“Bullshit. Lexi’s on birth control,” David said.
“That’s what we both thought. It’s supposed to be over 99% effective. I guess we hit the lottery,” Ben said.
“So, her being your PA …?”
“Was to give us a chance to decide what to do. Should she have it or not? Was it mine? If she did have it, what should we do? Get married or something else?” Ben explained.
“Why all the secrecy? I thought you were my friend,” David said.
“At first, Lexi wasn’t sure if she was going to keep it or not. If not, she didn’t want to ruin her chances with you,” Ben admitted.
David could see that it had hurt Ben to know she would throw him over for David.
“Then what happened?”
“We decided to see if we could be a real couple. We got lost in being in Paris and the newness of it all. Then Isabel found out. I’d been a complete idiot and hadn’t told her that we were broken up.”
“And me?” David asked.
Ben wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“Is Lexi here? I’d like to confirm your story,” David said.
“Yeah, she wanted to talk to you,” Ben said, then pulled his phone out and called her.
A few minutes later, Lexi stuck her head in the door. David had eyes. She was just starting to show. He knew from Pam’s pregnancy that that happened three to four months in. That would fit with the time frame.
“David?” Lexi asked tentatively.
“We don’t have time for all this right now. Would the two of you be willing to be on for the first segment? It would give you a chance to clear the air. I understand your filming has been temporarily halted. I don’t want any of this to affect the premieres,” David said, finding it difficult to keep from shouting.
He realized that intimidating them—at least right then—was not at all a good idea. He dialed everything back.
“I need to make one more call before I decide what to do.”
◊◊◊
There was one more person David had to call, that being Isabel. His uncle had been right about talking to everyone before deciding something. She’d been wronged by Lexi and Ben and deserved to know what they’d told him.
“David?” Isabel answered, sounding confused as to why he would be calling.
“I’m having Ben on a vodcast I’m doing for school and had a talk with him before we shot it. He claims that Lexi’s pregnant, and that was why she was in Paris with him.”
“And you believe them?”
“I saw Lexi, and she’s showing,” David said.
“Are you sure she didn’t show up with a fake baby bump?” Isabel asked.
He had to take a moment for that to permeate his brain. Suddenly, all those conversations with literally everyone who knew Lexi came back. They’d all warned that he shouldn’t trust her.
Something else that confused him was if she was just pregnant, why did they shut down filming?
“Let me get back to you on that,” David said.
He went to find Lexi.
“You got a minute?” David asked.
He’d been with her constantly for nearly seven months while filming, and when he got her alone, he could see she thought she’d won him over.
“I wanted to congratulate you,” he said, getting close to her.
Her eyes got big when he reached out and touched her stomach.
“Lexi,” David said, letting all the disappointment he felt drip from that one word.
“I can explain!”
She began to do just that, rambling like a guilty liar attempting to deflect.
“Don’t bother,” he said to stop her explanation. “I’ll let you break it to Ben that he won’t be on my vodcast. I won’t say anything about what a lying bitch you are or that Ben is a world-class douche, provided neither of you ever contacts me again.”
“What about tomorrow’s interviews?”
“I have an obligation to do those, and I will put on a clueless happy face and do my job. But I won’t lie for you or Ben,” he promised.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” Lexi said.
“Nothing. It’s worth nothing,” David said as he left her.
◊◊◊
David gave Ben time to clear out before going to the dressing room to prepare for the show. Duke showed up, sensing that his master needed comfort. The unconditional love of a dog could put almost anyone in a better mood.
David had just finished getting his makeup put on when he heard a warning growl from his buddy. He looked up and saw the guy he’d caught Colleen with, looking nervous. Duke had always been a good judge of character.
“He bites. I would just keep walking,” David suggested.
“I realize we didn’t meet under the best of circumstances. Colleen had told me that she was seeing someone. I had no idea it was you. I understand I didn’t handle things that well, but I wanted to assure you that it was only because I love her. I asked her to marry me, and she said ‘yes,’” Bart said.
Gail, Colleen’s roommate, had sent him a text, so David wasn’t surprised. He was also in no mood for this.
“That’s great. Now get off my set,” he said.
David had no idea what Bart hoped his little speech would accomplish, but getting kicked out didn’t seem to be one of the foreseen possible outcomes. He was lucky that David didn’t punch him in the throat. Bart gulped and bobbed his head.
“I think you’re a great actor,” he blurted and then ran off.
‘Can this day get any worse?’
“Next time you see that guy, bite him,” David told his dog.
He wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get a response. Duke was incredibly smart for a dog, but he hadn’t mastered the ability to speak. Yet.
◊◊◊
David had purposely avoided meeting with the cast of the Star Academy sequels before the show. Waiting for him were Bree Steno and Elizabeth Paul, two of the original ensemble cast at the heart of the movies’ storylines. Joining them was Trip James, who played a more prominent role in this latest release.
David and Duke came out, and David was all business. His dog said hello to everyone and then curled up at his master’s feet as if doing so in front of a studio audience was no big deal. Professor Blum had arranged for this to be filmed in the 365-seat Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex. People were standing along the walls as the audience overflowed.
David introduced his guests before recognizing the audience.
“When Professor Blum told me that people wanted to come to see the filming of Trojan Inquirer, I thought I’d hit the big time. Then he explained it was because we would have actual actors in the house.”
“Oh, dear, he’s starting with the ‘poor David’ routine again,” Bree said to Elizabeth.
David threw his note cards in the air, startling Duke. A minute in, and he’d lost control of his show.
“You all have no idea what I had to put up with. These two thought that since they’re older, they could boss me around,” David whined.
Since this wasn’t a traditional interview, his three acting friends proceeded to take the show over and tell stories. The audience loved seeing them all fall into the way they acted on set. The crowd loved hearing about the fun they’d all gotten up to both on and off camera.
The second segment had Halle James added to promote Love Letters. She shared her story of actually moving to David’s hometown and attending high school with him.
In the third and final segment, they took questions from the audience.
When it was done, David and Duke made their escape. By now, he was old news at the School of Cinematic Arts. Everyone wanted to talk to the ‘fresh meat’ and get pictures and autographs.
Uncle John met him in the room next door that had served as a dressing room.
“What did you think?” David asked.
“I usually don’t like shows like that, but this one was fun. You could tell everyone was friends. I think that made it enjoyable.”