Page 97 of How to Kiss a Movie Star
“You know,” he finally says, his voice measured and controlled, “since you’re in film school, I assume you have some aspiration to make it in this business. So I’ll give you some advice. Don’t pay attention to what gossip sites say about you, and don’t comment on what gossip sites say about you. It’s a rule I live by, and so far, it’s served me well. If you’ve got a question about the movie or my experiences as an actor, I’d be happy to answer that one instead.”
“Geez, only Flint could deflect a question like that,” Joni says behind me without lifting her eyes from her phone.
“Why did someone ask it in the first place?” I say. “Who would even know to ask?” Someone beside us, Claire’s manager, I think, shushes us, and Joni grabs my hand, pulling me off the stage and into a hallway behind the theater.
“Anyone who reads the news would ask the question,” she says darkly. She hands me her phone, a search engine full of headlines taking up the entire screen. “Someone leaked the story, Audrey. It’s everywhere.”
Five minutes later, the four of us, Nate, Joni, me, and Flint, are all in a black SUV driving toward the airport. My insides are a mass of swirling, sickening emotions. First, the email from work, now this. In one thirty-minute stretch of time, my entire life has been turned upside down.
“Okay, give me the worst of it,” Flint says.
Joni takes a deep breath, then begins to read. “A-list actor Flint Hawthorne made quite the statement last month when he posted photos of a new relationship on his public Instagram account. After claiming he was moving back to his hometown of Silver Creek, North Carolina to have more privacy, it seemed an abrupt shift to suddenly be making public declarations of affection. Turns out, itWASan abrupt shift, and a totally fabricated one. An anonymous source close to the actor claims Hawthorne’s new relationship with wildlife biologist Audrey Callahan, a Silver Creek native, is completely fake.
“Our source couldn’t confirm Hawthorne’s specific motivations, but our best guess is it had something to do with silencing his co-star, actress, Claire McKinsey. In the past few months, McKinsey has made very public insinuations that she and herTurning Tidesco-star are on the brink of getting back together. Which leads us to ask, what really happened between Claire and Flint? Is this a publicity stunt? A way to get back at a scorned ex? Whatever his reasons, we give two thumbs down to Flint Hawthorne and his fake girlfriend and think this actor needs to grow up. Fake relationships? This isn’t middle school! The pair might have looked great on the red carpet at theTurning Tidespremiere, but America doesn’t want to be duped. Stay tuned for further updates as the story unfolds.”
Joni leans back into her seat, and a heavy silence settles over us. “I mean, it could have been worse,” she finally says.
I reach over and pick up Flint’s hand, entwining our fingers together. I don’t know how things are between us. I’m feeling off-kilter in every way possible, so I can only imagine he’s feeling it, too. But no matter what our relationship looks like in the future, I want him to know I’m here for him right now.
“‘This actor needs to grow up’,” he says, his voice hollow. He swears softly. “I should have known this would happen.”
“What do you want to do, Flint?” Joni asks. “You fired Simon, but as far as everyone else knows, he’s still your publicist. He’s probably already gotten two dozen requests for comment.”
Flint scoffs. “On the storyheleaked.”
“You really think it was him?” Joni asks.
“Of course it was him,” Flint says, steel in his tone. “Simon is the only person who knows, outside of the people in this car and our immediate families.” He looks at me. “You warned me. Youtoldme he might do something like this, and I didn’t listen.” He presses his fists into the seatback in front of him and groans. “Why didn’t I just listen to you? Why didn’t I wait to fire him?”
I lift a hand to Flint’s back, rubbing slow circles across his shoulder blades. It’s such a small thing. Too small. But what else can I do?
“We just have to move forward from here,” Joni says. “What’s done is done. There’s no use beating yourself up over it now.” She pulls out her iPad and opens up her notepad app. “Okay. Bare minimum, we need to get Simon’s information off your website and issue a statement saying he no longer represents you. I can see if Kenji has someone who can handle that for us. But then you’ll need to decide if you want to hire anewpublicist, or if you want to just go dark and hope this all blows over.”
“Can you get Kenji on the phone?” Flint asks. “I want to know what he thinks.”
As soon as Kenji is on the line, Joni gives him a quick update, all the way back to Simon’s involvement with Claire and her decision to also fire Simon.
“Wow,” Kenji says when Joni finishes. “You sure know how to piss a guy off.”
“What do I do, man?” Flint asks. “Can I just go home? Hope all of this goes away on its own?”
“Youcan,” Kenji says. “And it might. But I’m not sure that’s a gamble I’d take.”
My heart sinks at Kenji’s words. I don’twantto stay in LA. Ican’tstay. Not when my professional life is falling to pieces back in Silver Creek.
Flint sighs and presses his forehead into his palm. I move my hand from his back, down to his knee, giving it a quick squeeze. He doesn’t respond to my touch at all, and I pull my hand back into my lap, hating how far away he feels. Hating even more that I’m part of the reason why.
“Listen,” Kenji says. “Most of what Simon is saying is inconsequential. It’s annoying and it makes you look a little stupid, but if it doesn’t get worse than what we’re seeing right now, it isn’t going to have much impact. You’re a professional. You work like a professional. That holds more weight than what entertainment news has to say. My bigger worry is that Simon isn’t finished.”
“You think he’ll try to sabotage my career?” Flint says.
“Nah,” Kenji says easily. “You’re too big for him to sabotage anything. But I can see him spreading rumors. Saying you’re not so easy to work with. Maybe hinting that your personal drama sometimes gets in the way.”
“But couldn’t Flint do the same thing to Simon?” I say. I look at Flint. “That’s why you felt comfortable firing him, right? Because you thought he’d be too nervous about what you could do tohisreputation.”
“It’s a valid question. But Simon isn’t an idiot. I’m sure it occurred to him that you could go public with what he’s done and impact his credibility. The fact that he leaked the storyanywaymakes me think he’s got some greater strategy in all this. I don’t have any idea what that strategy might look like, but honestly, I’m more concerned about what Simon might say in the future than I am about what he said today.”
“Or he just acted impulsively,” I say. “He has no strategy. He was just angry and vindictive.”
