Page 4 of Under A Sicilian Sky
‘Valerie’s looking into ways to fight the fire, but it’s not looking great just now. I’m due to start filming soon, but I couldn’t even go home last night. There was a protest going on outside my block. I don’t even get how those people know where I live. Anyway, I had to come to Tyler’s hotel suite.’
‘Shit, Roo, that sounds terrifying. But at least you have Tyler, eh? I wish I could hug you.’
Hearing those words made emotion spill over and Ruby let out a sob. ‘Oh God, I wish you could too. I miss you so much, Kitty.’
‘Oh sweetie, please don’t cry. Thiswillget sorted, I promise you. It has to. People will realise you’re not that person and that you’re a victim here too. Don’t give up and don’t bloody roll over and play dead. That’s just not who you are.’
‘Mummeeeeeee!’ a loud but very young voice shouted in the background. ‘Nelly spilled her juice all over my book and it’s ruined to bits!’
‘Oh heck. Sounds like you’re needed,’ Ruby said with a laugh.
‘Ugh, I’m so sorry, but I think you’re right. They’re fighting like cat and dog at the moment. If Nelly breathes in George’s direction, he gets in a huff. I’ll speak to you later, okay?’
‘Mummeeeeeee!’
‘I’m coming!’ Kitty snapped. ‘I’m so sorry, sweetie. I love you.’
Ruby smiled, but her heart ached. ‘I love you too. Bye.’ The line went dead, and she placed her phone on the table.
She contemplated calling her parents and knew she would have to at some point but decided that perhaps that was a call she would make later when she had a glass of wine in her hand. Her mum and dad were not on any kind of social media and she presumed that the news of all this hadn’t reached the international papers and TV stations yet. They were both worriers. She’d had to be so careful what she told them in the years since she relocated from home. Although they were incredibly proud of her, and supported her in her career, they panicked about her getting caught up with the wrong crowd, about drugs, stalkers and anything else that might happen to their precious daughter. The last thing she wanted was for them to become frantic and worry themselves sick. So, for now at least, what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.
Kitty’s words resonated within her. ‘Don’t roll over and play dead… that’s just not who you are.’ She was right. In the past, Ruby had always been the one to stand up and fight for what she believed in. This should be no different. Her mind began whirring with plans.
‘Hey my gorgeous girl. What are you up to?’ Tyler asked as he plonked himself opposite her at the small table, phone in hand and his eyes fixed on the screen.
‘I was just chatting to Kitty. I miss her so much.’
Without looking up, he said, ‘I can imagine. You’re all the way over here and she’s back in that little village. It’s a long distance to be apart from those you love. But you have me.’ He looked up and leaned across the table to squeeze her arm. ‘Although, I have to go out. I have a charity event at the junior baseball camp today. I’d invite you along but…’ He cringed. ‘Maybe it’s best if—’
‘If I don’t come because of what’s happened. I understand.’ She did, but she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. She’d hoped he would invite her anyway, so they could show a united front. His willingness to leave her behind stung.
‘Why don’t you have a nice long soak, grab some room service at lunchtime and watch some movies? I hear there’s a great one just released on pay-per-view about the battle at Rapido River.’ He grinned.
She rolled her eyes but smiled regardless. ‘I think I’ve seen that one… several times. The lead actor is quite dreamy, you know.’
His smile widened and he smoothed his hand over his hair. ‘Really? I hadn’t heard. Look, I’d better go. My driver’s waiting.’ He stood and slipped his phone into his back pocket.
A thought struck her. ‘Oh shit, I forgot to sort breakfast out for the security guys.’
Tyler scowled and clenched his teeth. ‘Ruby, honey, please don’t curse. You know I hate that. And I took care of it already.’ He smiled again. ‘The next shift is outside now. You’ll be perfectly safe. Call Valerie and check on what she’s doing to sort out this godawful mess, okay? I don’t care that it’s Saturday, she works for you, remember. Bye, honey.’ He kissed her on the top of her head, grabbed his jacket from another chair and dashed out of the door.
‘Bye,’ she said to the empty room.
* * *
Ruby sat by the window on the phone with Valerie as Tyler had advised. People on the streets below were bustling around, going about their normal routines as Ruby watched from up above.
‘I’m trying to deal with it, Ruby.’ Valerie sounded exhausted and exasperated. ‘Believe me, this is not something I would usually be doing on a Saturday. I should be at a house-warming lunch at my friend’s new place, but clearing your name is important to me too. I have a tech guy onto it, Shelby recommended him, but he’s talking about VPNs and IPs and all I can think about is how it’s like he’s speaking a foreign language. And isn’t VPN what you get when your pants are too tight, and your underwear is visible?’
Ruby stifled a giggle. ‘That’s VPL, Valerie. So, is he any closer to resolving things? Is there anything I can do to move things along? Should I contact some people and try to get on TV?’
‘No!’ Her answer was immediate and loud. ‘Please don’t do anything right now. Just wait it out, okay? The last thing we need is you being shot down in flames by TV journalists. We have to consider your current contracts. We need to ensure thatnothingbreaches those. And we have to wait until we have definitive proof that you didn’t have anything to do with those tasteless posts. We’ll resolve it. We will. But you have to be patient.’
‘It’s just so hard. I know how awful this must look from the outside. If people think I have such vile opinions, then they’ll continue to hate me, and we can forget them queuing up to see my films. This is why I’m so eager for this to be dealt with now. Surely in this day and age it should be easy enough?’
‘And it most likely is, if you know what you’re doing. Now, where are you going to stay?’
Ruby scowled and rubbed her forehead as she got up and paced the floor in the plush suite. ‘Stay? What do you mean? I’m going to go home. Tyler is only in town a couple of days, so I’ll be heading back to my apartment as soon—’
