up for your schedule,” Luke chimes in, increasing his stride to walk next to us.
“Oh. Okay.” The disappointment in her tone is evident.
We reach the parking lot. “I’ll be in touch soon, I promise.” Here I am leaving her to dangle, just like Ashton did to me.
“You promise?”
I hold up my hand. “Absolutely. Scout’s honor.”
“Good. Then I’ll talk to you soon.”
I give her a quick hug before following Luke to the SUV.
“Thanks for stepping in for me back there.”
“Anytime, bro, but you’ve really got to put that woman out of her misery.”
“I know.”
“These uncomfortable exchanges between the two of you are brutal to witness. Part of me wondered yesterday if maybe she’s a superior actress playing a devoted girlfriend, but after that?” He gestures behind us. “I’m convinced that woman is in love with you.”
I groan. This is not what I want to think about right now.
“What am I supposed to do? Our contract isn’t up for another eight weeks. We still have the premiere to attend together, plus all the promotion after the show airs. If I say something now, it’ll make these final weeks awkward for the both of us.”
“And if you don’t, you’re going to break that woman’s heart.”
My stomach tightens. “True, but I’ll probably end up doing that anyway.”
“Yup. Might as well put yourself and her out of misery and just do it already.”
He’s right. I know he is. And I hate stringing her along, especially after our years of friendship together. I owe it to her to tell her, no matter how uncomfortable it’ll be.
I open the door to the SUV, scoop up Roxy, and slip her inside. We placed a bed for her in the backseat next to me. She walks to it and curls into a tight ball.
I slide into the seat next to Roxy. “This is what I hate about Hollywood. The politics. Why can’t I just do my job? Act. Do it well and get chosen based on my skill and not by playing nice with someone I’m fake-dating just because I want to work with her father. Is that too much to ask?”
Luke starts the engine. “Brother, you’re asking the wrong country boy. I don’t understand half the things you people do here.”
I tug off my hat and ruffle my hair. “Neither do I, man. Neither do I.”