Feeling confident that the coast was clear, I scurried out of the elevator and slipped into the shadows along the furthest wall, padding my way to the back end of the hotel.
After careening around the last corner, I found my knight in shining armor awaiting me with the emergency exit door propped open with his boot and a nasty scowl on his face. The bantering bodyguard turned feral guardian in the blink of an eye.
“This has to stop, Tess…” Theodore grumbled as I stepped past him and climbed inside the blacked-out Cadillac Escalade right before he slammed the door shut behind me with a warm, over-the-top, and pissy attitude.
As he got into the driver’s seat, I shot him a saccharine smile, to which he responded with a livid glare over his shoulder.
“Don’t tell me I hurt your feelings by outsmarting you again, Teddy.” I teased with a pouty expression.
“This is the last fucking time, Tess. I’m getting sick of cleaning up after your shit.”
“Calm down, it wasn’t that big ofa—”
“Do you know how many cameras are in that lobby right now, waiting for you to do the walk of shame? Do you have even the faintest idea as to how many jackasses I had to pay for the photos they’d managed to take of you last night?”
“There are photos?! Oh, lemme see!”
“Tessa!” Theodore snapped while bashing his fists into the steering wheel, startling me into silence. “You need to get your shit together. You are twenty-one years old and are going to get eaten alive by the media one of these days if you can’t keep that party girl personality in check.” I sat there with my mouth hanging open as I remained speechless at his harsh words. “You need to be better than this, and if not better, then at least more discreet. I won’t always be here to cover your ass, and your skirts are riding very fucking close to exposure.”
“How long did it take you to develop that analogy?” I quipped, blowing him off while falling back and lazily slouching in my seat.
“I’m fucking serious, Tess. Enough with the entitled diva bullshit. I’m retiring in five years, and the next guy assigned to take my place won’t protect and care for you to the same extent as I have.”Like a father...
Theodore worked for my mother before she discovered she was pregnant with me and continued to do so until I signed my first movie deal at the age of thirteen. Then she restructured his contract, and he’s been there for me ever since—the father figure I needed. My real father was too busy with his own chaotic acting schedule to give me the time of day.
“What are you saying?” I narrowed my eyes at him, attempting to call his bluff.
We had a routine. I would do something stupid, he’d reprimand me for said stupid shit, I’d give him a snarky childish comeback, and then he’d threaten to leave if I didn’t shape up.He wouldn’t actually leave me this time. Would he?
“I’m saying that you need to find a better outlet for your rebellious behavior before your name headlines more tabloids than trophies. Don’t destroy the reputation your parents fought so hard to build for you.”Yeah, the same parents that were never around to even give a shit…
The confident, party girl, fuck-all facade I had worn so proudly the night before was slowly starting to fade as his words settled underneath my skin. I caught a glimpse of my reality in the rear-view mirror—a trainwreck of a woman who’d had everything handed to her on a silver fucking platter, every celebrity’s nightmare,a wake-up call.
“I-I’m—”
“You’re going to go home, get cleaned up, and when you’re ready, we’ll discuss an alternative to the sneaking around and late-night dance parties. Something that will keep your reputation safe and allow you freedom to express yourself away from the eyes of the public.”
Sobering up and biting my tongue, I nodded, realizing just how real my situation had become. I wasn’t a child anymore. Big brother was always watching and waiting for that one tiny slip—the ultimate fuck up to end my life and career.
Everyone knew who I was, and unless I could suddenly turn into somebody else overnight, my identity belonged to the media—nothing more than a buffet of scandal and lies for them to feast upon at their leisure.
Theodore kept me grounded, and I’d be lost without him.
