Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Thank you.”
“Thank me later. Go be Godzilla and destroy it all.”
I kissed her hard. “Done.”
21
OLIVER
Davis was all business when he picked me up. “I’ve been on the phone with legal, PR, and the reporter I spoke with last night. We’re getting ahead of this shit.”
“Annie’s on her way.”
“I heard.” He flashed me a small smile. “I knew I felt a disturbance in the force.”
I had to chuckle. Annie was a force unto herself.
The rest of the drive was quiet on my part as Davis spoke to several people, fully in charge and calm. I envied him that. I felt as if I had a hurricane inside me about to burst forth. I was angry, upset, livid on Kassie’s behalf. Furious for Davis.
A few reporters were hanging around the entrance to the set but not allowed to enter with the security Davis had added. I kept my head up, refusing to let them see me cower. I had done nothing wrong. I recognized a couple of them from LA. Lowlifes like Flynn, always ready to pounce.
“The vultures are gathering,” I muttered. “Waiting for my body to be exposed so they can pick me apart.”
“Too bad they won’t get the satisfaction,” he replied.
Once we arrived, he headed to his office after informing me he still wanted to film that morning. “I won’t let everyone suffer because of this.”
“Of course,” I agreed. As long as I didn’t have to share screen time with Sheri right now, I was fine. I would rather work than sit around my trailer and stew about all this shit.
But for the first time, I noticed an atmosphere of anxiety on the set. An air of disquiet permeated the entire area. Davis finally stood and clapped his hands, yelling for attention.
“Listen up, everyone. There is a bunch of BS going on outside this set. I refuse to let it affect morale here. None—and I mean, none—of it is true. We have all worked with Oliver these past weeks without incident.”
Some yelled, “Well, aside from the horse!”
Davis grinned. “Aside from the horse, yes. But I think we can all agree he has been nothing but professional. He might be a little high on manure fumes, but then again, we all are. He is not drinking, rude, or any of the lies printed in that garbage article. The only thing it is good for is lining the bottom of a birdcage. Oliver is here. Prepared to work. So if he can put aside all of it, I expect you to do so as well. Now, can we get back to making a movie?”
There was some applause and laughter, which helped to lighten the mood. I moved to my mark, accepting the coiled rope I needed from one of the set handlers. I took a deep breath, dropping my head, letting everything go, and zeroing in on what I needed to do.
I became Colton.
Later, I sat in a room with Davis and Annie. She had arrived without fanfare, striding onto the set and immediately sweeping the area with her shrewd gaze. I was shocked when I went to greet her and she hugged me. Annie wasn’t much for touching unless it was to smack my head when I was annoying her.
“Holding up?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Good. Let’s get a handle on this nonsense.”
My lawyer was on-screen via Zoom. The PR people were waiting. A few other gossip sites in the States had picked up the story, but there had been nothing on any major news stations or papers so far. The Canadian papers and news seemed to be ignoring it.
Davis had already issued statements calling the entire thing “a sham” and a “personal vendetta against Oliver Hart.” The interview he had arranged had been taped and was being released this afternoon. Annie’s team was backing it up with lots of our own PR.
One by one, the cast had spoken to me today, offering their support, denying any knowledge of the article. Many of them expressed their disgust at the entire thing.
The only one missing was Sheri. A fact noticed by everyone, despite Davis’s tight-lipped explanation that she was under the weather.
I had just expressed my thoughts on the source of the article. Davis didn’t look surprised, but he wasn’t ready to jump on board quite yet.
He scrubbed his face. “Those are strong allegations, Oliver.”
I shrugged. “It makes sense. When I was hurt and she arrived in her lingerie, pretending to be so worried—it was all fixed. He was already here. He followed me to Kassie’s. Got the other pictures. Set it all up. He even trailed me to the hospital.” I tugged on my hair. “I got lazy. I wasn’t watching anymore. I stopped being vigilant and looking over my shoulder. I should have listened to those little tugs on my neck.”
He smiled grimly. “Richton isn’t known for pap appearances. As a rule, reporters here are a little more, ah, respectful.”