Page 65 of Indescribable Love
His father came striding toward him, beaming with fatherly pride, and Simon wanted to vomit.
Before he knew what was happening, his father was hugging him. He was also talking, praising him or some bullshit, but it was all like a loud buzzing in his head as he frantically looked around.
Nikki came running around a corner with Gage and Juliette, and he watched as Gage came forward with a thunderous look. But the cameras were rolling and he knew exactly how the scene would unfold and how fast things were going to get out of control. He met Gage’s eyes and gave a small shake of his head to try to convey not to do anything yet.
Carefully, he took a step away from his father and warily looked at him. “What are you doing here?”
Greg laughed softly. “Is that any way to greet your old man after all these years? I’m here to see you! I heard you wanted me to be a part of your film and…well, of course I jumped at the chance to come here and brag to everyone about how proud I am of you!”
“Wanted you…?”
“Yeah! I dropped everything to come and see my boy!” Then he glanced around. “That’s the kind of thing you wanted me to say, right? Did you get it? Do I need to walk in again so you can get this from another angle?”
Now he looked over at Juliette and wondered why she wasn’t shutting this down, why she was allowing this to happen, but she seemed frozen in place. Turning his head, he looked at Max. “Turn off the cameras. Now,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’d like to speak to you privately.”
Max’s expression was smug, but he agreed. “Let’s take a quick break, everyone!” he called out. “Walk with me, Simon!” Moving away from everyone, Nick took Greg and offered him some coffee, while Nikki, Gage, and Juliette silently joined Max and Simon. They made it to a locker room that the camera crew was using, but they were alone.
“What the hell just happened out there?” Simon demanded. “My legal team told you not to pull a stunt like this and…”
“I never got that information,” Max said sweetly, but Simon knew he was lying. “If they sent it to my office, well…obviously I haven’t been there.”
“Bullshit!” he snapped. “And you knew this was off-limits! You knew…”
“Listen, we knew how you felt about it and you knew what we wanted,” he snidely retorted. “When we got the footage of you and your publicist kissing last week, things…changed.”
His tone was smarmy, and unease trickled down Simon’s spine.
Max turned his attention to Juliette. “By the way, your boss isn’t thrilled that you’re sleeping with your client,” he said cooly. “You should be expecting a call from her. But asking us to go with Simon’s dad in exchange for keeping you out of the doc was kind of a brilliant move, so…thank you.”
“What?” she cried. “What the hell are you talking about? I never said anything like that!”
With a tsking sound, Max shook his head. “Really, Jules? Another lie? I mean…you kind of have a reputation for dropping the ball and letting bad things happen to your clients. When will it end? You were trying to save your own ass and threw Simon under the bus.” Then he let out a mirthless laugh. “Fortunately, it worked to our advantage because it allowed us to get what we wanted all along—the father/son reunion. So…thank you for being so terrible at your job.”
She went pale and looked horrified. When she looked at Simon, there were tears in her eyes. “Simon, don’t listen to this nonsense! He’s lying!”
“I’ve always been very upfront with what I wanted,” Max interjected. “Ask anyone who’s ever worked with me. Whereas your dirty little secret here has a history of lying, throwing blame elsewhere, and putting a spin on things to make others look better than they are. Hell, it’s her job!” He glanced at Simon. “Did you really think she’d be any different with you? Especially when her crumbling reputation was on the line? It’s a kill-or-be-killed mentality, really. We all know she was on the verge of being completely canceled in this industry after the Roxie debacle. She was only looking out for herself.”
His gut told him not to listen to anything Max said. He was the enemy. But there was a niggling of doubt that crept in. As much as he had come to know about Juliette—love about Juliette—everything Max was saying…could possibly be true.
“Simon,” she pleaded, reaching for him. “He’s manipulating you! I never, never would have used your father as a bargaining chip! All I did was ask Nick not to use the footage of us kissing! I didn’t negotiate anything! I swear!”
“We could get your father in here,” Max suggested. “He’ll tell you that she was the one who called him. I’m quite certain he’ll tell you that Juliette Bellucci was the one who reached out to him.”
“What?!” Simon demanded at the same time as Juliette yelled, “He’s lying!”
It was all too much. His head was spinning, and this time he really was going to be sick. Looking at Gage, he nodded and said, “I need to go.” And in the blink of an eye, Gage was ushering him out the door. Somehow, he made it to his dressing room where he dry heaved for several long moments.
He heard more than saw Nikki come into the room. She stood back until he straightened, but her face was equal parts fury and sympathy. “Tell me what you need. I called Mick, and I’ve already got the check ready, but…”
“It’s too late for that now,” he said miserably. “He’s here and they’re going to dazzle him and…” His hands tugged at his hair in frustration. “Why? I mean, just…why? I’m a decent person! I bring joy to my fans! I don’t understand this obsession the world has with going out of their way to bring people down!”
“I know, I know,” she soothed, hugging him. “And I’m so sorry. Juliette’s out there arguing with Max and…”
Looking at Gage, Simon said, “Go get her. Don’t let her say another word to anyone!”
Once Gage was gone, Nikki frowned. “Simon, you know she didn’t do this. She wouldn’t.”
And while he wanted to agree, that seed of doubt was firmly planted. “We don’t know that, Nik. Hell, we don’t know anything. She makes her living by putting positive spins on people and their reputations. And her last few clients all had some very public…scandals and bad press. Is it so hard to believe she’d do whatever it took for herself when her career was on the line?”