Page 9 of Hollywood Humbug (The Naughty List)

“According to Star Watch, they’ve been dating in secret since this last relationship ended, but he wanted to keep things a secret. We all know how private Kane is.”

“So, how did anyone find out?”

The host winked at her companion before returning to the camera and smirking.“My guess would be the visit she made to a very exclusive bridal boutique two nights ago.”A picture flashed on the screen, one of Scarlet walking into a bridal store.

I didn’t want to believe it, but their speculations kept bouncing around in my head. Scarlet and I were the only ones who’d known about our date last night. She hadn’t mentioned being considered for my next big project. But she’d been the one to suggest keeping our relationship a secret…had she been playing me?

“Well, shit,” Della muttered. “I missed an email from Dane two days ago.”

Dane was the casting director and one of the head producers forLife Flight.

“He wanted me to see what you thought about Scarlet or Lisha McDonald for the lead role.”

The more I heard, the less I could deny that Scarlet was the most likely source for the circulating rumors. There was no one else who stood to gain from spreading this bullshit. Even if I publicly called her bluff, there was proof we’d been on a date. Everyone was suddenly talking about her.

“It had to be Scarlet,” I ranted, angry at myself for misjudging her.

“What do you want me to do?” Della asked.

“Nothing,” I grunted. “Anything we do or say will only add fuel to the fire. I’ll cut ties with Scarlet, and this will blow over. With no more proof that we are together, much less engaged, they’ll realize it’s not true and move on to something else.”

“You’re sure you want to stay silent?” Della pushed. “If you make a statement that this is all lies, it will make her look like a gold digger.”

“We both know that doesn’t matter in Hollywood, Dell. Bad publicity is still publicity.”

“Are you going to confront her in private, then?”

“No. I’m done with Scarlet Cassidy. But I want Tom on the phone with Mandi Donovan ASAP. I don’t want her printing any more of this shit. And I know it’s a long shot but see if he can get her to admit who her source is.” Tom was the head of my legal team. He was a fucking shark, and if he couldn’t get the name of Mandi’s source from her, no one could.

“One last thing. Tell the studio to offer to Lisha, or I walk.”

Four

SCARLET

My mouth hung open as I read the article my friend Andrew had texted to me. I was going to strangle Mandi Donovan. But first, Kane and I needed to do damage control.

My phone rang, making me jump, and I quickly swiped the screen to answer when I saw it was my agent, Ty. “It’s not true,” I sighed in lieu of a greeting.

“I know that,” he replied succinctly, making me feel much better because he hadn’t questioned my integrity. I’d known Ty since I was a kid, but this business…it changed people. It could make you jaded and mistrustful if you let it. I knew better than to think Ty wouldn’t give me the benefit of the doubt, but I’d just been so caught off guard. “I’d like to think you wouldn’t get engaged and keep it from my wife.”

“Of course not,” I grumbled. I adored Collette, and I also wouldn’t risk Ty’s wrath if I upset her. He worshipped her. Their love was like something out of a movie. Currently, my love life seemed more like a circus.

“This puts so much fucking pressure on us, Ty,” I groaned. “We’ve only been on one damn date!”

“True, but celebrities have made things work in worse situations.” His tone became teasing when he added, “Although it might have been easier to make this go away if you hadn’t been seen at Noir Bridal the night before your date with Kane.”

“I was trying on a bridesmaid dress for Violet’s wedding!” I snapped, frustrated with the situation, even though I had done nothing wrong.

“Have you talked to Kane?”

I sighed. “No. I was about to when you called. He’s probably on the verge of killing someone. You know how private he is.”

“Check in with him. See if his PR or legal team has unearthed anything about this. We’ll talk again later.”

“Okay. Thanks, Ty.”

Taking my phone and a cup of coffee to my butter-colored, overstuffed couch, I set my drink on the coffee table and then flopped onto the cushions. I pulled up Kane’s number and hit send, taking a sip from my mug while I waited for him to answer.

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