Chapter 6
Tessa
Twenty-One Years Old
Maskscomeinvariousforms—physical and metaphorical.
I wear one every day, pretending to be someone I’m not. Portraying the version of a woman that everyone loves to chase. A person who, occasionally, everyone even hates.
Millions dream of being in the limelight—beloved, cherished, and adored by the world. But they never get to see the darker side of being a celebrity—the part where all we want to do is disappear and fade to black just like our movies…
My eyes fluttered open just as dawn started to break over the horizon. I could still taste the stale champagne on my tongue while I pushed myself up, taking in yet another mess I had created to escape my ever-changing reality.
To no surprise whatsoever, I found a half-naked man lying in bed beside me, snoring loudly with his face sandwiched between the fluffy pillows.
Ew—I mean, at least he had a great-looking ass… but still… Ew.
The white marble floor of the hotel suite was completely littered with the unconscious bodies of my entourage and their friends, twelve, twenty-six, thirty-nine… all of whom showed up to party the night before.
I shrugged on my peach Chanel silk blouse in an effort to cover up my lack of discernment and slid out of bed to find the rest of my belongings, tiptoeing around and trying to remain as silent as possible. The last thing I needed was to wake up the entire penthouse and create even more problems for myself.
God only knows how many photos were already circulating on social media.
Snatching up my white Jimmy Choo pumps and black Valentino clutch, I made a beeline to the open elevator and hopped inside, repeatedly pressing the gold button for the lobby.
My long, dusty brown hair was a fucking rat’s nest. The loose-fitting blouse was barely hanging on my body, exposing far more than just my black lace lingerie corset, and to no surprise, there was now a long split in my black leather miniskirt.Talk about a rough start to the day.
As the elevator slowly descended the forty-two floors of The Empress Hotel, I dug through my purse and pulled out my phone, calling my bodyguard, whom I already knew would be pissed off with me, seeing as how I’d managed to ditch him last night,again.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” His scolding tone was exactly what I had expected, nothing less.
“Oh, Teddy. I love how bright and bubbly you are at—” I pulled my phone away from my ear to see it was just after four in the morning.Yeah, I’d be pissed off too if someone called me this early. “Okay, on second thought, the time is irrelevant. Just get me the hell out of here before this entire hotel wakes up and alerts the media to where I am.”
“Or I could not, and let the sharks have you for breakfast instead.”
I audibly gasped at his audacity—he was being fucking serious.
“You wouldn’t dare.” I challenged with a slight growl in my tone. “I sign your paychecks, Teddy.”
“And you’re a royal pain in my ass. You don’t pay me enough to chase you halfway across the fucking country every night.”
“Okay, first of all, Malibu to LA is nothalfway across the country...” I mocked his serious attitude, tilting my head to the side as I watched the number on the elevator reach the twenties.
“Right, you wouldn’t know what sitting in LA traffic is like. You're too busy fucking around on your phone in the back seat, taking selfies for IG.”
“Hey! I resent that! Do you kiss your wife with that mouth?”
“Every single morning before work. I’ll meet you in the back.”
“You’re already here?” My brows knitted together as I pursed my lips in suspicion.If he knew where I was, why didn’t he raise hell and drag me out of the suite hours ago?
“Been here all night. It’s my job to ensure yoursafety.”
“Suck up.”
“That’ll cost you extra. See you in five, Tess.” Theodore’s voice softened into a fatherly tone, and I huffed out a laugh while stuffing my phone back into my clutch just as the elevator doors opened.
I peeked into the lobby to see if any paparazzi were lurking, just waiting to pounce on me for their next meal ticket. With it being so early, I had hoped to have beaten them at their game, but I couldn’t be too sure—desperate people will do dire things if it means a little extra cash to fill their greedy pockets.
