31. Something In The Way

CHAPTER 31

SOMETHING IN THE WAY

NIRVANA

By LA standards, this bar is dead. But there are still enough people around that will react if I make a loud scene that Lawson won’t be too happy about. I’ve ordered a drink and I’ve been sipping it for ten minutes while I wait, checking my phone and trying to calm my nerves. The waiter must be bored with the afternoon crowd, since he’s come by three times already asking if I want more chips and salsa. I’ve texted both Dani and Marta, telling them where I am and who I’m meeting, not that I expect it going that far south, but I felt better knowing someone else knew.

I also told Chase’s PI, Mills. Better safe than sorry.

This morning when I left for work, I told Chase I was meeting someone and would be home a little later. I hated lying to him, but even Mills said it would be better to see the whole angle Lawson tries to work before we send Chase off the deep end. I have my own reasons, too. They might be immature and foolish reasons that come from watching too much TV, but that’s gotten me through the last few years of my life, so why change now?

I’m flipping through social media when a file drops onto the table. Without a word, Lawson slides into the seat across from me and flags down the waiter.

“Gimme a scotch, and refill whatever fruity shit she’s drinking.” His gruff tone appalls me, and he never looks up to acknowledge the server. Hell, he’s still doing the absolute least to acknowledge me, and I’m the one he’s meeting with.

“Whiskey, and I hope you don’t expect me to pay for any of that.”

“Yeah, that’s right. You’re a teacher at one of those half-baked inner city hood schools, right? That’s what the rags are saying, anyhow. What have you got on Cooper? Or do you suck so hard I should be making you an offer to get under the table for a demonstration?”

“Wow, we’re done here already.” I go to stand up and he holds up his hands.

“Fine, fine. Learn to take a joke. Whatever.” He taps the folder with one of his meaty fingers. If someone told me this sorry excuse for a man had paid for elective surgery to replace his blood with a mixture of cheap hair dye and even cheaper cologne, I’d believe them. He’s the epitome of a slimy salesman and I guarantee he’s faced sexual harassment charges. “Before you run out on me, though, you should take a look at this. It’s the other half of what my buddy delivered to you yesterday.”

I put my purse back on the seat next to me and pull the file over while I stare at him. I find a contract with my name on it. I continue to flip through and find more pictures and documents like the ones Miley gave me last night, but instead of being Chase’s life before we met, it’s mine. Wedding photos, hospital bills, Luis’s arrest history. I glare up at him over my glasses with an eyebrow raised. “What the fuck? Where the hell did you get these?”

“Oh, just a few items some little birdy dropped into my lap. Tweet fuckin’ tweet.”

“This is…” I flip through again as fire fills my veins. “That’s fucking blackmail.”

“You know, for a teacher, you got one hell of a mouth on you. First off, we do this shit all the time, so don’t think you’re some big deal, sweet cheeks. It’s straightforward. You break up with Chase. I don’t care how.” His gold rings flash in the dim lights of the bar as he waves his hands around. He’s trying to sound and look like some kind of 1970s New York crime boss, but it’s all cheap crap. He’s a used car dealer at best. “Anyway, you break up, badda bing badda boom, you get a hundred thousand dollars in your bank account. Oh, and Chase keeps his cushy Hollywood lifestyle without having to deal with how the papers are going to tear you to shreds like they did his last girlfriend. Fuck, for an attractive guy, he has terrible taste.”

“Fuck you, I’m not?—”

“Whoa there, before you get too carried away, listen to what I’m saying here. That kind of cash money could buy you a bigger house, so your mom isn’t sleeping in a closet with no doors. Help your sister get that apartment she’s been eyeing. You could go back to school, finish up that degree you never got to start or something. Hell, I’ll even put in a word for you with the big tech guys. You just gotta stop seeing Chase. You’ve barely been together for what? A week?”

“How do you know about any of that?”

“Oh, I have sources. Two of ‘em, in fact. My little bird friend, and the other one? Bit of a snake if you ask me, but he don’t bite when I flash the cash.” He grins, pushing up his tinted glasses. I wonder if he knows everyone can tell they’re bifocals. “I mean, you could say no if you’re that kind of bitch. You’re welcome to stay with him if your heart is set on those big blue eyes of his. I’m sure he can find another life somewhere, because he’ll lose everything when I’m done with him. He’ll be that guy people used to know, the ‘What ever happened to him’ guy. You know what I’m talking about.”

My mind races as I stare down at the contract.. “Why? Why are you doing this over me?”

“Oh, it ain’t you, honey. It’s Hollywood’s glory and honor. I’m not alone in this. I’m just the one with enough balls to make you the offer. We ruin careers left and right in the business. Use ‘em and toss ‘em, that’s how Hollywood works. Cooper ruffled too many feathers. My feathers. Bringing his fat whore to charity events and threatening me? Yeah, tip of the iceberg baby. There’s an order to things, a way of life we’re all very accustomed to here in LA. He’s been threatening that lifestyle for years. If you ask me, he’s a ticking time bomb. But if you sign your pretty little name, I’m gonna be the one who swoops in and saves his entire fucking career.”

“I’m not signing shit.”

“You should take some time to think about it. That signature also buys me keeping my trap shut about certain things I’ve heard from my little friends. You think I’d give you the goods on the first day? Get real. I can tell the school board about your spy cameras in schools.”

He slides something across the table and I’m ready to throw up. He’s hacked our camera feed because I’m looking at Chase and me sneaking into the bathroom last night. “Fuck you.”

“Ex-husband gang members with a rap sheet two miles long look real good on the cover of the gossip rags.” He pulls something out of his pocket and leans in, his smile turning my stomach. “Or I could go right for the jugular and spill the beans on that little club you like to spend time in.”

“Go all the fucking way to hell, you pig.”

“Okay. Suit yourself. I’ll run you both out of Hollywood. Hell, out of California. Before the end of the school year, you’ll both be long forgotten shit stains in line for unemployment and. government handouts. Don’t worry, I’m sure I can hire you to clean my toilets and suck my cock. It’ll be a love story for the ages, riches to can’t even afford rags to wipe my fucking boots.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Oh, but I can. I’ve made more deals with the devil than I care to admit, and each one has come with more power than god. You try me and see how quickly people can forget. It’s a cinch to knock Chase off that pedestal of his and watch him break like a fucking egg. A photo here, a story there. A weeping mother in front of the cameras talking about how her daughter never stood a chance with a controlling, abusive prick like Cooper. A sweet story about how he held her daughter captive in his home, doing god knows what to her, until she finally snapped and took her own life. You’re nothing but trash to be tossed in the gutter, but him? Oh, I’m gonna enjoy the fuck outta that.”

“That’s not what happened. That’s not what happened and you know it!”

“You assume people give a shit about the truth. You been sleeping through the last few years, sweetheart? No one cares about the truth. They care about the drama, the fighting, the pretend feelings. They care about ratings and gossip. As for you? You won’t get another job in any school after those rumors spread. I mean, fuck. My little snake laid it on thick enough to convince your poor, innocent, sweet mother, didn’t he? Tell me something though, who the hell did you piss off in the paps?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You pissed off someone with a camera, and juicy isn’t even the right word for what they’re digging up. What does Chase call you? Mistress? Madam? I bet you got a tell-all book inside of your thick skull that could bury him so fast. But it won’t sell when I leak the details of your little hobby with the whips and chains. Tie me up tonight, Renate!” His Chase impersonation sucks, but I still want to throw up. When his hand finds mine, I try to pull away, but he grabs my arm. “Maybe we could put that pretty mouth to use. You say no, now. But once I ruin you, you’ll both be begging to suck my cock for a couple of bucks.”

Screw throwing up. I want to punch this smug, arrogant asshole in the fucking dick. I picked a public place to protect myself, but in doing so, I guess I made it harder for me to fuck this guy up. I can’t think of a damn thing to say, but I don’t want to sign this bullshit contract, and he can’t make me. I’ll call his bluff, because that’s what it has to be.

“I’m not signing.” I close the folder and push it back toward him.

“Alright. Well, when you want to change your mind and beg for mercy,” he sneers, handing me a business card with nothing but his number on it like he’s some hit man from a made for TV movie. He taps the folder again. “You know what? You should keep this. Give it a read through while you’re eating your bonbons and tacos or whatever the hell you do.”

He drops a hundred-dollar bill on the table like it’s supposed to impress me and walks away. I keep my mouth shut as he leaves, trying not to show any emotion when I’m full of rage and anger. The second he’s out the door, I let out the breath I’ve been holding and let my head fall onto my arms on the table.

“Miss, do you want another drink?”

I nod. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I need another.”

* * *

I drink so much at the bar, Chase has to come pick me up. I thought about calling Dani, but she’s already busy with her band tonight. I fall asleep in the car with my head against the cold glass of the window and instead of waking me up, Chase parks and comes around to carry me inside. I don’t even bother to fight him; I’m in no shape for it anyhow. And he’s too damn tall. I’m going to be in a world of hurt tomorrow.

He takes me upstairs and helps me get undressed before pulling one of his t-shirts over my head and tucking me into bed like I’m a child. He even kisses me on the head and leaves a glass of water and two pills on the nightstand before I black out.

* * *

I wake up screaming into Chase’s arms as he rocks me, slowly pulling me out of the nightmare. When the world comes back into focus, I’m a hot, sweaty mess. I wipe my eyes and pull back a hand streaked with tears and mascara. I’m also convinced someone sat on my chest.

“You’re okay, I’ve got you, Sunshine. I’ve got you, baby,” he coos softly in my ear as the last of the nightmare fades away. Chase looks at me with that smile of his and I get butterflies. “Feel better? You kept screaming about signing something and the devil, so I ran up here to make sure you were okay.”

I have to squint to focus on him, and it’s not because my glasses are on the nightstand. There’s a lump and a bruise forming under his eye. “Who hit you? I’ll fuck them up!” I slur, still drunk, but ready to swing.

“Well, I’m not sure you could take her. She’s short, but she’s fiery.”

“Oh my god, I hit you?!”

“Punched me right in the face, but I deserved it. I shouldn’t have tried to hold you while you were still working on your left hook.”

I reach up, touching his face as panic floods my body. He has a shoot tomorrow. “Chase! Oh my god! I fucked up your pretty face!”

“Good thing we’re shooting a fight scene, huh? Makeup will have half the work already done for them. Now come on, I’ll start a shower, see if that helps sober you up. I’ll even wash your hair the way you like. Okay?”

I nod, but as he goes to move away, I grab his wrist and gasp, “Cynthia! We need Cynthia!”

“In the shower? That’s a little weird.”

“No, Chase!” I cringe and sink into my shoulders, knowing I need to come clean. It’s better right now anyhow, since I’m still lightheaded and angry from earlier. I’m less likely to chicken out. “I, uhm, I wasn’t out with friends, but I didn’t want to tell you because I wanted to know what the fuck he wanted first. I told backup to, so I had Mills.”

“You mean you told Mills, so you’d have backup?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said! Look, I didn’t tell you because you’d punch his nose in, which he deserves! I almost punched that arrogant, racist pig.”

“Which Los Angeles arrogant, racist pig are we talking about here, Ren? Not Mills, right?”

“No! Lawson!” His face drops and I regret both meeting with the jerk and not telling Chase about it. “I protected you! He called me the other day while you were being a prick, and he wanted to meet. He said it was about you, and I like you, so I wanted to talk about you. You were still all fucked up on emotions, so I meet him somewhere public and try not to kick him in the dick.”

“That man has no dick.”

I snort out a laugh before my jaw drops and I let out a huff. “That dickless fucker called me fat and offered to pay me to suck his dick! He didn’t even offer me a magnifying glass?!”

“He did what?!”

“Shhhh,” I slur. At least he’s taking it better than I thought he would. “He showed me things from my past that he shouldn’t even have, and I think he’s working with my ex-husband.”

“Fuck that guy, I’ll call Cyn and we’ll?—”

“He’s working with your stalker, too. Maybe.” He stops, the color draining from his face. “He had Miley give me an envelope last night, and it had pictures of you. You were soooo young! He threatened to use Cassie’s mom and make her say shit about you. It wasn’t very nice.”

“What the fuck?”

“Oh! He wanted me to break up with you for a hundred thousand dollars because he’s mad at you, but also because he has no dick.”

Chase whistles long and low, shaking his head as he tries to unravel what I’m telling him. “Fuck. I’m not surprised he’d pull this shit. I don’t work with him because of who he is and how he treats people. He’s a fucking pig, and I have no problem telling people that.”

“I called him a pig, too!” I scrunch my face together, staring at his eye. “Are you sure I punched you?”

“I’ve cost him a few dozen contracts by telling people how he treats people.”

“You’re…not mad at me? I punched you and not that fuckface.”

“No, Sunshine.” His dopey smile comes back. “No, you had valid reasons for what you did. You’re right, too. If you’d have told me, I’d be in jail right now for assault. Besides, you’re telling me now. It’s not like you waited two months to say something, and you told Mills. I’ll call Cyn in the morning. She’s out of town, but she can at least get the ball rolling.”

“Chase, why are you so calm about all this?”

“Oh, I’m not. I’m high, thankfully, but I’m definitely not calm.” He leans over and kisses my forehead. “Now come on, beautiful, let’s get you wet and naked. Possibly in that order.”

“Yaay!” I throw my hands up and burp loudly. “Oops. I think I drank too much, Puppy.”