Take Two (9 page)

“Mr. Maxwell,
it’s May. T
he Oscars were
in
February
.
”

“Nine
sharp
Melody
,”
he shooed me out of his office.

Matt

Was Melody Carter really blushing? Or was she just embarrassed for me? Wh
y am I still thinking about this
?

I slipped on my shades and stepped out of the car.

“
Matt
Sterling!
Matt
Sterling! Are you and Selena working on a pre-nup? Is she pregnant? Ar
e you
secretly
gay?
How long do you think you two will last? When is the wedding?” the paparazzi shout
ed
as I walked towards
Trump
SoHo
.

“
Matt
! Turn and look at us will ya? Have you met her parent
s
? How’s the sex? Do you
have plans for the honeymoon
? Do you think she’s having an affair with
Bradley Co
oper
?
Where’s
Selena right now?
Are you
sleeping
with Emma Stone? Take off your shirt!”

I took off my shades once
I entered th
e building. I followed
my
small
entourage
to the elevators and waited until
the doors closed.

“I thought I said I wante
d to keep this location
private
Joan!
” I snapped.

“I’m sorry
sir.
I didn’t
notify
anyone but Miss Ross.”

Ugh, Selena!

“
Well,
next
time just give me a heads up if Selena is notified of
anything
.”

“Yes
sir,” she looked upset
.

The
doors opened and we wa
ite
d for a man to unlock the door
o
f
a
penthouse
suite. Security entered the room first.

Once they gave the all-clear, m
y stylist sear
ched for an electrical outlet
and Joan inst
ructed
for
me to sit by the window.

“The interviewer was specifically told not to ask any questions about Miss Ross. I told her to stick to questions regarding your films and philanthropy,” Joan said. “Would you like some water bef
ore I let her in
?”

“A glass of wine.”

Joan disappeared
into the kitchen
and returned with a
glass of red wine
. She brushed a lint roller across my shoulders and snapped her fingers at
the
stylist.

“He doesn’t like his hair this way
when he wears open collars
,” she said. “Can
you add a little bit more volume up top?”

The stylist rushed over and played in my hair. She and Joan went back and forth a couple of times
before deciding it was perfect.

“You can let he
r in,” Joan nodded at security.

A
red-haired woman came in and smiled warmly
at Joan and I. “Good afternoon, I’m Miss Turner.
It’s a pleasure to meet you
,
Mr. Sterling.”

“Pleasure’s all mine Miss Turner,” I
reached out and shook her hand.

“As you know, I’m with
Instyle
magazi
ne,” she took a seat and tapped
her recorder. “And I’m here to find out more about your charities.”

I wonder if Melody Carter is a natural redhead
…

“Ask away
Miss Turner.”

“How involved are you with your dance school here in New York?”

How many times have I answered this question? How many different ways can the same question be answered
? Ugh. I really should
give Joan “the look” and have this woman escorted out of the room. Nonetheless, every publication has a different spin I guess...

“I’m very involved. I attend all of the
recitals and drop in to see the rehearsals from time to time. I also donate two million a year to better the facility.”

“I see. And what about—”

“Sir! Miss Ross is causing a commotion outside the door,”
one of the
security
guards
bellowed. “Should we let her in?”

No!

“Yes,” I plastered a smile on my face and kept my eyes on Mis
s Turner. “Finish your question
please.”

“What about the scholarships? Is it true
that you give each graduate a $7
5,000 scholarship for college
?”

“Yes. I’ve partnered with a group of sponsors to ensure that student
s have post graduate assistance throughout
their college careers.”

“And if they choose not to go to college?”

“They are made to submi
t a four
year plan to the board,
and we award them an amount that we see fit.”

“Okay, now how do—”

“Good afternoon baby,” Selena sat in my lap and pressed her lips against mine.

“Selena,”
I reluctantly kissed her back.

“I’m Selena Ross,” she held her
hand
out to Miss Turner.

“
I’m Miss Turner,” she smiled, and I could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

“Miss Turner, would you excuse me and my fiancé for about twenty minutes? I’m so
rry to interrupt your interview
but this is very important
.
”

“Not a problem at all,” she quickly grabbed her recorder and left the room.

“Joan,” Selena frowned. “I’ll come out when I’m done here.”

Joan looked at me and turned away. Sh
e helped the stylist gather her
things and signal
ed for security to leave
.

“What the hell was that
?” I yelled.

“Whoa
. Calm down
,” she
eased out of my lap.
“I’ve got some great news!
Aren’t you going to
ask me what the great news is?”

You asked for this…

“Are
n’t you going to tell me anyway?
”

“Duh!
Tomorrow, y
ou and I are going to do an exclusive interview with
Ryan Seacrest
on E
!
They’re doing a special taping here in New York!
”

“Yay,” I said dryly.

“Oh
come on. Don’t be like that. You said you’d do this for two more months.”

“Yea
h
, but I get the feeling
you’re going to t
ry to push me further than that.
”

“Of course I will,” she bit her lip. “I’m always going to push you to go further with me…”

Is she trying to have sex with me right now?

“I have an interview to finish
,” I stood up and walked to
the door.

“So
we’re not
going to have sex anymore
?”

“No. That’ll make it tha
t much easier to drop this act
two months from now.”

She crossed
her arms
. “I read that you’re
h
aving an affair with Emma Stone.
Is that true?”

“What? No.
I barely speak to her between takes. Are you sleeping with Bradley Cooper?”

“
No, n
ot currently.
W
e did do it once, but—”

“Just go
Selena,” I shook my head in exasperation
.

“I’m sorry…Are you still
coming
to my laun
ch party to
night?”

“Sure. W
hatever.”

She planted a kiss on my neck before
I opened the door
. S
he
winked at me and
w
alk
ed
out as
Joan and security re-entered the room.

“Where’s Miss Turner?” I asked.

“I told Miss Turner we would contin
ue the interview later
.
You have two
free hour
s
tomorrow
so we’ll do it across town, perhaps at your dance school?”

“You’re the best,
Joan.”

She
gave me a sympathetic smile. “The boys and I are going downstairs to speak to the general manager. We’re going to get you out of here as quietly as possible.”

“Don’t worry about that. I don’t mind
now
.”

“Okay well, we’ll go retrieve the car. Do you want one of the boys to stay here with you?”

“
I’ll be okay. Thanks.”

She shrugged
and
they all
left t
he room
.

I
walked around the suite and turned on the TV
. Nothing was on except celebrity news and I did my best to avoid those
types
of
shows.
I refused to believe I was
the
only celebrity involved in a pseudo-relationship and it didn’t make sense to watch anyone else’s staged for TV romance.

I decided to get some fresh air.

I stood in front of the elevator
and
waited. A
s the doors opened, I collided with a woman and a crate of papers.

“I’m so sorry,” we said in unison. We both bent down to scoop up the folders. When I stood up,
Melody Carter was facing me.

“Oh. I
t’s
you
,” I purposely dropped the folders to the ground.

“You’re more mature in person than you are in your movies, Mr. Sterling,” she bent down to pick them up.

Get down there and he
lp her!

Before I could help, she’d collected the folders and was staring at me.
I stared back.
We stood staring at each other for a few more seconds before she broke the silence.

“Weren’t
you going to use the elevator?”

She’s definitely blushing!

“I was until some lady tripped over herself and dropped her folders,” I pressed the down button. “
I seem to have that effect on all women though.”

“That sounded halfway convincing, like you actually
believed
what you were saying. You shou
ld try more of that when you’re
on set,” she rolled her eyes and
turned away
.

Say something! Say anything!

“Maybe you could teach me
?” the elevator doors sprung open.

She turned around.
“In your dreams,
Matt
Sterling
.”

If
only you knew.

Melody

I pressed the gray but
ton on the remote and watched
the curtains
dra
w back.
I walked around my suite
for what must have been the hundredth time
, running my
fingers along the Fendi furniture
and
lush linens
.

I wanted to live t
here, to forget about shopping for a condo of my own. Then again, the
elaborate
design of the room wa
s beginning to anger me
. Everything from the
selection of
books on the shelf, to
the
grooves of the soap dish
es, seemed
planned—
like every single detail was
fretted over and
calculated
.
Like Sean.