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“That was when I thought all I was to you was a hate fuck. Now that I know you have a crush on me, it changes everything.” I really wondered what he felt for me in turn, but I didn’t ask. I was worried I wouldn’t like his answer.
When the show began taping, I stood off-stage with a group of agents, publicists, and various assistants to watch the musical number. An enthusiastic audience filled every seat, and they absolutely lost their shit when Harper stepped onto the stage. The number included several huge stars making cameo appearances, and they all were greeted with wild applause, but Harper’s reception was right up there.
Once that scene wrapped, they filmed a segment where a huge cake was wheeled onto the stage, and all the celebrities gathered around Tommy Allen. It would actually air at the end of the episode, but they were recording it while all the stars were still on set.
Tommy was a cherubic little old man with a white beard and a sharp sense of humor. He made a funny speech and thanked everyone for being a part of his fortieth anniversary celebration, and the audience ate it up. I kept my eye on Harper during that entire segment, and he never once broke character, even when the cameras weren’t on him. And yes, that was what he was doing, playing a character. Right now, he was Harper Royce, Movie Star, which meant he was poised and smiling and totally on for the audience and the cameras. Frankly, it seemed exhausting.
Then it was time to film the interviews, which all included a lot of praise for Tommy and his illustrious career. When it was Harper’s turn to be interviewed, he told a great story about the first time he and Tommy met. He was funny, charismatic, and self-deprecating, and he made Tommy laugh so hard that the man had to reach for a tissue and wipe his eyes.
The two of them exchanged a warm embrace when the interview was over. Then there was a break in taping while Dallas’s crew went to work sound checking his band’s instruments and equipment, which were set up on a second stage.
Once Harper left the set, he was inundated by people who couldn’t wait to get a piece of him. Some of them slipped him a business card and raved about how much they loved his work. It was no wonder so many actors developed huge egos. Way too many people in the industry used flattery to try to ingratiate themselves to the stars, in the hope of advancing their own career.
Several audience members, who’d won special backstage passes for the anniversary show, were also waiting for him. Every single one of them wanted something from Harper. Many of them were seeking a souvenir, in the form of an autograph, a selfie, or both. Some wanted far more from him, and they tried to entice him with flirtatious smiles, whispered propositions, and phone numbers slipped to him on scraps of paper. It was tough not to feel intimidated by that, but I tried not to let it get to me. There would always be people who threw themselves at celebrities, especially the really beautiful ones like Harper, but that didn’t mean he was interested.
I stood back and watched him as he worked the crowd. It was obvious why all these people were drawn to him. He wasn’t just handsome and famous, he was kind. Like always, he paid attention to everyone and treated each of them like they were something special.
Actually, that was exactly what he’d been doing with me, too.
I didn’t know what to make of the fact that he’d asked me on a date. I wanted to be excited about it, but my entire life had been one long study in disappointment, so it was tough to get my hopes up. Then there was the cruel little part of me that whispered, he only asked you out because you said you had a crush on him. He’s throwing you a bone. That doesn’t mean he really likes you or wants a relationship with you. He’s just trying to be nice.
I really wished that little part of me would shut the hell up.
After a few minutes, I got tired of lingering on the edge of the crowd while Harper’s adoring public fawned over (and occasionally hit on) him, so I decided to wait for him in his dressing room. Along the way I ran into Noah, who said, “Your brother’s next up. Are you going to watch him perform?”
“I don’t know. I suppose I might turn on the monitor in the dressing room, just so I can torture myself with my twin’s success.”
“Sounds like a damn good time.”
“Right?”
“A group of us are going out tonight, and you should come along,” he said. “A few production assistants from the show are meeting up with a bunch of us personal assistants. It’s PA times PA. PA squared, if you will. Several of our employers are making plans to go somewhere snooty and overpriced this evening, so they can drink champagne and talk about how great they are. That means we’ll have a few hours to cry into our watered down beers in some seedy dive bar while lamenting the fact that our lives are circling the toilet.”
