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But cancer? That was a new low. “I refuse to be part of any sort of cancer story line. Absolutely, positively not. In fact, the less I’m in the show, the better.” It hadn’t mattered that he’d been in three entire minutes of last season; it had been enough to ruin his social life for a long damn time.
Now Sebastian wanted out.
“I’m afraid that the cancer story line is not the only story line that could be problematic,” his lawyer said. The look on his face was nothing short of pained.
Sebastian groaned again. His head pounded. “What on earth could they possibly be dragging out of the gutters that could be worse than a fake cancer scare?”
“They’re bringing Lisa back.”
Oh, damn it all.
Lisa Pinder-Schloss was his ex from several years ago, back when the show had first come on the air. She was a model and an ex-NFL cheerleader with a lovely face and an even better body. She was fun and lively. The thing that had come between them? The Cabral Empire . She wanted to be on the show regularly, and he did not. Consequently, he found himself being surrounded by cameras when they went out on dates.
They broke up not long after that. Lisa became a regular on the show for a season or two, and then went on to “other things.” He guessed those “other things” hadn’t panned out and now she was returning. “Why would they be bringing her back?”
“Her story line is that she wants a reunion with you.” The entertainment lawyer pointed at the bullet point on the contract. “You know what that means.”
Sebastian groaned and buried his head in his hands. “Why is it that I have a fleet of lawyers and I can’t manage to keep my damn face off of TV?”
“Because, Mr. Cabral, you signed a very egregious contract when the show started, and they have indefinite, but very specific clauses that allow the show to film you when you are present with another regular. And since you signed that, I can’t change it.”
He gave the lawyer an annoyed look. “I didn’t think my own mother was going to hose me.”
“Your mother is faking cancer for ratings.”
Damn it, the man had him there. “She wasn’t like this a few years ago. I swear she wasn’t.” Or else he’d never have signed what they put in front of him to make his mother happy. He’d thought the show would be on some ass-end network for a few weeks and then disappear.
He wasn’t that naïve anymore.
“I’m afraid you’re going to be a staple this season whether you want to or not. The cancer thing you can probably skate out of, but the Lisa story line means you’re bound to get confronted several times for them to film.”
Sebastian groaned. He could just imagine. “What are my options?”
“Leave New York until they finish filming. They can’t catch you on camera if you aren’t here.”
He shot the man an irritated look. “I’m not going to hide from the world for months. My friends and my businesses are here.” Hell, he was going to an engagement celebration tomorrow night. He was sure as hell not going to bring that up in case his lawyer had loose lips and liked to spill details to the show’s staff. That had been a problem with the last entertainment lawyer he’d hired . . .
. . . Who was also now a staple on the damned show.
“Visit family in Portugal? See the roots? Doesn’t your father have a castle there?”
“Two, actually.” Sebastian drummed his fingers on the table, thinking. Then he shook his head. “They’ll follow me there if I go.”
“Then I would suggest preparing for a new round of media.”
He stared at the paperwork in the lawyer’s hands and fought the urge to rip it up out of annoyance. “What if I got a restraining order against Lisa?”
“You think that won’t show up in the papers? It’d be a media frenzy. And the show would milk it for all its worth.”
Okay, he had a point.
“You need to think up an alternative,” the lawyer said bluntly. “Be creative. Unless you want to get back together with Miss Pinder-Schloss?”
“God, no.” Lisa had gone from being a sweet if somewhat clueless girl to a woman obsessed with her appearance and making sure her every moment was documented by the paparazzi. “Lisa and I were a momentary thing. The only reason it lasted longer than a few dates was because we ran into my mother while she was being filmed.” It was a total setup, which he hadn’t known at the time.
Again, he wasn’t quite that naïve anymore.
