Diamonds Are Forever (23 page)

She could barely remember anything that had happened after she got into the cab with Damian.  Gemma had almost thought it a dream after waking up back in New York, laying beside a sleeping Damian on top of his covers in his townhouse.  The only thing that made her realize any of it had actually happened was that they were still fully dressed in the same outfits they’d worn back in Vegas.  She assumed, for a second, that they must have forgone their plan of finding a room and just headed back to the airport, opting instead to go home in defeat.

But then all the texts and the calls came in, stirring Damian from his sleep.  He sat up, looking just as confused as she was as they searched his room for their phones.

“What the hell,” he had said upon finding it, laughing as he knelt on the floor, groggily mumbling something or another about how people were crazy.

“What are they saying?” Gemma continued to search for her own phone, finding texts from just about everyone close to her – most of them filled with various emoticons punctuated with exclamation and question marks.  Only Zoe and Azura sent texts with actual words with them and they basically said the same thing –
“what the fuck WHAT THE FUCK respond ASAP!”
Gemma furrowed her brows.  “What the hell’s going on?”

The sudden, heavy silence Damian had answered her with scared her even more than his mad dash to his laptop.  He clicked and scrolled through various websites as he dialed a number, his free hand covering his mouth.

The shock only began to wear off once Damian got through to his manager, who had proceeded to do some digging with his lawyer about just what had happened the night before.  Gemma almost didn’t need their confirmation to know that they had done something stupid, she could just feel it in her bones.  She knew she wasn’t dealing with just any ordinary hangover.  She felt a different weight in this morning after. 
Something
had happened.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” she finally managed to ask, watching as Damian sat at his desk, searching his brain.

“I’m not sure,” Damian said.  “I don’t know what actually happened and what I maybe dreamed.”

“Do you remember when we decided to get
married?
”

“Not really,” Damian laughed.  Gemma bristled at his amusement.  “Everything’s still kind of fuzzy.  I just kind of recall getting out of the cab at some point, like before we got to where we were supposed to be.  Everything from there is kind of blurry.  What do you remember?”

“I only got as far as getting in the cab,” Gemma shook her head.  “I remember kissing you and that’s about it.”

“Yeah, I remember that too,” Damian said with an actual hint of a smile.  She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling an ache in her shoulders as she looked at him.

“Do you remember if… we…” she started, suddenly too shy in the light of day to continue her question.

“We didn’t,” Damian said with confidence.

“You can’t remember clearly what happened after we got out of the car, but you know that for sure?”

“I would have
definitely
remembered that.”

“So what happens now?”

“I don’t know,” he replied.  Gemma frowned hard enough to catch Damian’s eye.  His brows flashed before they furrowed as he stood up and made his way back over to the bed.  He held her by the shoulders and gave her a quick kiss.  “Listen, let me handle this, I don’t want you to worry.  You have your show coming up and that’s what you need to be focusing on, so let me take care of everything.”

“Okay,” she nodded.  He managed another smile, darting quickly to place two small kisses on both cheeks before planting one on her lips.  Gemma felt her eyelashes flutter, blushing at the cute gesture.  “In the meantime, we should probably keep it to ourselves, right?”

“Everyone knows already.”

“I mean,” Gemma shook her head.  “We shouldn’t talk about it with people.  Before we get it all straightened out.  Before we know what actually happened and how everything happened and so forth.  Don’t you think?”

“Okay.  Right,” Damian nodded.  “Let’s do that.”

WHY WE SHOULDN’T PAY ANY MORE ATTENTION TO GEMMA HUNTER

Betsy S. for Fleur Magazine

August 24
^th

If you don’t water a plant, it dies.

It’s a simple sentence that some of us should be considering when we think about to whom we give our precious attention.  After years of being underground, Gemma Hunter is grabbing at the headlines yet again, most recently after eloping with Damian Evans in what was reportedly a drunken, sloppy scene.

And it’s not even a story we haven’t heard before.  How many young pop stars end this way? With an attempt at restoring the fame that they thrived on by taking down other respected people and industries along the way? While Damian Evans is by no means a favorite at
Fleur
, considering his reputation with women, we at least recognize that his talent isn’t arguable.  He’s also known among the league to be a nice guy who attends all of his teammates’ charity events despite his own obligations as the megastar athlete he is.  And more importantly, he didn’t need this type of publicity the way that Gemma Hunter clearly does.

We hate to speculate over how she managed to get Evans on board with her little publicity stunt, but we can definitively say that people like Gemma Hunter are a cancer to the actual talent in her “new industry.”  Somehow, she managed to get herself some hot real estate at not only New York Fall Fashion Week, but in the coveted fashion hub of The Meatpacking district.  That’s right.  The former Queen Bee not only has a show but a pretty little new boutique that she can call her own.

Let’s not forget that Gemma Hunter is the daughter of a wealthy couple and the niece of public relations royalty, Mira Hunter of Roebling-Hunter.  Let’s also not forget that the talented Armand Jadot once did some designs for Gemma, and perhaps felt as if he owed her for giving him the head start he hardly needed.  Oh, and you know, she was once a tabloid queen who dated Tyler Chase.  If it weren’t for this perfect storm, there would be no way in hell that Gemma has all that she has today.

It’s not about talent, because let’s face it, there are probably plenty of a lot more talented people in the world who deserve that runway show and flagship store more than she does.  This is about failing miserably in her old music career and wanting another industry to try her hand at and sully, all in the name of personal fame.  The fashion industry has seen plenty of former actors and models and singers try to break through in hopes of carrying on their mediocre legacies on the backs of those who work for them.

So can all the Gemma Hunters of the world just leave all these once-legitimate industries alone already? Can they stop playing dress-up and make-believe with careers that some of us actually take seriously?

And to all those who have been following her saga closely, let me just say that you can stop her.  Quit watering that plant and let it die.  Attention whores will wither away if we just stop paying attention.

With two major television show premieres happening in a single night, it wasn’t a complete surprise that there weren’t any town car services with available drivers when Gemma called a half hour before the
Leadoff
premiere.  It was her mistake, thinking she would have the time to get to Zoe and Gavin’s apartment and hopefully hitch a ride with them rather than making a reservation for a car of her own.  But she considered herself lucky when she was able to grab a cross-town cab at all.

In the backseat, she exhaled, relieved to be in some mode of transportation that would get her to the premiere before Damian.  He was coming in from the Knicks’ practice facilities outside of the city and though she hadn’t said it to him explicitly, she didn’t want to arrive together.  Not after the news broke of their little mistake.  Everyone wanted to know if she’d be making it, but she assumed it was because they wanted to ask about the rumor.  She knew she had to be there to support Zoe on her big night, but she dreaded the idea of being in public.  Gemma wasn’t ready for that yet.

The television in the back of the cab played its standard fare – short videos designed for tourists and locals alike, highlighting what was new and trendy.  Headlines ran on a ticker below.  Again, the usual fare – weather, politics, sports, stocks.  But to her dismay, among the almost completely non-celebrity-gossip headlines was the one that she had hoped she wouldn’t see:
New York Knick, Damian Evans, Confirmed to Have Married Former Pop Star

She bit back her lip.  Gemma knew people were talking about it but she’d had no idea how the story was being framed. 
Former pop star?
She seethed silently at their choice of description.  She couldn’t be sure if she was thankful or angry that they had left off her name.  Without thinking, she took out her phone, punching her name into the search engine.  Before she could finish, she saw the suggestions –
gemma hunter married, gemma hunter dating damian evans, gemma hunter fake, gemma hunter queen bee.
  She picked the first one, scrolling through the countless headlines about her.

As her car turned onto the Bowery, she realized that being without Damian also meant braving the red carpet alone.  Gemma opted to get out a block away from the grand historical building in which the event was being held.  She made a big loop around the building, avoiding the red carpet and looking for the side entrance, feeling out of place in the dingy streets.  When she got to it, she saw that it was locked, closed off with a set of metal barriers. 
Damn.

Her shoulders slumped as she walked back towards the front, watching as the giant spread of red carpet drew closer.  To her luck, the ever-notorious actor, Liam Brody, had just arrived.  She recalled how he had flirted with her that one time on the
Carbine
set, eventually causing Tyler to make headlines with a fist to Liam’s face.  Gemma didn’t remember Zoe mentioning that Liam, a longtime focus of the tabloids, would be in attendance.  As far as she knew, he didn’t have anything to do with production.  But whatever his reasons were for being there, Gemma was grateful.  She laughed inwardly, silently thanking him for stealing away the attention.  With all the cameras turned on him, Gemma slipped past the crowd and behind the cast and crew of
Leadoff,
slinking into the building barely noticed.

At the bar, she choked down a stiff martini, knowing it was a matter of seconds before someone asked her about Damian.  She hadn’t replied to any of the texts or calls, still too stunned by the news herself to discuss it. 
I shouldn’t be drinking,
she thought as she gripped the thin step of her martini glass. 
That’s how I got into this mess to begin with.

She hated that the mere beginnings of her relationship with Damian had already hit so many snags, but she never thought it would begin with a drunken marriage and a media walk of shame. 
How romantic,
she scoffed, her mind sullied by bitterness and sarcasm. 
And what absolutely perfect timing.  It’s not like you had anything important like say,
Fashion Week
, coming up that this might overshadow. 
She wasn’t sure she could feel more disappointed in herself.  She was embarrassed and angry.  She hated the idea that what should have been a fun, carefree night turned into the nightmare that it had.  Gemma wasn’t even sure that she should have shown up at the
Leadoff
premiere, worried to show her face after learning that there was a renewed interest in her dramatic life.  She had thought she had left that behind.  She had started a new chapter and wanted the bare minimum of respect that came with it. 
But what do you expect when you get so drunk you do the whole unplanned Vegas wedding thing?

“Girl,” Azura said, approaching Gemma.  She was on the guest list as Damian’s plus one, but she was standing there without him.

“Hi,” Gemma said simply, feeling defeated.

“So?” Azura raised an eyebrow.

“So, what?”

“Aren’t we going to talk about how you two got hitched? I mean, that must have been some damned good sex for you to jump from the bed to the altar like
that
.”  Azura snapped her fingers to emphasize the point.

“We didn’t have sex.  And we’re not
actually
married.”

“Uh, yeah you are,” Azura said.  “Damian told me that much.”

“He wasn’t supposed to tell you anything,” Gemma sighed.  “Legally, yes, we got married.  But it’s not
real.
  We didn’t mean to.  It was just an accident.”  Before she could continue, Zoe and Gavin had gotten to the bar.  Gemma could see the relief on Zoe’s face as she rushed towards her.  She grabbed Gemma off her stool, hugging her tightly.

“I didn’t think you were coming, you were ignoring all my calls!” Zoe gasped.  “I wanna be mad but I’m just so glad you’re here, it means so much that you made it, especially with all that… happened.”

“What did
happen
?” Gavin asked.  Gemma stared at his grinning face.  Of course he found it all completely amusing.  She should’ve expected as much.  “Just a few weeks ago you were saying you were
far
from calling yourself Mrs. Damian Evans.”