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"More likely it's your dress talking," he said with an impish grin. "But aside from that, you’re smart, funny, and can wear a talking dress without being shouted down."
"Well thank you."
"You're welcome."
They chatted a bit more, watching Kline work a crowd nearby. "I really hate being a mannequin," she sighed, finishing her drink and taking another from a passing tray. "He's completely forgotten I'm here."
"Likely not," Rick corrected. "He just expects that you understand and that you'll entertain yourself until he's done working. This is work for him. That's the high price of celebrity. The only time he's not working is when he's in his house."
"Oh, he's plenty acting then, too."
Rick chuckled and considered her for a moment. "So how long before you're finished with him?"
"What?"
"Finished. Frustrated to tears. Tired of coming second to business."
Rhiannon looked shocked, and she was taken aback, but said, "He's not his job. It's the job requirements I don't like."
"He is his job. All good movie stars are. I'd say all good actors, but general actors can leave their acting on the set. Stars can't."
Rhiannon hummed, sipped her drink, but said nothing. Rick said, "He's never had much luck with normal women. They don't understand the celebrity. They don't understand how he can love the spotlight and them at the same time, when he seems to love the spotlight so much more.”
"I'm sure women like Jill never have that problem."
"No, they don't. Either because they're working the same angles, or because they just understand the nature of the beast. Look around," he said, "if you want a normal relationship, normal life, whatever, don't try to be with any of these people."
"You included?" The eyebrow arch wasn't so playful anymore. She felt like she was being scolded.
"I'm a producer," he shrugged, "they come fawn on me. I don't have to work the spotlight, but it finds me. My life is far from normal, too. It's different back home. But there I was stuck directing BBC pieces and couldn't move ahead. I started the production company, did two indies, then Kline talked me into coming here for a while. The idea is to make more money than God without compromising my ideals too much, then retire and move back to England--because I want a normal life. Well, as normal as life is when you are obscenely wealthy. It's why I don't date here. These women--they couldn't survive outside the satellite of fame."
She nodded in agreement and conversation shifted to lighter things. She spotted August chatting with a trio of models. He was obviously tipsy and enjoying himself. A moment later she spotted Jill in the crowd, balanced on one foot, comparing shoes with another woman. Kline was nearby and he said something that Rhiannon could not hear over the din, but it raised Jill's head and brought a smile to her face. Rhiannon watched as Jill excused herself from the conversation and walked over to Kline. He put an arm around her and talked in her ear, making her laugh, then she patted his chest and walked away.
Sanctuary was disrupted soon after when a pair of actresses melted out of the crowd to talk to Rick. He greeted them with a smile, but the fawning Rhiannon was expecting did not follow. At least, not from him. The women were trying very hard to get close and to entice him into a quiet corner of their own. It was part seduction and part audition. He was a well-known producer after all, and producers were always looking for talent. And blowjobs. Rhiannon felt contempt and not a small amount of pity towards the women as she watched the display. She couldn't believe the lengths some felt they needed to go to in order to further their career. It was all part of the Hollywood machine, she knew, but she had made a promise to herself long ago that she wouldn't make such compromises for the sake of a job. If her script work couldn't keep her employed, then she'd find something else. Acting, saying words someone else had written, pretending to feel things someone else told her to feel had never held any allure. Watching these two women made her thankful that she would never be in their place.
To his credit, Rick handled the advances with cordial grace, but Rhiannon couldn't help wondering if he was balking because she was standing there. She decided that just because she was miserable, everyone else's night shouldn't be ruined, so she excused herself and slipped off into the crowd, leaving Rick to whatever entertainments he might actually be interested in.
She chided herself on her faithlessness as she made her way to the bathroom. It bothered her that she'd become awfully jaded in a very short period of time. It wasn't like her. She never stayed in any negative situation long enough for it to really affect her. With a sigh, she deposited the half empty champagne glass on a table and walked into the lounge of the expansive bathroom. It was definitely time to stop drinking. Three glasses of champagne was usually her limit, and she didn't like to get too tipsy and lose her edge.
She stood in front of the three-way mirror and made a few slight adjustments to her dress. The drape of the skirt was hanging so that her leg was visible all the way to the hollow of her thigh when she walked. It was a very sexy dress, and she was really glad that she'dworn it, especially after seeing what Jill had dared to bare. Not that it had made much difference, either way. Jill was still the princess of the press and Kline had been only too happy to play the charming prince for photo op after photo op. Rhiannon supposed that she wouldn't have minded that, if it had been only that, but the two of them barely spent a moment apart since the ceremony began. It was almost as if Kline had come alone—or with Jill.
Although she was glad that the press hadn't hounded her every step since she got out of the limousine, it bothered her that she was so faceless after everything that happened. She felt a twinge of anger at the thought that people were only interested in taking her picture if she was in a compromising position or talking about her if she was the woman standing in the way of the next great Hollywood Love Story.
She wanted to be proud of herself. She wanted to be proud of her work. She wanted recognition for her work, and not for the results of her workouts. She wanted people to see her as an actual talent worth merit-based notoriety, not just as some scriptwriter who happened to be screwing the King of Romcom himself.
She opened her clutch and pulled out the lipstick that the stylist had given her, slicking crushed berry velvet over her lips. The rest of her face was still flawless, even if she did look a bit tired. She glanced up at the clock. They'd been at the party for over an hour and Kline hadn't even so much as smiled at her from across the room.
Rhiannon considered going out there and seeking him out, interrupting whatever scene was being played out by inserting herself into it, but she wasn't like that. She didn't want him that way. She was his date. His girlfriend, according to him. She shouldn't have to beg for his attention. Work was one thing. She could understand that he had obligations, but she wondered what she was doing here if all he intended to do was spend the evening schmoozing and cuddling on Jill.
Her stomach gurgled and she realized that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Maybe if she ate, some of this shakiness would go away. She decided to go back out and find something to eat, then she would find Kline.
She left the lounge with a new level of resolve that quickly melted away when she sawwhat was going on in the midst of the crowd. Kline and Jill were dancing. A slow swaying, arms wrapped around each other, Jill's head resting on his chest. Rhiannon couldn't move. They seemed completely oblivious to everyone around them and the fact that there wasn't actually a dance floor or discernable music, lost in their own little world.
Phrases from the US article popped into Rhiannon's head, and she couldn't help but think that there was some truth to it all. Maybe Kline was just sticking with her until the lawsuit and scandal blew over. Maybe she was just some fling that was helping to keep the bittersweet drama alive until the golden couple's reunion could be arranged.
She stared. This was making her crazy and paranoid. She looked like a fool and felt worse. It was all too much. She didn't trust Kline. She couldn't trust him, and she had to get out of this before more damage could be done. There was the briefest consideration of confronting the two of them, but Rhiannon had a feeling that would only help them and hurt her more in the long run. The feeding frenzy would be legendary as soon as there was blood in the water. No, it was better not to say anything at all. Just cut the losses and go.
As casually as she could manage, she headed for the exit, skirting the crowd that had formed a small circle around the floorshow. She hit the door without so much as a sideways glance from anyone and was out in the cool night air, forcing a smile as she passed the throng of photographers. There would be no incriminating pictures of her departure in the tabs tomorrow. As far as anyone could tell, she was fine and not screaming on the inside.
