Page 10 of Hollywood Humbug (The Naughty List)

“Scarlet.” Kane’s tone was harsh when he answered.

I grimaced, feeling bad that he was having to deal with all this bullshit. “Hey,” I said softly. “I wanted to check and make sure you were okay.”

“Right.” A harsh, humorless laugh burst through the phone, furrowing my brow. “Cut the bullshit, Scarlet. I don’t know what you hoped to gain by leaking this crap to the paps…and Mandi Donovan, of all people. I obviously misjudged you. I have to say, I’m impressed with your moxie, but I’m not letting anyone ride my fucking coattails to further their career. Especially someone as conniving and deceitful as you. You’ll have to pick a different sap or do the fucking work yourself. But don’t expect to useLife Flightas your next stepping stone. I already told the studio it’s me or you, and we both know I hold the cards with them.”

I was stunned into silence. Utterly shocked at Kane’s tirade. He was blaming me? Accusing me of being the one who leaked the information and started the rumors about us being engaged? And what was he talking about riding his coattails…life flight…a helicopter ride? I was baffled. “I don’t—”

“Save it for the next fool who wants to listen to your lies, Scarlet.” Then he hung up.

What the hell was that???

Had I entered the Twilight Zone somewhere between last night and this morning?

I still wasn’t sure I’d understood Kane’s tirade because… we’d worked together for a long time. He couldn’t possibly believe I was a gold-digging social climber, could he?

The whole thing was preposterous, anyway. Although I’d only been working in movies for a few years, I’d cut my acting teeth on Broadway as a kid. Stage acting was my career path, and I was happy with that because I adored it. But, when a director approached me and asked me to read for a movie/musical, I decided to try something new. It had been a hit, and offers for other projects had rolled in. I’d sort of fallen into the movie scene—though I still did stage work on and off because I loved it so much. I didn’t need to step on anyone to grow in my career. Kane could take his coattails and shove them right up his ass.

Maybe it had been a joke? One he didn’t realize was so mean and hurtful? He was known for being stoic and hard to read, so hearing him be so emotional, even if it was spewing rage, made me question what I’d heard.

I hit his number again, but it went directly to voicemail.

The more I stewed on Kane’s words, the angrier I became. Finally, I called Ty to get his advice on what to do next because I was ready to move on and leave this crap behind me.

When he answered, I summarized my call with Kane, and he was understandably astonished. “What the fuck?” His tone was low and dangerous. He sounded like he wanted to beat the shit out of Kane. Which shouldn’t have made me feel better, but what woman didn’t have a tiny vindictive streak?

“Do you know what he meant when he said something about life flight?” I asked.

“It’s his next movie,” Ty growled. “You were on the shortlist for the lead, but nothing has been decided. My guess is that they floated your name to Kane to get his opinion before bringing you in to read. I didn’t want to say anything until it was a solid possibility.”

“Oh.” It had just been another reason for Kane to blame me. “What do I do now?”

“Nothing. Most likely, any heat will fall on Kane, anyway. Everyone knows how cynical and private he is. They’ll probably assume he dumped you because of the leak, and you’ll become the victim. Besides, it will blow over and be forgotten as soon as the next celebrity adopts a monkey or goes into rehab.”

Despite my crappy mood, I chuckled because he was right. The fans were fickle creatures drawn to drama like a moth to a flame.

The next day, I took one more shot at trying to smooth things over with Kane, but again, I was sent straight to voicemail.

I’d known Kane for a while, but we’d barely spent any time in each other’s presence outside of work before our date. His rejection shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did. But somehow, he’d worked his way into my heart and shattered it into irreparable pieces. It took me a little time to set it all behind me, but I built a wall around myself in the process. I never let people get close enough to see through it, never let anyone know they affected me.

With one exception. I hated Christmas. No amount of pretending could change it, so I didn’t bother trying to pretend.

Bah humbug.

Five

KANE

Present Day

“Don’t walk away from me!” I growled, grabbing Scarlett’s arm and spinning her around. “We aren’t done talking about this.”

A camera swung behind Scarlett’s head, getting a closeup shot of our enraged expressions. It wasn’t difficult for me to tap into that emotion, considering I was filming a scene with a woman I wanted nothing to do with. There weren’t many people in Hollywood that I avoided at all costs, but Scarlett Cassidy was near the top of the list. Just behind that bitch, Mandi Donovan, who made it her mission in life to print as much bullshit and gossip in her rag,Star Watch, as possible. That Scarlett had even given her the time of day was enough to make me want to spit nails.

I told myself to get a fucking grip and focus on the work. To see Bianca standing in front of me instead of Scarlett. But this scene was a little close to home, and it was making it difficult.

Scarlett yanked her arm out of my grip and spun around to face me, planting her hands on her gently curved hips.

“Why?” she snapped. “You clearly haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”

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