Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Chapter Twenty-Five
Blake
My phone blares at get fucked o’clock, but I don’t remember setting my alarm. Then I wake properly and realize it’s my ringtone, not an alarm.
I roll away from where I’ve plastered myself to Jordan’s back, and he mumbles a complaint, even though he’s still sleeping.
Anthony’s name flashes on the screen. Why’s my agent calling me this early? I slip out of bed and wander into the living room to answer it, but I get the feeling I don’t want to know.
“I really hope you’re calling because someone wants to offer me fifty million dollars to do their next movie and you couldn’t wait for a reasonable hour to tell me.” I hold my breath.
“I wish. Who did you piss off at Plymouth Studios?”
“Umm, no one? I don’t think.”
“You had to have pissed someone off. Check out the news in Variety about the next Coby Godspeed movie.”
“Huh?” I put him on speaker while I open the site on my phone. There it is in black and white. “They recast me?” I screech.
“So, I reiterate, who did you piss off? We were in the middle of negotiating your next paycheck. We were almost ready to sign. Now they have this no-name new hotshot actor taking your place.”
“I … I don’t understand.”
“Apparently, they’ve been looking at this guy for a while in case our negotiations went sideways, but now they undercut you and cast you out, and I need to know why so we can fix whatever damage you’ve done.”
“I’ve done nothing! Let me call the director. He likes me.”
“You didn’t read the whole article, did you? He walked when he found out you weren’t going to be involved. You lost the franchise.”
“They James Bonded me,” I mutter.
“I can’t help thinking this all has to do with you coming out, but that doesn’t make sense because they were still negotiating up until yesterday.”
A raspy voice comes from behind me. “I think I might have an idea.” Jordan’s face is forlorn with worry and regret, and I have no idea what he’s going to say, but just like I knew this phone call wouldn’t be good news, I’m not holding on to any hope here.
“Is that Jordan?” Anthony asks. “I thought you promised there wouldn’t be any more between you two?”
“Well, we lied,” I say.
“There’s the problem. It’s leaked or there was another photo or cheating accusation—”
“It was Ben,” Jordan says.
“Ben?” I ask.
“Last night, he cornered me in my trailer and warned me against ruining my career by being with you. It felt like a threat, but I shrugged him off and basically said I’ll do what I want. I didn’t think …” He runs his hand through his hair. “I didn’t think he’d come after you. I would’ve—”
“What? Ended it with me? I wouldn’t have allowed it.”
“I’m so sorry. I’ll fix it,” Jordan says. “I don’t know how, but I will. I’ll get you the role back. Somehow.”
“It’s too late for that,” Anthony says. “The contracts were signed last night.”
Jordan shakes his head. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know what he was implying. He was talking about my career, about my future. He told me to stop seeing you, and—”
I smile. I can’t help it. “You chose me over your career?”
“I … I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t know he’d do this. And now you’ve lost Coby, and it’s all my fault, and—”
“Hey, breathe.” I step toward him. “Anthony, I’ll call you back.”
“Let me see what I can find out. If Benjamin Randt thinks he can get away with this shit, he’s sorely mistaken.” Anthony ends the call, and I throw my phone on the couch.
“Jordan,” I say cautiously. He looks like a wounded animal that might run away at any second. “It’s okay.” I try to rest a reassuring hand on his upper arm, but he pulls away.
“It’s not okay. It’s really not. You are Coby Godspeed.”
“I’m also Madden. Blake Monroe from Eleven. A quiet straight guy. I’m all those things and none of them. They’re roles I have played to try to find the real me, and the only time in the last ten years where I have felt I’ve been my genuine self is when I’m with you.”
His gray eyes soften, but then he steps back. “You can’t.”
“I can’t what?”
“Tank your career for me.”
“So, when you thought Ben was threatening your career, it was okay to ignore it?”
“That was a threat. A vague one at that. I didn’t know he was actually going to do anything, and if I’d known he was going to do it to you instead of me … I would’ve just ended it between us.”
I’m hurt by that but not surprised. Jordan’s been used so many times, he can’t see what he brings to a relationship other than sex. And under normal circumstances, I’d agree with him. Sex isn’t worth risking a career for.