After Sofia left, closely followed by James, Amanda crept to where Ryan still knelt, sitting on his calves. Tears rolled down his face but he wasn’t making any sound and his eyes were closed.“Ryan?” She called tentatively.He opened his eyes and got to his feet with the deepest frown she had ever seen on him.“Get the f*ck out of here now,” he growled.Amanda backed away, shocked.“My things are-”“Remain at the gate if you need them.”“Someone’s bringing them?” She asked but she didn’t get an answer as he walked towards the house.***Ryan was sitting on the steps to his porch with a bottle of root beer in his hands and a six-pack with five bottles left, in an ice bucket next to him when he saw the cab stop at the gate and Rico dropped from it.He remained there, drowning his sorrows in alcohol until Rico got to him.Ryan took a long draw as Rico sat next to him and helped himself to a bottle.“You look a mess,” he said.“You don’t look too good yourself,” Rico countered and put th
It was 02:40 am in Cannes.Ryan, Rico, and Michaelson were in the study—in Ryan’s chateau, thinking of a way to get around this mess.“What were you thinking?” Michaelson growled, swinging his arms in frustration.“This is not just you on the line. I’m on the line here. Rico’s on the line. In fact, the entire studio is on the line, you moron!”“Damn,” he cursed, walking away from Ryan.“Rico,” he turned. “How could you let him do tis?”“Me? Of course, I had no idea, Pete. Come on.”“We need to come up with a way to fix this and we need to do it yesterday.”“I’ve got a plan,” Ryan said.“F*ck no,” Pete replied.“I’ve had enough of your plans for the next three days.”Ryan shrugged, but Rico intervened.“Actually, Pete, I think we should listen to what Ryan has to say. After all, he does have some experience in fooling everyone.”Ryan chuckled drily, and Pete stared at him like he would kill him if he didn’t go ahead and die.“So, here’s the plan,” Ryan said.***“Oh my God, I can’t bel
“What happened?” “I have no idea. I just heard a thud and then silence.” “Think she’s coming back here?” Michaelson asked. “Either on my jet or on the next flight,” Rico replied with absolute conviction. *** “Alicia,” Trish called, as Tye and Alicia alighted from the cab. “Thank God I caught you before you’d disappear behind your door for the rest of the day,” she added, as she approached them. Alicia sighed but didn’t reply. “Hey, Tye. How are you?” Trish smiled at the kid. “I’m alright,” he replied eagerly, busy with his triple scoop of ice cream, and Trish nodded. “I see that,” she said. “Come on, you’re never going to forgive us?” She asked, turning her attention to Alicia. “Honestly, I have no problems with any of you,” Alicia replied. “At the same time, it’s going to take a while for things to return to how they were. If that even happens at some point.” “I understand,” Trish said. “Anyways, that wasn’t why I called you. I believe you’ve seen the news about Ryan, r
Slowly, he came to, and his eyes blinked open. His neck felt sore from the position he’d been in. Instinctively, he reached for the back of his neck, as he flexed his head. Was that Sofia? James sat up abruptly. That was definitely Sofia, on the TV, in Cannes. How? When? Why? “Bloody hell!” He sprang to his feet. Just a short nap and she’d already run back to him? After everything? He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed Sofia’s line… Voicemail. He tried again. Same thing. “Fvck!” He tossed the phone onto the sofa, and paced, rubbing his temples, while trying to think of something. His phone began to ring, and he rushed to pick it up. 'Scumbag Richards,' it read. He sighed disappointedly, and turned on plane mode- -almost. As his finger hovered over the screen, something began to form in his mind, and his sigh turned into the wryest of smiles. “Hello, David,” he said, in a voice that would have made Heath Ledger proud. *** “The only reason why a woman would call he
The cafe bells jingled as she followed Tyler through the door.A slight feeling of nostalgia hit, and she swallowed slowly, praying that perhaps he didn’t come to work today.But there he was, on counter duty.There was no avoiding him, especially now Tyler had suddenly disappeared and reappeared at Kim’s table.Their gazes met briefly, and Fred returned to what he was doing.Ouch, she thought, and taking one deep breath, she picked up the courage to walk to him.“What can I get you, ma’am?” Fred asked, rearranging the rolls.“Fred-”“-Alfred Duperly, to you, ma’am,” he cut in.“That’s how we’re playing it?”“There is no we here, Ms. Mercano. Do you have an order to place or not?”There were little teardrops forming in her eyes. She kept blinking them away, but she was always the softest in the room, and they kept pushing until she had to use her hands.“I’m sorry, Fred.”Her voice sounded so fragile; it could have broken at a feather’s touch.“Don’t you think it’s too late for that?”
"And cut!" echoed in a room ablaze with lights, casting a vibrant glow on the green screen behind the acting duo. "That's a wrap," he declared, effortlessly leaping from his director's chair with a grin that hinted at a secret skill rumored to be the result of ballet classes. "Ryan, genius move. Amanda, goddess alert!" His arms moved in animated praise; the multicolored spiky hair and ringed ears, an open secret that he batted for the other team. "Phew," he sighed dramatically as if the emotional rollercoaster had threatened his mascara. "Jessi! Makeup, STAT." He briskly walked away, leaving an air of theatricality in his wake. Footsteps behind made everyone turn to his secretary running with the makeup artist. The director’s hands hung out, he was in his moment. Ryan Barnes moved from the set to sit comfortably in his actor chair, wearing a smug smirk, and drinking up his director's praises. Unaccustomed to anything but compliments, he licked his pink lips in pride, checking his
Sofia was all the rage the next day. On the entertainment news, tabloids, and the lips of some very important people. --- "Ryan, you need to cool off, you hothead," James said, knocking him into the pool. "She's not everything. She's not even anything." "No, you don't get it," his head bobbed to the surface. "She turned down all my advances, and the only one she let through was a dead end." "That girl's probably halfway across the globe by now,” he sighed, sticking his hands in the pockets of his burgundy shorts. “She's Asian, and you'll probably never hear about her again once this rave dies down. That will happen sooner. Trust me." He added the last part a bit hesitantly. His thoughts plagued him. Why the hell was he even here? Since when was Ryan able to order him around like some on-hand butler? Even calling him to his home just because he felt like it… They were at the pool on Ryan's top-dollar property the afternoon after the premiere. … One of the things that infuriated J
The next day, Sofia arrived at the Taco place, a bit surprised at the crowd in front. She sighed; today was going to be a long one. She went in the Employees Only door and didn't notice her phone ring until she put on the uniform. Taking it out, she checked the caller ID, it was Jessi. "What now?" She sighed as she walked into the café. Her boss was right there, talking to some guy. "Hey," she said, answering the phone. "Sofia!" Jessi screamed, "Get outta there! It's a trap." "Say what now?" "The paparazzi struck. I don't know how they found out where you work, but it's all over the news. There are even pictures." Sofia gasped, and the two men noticed her presence at once. The other guy was the man who'd left without eating. He smiled and waved her over. She hissed, "After what you've done. Do I look like a celebrity to you or what? Can't a person have some privacy in this city!" She pulled off her apron and rushed out the door she'd taken in, grabbing her purse. The man went af