Page 74 of Heavy Shot

"I got tired of standing around waiting for you to finish making headlines with Jill," she said, exasperation growing. "The thing I don't understand is, if it was such an imperative for you to spend so much time with her, why did you take me along?"

"Because I asked you," he said snippily. "If I'd known that my work was going to bother you that much, I wouldn't have. You did realize I was working, didn't you? That I was at my job? Do you think I'd be pissed for you hanging out with Thad at your work?"

"That's not even close to the same thing, Kline, and you know it. There were a lot of people 'working' at the Oscars, but they still paid attention to their dates. You were too busy creating buzz to even look at me. It was like I wasn't even there," Rhiannon replied. "The dancing was a nice touch."

"It is exactly the same thing and 'you' know it! My job is in the public. My work is to stir up interest in me as a personality and in my films. Right now that means stirring up interest in Jill as a leading lady. I would have been happy to pay attention to you, dear heart, but you jetted inside without me, and then I couldn't find you from there. If you didn't notice, I was a bit mobbed and couldn't really get away to go hunting."

Rhiannon took a deep breath andlet it out slowly. "You didn't tell me that you'd signed on for Devil's Party and that you and Jill were going to have to do some press for it. I had no warning about any of that and after everything, I was really put off by the whole experience. It's also made it very clear that I'm not your type, after all. You want a woman who's willing to be an accessory or a piece of set dressing and I'm not made that way, Kline."

"The hell?" Kline snorted. "First of all, no one asked you to be an accessory. Again, I was doing my job. That is my job. I invited you to come along thinking you understood what I do for a living. Second, why would I have to tell you what film deals I have in the making? We've been seeing each other a month, Rhiannon. But I suppose I should expect that since you were digging into my scripts the first weekend."

"You were ready to introduce me to your kid, but you’re too precious to tell me that you’re going to be fucking your ex on screen? Your priorities are so messed up! I do understand what you do for a living, and I didn't say that you should tell me what film deals you have in the making. It would have been nice if you'd warned me that you needed to spend so much time with Jill, considering that's been an issue nearly from the start. Yes, I know that nothing's going on. I also know that she wasn't the one who did all the pursuing in New York. But you know how this is being played out in the press, and true or not, you know how upsetting it's been to me. I don't want to live my life in public and I certainly don't want to be painted a fool for the sake of box office returns. If that's the game you need to play, find another girl."

"If you know there's nothing going on between me and Jill then why are you so worried about it? You know where I sleep. I don't know what your obsession with Jill is anyway. Even if I was fucking her, it's not like we have a commitment to anything. I've been straight up with you about everything going on in my personal life.And no one's painting you the fool. The press isn't even paying attention to you anymore--or wouldn't be if you hadn't shown your tits again.If you'd worn what I suggested, they'd not even have bothered you at all.You went out of your way to get media attention in that gown. Now I'm not playing games. If you think you can handle being with me, then I want to keep seeing you but if--"

"Exactly what kind of woman do you think I am? What kind of idiot? Because you're talking to me like I don't have a brain in my head!"

"I think you're the kind of woman who'll shag a man on the first date to fulfill a fantasy, then bitch about it when it isn't the fairy tale she intended."

Rhiannon was quiet for a long moment, angry tears stinging her eyes. "Ididn't go out with you because of who you are. I went out with you because you asked me, and you seemed like a nice guy. As for sleeping with you on the first date, I only did that because it seemed like there could have been a real connection between us. I didn't know that you have an act for every occasion."

"That wasn't an act, and you know that.Nothing we've had in private has been an act.I thought we could have something, too, which is exactly why I turned down Jill in the first place.I didn't realize you needed to be coddled and paraded into the spotlight—I thought you preferred it behind the scenes.I guess I was wrong."

"I don't need to be coddled and I definitely don't need to be paraded into the spotlight. When in all of our illustrious history have I sought your spotlight, Kline? Never. Early on, I thought it was just a job for you and that you preferred private time, but you really love basking in the glow, don't you? You really love being hounded by photographers and being seen and having your name in the papers, don't you?"

"What are we fighting about right now?" he demanded. "We're fighting about me not giving you enough spotlight time on Sunday and you running off like a spoiled brat!I didn't take pictures with you. I didn't work the room with you. And I love my private time, but hell yes, I love my job. I wouldn't do it otherwise.Did I ever say I didn't like the attention? No!"

"I didn't want the spotlight on Sunday, either, Kline. I wanted to be with you," she said, trying make him understand, "and instead it was like I was invisible. You can tell me I'm wrong all you like. I'm telling you how I felt. That's why I left. I was angry and embarrassed, and I didn't want to make things worse than they already are."

"Well, if you saw me, why didn't you fucking come over and talk to me? I spent three hours trying to find you when I could get away from people.If you knew where I was the whole time, why didn't you make a move?"

"I was going to, but I came outof the bathroom and saw you dancing with Jill and if I had come over then, it would have been sordid and made everything worse. She's my friend, Kline. I don't want to be in competition with her. It would have been bad with any other woman, but it's worse when it's her. Call it PR. It didn't look that way."

He sighed with frustration."This isn't going to work.It just won't.This is my work.It's what I do.If you can't understand that, I don't know what to say.You can't be in competition because there is no competition, but you're just not getting that."

"You're right. I don't get it. I understand what your job is, I just don't understand why dating me is apparently not as good for your image as dating Jill seems to be. Maybe Roland could explain it to me."

"I could explain it," Kline said witheringly, "but not without sounding completely offensive.Look, Rhiannon, I do think you're an amazing woman. You're smart,you're funny, you're beautiful.I really enjoy spending time with you, but right now my priorities have to be Jack and work.I can't put any energy into a committed relationship with someone who doesn’t understand my work and it seems you don't want anything short of exclusivity and that won’t happen with the press.I can't give you that.I think it's best if we just—are we friends?Can we stay friends?Or were we just shagging?"

There was silence in response, then, "Sure. We can be friends."

"In other words, don't call me, I'll call you?" he asked.

Rhiannon sighed. "It's just going to take some time for me to get past all of this. I have trouble pretending that I'm alright when I'm not. I'm not a very good actress. I really like you, Kline," she said, sincerely. "At least, when you're being you. It's the celebrity part that I can't deal with."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," he said.

Rhiannon managed not to huff at the words. "What are you going to tell the press when they ask?"

"Nothing," Kline answered. "They won't ask. They won't care."

"I would hope that you'd be kind to me if they ask you and don't allow all of this 'love triangle' spin to go on. I could do without another scandal in my life," she said, quietly. "This is difficult enough to handle without all of that."

"They won’t ask. They don’t care about you. I don't expect we'll really have to worry with it at all. And again, I don't know how to say it without sounding completely offensive. If you'd been a name, then it would be hard to disentangle publicly—like Kara. I haven't seen her in months and we're still going out in the media's mind. You'll be able to just fade to black."

"So I'm learning. Take care of yourself, Kline," she said, hanging up before he could say goodbye.

Kline Scott

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