laugh, instead he lets out a long sigh. “We have a problem.”
“What?” I exhale.
There’s a moment of silence and if I could choke Damion through the phone right now, I would. He hums, then sucks in a breath before he releases it.
“Someone uploaded something, and it’s going to come out tomorrow. A couple of news sources are already getting into a bidding war over it.”
Not many people know, but in the industry, there is a place where paparazzi load their ridiculous pictures and videos. News, I use that term loosely, sources buy the images or videos and release them to the public. It’s one of the many things that I’ve grown to hate about the industry.
“So, it’s going live tomorrow?”
“First thing,” Damion says.
“What is it?”
He lets out a sigh. “Apparently, America’s Sweetheart isn’t so sweet,” he mumbles. “It’s pictures of you and Sebastian, together.”
Inwardly, I groan. They had to have been taken before my father’s death, before his funeral. Why would they sit on something for that long? It’s been weeks. I haven’t even spoken to Sebastian in almost a month, let alone slept with him.
“Great,” I quip. “Can we stop this somehow?”
He hums. “Maybe Grace can?” he asks, speaking of my publicist. “But I think this one is already a done deal, babe.”
“Great.”
Scandal.
Pretty much everyone in Hollywood has at one time or another some type of personal scandal splashed all over the tabloids. It’s just part of the gig. You have to take the good with the bad and this is bad right now—all of it.
“Send me screenshots, I’ll call Grace,” I sigh as I sit up.
“I didn’t want to bother you with any of this, I know that you’re taking a bit of a break. Are you sure you don’t want me to come down there? Help you out?”
I think about having Damion here in Gallup with me. I love Damion, but I’m not sure the small town of Gallup will ever be ready for him. He’s gorgeous, like model beautiful. He also dresses like a model and is more feminine than I am.
He wears makeup every day and while it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, this is rural Texas and if this town hasn’t changed even an ounce, I have a feeling the people haven’t either. They haven’t been known for their open-mindedness in the past.
“I’m sure. I need to do this on my own,” I say softly.
“You don’t need to, you want to,” he snaps.
Licking my lips, I lift my eyes to the ceiling. “Maybe it’s a little bit of both. I haven’t been back here since I ran away. I need to face my past. I need to figure out why nothing works inside of me.”
“Do you mean why things didn’t work out with self-absorbed Sebastian? Girlie, that had absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with him being a flaming pile of shit,” he snaps.
Pinching my eyes closed, I try not to laugh at Damion’s words. Sebastian kind of is a flaming pile of shit. He’s extremely self-absorbed, but we could have worked. If I could have been better, been open like he said.
“I should have been more for him. I couldn’t open up to him and it drove him away.”
“Into another woman’s vagina? Don’t even.” I open my mouth to say something else, but he continues. “You were good to that man. I saw you together, often. He didn’t look at you like he adored everything about you. Like a man should look at the person he loves. He looked at you like he was fucking bored.”
“Maybe I’m boring?”
Damion gasps. “Shut your mouth right this second. You are not boring. You’re the sweetest woman I know, but you’re definitely not boring. Besides, I saw him in his skinny jeans, I think maybe he’s the one who was boring.”
I let out a giggle, leaning back against the headboard. I know that I pay Damion to be my assistant and to be nice to me, but he feels like a real friend. In my head, he is, and I know that he’s the only friend that I have. I wonder if he didn’t work for me, if he would like me?
“Maybe a little,” I say.
He snorts. “Little is right.”
I can’t help myself, I let out a laugh. It’s the first time that I’ve laughed in a long time. Pressing my lips together, I wonder when I should publicly call off the engagement to Sebastian. Maybe I should look at these pictures