Absolutely Famous (20 page)

“Alright, I have to go. They’re calling for me
on the set.”

“Bye mom.”

“Bye Sydney.” And just like that she’s gone.

I put my feet up on the other end of the couch, weary from the emotional morning. Drew’s surprise visit this morning was amazing, but the crap with Kiera and the internet tabloids has quashed my high. I need to run, really badly. The endorphins always make me feel better and get rid of my worries pretty much instantly.

I’m contemplating just exactly how angry Drew would be if he woke up and I was out for a run, alone. I shiver at the thought. Furious isn’t a descriptive enough word for it. He would probably go thermo-nuclear if I did that. He doesn’t know that I’ve been running by myself almost every day since I’ve been in London, and I don’t plan on telling him anytime soon.

One crisis at a time, Sydney.

I laugh even though there’s nothing funny about this situation. The more I laugh, the harder it is to stop until I’m hysterical with laughter. My stomach and abs ache from laughing so hard. I try to wipe the tears off my face but as soon as I compose myself I burst out in another fit of the giggles.

“Sydney? What the heck are you doing?” Allie asks, coming out of her room with a towel wrapped around her hair like a turban.

Seeing her confused face makes me laugh even harder than I ever thought possible. I collapse on the couch, gripping my middle to hold my burning muscles.

“Are you losing it? Do
I need to slap you or something?” Allie bends down in front of me.

“No … Don’t … I can’t stop …” I take deep breaths to calm down. “Oh my God,” I say breathlessly, wiping my eyes.

“What on earth was that? Are you having a nervous breakdown?” Allie’s face looks so concerned that I almost start laughing again at the absurdity of it.

“I just started thinking about everything that’s going on, with the tabloids, Kiera, spying, I can’t even go out running alone …. It’s just all so stupid! It seemed ridiculously funny, you know, the big picture.” I speak in a mocking voice, “Oooh, poor me. I’m rich and famous and tabloids are telling lies about me and spying on me, boo-hoo.” I start giggling again.

Standing there, staring at me in a ball on the couch, clutching my stomach and red-faced, Allie’s eyes go wide. Then she lets out a chuckle and we both breakdown into five minutes of uncontrolled laughing, rolling around on the couch.

“Are you two on drugs or something?”

We both look up and see Drew standing over us, his face exactly how Allie’s had been a few moments ago when she found me and we start another round of fits at his bewilderment.

beep beep beep beep

beep beep beep beep

beep beep beep beep

All three of our phones chirp at the same time, breaking our levity. This can’t be good. I glance up at Drew with a sinking feeling in my gut. Slowly we all reach for our phones and scroll through the alert.

Google Alert
– Sydney Tannen

Google Alert
– Andrew Forrester

“Do you have an alert set on one of us Allie?” I ask her.

“No,” she whispers, “It’s Declan. I set one for him out of curiosity.”

“So whatever it says is about all three of us?” I’m completely lost.

I look up and see Drew’s face. He’s turned a deep shade of red, almost a purple if I look closer. His free hand is clenched so tight that his knuckles are completely white. I know that look, he wants to hit something. Hard. This is not good.

I push the link to my name and click on the article,
CelebCast
, of course.

Andrew Forrester Has Confrontation with Declan Foster Over Dating His Sister

Sexy Hollywood bad boy Andrew Forrester is reportedly not too happy to find out that his little sister, Allie Forrester, has been seeing up-and-coming actor Declan Foster. Foster, known so far for his role in the first Quantum Stranger movie, is currently in London filming the second installment of the trilogy with certified hottie Ryker Bancroft.

The younger Forrester is in town visiting her brother’s on-again off-again girlfriend Sydney Tannen and met Foster through mutual friends. Insiders tell us that the group that included Allie Forrester, Tannen, Foster, Bancroft and Tannen’s BFF Leah Quinn-Slade went clubbing at ClockTower two nights ago and were also spotted last night at Birdie’s Pub & Ale having a few pints over dinner.

Andrew Forrester was seen landing at Heathrow Airport early this morning and went directly to Tannen’s hotel room where his sister is staying while in London. Foster was reportedly still in the suite with Allie Forrester when he arrived and he threatened to pound Foster’s face in for dating his sister. Insiders say that Tannen had to diffuse the situation and remove the elder Forrester from the room to prevent a fight between the two actors.

It seems that Andrew Forrester’s temper has been getting the best of him lately. Maybe juggling two gorgeous ladies has something to do with it? He was seen leaving co-star Kiera Radcliff’s Vancouver hotel room right before catching his flight to London. Straight from one hotel room to the next on two different continents? We’re impressed Mr. Forrester.

As for Allie Forrester and Declan Foster’s budding relationship, we’ll keep you updated. What’s happening between Andrew Forrester and Sydney Tannen? We’re getting whiplash with the amount of times these two bounce back and forth. Check CelebCast.com for updates.

Holy mother effing crap! They listened to us earlier today! It’s already up on the internet only a few hours later! Those assholes are getting really bold, not even trying to hide the fact that they’re listening in. To top it off, at the end of the article there are pictures of Allie and Declan leaving the hotel together and a picture of everyone from ClockTower the other night. Declan is clearly wearing the same clothes in both pictures.

Not good.

I look up at Drew and see that he’s no longer in the room and Allie looks shell-shocked and pale on the couch next to me. There are no words for how fucked up this is.

Drew’s voice travels from the bedroom to the living area, he’s yelling. Loudly. A knock on the door startles me. I get up and answer it. Could this day get any weirder?

Yes. Yes it could
.

“Sal, Evan, Steve, what the heck are you doing here?” I ask the three hulking
former Navy SEALS on my doorstep.

“Good, you’re here,” Drew says from behind me, startling me again. I’m going to end up with gray hair, Declan’s right. I move out of the way so the huge men can enter the suite. I feel like I’m right back where I was when I fled Vancouver, only it’s following me everywhere I go, even to another continent.

My heart starts beating wildly and I’m having difficulty breathing. Silently, I slip into the bedroom and close the door. Shimmying out of my T-shirt and jeans, I put on my soft yoga pants and tank top, pull my mat out from the closet, unroll it on the floor and grab my iPod. I set the playlist to Relax, hit shuffle, and pop in the ear buds, beginning the first of ten poses that I do to rid my mind of stress. I haven’t needed to use yoga for anxiety in a few weeks, only doing it recently to loosen up after a run or for a workout when it’s raining. Old Sydney is just one incident away from returning full-force.

I’m on the fourth pose when the bedroom door flies open and Drew bursts in with Evan right behind him. I remove the earphones
and stare at his flustered face. “What?” I ask in confusion.

He turns and whispers something to Evan who leaves the room and closes the door behind him. Drew
drags his hands down his face and drops next to me on the floor. “I didn’t know where you went and you wouldn’t answer when I called your name.”

“I was ri
ght here. I had my earphones in.” I place my hand on his knee to calm him down.

“I thought you left the suite after reading the article. I was about to send Steve out to find you
.” He grabs my waist and lifts me to face him settling me between his legs. Drew takes my face in his hands and presses his forehead to mine. “I will find out who’s doing this, Sydney. They
will
pay for it, even if I have to spend every cent I have suing them.” He places a tender kiss on my parted lips, then crushes me to his chest, his scent surrounding me as his arms pull me in.

“I’m fine Drew. I’ve been here fo
r weeks on my own and done okay. It’s just when I saw Steve and Evan and Sal it was like Vancouver all over again.” I sit back and look directly at him. “I won’t go back to living like that Drew. Spying or no spying, I refuse to live my life locked up in a hotel room.” I notice his face fall as I speak to him.

“I’m already back to being an overbearing asshole, that’s what you’re saying?”

“No! Of course not. We’re all feeling freaked out by the intrusion on our privacy. And Allie, God I feel terrible that she’s caught up in this crap.” I stand up and put away my iPod and roll up the yoga mat. “It’s just a fucked up situation, again.” I throw my hands up in defeat. “It’s going to follow us forever, isn’t it? This, this … tornado of shit?”

Drew’s lip quirks up at the corner and his eyes light up i
n amusement. “Tornado of shit?”

“Yes, a tornado of shit.” I put my hands on my hips and try to look stern. “A mother-fucking, F5
, tornado of shit,” I say seriously. Then my eyes meet his and I break down laughing.

He grabs my hand and pulls me down onto his lap. “A mother-fucking, F5
, tornado of shit,” he whispers against my lips. “Let’s go tear apart that fucking tornado,” he growls.

“Together?”

“Together.” Drew agrees.

Drew stands up and
holds his hand out to me. “Ready?” I take his hand and nod, smiling at the man I love. He pulls me to my feet and gives me a quick kiss. “Let’s get those fuckers,” he says with a glint in his eye.

The living area is teeming with people. Evan and Steve are standing across the room with their arms crossed. How he managed to get them here is beyond me. They must have all come in on the same flight this morning. I’m not sure where Sal went, but I don’t see him. Agent Wilson is near the dining table, talking with two other men in suits, while the two giant
, tattooed, SEALS listen intently to the conversation.

“Who’s that?” I ask Drew, pointing to a well-dressed but disheveled gray-haired man sitting on one of the couches. He has a laptop open on the coffee table in front of him and is talking rapidly on the phone. The cufflinks on his expensive white dress shirt are missing and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. His paisley tie is loosened and the top button on his shirt is undone. I see a dark suit coat draped carefully over the back of the couch behind him. He looks as tired as Drew, like he jumped a plane and flew all night to get here.

“That’s my lawyer, Samuel Jennings. Come, I’ll introduce you.” Drew begins to walk over to the sitting area but stops when he sees that I don’t move to follow him. “What?” he asks, his brows pinched in confusion.

“Your lawyer? When did he get here?” I
turn to face Drew. “In fact, when did Steve and Evan and Sal get here?”

I don’t miss the flash of guilt in Drew’s eyes before he answers me
. “I called my lawyer yesterday when I made plans to come here. I told him to get on a plane from New York and get his ass to London to help us deal with this shit.” He notices the surprise on my face but keeps speaking. “Steve flew in with me this morning and has his own room.”

“What about Sal and Evan?” Drew’s jaw clenches and he doesn’t say anything. Before I can push the subject any further, his lawyer has ended his phone call and approached us.

“Drew,” he nods. “This must be the lovely Sydney.” He extends his hand to shake mine. His grip is warm and comforting, and his smile is friendly as he places his hand in mine. “Sam Jennings, it’s a pleasure to meet you Sydney. Quite a mess going on here, huh?”

“Thank you so much for coming here on such short notice, Mr. Jennings
…”

“Call me Sam, please,” he tells me with a congenial smile.

“Sam, then. I hope this trip hasn’t been an inconvenience to you.” I’m sure Drew tore the man’s head off to get him to drop everything and leave the country.

“Sydney, don’t worry ab
out me. This …” he hesitates, “Situation is very unusual, even for people at yours and Drew’s level of fame.” Sam’s eyes tighten and his mouth presses into a line before he continues. “I have to tell you, I’m very interested in finding out who is recording your personal conversations. Unfortunately, every recording we know of happened in either the U.K. or Canada and they have very different laws from the United States. So for now, my goal is to help you as a liaison to the British or Canadian attorneys that you’ll need to hire if you wish to press charges or sue.”

“Oh, we’re pressing charges,” Drew says firmly. “They crossed the line when they invaded my privacy, then Sydney’s privacy, but recording and writing about my Goddamn sister?” he growls in a low voice. “I’ll fucking kill them myself.”