No Stone Unturned (14 page)

“Perrin, I swear.  I can swear on anything that none of those people were me,” Gemma finally managed to say through hiccups and tears.  “I can’t believe you don’t believe me.”

Perrin sighed.  “It doesn’t matter if I don’t.  My job is to make sure the world does.”  She heaved another sigh and put a hand on Gemma’s shoulder.  “Stay up here for a bit.  Come downstairs when you’re calm.”  With that, she left the room.  Gemma stared at the closed door, unsure if she should be surprised that those were the kindest words that Perrin could offer. 

Gemma couldn’t help what she did next.  She removed her phone from her clutch to quickly search for the video.  It didn’t take long to locate it on Pop Dinner’s website.  Indeed, it had been removed, but the comments remained.  Gemma’s heart sank as she read them.  “I can’t take her Desiree-bashing seriously when she’s just as much of a slut.”  “lol please. why is she talking when she’s cheating on tyler chase?” “this jealous bitch.” 

“What are you doing?”

Gemma snapped her head up to see Zoe peeking into the door.  Gemma shut her phone off and shoved it back into her clutch.  “Nothing.  I’m coming back downstairs now.”

“Well, it’s almost midnight, you might as well stay and wait for Tyler,” Zoe said.  She frowned, shutting the door behind her.  “What’s wrong? Why are you hiding up here?” She tipped Gemma’s face up upon getting closer.  “And crying.  Why are you up here crying?” she asked incredulously.  “What is going on with you, girl?”

Gemma sniffled.  “Do you believe me? That those videos aren’t me?”

Zoe squinted.  “What videos? The one of the weird fan who dresses up as you?” Gemma nodded, prompting Zoe to laugh.  “They were pretty funny.  But they weren’t you.  I know that.”

Gemma sighed.  “The rest of the world doesn’t.”

“Well, fuck the rest of the world.  If they’re real fans, they’ll know it’s not you,” Zoe pointed out.  When Gemma didn’t respond, she shook her playfully.  “There are like, a thousand people here to see you because they love you and they’re your fans.  They’re all here for you.  Everything is about you today.  Don’t worry about what some psycho is doing, going around giving interviews like she’s you.  She’s obviously a sad little human being with too much time on her hands.”

Gemma nodded, cracking a smile.  She tugged on Zoe’s hand so she would sit down with her.

“Girl, I’d love to, but it’s ten to midnight and I have to clear out like Perrin said,” Zoe laughed.  “I’m not one of the chosen ones.”

“She meant the balcony, not this room.”

“I know, but I’d rather go downstairs and keep flirting with Damian’s teammate.  Stop cockblocking,” Zoe whined.  Gemma guffawed.

“Okay, get out of here.”  She gave Zoe a light kick on the behind.  “Make me proud,” she called after her.

“Oh, I will, mama.”  Zoe peeked over her shoulder to wink.  “And you make sure you keep track of time.  There’s going to be a cute boy named Tyler waiting for you on the balcony in five minutes.”

“I know,” Gemma laughed, wiping the last tears from her eyes and blowing a kiss at Zoe before she closed the door.  She checked the time on her phone.  It was 11:57PM.  With one last glance in the mirror, Gemma walked confidently to the door.  All she wanted was Tyler’s embrace, and his kiss at midnight would be a bonus.  She smiled to herself, suddenly feeling so much better.

But she frowned when her hand touched the doorknob.  It was stuck, unable to turn.  She pushed and pulled but nothing happened.

“What the hell?” she whispered to herself, shaking the doorknob as hard as she could.  “Hello?” she called out through the door, hoping that Tyler might be passing by at that very second to meet her on the balcony.  “Hello?” She took a look at her phone again.  It was 11:59PM.  “Shit.”  Her fists immediately began to pound on the door as hard as they could.  “Can anybody hear me? Someone please help me open this door! Please!”

Gemma suddenly froze as she heard a faint chanting. 

“Twenty-nine! Twenty-eight! Twenty-seven!”

The crowd was already counting down. 
Shit!
Gemma groaned, thrashing and kicking at the door.  A voice over a loudspeaker spoke with bemusement.

“We’re still missing Queen Bee – Tyler, any idea where she might be?”

Gemma’s heart wrenched, imagining Tyler’s face and the smile he was no doubt putting on for the crowd despite his confusion. 

“Eleven! Ten! Nine! Eight!”

Fuck!
Gemma looked around the room, searching for something, anything that might help her open the door.  Five seconds would be enough to reach Tyler with the balcony only two doors down.  She was so close to him, yet so far away. 

Suddenly, her eyes found the thinnest poker in front of the fireplace.  She grabbed it and wedged it into the crack of the door, pulling and pushing and yanking with all her might.  “Yes!” Gemma gasped with relief when the door finally opened. 

“Four! Three!”

“Here she is!” the voice on the loudspeaker announced with cheer.

Gemma laughed.  How did they know she was coming?

“Two!”

Gemma made it to the doorway of the balcony, spotting Tyler as he stood alone, wearing a broad smile of anticipation.  She reached to pull the mesh curtain back and join him, but when she got even closer, her heart stopped.  He wasn’t standing alone at all. 

“One!”

A sharp gasp ripped through Gemma’s chest as the rest of her body froze.  “
Tyler
!” she uttered hoarsely, though he couldn’t hear her as he kissed the girl who stood before him. 

Another girl.  Another Queen Bee.  In the same white dress, with the same blonde wig.  Their mouths touched tenderly, his tongue parting her lips.  Gemma felt her knees give out and touch the floor as she crumbled in disbelief.  The crowd cheered, going wild.  They loved it – the passion, the absolute urgency of Tyler’s kiss. 

“Ladies and gentleman, Hollywood’s royal couple ringing you into the New Year! Happy New Year!”

Confetti showed the crowd.  Just as the first chords of “Auld Lang Syne” rang out, Gemma watched her imposter break free from Tyler.  She burst through the mesh curtains and into the hall.  Gemma stared at her, aghast, willing her own body to subdue the trauma and stand up, perhaps even chase after the girl.  But all she managed to do was scream.

“Who are you?” Gemma shouted down the hall.  She barely recognized her own shrill voice, the angry yet fearful way that it trembled. 

The imposter didn’t stop.  She continued to run until she disappeared from sight.  This can’t be real.  This can’t be happening.  Gemma buried her face in her hands and wiped hot tears from her eyes.  She looked up to see Tyler standing above her at the door.  He stared down the hall with a similar expression of disbelief.  It was clear from the look in his eyes that he had seen what Gemma saw, just entirely too late.

~

The crackling of the fireplace failed to sooth Gemma as it usually did.  She sat at the edge of Tyler’s bed in her pajamas, listening to him move around in the bathroom as usual – showering, brushing his teeth, humming.  It was as if nothing had happened at all.  Gemma, on the other hand, couldn’t stop replaying the image of Tyler’s midnight kiss, of his tongue parting another girl’s lips.

It had been embarrassing to recount the story to Perrin, to explain to Zoe and Damian what had happened.  She sat in the room that she had been locked with, explaining to them that someone had trapped her there on purpose.  Perrin didn’t share her panic until hearing Tyler’s story as well, of the imposter he saw running down the hallway.  She wouldn’t have believed me without him, Gemma thought bitterly. 

To make matters worse, there was Nicki, who invited herself into the room while Gemma recounted her story.  The way she sat with such mock concern made Gemma seethe.  She barely tried to be convincing, whispering with Elizabeth throughout the story, even sharing a giggle with her here and there.  It was completely infuriating, not to mention inappropriate.  Gemma felt her blood boiling with every muffled giggle that interrupted the conversation.  

“Where were you when it happened?” she suddenly blurted, her eyes cold as she stared at Nicki.

“Bee, don’t,” Zoe started.

“I’m just curious,” Gemma said innocently, though she glanced at Damian to catch his reaction.  He leaned against the fireplace, rubbing his temple as he sighed.

“Answer her, baby,” he said, tired.

Nicki glared at Damian before turning her eyes to Gemma.  “I was with Damian.  We were watching you from downstairs, like everyone else.  Or who we thought was you.”

Gemma turned her gaze to Elizabeth.

“I… I was…” she chewed on her fingernail, shooting a nervous look at Nicki, who simply shook her head.  “Please don’t make me answer this.”

Everyone turned to her.  Perrin stood up, hands on her hips.  “Just spit it out.”

Elizabeth covered her face in her hands.  “I was outside with Josh.  We weren’t doing anything, we were just talking.”

“Who the hell is Josh?”

Damian shook his head.  “My teammate.”  He put his hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder.  “Don’t worry, you’re not breaking any rules just by talking to him.”

Elizabeth turned to Perrin.  “Please don’t tell Aiden,” she pleaded.  “I’m a professional, I swear.” Gemma groaned inwardly.  The talking went nowhere.  There were no leads, no clues, nothing. 

“I’m going to talk to Mira about this, Bee, and I’ll call you about what we plan on doing,” Perrin finally decided.  “Tyler, why don’t you take her home? She’s still shaken up.” 

“Aren’t we going to ask people to keep their eyes open at least? For the girl?” Gemma asked.  Perrin shook her head slowly, giving Gemma a look that made her feel like a child. 

“Listen,” Perrin said, pulling her aside.  She spoke, for once, in a hushed voice.  “You were just impersonated so convincingly that your own boyfriend couldn’t tell it wasn’t you.  This is not something we want to broadcast to the world.  This is going to stay a secret.”

Recalling Perrin’s words as she sat on Tyler’s bed cast an incredible shame over Gemma.  The imposter was being let go, given a free pass.  No one would even go looking for her, and somehow, this was a favor to Gemma.  According to Perrin, the embarrassment to Queen Bee’s career far outweighed the atrociousness of the prank.  The thought made Gemma sick to her stomach.  She was easily impersonated.  Unoriginal.  That was at least what the incident implied – how else could someone so easily trick Tyler of all people? Someone who knew her so intimately – or was supposed to.

Gemma watched him as he emerged from the bathroom, shirtless with messy, partially wet hair.  She knew everything about his body, his skin, his face – every line of muscle, every movement in his smile.  She had assumed that such a familiarity was standard, something that came naturally for two people with such love for one another.  It was disturbing to think of the possibility of that love being one-sided.  She had never considered it before, and she tried her best to keep the idea out of her head.  It wasn’t true and she knew it.  She refused to believe it.

But when he leaned over to kiss her goodnight, she instinctively moved away from his lips.  She knew them well, but tonight, she wanted nothing to do with them.  Only an hour ago, they had been on the mouth of a girl with some strange, sick agenda against Queen Bee.  Tyler nodded with both frustration and sadness before going to bed, no words spoken.  They lay together, side by side, once again so close yet completely distant.

- Chapter 8 -

“I would shake your hand but I’m covered in powdered sugar,” Thierry Marc dusted his hands together, causing a white cloud to form before him.  He walked right through it and smiled at Gemma.  Thierry was a tall, slender man with sandy shoulder-length hair and a perfectly groomed beard.  He wore a casual yet elegant suit that he had undoubtedly designed himself.  “I said I’d give up sweets as my resolution and here I am a couple weeks later with a bag full of beignets.”

“Well, we
are
in New Orleans,” Gemma said softly.  She couldn’t feel more honored to be in his presence let alone work for him.  Thierry Marc was a name that Gemma had grown up hearing as he was one of Mira’s favorite designers.  Not only that, she was pretty sure her father wore one of his suits at his wedding.  Thierry didn’t normally show up to shoots for products that weren’t part of his main line, but since he had personally requested Queen Bee and Damian Evans for his new fragrance, he had an invested interest in how everything would turn out.

“Exactly.  How can I be in New Orleans and not indulge in its food?” Thierry winked at Gemma as his assistant handed him a warm towel.  “Is it okay to talk food with you? Most of the models I work with don’t like observing my appetite.  I don’t blame them, I can be a bit of a pig.  But I believe in some excess.  Indulgence is my religion.  Vice is my muse.”  Gemma nodded, watching in awe as he adjusted a scarf from his winter line.  It epitomized his philosophy with its silk and cashmere blend.  Thin threads of gold wove through the navy blue fabric.

“We’re ready for Miss Bee,” a production assistant said at the doorway of the greenroom.  Thierry offered his arm to Gemma and walked her out to set.  The shoot concept was the brainchild of the coveted photography team, Lourdes and Cai.  They were a couple that met in art school and became famous when they released a series of photos featuring themselves doing rather scandalous things in public places all over the world.  After a couple arrests for public indecency, Lourdes and Cai shot to Hollywood fame when they photographed The Pop Source’s exclusive on Jack Garris and Nicolette Paul’s first baby.  The photo featured the celebrity couple lounging in a bathtub, their newborn child resting in their arms.

Gemma was undoubtedly nervous about the shoot considering Lourdes and Cai’s penchant for things sexual in nature as well as Nicki’s ever-growing jealousy of her relationship with Damian.  Perrin was well aware of the photography team’s reputation but was too confident in their ability to skyrocket Queen Bee’s fame to care.  However, when she returned from the pitch meeting regarding the shoot concept, she seemed a bit disappointed.  To Gemma’s relief, both Queen Bee and Damian Evans would remain clothed but the series of photos that would make up the ad campaign were still rather suggestive in nature.  The shots would outline a night out on the town in New Orleans, but each photo was to convey “the fiery zeal of new love” as Thierry had imagined.