Young Adulting - Christina Benjamin Page 0,61

that?” His grin was sudden and cold. “Now that was smart.”

“Hiding Leo…” I repeated his words slowly because….what the hell? What was he even talking about?

“When the press finds out that Henry Landon is more than a pretty face…” He held up the papers he’d been shuffling and I realized it was the script. “They’re going to eat that up. This is gonna be a hit, and Iz…” He flashed another smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I owe it all to you.”

My mouth fell open as his words registered, their meaning began to take shape, and the pieces of a puzzle started to click into place. He thought Henry was Leo. That Leo was Henry. “Wait,” I said, trying to slow my heart and steady my voice. “Are you saying that Leo Lang is…”

“Henry Landon?” he finished. “Of course. You didn’t think you could keep it a secret forever, did you? What, were you waiting until the pitch meeting so you could whip that out as your trump card?” He narrowed his eyes. “Man, you are much smarter than you look.”

I ignored his insult, too busy staring at the script in his hands as the blood rushed from my head. My hands tingled and the room spun and...oh holy crap, please don’t let me faint in Colin’s office.

But the sensation passed and I was left shaking. Henry was Leo.

Leo was Henry.

I shook my head. “No, that can’t be true.”

He wouldn’t lie to me like that. Neither of them would.

Colin’s laughter had me looking up again.

“Or maybe you’re not smart at all,” he said through his laughter. “Did you really not know?”

I didn’t answer. I was still too busy trying to convince myself that he was lying.

“Honestly, Izzy, didn’t you look into your beloved screenwriter at all?” He arched his brows, his eyes still dancing with cruel laughter. “There is no Leo Lang. It didn’t take much digging to figure out who that pen name belongs to.”

“I don’t believe you,” I said, my body trembling with cold. I don’t want to believe you.

But a part of me was already starting to wonder, to doubt…

“You need proof?” Colin asked. He was clearly enjoying himself as he watched me. He held up the script. “His number is right here. What do you say we give good old Leo a call?”

I wanted to say no. To say stop. I wanted to say I didn’t need proof because I knew he was lying.

But instead I stood and stared in silence as he typed in the numbers that were right there on the top of the information form that his assistant had likely pulled together.

Colin put it on speaker and hit ‘call’ and we both waited in silence until a low, warm voice I would recognize anywhere said, “Henry speaking.”

I’d thought I’d known what betrayal felt like before when I’d read Colin’s email, but I’d been wrong.

I stared at the phone on Colin’s desk as my heart plummeted to the ground.

This was betrayal.

Chapter Twenty

Henry

“Henry?”

I heard Izzy’s unmistakable voice on the other end of the line and felt my blood run cold.

No! This wasn’t happening. Not like this.

But as I quickly looked at the studio number displayed across my screen, I knew this nightmare was real.

Before I could gather my thoughts to explain myself, a male voice barged in.

“This is Colin Davis from Polarizing Pictures. I was just looking over your script, hoping you could clear something up for me. Do you prefer to go by Henry or Leo?” The man had the gall to laugh. “You know what? It really doesn’t matter. I’ll figure it out. I look forward to working with you.”

It was like I’d lost the ability to speak. I just stood there rooted to the spot, clutching my phone as the world crumbled around me.

The phone went dead, but I couldn’t stop hearing the frantic warble to Izzy’s voice as she said my name. I never knew a name could hold so much emotion, but the way Izzy had said it, so full of horrified shock and devastating disappointment…it made my heart feel like it was caving in.

I could imagine her standing there, in Colin’s office, her lips parted in that adorable O-shape she did every time something surprised her. But this wasn’t a good surprise. This was a disaster.

All I wanted to do was run to her and erase the last few minutes so we could go back to clinging to the desperate hope of a future together. Because without it…

I