Escorting the Actress by Leigh James
Kyle
We pulledinto the studio lot, and Lowell got out of the car. Even though she'd been laughing only moments earlier, she now looked pale underneath her makeup.
"You okay?" I asked.
She shrugged. "It's not like I can do anything about it if I'm not."
"Well, while I'm here," I said, throwing my arm around her shoulders, "you can lean on me. You should get your money's worth."
"You really need to think about a career in PR," she mumbled. "I know people. Hell, the way you're doing with the press, you know people."
An earnest young woman wearing a headset over her frizzy hair bustled toward us, clutching a clipboard. She nearly fell over when she saw me with Lo. "G-g-good morning, Ms. Barton." She tore her eyes away from me to Lowell.
Lo's face softened. "Ellie, for the millionth time, call me Lo. And this is… this is my boyfriend, Kyle."
Ellie tried to smile at me and failed. She just nodded and tapped her pencil. She seemed as though she'd had about ten cups of coffee already. "They're waiting for you."
"Oh, I'm sure they are," Lo said, sounding braver than she probably felt. "Ellie, will you take Kyle to my trailer?"
"Of course." The girl's face was ashen. "But they called a big meeting, and they've already been in there for an hour—"
"Don't worry about it," Lo interrupted. "I can handle Lucas and the rest of them. It'll be okay. Go get a doughnut from craft services. And an orange juice. You look like you're going to pass out."
I leaned toward Lowell and whispered, "Good luck. Go get 'em."
She nodded and pulled her sunglasses down enough so that I could see her eyes, which looked resigned. "Be good. Don't make Ellie work too hard. She's got me for that."
She walked off, and I mentally crossed my fingers for her. I also watched her fine ass and cursed the stupid director for ever telling her it was too big. Stupid git.
I turned to find Ellie watching me, a frown wrinkling her brow.
"She's my girlfriend, not that it's any of your business. And a doughnut would be lovely." I used the same tone that I used to use on the staff when they caught me doing something ill-advised and/or illegal.
"Of course," Ellie said but didn't move. She looked forlornly at the building where Lo was heading. "They're all waiting for her. Even one of the producers who hasn't been on set before." She sounded as if she thought Lo were walking the plank and a bunch of crocodiles were waiting in the water below.
"She's a big girl," I said, even though I felt a small spark of anxiety on Lo's behalf. "She can handle them."
Ellie nodded, looking as if she might cry.
"Right. Come on." I nudged her shoulder. "Let me buy you a doughnut."
"They're free," she said, as if it were her sworn duty to tell the truth and always tell the truth.
I could see why Lo got along with her.
We headed to craft services, and I was waited on by a striking woman with long brown hair.
"Would you like some help?" she asked, leaning over just enough so I could look down her shirt.
"No, thanks," I said reflexively, not looking up at her—or down her shirt.
"I saw you on XYZ last night. I loved your shirt."
I wasn't looking at her face, but I was pretty sure she was batting her eyes at me. I finally looked up—all the way up, totally skipping her chest. "My girlfriend picked it out. She has excellent taste."
"I'll say," the girl said, tossing her hair and flashing her blinding teeth at me.
I nodded tightly and retreated with my doughnut. I knew Ellie was watching me, but that wasn't why I was behaving. I was tired of feeling like a piece of meat. Being with Lo had been a huge relief for me. I didn't even realize how meaty I'd been feeling until I was with someone who was an apparent vegetarian.
I finally felt as though I could breathe. But that would come to an end as soon as I got inside Lo's trailer—I had to call my father. I felt a pit form in my stomach.
I handed Ellie her doughnut. "Eat it," I said, my tone a warning. "Lo wanted you to."
She chewed on it listlessly as she took me to the trailer. "I hope she doesn't get fired."
"I hope they don't tell her to go on another freaking diet," I said.
Ellie stuffed another bite of doughnut into her mouth and talked through it. "It's ridiculous. She's the most beautiful person I've ever met. Inside and out."
"Aww, Ellie, that's sweet. No wonder why she says the nicest things about you."
"She does?" Ellie asked, hopeful and eager.
"Of course she does," I said, even though Lo had said nothing about her on-set assistant.
"This is hers." She motioned to the trailer. "It was nice to meet you, Kyle. I thought you wouldn't be nice, but you are."
"Why'd you think that?" I asked, baffled.
"I saw you on XYZ last night too. I thought you were too handsome to be nice."
"You've already been in the business too long," I called.
She hustled off, dusting the doughnut crumbs from her blouse before she put her headset back on. "I'm aware of that."
I went into the trailer and collapsed on the couch, grateful for the privacy and quiet. Lo's trailer was simple and spare, with nothing on the table but a bunch of tulips and only bottled water in the mini-fridge. I ate my second doughnut, wondering how Lowell was faring with the crocodiles who paid her millions of dollars then asked her to spend none of that money on food so that she could starve herself.
I felt a headache coming on, and I knew why. Thinking about Lowell wasn't going to make the why go away.
I had to call my father, and it was the last thing I wanted to do.
I finished chewing my doughnut and, desperately wishing it was a beer instead, picked up my phone.
"You have gotto be fucking kidding me," he thundered as soon as his secretary got him on the line. "Lowell-fucking-Barton?"
"It's not what you think," I said. It's worse.
"When I cut you off from your trust, I was hoping you would start making better decisions. I didn't think you were going to make an even bigger ass out of yourself. Honestly, I didn't think that was possible."
"Gee, thanks, Dad." I got up and paced the trailer. "I forgot how belittling you are, but this is bringing it all back. Every little belittle."
"You need to grow up, Kyle." Pierce blew out a disgusted, angry huff. I could just picture his square face ruddy with frustration.
I wasn't sure exactly when it was that I'd changed from his promising only son to the bane of his existence, but it might have been when I crashed his brand-new Lexus SUV into a ditch when I was drunk. And then got arrested for it. And then tried to lie to him about it.
It didn't help that after he'd paid for my legal defense and somehow gotten me acquitted—even though I was clearly guilty—I continued to spend more of his money. I continued to drink and party and surf. Bottle service was a nightly event for me. I continued to refuse to get a job, even though he graciously offered me a job after all of the stupid and dangerous things I'd done.
It might have been somewhere around that time that his feelings changed. That he finally gave up.
"Dad, you need to listen to me—"
"I don't have time to discuss your feelings," Pierce said. "I don't care. I called because you can't date your stepsister. That's a new low, Kyle, and I know you're just doing it to get back at me. You know what her mother did to me."
"Actually, I'm not doing it to get back at you. Not at all. Although if it bothers you, I suppose that's a bonus."
"I don't know what I've done to make you hate me," he said, seemingly out of the blue.
I recoiled. I didn't hate my father. I was a little afraid of him and I was pissed at him for cutting me off, but I didn't hate him. "I don't hate you. I'm not thrilled that you took away all my money, but I don't hate you. My thing with Lowell isn't about you."
He didn't answer for a second. "You can't tell me you have feelings for this girl. You two couldn't stand each other growing up."
"She's nice now," I said. "And really pretty, in case you hadn't noticed. But it's actually a little more complicated than that."
Pierce sighed in what sounded like defeat. "What the hell does that mean?"
"You don't want to know." Suddenly my headache subsided. Because for the first time in a long time, I was telling my father the truth.
"Well, I'll make it simple," he snapped. "You break up with this girl, or I'll leak it to the press that you two are related. We'll see how you both like that. We'll see what happens to her little acting career then."
Anger flared within me. Pierce was demanding, difficult, and used to getting his way—but he wasn't going to run this show. I wouldn't let him.
"You might not want to do that," I said, my tone a warning. "There's actually more to the story, and you're not going to want anyone to know it."
