Page 20 of Stone Promises

“I’m not exactly sure yet. My commitments here end this weekend, but I have family here so I may hang out a while longer.”

“I’ll bet you just made a lot of the women of New York City very happy,” she says. “Then again, with all the photos of you and a certain leading lady floating around, is it safe to say you’re off the market?”

I shift around in my seat. “What leading lady would that be?”

She laughs. “That’s right, you have a history of dating your co-stars going all the way back to Heather Crawford onMalibu 310. I even heard a rumor that you and Ana Garner may have broken a few hearts on the set of another movie you filmed late last year.”

I shake my head. “Don’t believe everything you hear, Tanya.”

“So you and Ana didn’t date? Was it because you and Courtney Benson have a long-standing relationship? Or maybe you are dating both of them,” she asks, with a rise of her brows.

I resist the urge to fire a counter attack and mention the rumor of Tanya’s husband cheating on her with her nanny. Instead, I reply, “Let’s just say I’m enjoying life right now and I don’t plan to put a ring on anyone’s finger anytime soon.”

“Did you hear that?” Tanya asks, cupping her hand around her ear. “That’s the sound of the collective cheers of every woman between the ages of thirteen and sixty.”

“Sixty?” I feign a look of disappointment. “I must be losing my touch.”

She goes on to ask me a few questions aboutDefcon One, doing her best to bring Hayden into the conversation. As well she should. I was not the only star of the film and it bothers me when I get treated as such. Hayden’s character was an integral part of the story and he nailed the part.

“Did it bother you to have to film in that cave?” she asks. “I heard the conditions down there were deplorable. Cold and wet and very close quarters.”

“I didn’t think much about it.”Hell yes, it bothered me. “It’s all part of the job, Tanya. I try not to let anything phase me.”

“Really? So would you say you’re a hard man to surprise?” she asks.

I look at Hayden, confused by her question. He shrugs. “Uh, I guess so,” I tell her.

She discreetly motions to someone offstage. “You seemed awfully surprised by something the night of the premiere,” she says, pointing to a screen behind us that is now displaying a picture of me outside the club Saturday night. And yes, I look very, very surprised.

Uneasiness washes through me. “I thought I saw someone I knew in the crowd. Uh, my father,” I say awkwardly. “And it was unexpected since he lives back in California.”

She smiles innocently like the cat that ate the canary. “Is your father a beautiful brunette, say mid-twenties?” She again motions to the screen, and when I see the photo that’s plastered across it, my stomach knots up.

There on the screen is a picture of Mallory. You can’t see her face, and for that I’m grateful, but it’s her. I shoot a glance at Kendra who looks pale. This was not on the list of agreed topics. “I suppose that woman is beautiful, but since we can’t see her face, it’s kind of hard to tell, wouldn’t you say? And there were hundreds of beautiful women there who caught my eye.”

They split the image, putting the first one of me looking surprised next to the side-view of Mallory. “Please tell your father he’s never looked better,” she jokes. She turns and speaks into the camera. “Thad Stone and Hayden Keys, folks. You can see them inDefcon One, opening in theaters everywhere on March 23rd.”

They go to commercial and Tanya quickly thanks us before being whisked away for her next segment. Kendra comes up behind me as we are escorted back to the green room. “Don’t worry about it, Thad. The picture is vague. Nobody can tell who she is. You played it off very well. There won’t be any fallout from this.”

“Played it off well?” I rub the tense muscles in the back of my neck. “Why didn’t I just say I thought it was my mother, or a cousin maybe? Now it looks like I’m hiding something.”

“You’re in show business, Thad,” she says. “Whoisn’thiding something?”

Cole comes to escort us out of the building into the car waiting in the underground parking garage. On our way to drop Kendra and Hayden back at the hotel, I wonder if Mallory watched the show. I think she was probably at work by the time my segment came on. But the picture is out there now. Will the press continue to dig, or will they drop it? I should probably tell her about this before she finds out some other way.

I pull out my phone and see I’ve gotten a text from her that she sent earlier this morning.

Mal: I miss all that stuff, too. But things are different. We are different people now and there is no going back. I’m glad you’ve changed and I wish you all the best in your career. I know you will do great things. Bye, Chad.

Bye, Chad?She’s blowing me off. She really doesn’t want to see me again. This won’t do. This won’t fucking do at all. After we drop the others off, I tell Cole, “Change of plans.”

~ ~ ~

I walk up to the desk and talk to the lady behind the counter who has a phone to one ear and a stack of folders in her hand. “I’m here to see Mallory Schaffer.”

She barely glances up at me. “Do you have an appointment?” she asks. “It is the middle of the school day, you know. Are you a parent?”

“No. I’m not a parent. I just need to see her,” I say.

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