The Game (10 page)

"Jesus Christ, Rob! Do you have any idea what kind of a Pandora's Box you've just opened?" he asked.

"Don't," I said, holding up my hand to cut him off. "I know very well the trouble this has caused."

"Then why the hell did you do it?"

"For stupid selfish reasons, I realize now," I said.

"You know they've been digging around for information about Lily and me too. I can't believe you'd be so foolish. You're a grown man and still acting like a petulant child because your Mummy won't stop nagging you," he mocked in a high pitched voice. "This is the stupidest thing you've ever done, and that's saying something because you've done a lot of stupid things."

I couldn't even bring up the energy to counter him by throwing in his face some of the equally stupid things he'd done--like that bet he'd made with Warren Peters about making Lily fall in love with him. He wasn't perfect either, but still, his actions had only affected him and Lily. My actions had much more far reaching consequences. I nodded silently, feeling another weight being added to my growing burden.

I drove straight to Emilia's house from the airport once I'd arrived back in LA. We decided to meet alone without her entourage there. This was a conversation that we had to have alone. I knew the presence of others would just muddle things up. They'd convince Emilia to stick to the contract and I'd have no wiggle room to negotiate something more palatable.

It was early afternoon and the sun was still high up in the sky. I hadn't slept for 24 hours, and I could have used a shave, shower and a change of clothes, but this situation between Emilia and me had been eating me up for a long time. The door was opened by her housekeeper and I stepped inside.

Emilia was at the top of the steps and she swept down them, looking like a blaze of fury. She looked absolutely stunning, I had to admit. It shouldn't have been a surprise to me--she was one of the most beautiful women in the world, and I'd admired her looks before, but right now, I couldn't recall ever seeing her look more breathtaking. I couldn't help the immediate physical attraction I felt for her. It was like a tangible pull that I felt. I'd forgotten how dynamic our chemistry was.

This was the last thing I needed--to be distracted by her looks. I smothered my feelings and greeted her cordially, if a bit formally.

"Hello, Emilia. You're looking well," I said.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Buddy," she began.

Her housekeeper was still standing by the door eyeing us curiously, so I grabbed Emilia's hand and tugged her into her private study just off the foyer. Once I'd closed the door, she wrenched herself free and stood there glaring at me with her arms crossed over her chest.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"I'm giving us more privacy," I answered, equally irritated.

"Maria isn't some snitch. She's been working for me for years."

"Even so, I'd rather have this conversation without prying eyes," I said.

Her eyes widened slightly and she lost a bit of the hostility she'd been radiating. She seemed apprehensive, but the expression lasted only a moment. She had already moved to the offensive.

"If you're thinking of getting out of your contract, you can forget it. We had a deal," she said, her chin jutting out stubbornly.

I had to suppress the biting remark that was on the tip of my tongue. Lashing out in anger wouldn't get us anywhere. In fact, I knew from experience that Emilia would dig in her heels even more and refuse to listen to any kind of logic if I did that. She was just that hard headed. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I had to tread very lightly.

"That's not what I came to talk about," I said.

"It isn't?" she asked. Her brows were knit in confusion as she stood there waiting for me to explain myself.

"No, not exactly. I have no intention of breaking our contract, but I do think we need to change some things. I was hoping we'd figure that out together. The situation now is unbearable," I said.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I'd put my foot in it again. Emilia stiffened up and crossed her arms over her chest again, physically cutting me off.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but you knew the terms when you signed the contract," she said, stiffly.

"I don't mean it like that," I said.

"You don't have to explain it to me. I don't really care. The facts are that you and I made a deal--"

"God damn it, Emilia, would you stop being such a selfish brat for once and try to understand what I'm saying? Don't think for one minute that I couldn't end our contract if I wanted to. Do you really believe the threat of a lawsuit would keep me tethered to this stupid agreement that we have? You could sue me and it'd be a drop in the bucket for me to pay you off. In fact, that might have been the easier way. But no, I decided to be a decent guy and try to stick it out so as to not leave you hung out to dry. Instead of some gratitude and a little understanding, I'm greeted with this!" I snapped.

My patience had reached its breaking point, and Emilia's attitude was not helping matters. I should have gone to my hotel and had a good night's sleep before meeting with her, but I'd been too impatient.

"You think you're doing me a favor?" she asked, her voice rising dangerously. "Was it a favor to leave me after the engagement dinner to go back to New York? Was it a favor that you were photographed with other women, and left the press to speculate that you were cheating on me? Was it a favor to not show up to any public events with me for weeks so I had to deal with the rumors myself?

"I might be selfish, but my career is the most important thing to me, and I've worked hard to be where I'm at. I will do whatever it takes to protect it and my reputation. Unlike you, I've never inherited money and position. You've never had to work for anything in your life, and now when the going gets a little tough, you want to quit. Well too bad, I won't let you. And if you think you can get out of this, a lawsuit will be the last of your worries!" Emilia shot back.

"Listen, we need to take a minute to calm down," I said, taking a deep breath.

I realized now that I wasn't the only one who'd been stretched thin by the whole circus of our relationship. Emilia had been pushed to her breaking point as well. I'd always figured that this was what she'd wanted, and that she was used to the press scrutiny, but now I saw how wrong I was. A person could only take so much, and Emilia was clearly at the end of her rope.

"I'm open to suggestions," Emilia finally said.

"I just want you to know, it's not so much for myself as for my family. I never thought they'd ever be affected by our relationship. I thought it was some dumb prank I was playing on my mother, but it's turned into this monster. My mother was run off the road by the paparazzi and almost got into a car accident because of them. That I can't tolerate. That's why I need something to change," I said.

I didn't know why I needed to explain this all to her. She'd already agreed to some concessions, but I still wanted her to understand.

"I'm so sorry," she said. She looked shocked. "I had no idea."

"It happened a couple of weeks ago," I said.

"What do you suggest then? I don't know that there's all that much we can do to stop the paparazzi from following your family around," she said.

"I had hoped you'd have some idea," I said.

Emilia sat down behind her desk and thought for a while. I took the seat opposite her and we remained silent, lost in thought until she suddenly spoke.

"I suppose we could end the engagement earlier than planned. I only needed to make it through awards season. We could call it quits after the Oscars. I'll have Arnie release a statement saying we split amicably and remain the best of friends and all that other bullshit," she said. "You'd probably have to lay low for a little while until the press grows bored of you. Maybe I could start seeing someone else too, to take the heat off you."

The idea of Emilia dating another man sent an irrational feeling of jealousy shooting through me.

"No!" I said. She looked up at me, her head cocked in confusion. "I mean, you don't have to go to all that trouble. I think ending the engagement early and releasing the statement would be enough. I'll fly back to England and keep my nose clean until the whole thing blows over. With a little luck, some other scandal will grab the world's attention, and neither of us will be worse for the wear," I explained.

"Okay, I'll agree to those terms," she said, nodding her head.

"Thank you," I said. "I think I'll head back to my hotel now. I appreciate this." I was just about to stand up and rise from my chair when she stopped me.

"Wait. There's something else," she began. She paused and picked up a pen on her desk and fiddled with it before looking back up at me. "I...uh...might need you to go to one more event with me. My dad's birthday is this weekend and I told my mom I'd go. She said they...that is my family...all want to meet you."

"You want me to meet your family?" I repeated blankly.

"Yes," she said a little more forcefully. "I know it wasn't part of our deal, but I figured since I agreed to end it early, that you'd agree to go with me. I'm already going to meet your family at your parent's anniversary party. It's only fair."

I nodded my head, not sure what exactly I was agreeing to. "Fine. I'll be there," I said.

"Thank you," she said, and she looked genuinely grateful.

I walked out of Emilia's with my emotions more confused than ever. While I had gotten what I wanted out of the conversation, I still wasn't completely satisfied. There was still something eating away at me. Instead of focusing on it, I decided to let it go for now. I'd been sleep deprived and needed to shower. And after the emotionally draining conversation with Emilia, I needed some time alone to unwind. All thoughts about meeting her family could wait for another day.

Chapter 12: Rob

A couple of days after flying out to LA, I was already back on the east coast. Buena, New Jersey to be exact. Even though I'd lived between New York and London for the past 10 years, I'd never been to New Jersey.

Emilia was sitting next to me in the car. She'd been unusually quiet ever since our plane had landed hours ago. Every question was met with a one word response, and she fidgeted with her cell phone in her hands, something I knew she did when she was feeling nervous or agitated. I left her to her own thoughts and concentrated on driving.

Since our conversation in Emilia's study, things had been better between us. We had a new found understanding, and she even seemed to be a little more accommodating. We'd gone out to dinner and lunch several times, and more importantly, had been photographed doing so.

"It's over to the left right here," she said, pointing out a modest looking house at the end of a cul de sac.

Emilia jumped out of the car as soon as I put it into park, but I remained seated. My eyes stared at the house in growing wonder. I'd never seen anything so garish and oddly amazing before. Even though it was still early November, the house was already decked out in Christmas decorations. The roof was lit with bright red and green lights, and the front lawn was littered with Christmas themed characters--Santa and his reindeer, a snowman, Mr. Grinch and curiously, a manager replete with baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary, as well as the three wise men.

The front window was taken up with a lamp in the shape of a woman's leg. When Emilia asked me to meet her family, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I could safely say this wasn't it. Maybe my trip to New Jersey would be more interesting than I thought.

I stepped out of the car and walked up the pavement leading to the front door. Emilia had already gone inside, but the door was still left open. I could hear a loud commotion from inside and knocked lightly. No one answered, so I pulled open the screen and walked in.

Emilia was in the living room surrounded by several people that I could only assume were her family. She was embraced in a hug by an older woman with black hair streaked with grey, who I guessed was her mother. There was a striking resemblance between the two, but where Emilia was slim and petite, her mother was not. She was still very beautiful, but her features looked tired and worn after maybe a lifetime of struggle and hard work. I stood back toward the front door unobtrusively, witnessing what I figured was a long awaited family reunion.

Emilia had never spoken much about her family to me. She'd made passing references, and I had an idea that they weren't very close. Whenever I asked her questions about them, she'd always find ways to avoid answering. What I was seeing made me question all those assumptions.

Her family seemed very proud and affectionate. They all surrounded her like she was the most important person in the room. Emilia turned around and noticed me standing by myself, and held her arm out to me. Everyone's attention turned in my direction. Her mother let out a loud yelp, and let go of Emilia as she hurried over to me.

"Oh my God! Look at you!" she practically squealed. "Where are our manners? You must be Robert. Or is it Rob? Can I call you Robbie? My God Joey, look at him. Isn't he the most adorable thing you've ever seen?"

I was taken aback by her greeting and was slightly fearful. Never, in all my years, had anyone ever called me adorable. I didn't know what to think. So I just stood there, probably looking like a deer caught in the headlights. But my years of proper etiquette came back to me, and I was able to take her hand in somewhat of a dignified way.

"Thank you so much for your warm welcome," I said.

Her mother flushed and fanned herself with her free hand. "Ooh will you get a load of that," she said looking around at the room. "So handsome and polite. You can call me Carmen. Come sit, sit!"

I followed her to the couch where she shooed away some sullen looking teenagers and made room for me. Emilia was pushed forward and prodded to take the seat next to me.

"Someone call Grandpa Jimmy over," her mother shouted.