Extremely Famous (17 page)

“Work called, they have a job for me in New York. Near my loft,” I say nervously. He is falling apart
right in front of me. Maybe I shouldn’t go. As angry as I am at being shut out, I don’t want to leave him if he needs me. “I’ll stay with you if you want.”

Drew comes in and sits next to me
with a sigh, the bed sinking under his weight.

“I’m driving you away again
, aren’t I?” His voice is wavering slightly.

“No babe, no. That’s not it.” I scoot over until our bodies are touching and wrap my arm around him
, needing the comfort of his skin against mine. “I just got the email this morning. It’s a remodel of a $28 million corporate apartment. I really want to do this. I’ll take Evan and Steve or whoever you want with me.” See? I’m reasonable.

He
visibly deflates at my words, his shoulders roll forward and his head hangs down.

“Fuck Syd. Everything’s all fucked up.” He
swipes at his hair and looks up at me. I see the pure anger on his face.

“What’s fucked up Drew? Did I fuck up?” I ask him, wondering if he’s talking about my secret excursions.

His expression softens and I can see the helplessness in his eyes. “No, you didn’t. You should take the job, Sydney.”

Okay, I wanted him to not be angry
, but I’m upset that he doesn’t want me to stay with him. How irrational is that?

“You…
you want me to leave?” I choke.

He stands up a
nd starts his relentless pacing. “No I don’t want you to leave, but I need to get you away from those… those fucking photographers!” he yells. Both hands are now on his head, fisting his hair in frustration.

So it
is
about my excursions. I swallow loudly. “Drew, I won’t go anywhere without one of the guys again, I promise. I didn’t think going to the beach was going to be a problem. I even wore a hat so they wouldn’t recognize me…” I stop as I watch his expression go from angry to downright furious.

“What?” His
hands drop from his head and he clenches his fists to calm down. I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he slowly speaks. “You went to the beach… without protection?”

Holy shit!
He didn’t know.
Then what is he so pissed at?

“Well, I mean… I guess I didn’t think…” I don’t bother
trying to explain. His eyes are flashing with rage. The shame I feel is a thousand times worse than I thought it would be if he found out.

“Sydney, you cahnt fuckin
’ go out without a mothahfuckin’ bodyguahd! Jesus Christ! You know this!” His loud New England voice fills the room. Hello! Angry Drew is here.

I drop my eyes to the floor.
“I’m sorry.” I’m mortified by my complete disregard for his feelings.

“Fuck!” he yells and stomps into the closet. He comes out wearing just a towel around his waist and goes into the bathroom. I hear the shower start and sit frozen to my spot on the bed.

So he wasn’t angry about the photos of me with his co-star and he didn’t know I went out by myself. What the hell was he so furious at on the phone last night? Why did he storm out to meet Rhys and come back drunk with bloody knuckles?

I grab my phone and call Rhys, determined to get him to tell me
what the hell is going on.

“Sydney? Is everything okay?” Rhys asks, picking up on the first ring.

“Not really.” I steel myself and go for it. “Can you tell me why Drew came home drunk with bruises all over his hand?”

Silence.

Wonderful, the boys’ club is going to protect its own.

“Rhys? It’s important. I have to go back to New York for work but I don’t want to leave him if he’s unstable or something is going on that will require me to be with him.” Maybe spinning it so it’s in Drew’s best interest will get him to talk.
I pick at a thread on the comforter as I wait for a response.

Rhys sighs heavily into the phone.
“Sydney, I can’t tell you, but I will let you know that he’s not angry at you or anything you did. It’s a PR thing and I’m taking care of it. Go home and work. We’ll be done with the tour in a week and a half. I’ll be with Drew the whole time,” he says to me kindly, handling me with the same kid gloves as Drew.

“I’m so sick and tired of being treated like a child, Rhys!” I yell into the phone.

“I’m sorry Sydney. It’s not anything you need to be stressed out about.”

“This is bullshit Rhys and you know it. I seem to bring out the worst in him. Was he always angry and blowing up at people and pun
ching things before he met me?”

More silence.

“So it is me.”

“No Sydney. It’s not you.” Rhys exhales
and I can hear the exhaustion pouring out in that one breath. He’s also had to deal with Angry Drew. Certainly he’s just as tired and frustrated as I am. “You know how he is. He likes everything to be exactly the way it’s supposed to be, ordered and controlled.”

“Yes.”
There’s a pause, probably as Rhys decides how much to tell me.

“You throw a wrench into his tidy little world where he only has to worry about his next job or his next interview. He can’t keep the paparazzi and fans from getting to you. That’s what makes him blow up, not you. He hasn’t been like this since eager women kept bugging his mother at her
school, forcing her to quit. Something he couldn’t stop or control. That drove him just as crazy, Syd.”

“So he’d be better without me around?”

“No!” Rhys says quickly. “He’s happier with you too. You magnify the happiness in his life. Unfortunately, your relationship magnifies the negative aspects of fame as well. Stuff he barely tolerated before he met you is a thousand times worse and now it affects more than just him.”

“I guess I understand Rhys. He doesn’t care if fans bug him but it drives him absolutely nuts if they involve me or bother me.”

“Exactly Sydney. He can’t stop the fans or the paparazzi from approaching you, but anger isn’t going to fix it. He just needs to learn a better way to cope with it is all,” Rhys says.

“Like what?”

Rhys snorts. “If I knew that, I would tell you. Listen, I have to go. Drew has that final interview and then the flight for Toronto leaves at four. Will I see you there?”

I pause before answering
, staring at the closed bathroom door. “I don’t know Rhys. I have to figure this out.”

“Okay, well I’ll either see you later today or when we stop in New York in a few days before going overseas.”

“Alright, bye. And thanks Rhys.”

“Anytime Syd, bye.”

I toss the phone on the bed and wait for Drew to finish his shower. A text from Jane comes in letting me know my flight is due to leave at 8pm. Great, that’s not for another eight hours or so. I’m so fidgety there’s no way I’ll be able to sit around until then.

Drew comes out of the bathroom and
stalks into the closet to get dressed.

“Drew?” I call out from my seat on the bed.

He slowly walks over to me wearing only a loose pair of jeans, his tan muscles moving gracefully as he takes each step.

“Yes,” he says calmly, his voice defying the fire I see in his
unwavering stare.

“Ummm,” I’m
momentarily speechless from the sight of his perfect abs just a few feet away. Closing my eyes, I focus my thoughts. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you by going out alone. I’m going to go back to New York to work. Hopefully, if we’re apart for a few days, the media won’t be as interested in us.”

“Yeah right,” he scoffs. Kneeling in front of me, Drew takes my face in his large,
rough hands. “I’m not mad at you Syd,” he says gently. “Well, I am mad at you for going out without protection, but that’s not why I’m mad.”

“I know. I wish you would tell me
.”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about.
” Drew leans in and touches his forehead to mine. “Shit, you’re not leaving me are you Syd?”

“No!” I yell louder than I meant to, startling Drew. “I mean no. I just really want to do this job. You should see t
his apartment Drew, it’s just ... there’s no way to describe it.”

He attempts a smile, but it’s more sad than anything else
. “I can see how excited you are babe. Go. I’ll be fine.” Then his eyes turn dark and his features harden. “But you
will
take one of the guys with you everywhere you go.”

“I will.
” I’ll do whatever he says to keep him happy. I hate having them around, witnessing every emotion that I have, but I’ll keep my promise.

“I mean it Sydney. If something were to happen to you like back in March, and I could have prevented it…” he stops and swallows, squeezing his eyes shut. “I couldn’t live with myself.”

When he opens his eyes I see pain. Pain from the memories of the attack at his premiere. I don’t ever want to see that look on his face again. A look that I’m putting there with my selfishness and inability to accept my new reality.

“I promise. I won’t go out without them again.” Hesitantly, I lean in and kiss him on
his soft lips.

“
I’m trusting you with this, Syd. I love you.”

“I
know, I love you too. Can I go with you to your interview? I have a few hours until my flight.”

Drew smiles
, and this time it’s genuine. “I would like that. Anyway, we have to get Evan and Steve on your flight with you.”

Right. How could I have forgotten that?

“Hey Sydney! Are you on your way to the office?”

Bethany Williams’ cheery voice puts a smile on my
grouchy face.

“Hi Bethany, not yet. I want to get over to the apartment and see it in person. You know, do some measurements and check out the lighting
.”

I’m sitting at the island in Drew’s massive kitchen, drinking a huge cup of coffee
and staring at my exhausted reflection in the stainless steel wall oven. After taking the red eye into JFK early this morning, I needed a massive jolt of caffeine to wake up my brain.

Th
is is a concession I made that I’m not very happy with. Drew adamantly insisted I stay at his place because there are enough bedrooms for Steve and Evan to stay with me so I never have to be alone. He doesn’t want me to have to call them to come over, not believing me when I said that I would call them and wouldn’t just jump in a cab by myself. I was pissed when he told me, but relented, not wanting to start another huge fight. Plus he’s right, I would just jump in a cab and not call Evan or Steve and I made a promise I intend to keep.

“Evan, I’m ready to leave,” I call out to the big man
on the couch in the sitting area of the kitchen.

He gets up and puts his own coffee mug in the sink
with a clatter. “Okay Miss Tannen. Bruce is in the garage waiting for us.” That was the other concession I made. Drew insisted that only Bruce was allowed to drive me anywhere and promptly put him on the flight with us back to New York.

I grab my bag and my phone and we head down to the
garage. Less than ten minutes and six blocks later, we’re pulling up in front of a fourteen story brick building with a non-descript entrance.

“Bruce, we’ll be upstairs for a whi
le. Did you want to come back?”

He turns to look at me in
the back seat, embarrassment evident on his kind features. “I’m supposed to stay with you Sydney. I’ll be right out here.”

I roll my eyes and let Evan open the door for me. I’m sure
Drew gave him hell after he let me walk from the Village Coffee Bar the day Adam Reynolds followed me home. There’s no way he’ll do that again.

The concierge takes my business card and checks a list at the desk.

“You may go right up ma’am. Elevator on the left, push PH1,” he says, nodding in the correct direction with a tilt of his head.

When the doors open on the penthouse level, I
use an electric keypad to punch in the code that Bethany gave me to get into the apartment. As I open the door and step inside I’m so stunned by the beauty of the apartment that I stop short and Evan plows into my back, almost knocking me down.

Evan
’s large hands grip my shoulders to steady me before I land on my backside. “Sorry Miss Tannen.”

I look out the
huge windows and back around the room. “It’s my fault Evan. Have you ever seen anything like this?”

He snorts,
“Uhhh, no. Not really.”

I
turn around in the massive space. The penthouse is three open floors of dark woods, white walls and steel accents; with the entire back wall of the three story space made of glass. The views of uptown are magnificent.

“I think
I’m in love,” I say to myself. Touching every surface that’s within arms reach.

We stay all morning as I measure and make notes. I won’t have a real idea of what needs to be done until I speak to the client so there’s only so much I can do.
Evan does a great job of holding the other end of my measuring tape.

Hmmmm, maybe there is a benefit to having them around.

When we finally hop back in the car to go over to the office, my phone chirps from my bag. Drew.

“Hey babe!” I say cheerfully, still riding a high from being in that unbelievable penthouse.

“Hey Syd.” His tone is the exact opposite of mine, depressed. In fact, he sounds the same as when I left him, maybe worse.

“What’s wrong?” I get an icy feeling on the back of my neck, like something bad is happening and he doesn’t want me to know.

“Nothing Sydney, I’m just tired. We got into Toronto pretty late last night.” His voice is laced with misery.

I grit my teeth and choke back my anger. He wouldn’t tell me what was bothering him in L.A.
, he certainly isn’t going to tell me now.

“I just saw the apartment.
I’m so excited that I can’t wait to start.” I decide to change the subject so we won’t fight again.

“That’s great babe. We just have the Canadian press junket here at the hotel today, then I’ll be back in the city tomorrow for a few days before heading overseas.”

“Okay Drew. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Hey, don’t worry about anything. Just enjoy your new project. You sound really happy to be working Syd
.”

“Yeah, I am. Call me later?”

“I will. Love you Syd.”

“Love you too.
” I disconnect and feel more frustrated than I did before we spoke.

I’m not
at all pleased that something is upsetting Drew and he won’t let me in. In fact, he is adamantly refusing to discuss it with me. Rhys and Drew have both said I don’t need to worry about whatever it is, which is easier said than done when Drew is moping around. I’m trying not to obsess but he’s being absolutely ridiculous about this entire thing.

Using my tried and true method of
complete denial, I push it to the back of my mind for now, focusing instead on the apartment remodel and setting up a meeting with the client.

Staring at the phone in my hands, I
decide to make another call.

“Sydney! Hey baby. Are you back in the city?”

“Hi Mom. Yes, I got in early this morning, around 5am.” It’s been a while since we’ve both been in the same city and I miss her.

“Tough schedule
?”

“Yes, it is. Did Bethany tell you about the corporate apartment
on 6
th
?

“Oh my God
, yes. I peeked through the photos. Sydney, that place is divine. I’m a jealous of you to be honest.”

I can’t contain the giddiness that I feel when I think of the penthouse.
“I know, it’s even better in person. I just left from there, you know, to take measurements and what not. You need to come with me to see it, Mom. It’s beyond anything you’ve ever seen.”

“I will d
efinitely take you up on that offer.” I can practically hear her smile through the phone.

“Hey Mom, what are you doing later? Wa
nt to get dinner or something?”

“Sure baby. Why don’t you come here?”

Relaxing some, I’m secretly glad she doesn’t want to go out. My nerves can’t take the eavesdroppers and lookie-loos tonight.

“Great idea
, Mom. I’ll call you when I’m done with work, then I want to head back to Drew’s and catch a quick nap.”

“Drew’s? Yo
u’re not staying at your loft?”

I sigh
and squeeze my eyes shut. “Mom, you know how he is. He doesn’t want me alone and there’s not enough room for Steve and Evan in my loft.”

“What are you talking about?” I can hear the confusion in her voice.

“Oh, I forgot that you don’t know what happened in L.A. I’ll fill you in tonight Mom.”
Then you can see just how ridiculous and over the top my fiancé is when he’s worried about me.

“Okay Syd, call me later
.”

“Bye Mom.”

We pull up in front of Allen Deconstruction as I end the call. I’m excited to see Bethany and start on this project, but the last time I was here Drew made a huge, ugly scene. The looks I’m certain to get from everyone in the office has me feeling somewhat sick to my stomach. Swallowing, I shove down the nerves that threaten to overtake me and get out of the car. I don’t care if everyone stares, right? Even though the old me keeps rearing her nervous, insecure head.

“You okay Miss Tannen?”
Evan asks, concern etched across his face.

“Yeah Evan, thanks. Just remembering the last time I was here.”
I shudder at the memory.

His expression turns sour, certainly recalling the embarrassing display from that day, but
thankfully, he says nothing.

When we step out of the elevator and onto our floor, Kimberly, the receptionist, squeals in delight.

“Sydney! No one told me you were coming by today!” She comes out from behind her desk and hugs me.

“Hey Kimberly. No one knows except for Bethany.” I hug her back
with enthusiasm.

“Do you want me to take you back?” I catch a sympathetic look as her eyes flick over to Evan and then back to me.

“Nah, I know where it is. See you later.”

I try hard to ignore the whispers and stares that follow me through the main office. I had hoped to duck through unseen, but with Evan’s giant
, menacing body trailing close behind, it’s impossible. At least I don’t see anyone taking pictures or videos.

Bethany’s
office door is open so I knock as I step inside, leaving Evan out in the hall.

She looks
up from her computer and grins. “Hey Syd! What did you think? Did you just about die and go to heaven when you saw that apartment?”

I sit across from her and drop my bag on the floor. “I have never seen anything like it Bethany. It’s…well, there’s no way to describe it.”

“I know. Unreal that people get to live in places like that,” she says, then realizes that I probably
have
lived in places like that and her expression turns embarrassed.

I pretend that I don’t notice
her reddening cheeks and wide eyes. “So, what do we know about the client? Do you have anything that discusses their plans or ideas?”

“I don’t have much,” she admits as she shuffles through some files on her desk. “Here.” She pulls one out and hands it to me. “That’s all I have so far.”

I open the file. “There’s nothing in here.” I scan the single sheet of paper inside. “All it says is the name of the corporation that owns it, a Black Knight Inc. What’s that?”

“I have no idea girl.” Bethany puts her elbows on the desk and rests her chin on her hands. “They must know us though because they asked for you, specifically.” She points at me as she says this.

“How can they know who I am?”

The look on Bethany’s face says it all.

“Okay, so they could know who I am without knowing me. Is it a referral?” I don’t like this, the fact that someone asked for me by name. They could be a complete psycho just trying to get me alone in their apartment.
Their $28 million penthouse apartment
. I grasp onto the fact that crazy people don’t buy eight-digit properties just to meet me. I’m being ridiculous.

I close the non-existent file and throw it back onto her desk.
“Alright, when’s the meeting?”

Bethany flicks through her
computer screen until she finds the email. “Tomorrow at 11am at the property. Here, I’ll forward it to you.” She taps her mouse a few times then puts her hands on her desk.

I fro
wn at the cloak-and-dagger feel of this entire project, but I want this. Possibly more than I’ve wanted any other job, so I go along with it against my better judgment. “Okaaaay, I guess I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Hey,” she leans over her desk as if to share a
secret, a big smile on her face. “Want to hit the storeroom and see the new pieces?”

I laugh
and grab my bag. “Hell yes!”

We giggle conspiratorially as we go down the hallway and into the storeroom, Evan never far behind.

At least this time I know Angry Drew won’t interrupt our fun.