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"We believe it's Nicky who's behind this," he said quietly.
"Your ex?" Sophie tilted her head.
I gnashed my teeth together.
Julian nodded. "Yes. Noah and I talked earlier, and it's the only possibility, we think. He knew the location, when we'd be here, who we are, and so on. He's also bitter about losing a chance at getting further in the industry."
I took it from there and explained to Tennyson and Sophie about some of the things that had gone down with Nicky. The motive was sure as fuck there, and they could see that, even before I'd finished telling them how Nicky had threatened to expose us.
Tennyson cleared his throat when I'd finished. "So, legal actions—"
"Fuck that," I said. There wasn’t a whole lot we could do, anyway. "I've already had his name blacklisted at major studios. By the time I'm through, he'll be lucky to get hired as a fluffer."
"Déjà vu." Sophie grinned and nudged Tennyson.
I remembered. One of my old roommates had been hooked on Sophie before she and Tennyson got together. Then things had blown up a bit, and Tennyson had threatened to destroy the guy's career in physical therapy so he would end up giving massages to porn stars in the Valley or some such shit.
I'd been wasted that night, but witnessing Tennyson Wright go from stoic and chill to seething and feral was an unforgettable sight.
"That little fucker had it coming," he muttered. "Though, I never had to make good on my threats. This Nicky appears to be a whole other matter." He slid his gaze our way. "Leave it to Asher, and consider Nicky finished in this industry."
I inclined my head, thankful. "We'll do some digging first, in case, but we're pretty fucking sure already."
Who else could it be? We couldn’t completely rule out random strangers; weird crap made people bitter and jealous. But they'd have to have had access to information in order to reveal so much. Julian had shown me some of it since I hadn't bothered to read the specifics earlier, and not many "sources" could say he and I had been seen kissing after a birthday party in LA.
What we did know was that Nicky knew the driver who'd taken us home that night we'd been so careless.
"By the way, if Asher gets a script delivered with a pizza, tell him the script's a waste of time," I said. That oughta teach the driver to keep his mouth shut and respect others' privacy.
Tennyson frowned. "Okay…?"
"Long story." I waved it off. "Work-wise, how will we deal with publicity for the film?"
He was quick to move on. "I've spoken to a few publicists, Sophie's included, and they're all in agreement on ignoring this. It'll blow over, and I'm not submitting the film to Cannes until the deadline in March next year." That was good to hear. A fuckload of gossip would circulate in Hollywood in the next eight months. "Now, if we get selected by the committee," he went on, "Sage suggests doing a subtle interview." He spoke of Sophie's publicist, one of the fiercest and most experienced in the industry. "She said it was a non-issue and prattled on about a piece on unconventional love in Hollywood."
"A highlight to remind people it should be celebrated," Sophie chimed in. "That way, it could silence the most critical bastards before they've even opened their mouths."
"And we'd be able to enjoy Cannes without anything hanging over our heads," Tennyson finished.
I nodded slowly, internally adding it'd be easier to sell the film to a major studio if Hollywood didn’t see me as a fucking pervert.
Defending myself for who I was with didn’t sit right with me, but I'd get over it. That was how things worked in the industry. If you were famous enough, privacy wasn’t cheap.
Maybe Sophie took my silence for something negative, 'cause she spoke again. "Don't worry, Sage's discreet. You know that. Tennyson had her on speaker before, so I heard her saying she could add lots of couples. The focus wouldn’t be only on you. She's creative as hell."
"Nah, it's fine," I assured her. "Small price to pay. I appreciate you both for this." I pressed a kiss to Julian's temple. "What do you think?"
"No objection here." He shifted in his seat and squeezed my leg. "I'm not familiar with how Hollywood works yet, but one interview doesn't sound too terrifying."
I slanted a grin, knowing he was probably a little overwhelmed. We'd work it all out, though. Besides, he was undoubtedly more worried about his grandparents than the rest of the world.
Frankly, so was I.
We'd already decided it was best to contact James's parents over the phone—soon. We didn’t have any other option, really. We couldn’t leave the set.
"Are we done talking about this now?" Sophie looked to all of us. "I've barely been able to process this. Seriously, Noah…you're in love. I've never, ever seen you this way. I should've known sooner. I mean, come on! I called it from the first time we had dinner when Julian had moved out to LA. Remember I texted you?" I laughed, remembering very well. She'd said we'd been very aware of each other. "This needs to be celebrated—as soon as you're both off my shit list, of course."
