The Game (24 page)

She'd arrived solo tonight, looking stunning in a sexy sliver gown. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as I watched her arrival on the television screen in a private room. I had to marvel at the strength and nerve it took for her to show up tonight. After everything she'd been through--everything I'd put her through--she wouldn't be brought down and cowed. Even when she'd been insulted, she wouldn't hide herself away. Instead, she came with her head held high, looking like a queen. I couldn't help but admire her.

She marched down the red carpet and didn't stop for any interviews. I felt a bit of disappointment once she was off screen, but I could understand why she'd want to avoid the press. Even though a new scandal was dominating the news and cast a pall over the evening, Emilia was still a hot topic. I could just imagine the questions that would be awaiting her if she did decide to speak. Hopefully tonight, I could undo some of the damage I'd done.

When the show started, I turned off the TV. I couldn't watch anymore and began to pace around the room. This was it. In less than an hour, I'd be standing in front of her, pouring my heart out. She had the fate to crush it or receive it. I hadn't rehearsed what I was going to say. I knew when I saw her, the words would come.

Finally, the moment came. I got a call from Warren telling me it was time. A young woman knocked on my door to get me. I had no idea who she was, and she didn't introduce herself. She wore a simple black dress and carried a clipboard along with a walkie talkie, which made her look official.

We didn't speak on our way down to the elevator. Her brisk, business-like demeanor calmed my nerves somewhat. It seemed like she'd seen this many times before, and that what I was doing wasn't completely insane. As if people regularly crashed the stage of a major award show. We got off the elevator and she led me backstage, stopping just short of the stage, away from the crew and presenters.

"Ok, you're going to wait out by that end over there," she said pointing to an area at the far right corner by a set of stairs. "I'll give you the signal when you can go up on stage. Remember, you've only got five minutes."

"Got it," I said. I made my way over to the stairs, keeping my eyes straight ahead. No one took notice of me, so I managed to make it unscathed. From my vantage point, I was able to look out onto the stage and the crowd in the auditorium. The audience was milling around, and talking in between commercial breaks.

Then the announcer informed them we were coming back from commercial, and everyone sat back down in their seats. The music started up and the host of the show began to speak. They were introducing the next presenters for Best Screenplay.

This was it. I looked over to the woman with the clipboard and she nodded at me, holding her index finger up to indicate that I still had to wait. I stared at her intently, waiting for her to give me the signal. A moment later, she started pointing her finger at me and mouthing the words "
Go! Go! Go!
"

There was no backing down now. I took a deep breath and made my way up the stairs toward the stage. I heard a hush settle over the crowd as I stood in front of the mic. Obviously I wasn't Reese Witherspoon, who was supposed to be presenting the award.

My eyes searched the crowd looking for Emilia. I spotted her sitting in the third row. She looked up at me, a mixture of shock and disbelief on her face. A hushed murmur started throughout the crowd, and I could feel the seconds ticking down internally. Four minutes, thirty seconds, four minutes twenty nine seconds... I cleared my throat and began.

"I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing..." I trailed off, the hot lights and stares of thousands of eyes momentarily giving me pause. I collected myself and started again. "There has been a lot of talk in the papers lately about what has gone on with myself and Emilia Holliday. Not all of it true, but maybe a lot of it is. But how this all started doesn't matter, really. Things changed, and along the way it all became real. It was no longer a game."

My eyes never left her face as I spoke. No one else mattered. As I stood there, pouring my heart out, I could see her expression slowly change out of shock. I couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not. She sat there, her face an unreadable mask. But I kept going.

"You've changed my life indelibly, Emilia. I know I was a jerk, perhaps unforgivably so. But I want to apologize for the way I treated you."

"No one knows the real situation, but us two. I was a fool and I didn't know what I had until you walked out of my life. Now I'm here, probably making a fool of myself again, but I don't care. All I care about is doing whatever it takes to win you back."

I waited for what felt like an eternity. Emilia sat glued to her seat looking at me in that unfathomable way. I felt like my heart was going to pop right out of my chest. Finally, she stood up. The audience was silent, except for a few murmured whispers.

She scooted her chair back and began walking to the front. I let out a tentative smile, until she turned right and ran out of the room. I could hear several gasps in the crowd, echoing what I was feeling myself.
Shock
. I hadn't really expected her to do that. I knew it was a possibility, but truthfully, I thought she'd rush up to the stage and right into my arms. But she was gone.

I didn't have much time to brood over it because security came right then. Two men in black suits and ear pieces surrounded me and escorted me off the stage. I got a round of applause as I left, though it didn't do much to brighten my spirits.

The security guards were ready to escort me all the way out of the building, but before we made it past the backstage area, I heard my name being called. I turned around to find Emilia standing not ten feet away from me. She waved off the security guards to give us a moment of privacy. They looked hesitant at first.

"It's all right guys, he's with me," Emilia said.

They looked between Emilia and me before shrugging and walking off. "Don't do anything stupid or next time we'll have you arrested," they warned before they left.

Once they were gone, Emilia walked up to me, and I could see she had been crying. I felt bad instantly, realizing now how stupid I'd been. I'd only been thinking of myself when I got on that stage, thinking I could convince her to give me another chance. I never considered how she'd feel. Maybe she didn't want to have our relationship played out for millions of people to see.

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you," I said.

"Do you really mean it? Everything you said out there?" she asked, waving off my apology.

"Yes. One hundred percent," I said. "I love you Emilia. I just wish I'd been brave enough to admit it before I screwed everything up. I promise if you give me another chance, you'll never have to doubt it again."

I reached in my pocket and felt for the square velvet box. I hadn't intended on doing this tonight. I'd only brought it for good luck, but seeing her again like this made me realize how much I really loved her, and how I never wanted anything or anyone to separate us again. I got down on my knee holding the box out in front of her.

"I know we started out playing a game--pretending to be in love, but over the past few months, I've grown to love you more than I thought I could love anyone. Ever since I saw this ring on your finger, I knew that was where it belonged. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife...for real?"

Emilia looked stunned, like she couldn't believe I was doing this right now. I was afraid I'd moved too fast again and pushed her too far. I was about to get up and apologize, when she nodded her head slowly.

"Yes? Is that a yes?" I asked, hardly daring to breathe.

"Yes!" she said, before breaking out into a wide smile.

I slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her close for tight embrace. "You've made me the happiest man in the world," I said, kissing the top of her hair.

She leaned her head back to look up at me. I wiped the moisture from the corner of her eye, and brought my lips down for a kiss. God, I'd missed this. Her lips opened for me and that was all it took. I was lost in her again.

When we finally came up for air, we were met by a round of applause. I looked around and saw small crowd had gathered, and several cameras were trained on us.

"I guess the secret's out," she said, laughingly.

"Good. I want everyone to know how much I love you, Emilia Holliday."

Epilogue

Finally, I'd been given the recognition and credit I deserved. When the SAG and Academy nominations came out, I didn't even bother watching. I'd been too blissfully happy and truthfully, it didn't matter to me as much.

Imagine my surprise when I got a frantic phone call from Charlotte. She could barely speak, she was so beside herself.

"You've done it! You've been nominated!" she screeched over the phone.

I sat there in stunned silence for several minutes. Then I burst into tears, just crying in joy. That's how Rob found me later. He'd been concerned, thinking the worst, but it couldn't have been better. I guess I wanted it more than I thought.

Now here we were, on our way to the red carpet. Not only was it my first nomination, but it would be the first time Rob and I would be officially together after the scene at the Globes. People were still buzzing about it and how romantic it was. It seemed that overnight, I was back in everyone's good graces.

The funny thing was, I didn't really care anymore. Sure, it was nice to be liked and recognized, but I knew how fickle it all could be, so instead of turning my life upside down trying to be perfect, I said to hell with it, and just lived my life. It seemed that people respected that.

"You all right?" Rob asked as he grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips.

I smiled. "Better than ever," I said.

We got out of the limo and made our way down the red carpet. It was packed with people, and all I could hear was a loud roar from the crowd as they spotted us. All eyes turned in our direction. I took a deep breath and marched along, stopping for interviews and autographs and pictures along the way. It was a far cry from the night at the Globes when I was still just licking my wounds.

Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The furor over the prostitution ring had lessened some of the backlash I would have gotten. After all, a fake engagement was pretty tame in comparison to cheating on your wife of nearly 10 years and knocking up a 21-year-old prostitute, who you later paid to have an abortion. That director had been promptly eviscerated in the press when his name and deeds came out. Last I heard, he was moving to France.

Speaking of prostitution ring, that director wasn't the only one who had secrets to hide. His wife, a well-known actress was also caught up in her own scandal. Kelsey Keller, it turned out, had been a call girl for that same madam years ago. It was actually how she met her husband, Harry Barnes.

Even though I was trying to be a better person, I couldn't help the shadenfreude I felt at her comeuppance. The hypocrisy of calling me a whore and sleeping for roles, when she had been the one sleeping around for her big break. Sadly for her, it never came. Her career just never took off. I tried to feel a bit sympathetic to her situation, but after the way she tried to destroy my career, and kept trying to drag my name through the mud, I couldn't really muster too much of it. Karma was a bitch.

Since Rob and I got back together, I couldn't tell you how many people were lined up to kiss my ass again. I had to laugh as these same people were the first ones to shun and turn their backs on me when the scandal first broke. Now I knew better and didn't give them the time of day. Rob's romantic gesture had brought on a swell of good press for me and I was still riding the high of good will. Not that that mattered to me anymore. Another lesson learned.

We'd come to an agreement that our relationship was strictly between us, and we'd never discuss it with the press. That was fine with me, even though I got the stink eye from several reporters when I'd refused to answer their questions about my private life. I'd learned to have boundaries.

We made it to the auditorium and were being ushered to our seats. The place was filling up quickly. Once the show finally started, I felt this calm suddenly come over me. I looked over to my side to see Rob sitting there, our hands interlocked, and knew no matter what happened, I was already a winner. This was what was important.

Being with Rob made me feel a wholeness and peace that I never got from any role or award before. Even if I didn't win, there would be other roles, other nominations and other chances. But if there weren't, so what? Those things didn't seem to matter to me as much anymore.

I'd finally learned that life was more than just work, and my career didn't define me. What defined me was how I lived my life and right now, I felt like I was finally living for the first time.

"It's time," Rob whispered in my ear as they were getting ready to call the nominations for Best Actress. They showed a clip of each actress in their roles. Finally, it was time. The envelope was flipped open.

"And the Oscar goes to...Emilia Holliday."

I felt that sensation where all the background noise just faded away and all I could hear was my heart beating in my chest, surprisingly a slow and steady beat. Not erratic at all. I was pulled up from my seat, and Rob wrapped his arms around me before giving me a kiss on the lips.

"You did it baby!" I saw him mouth.

Just like that, the sound came rushing back and I could hear the thunderous applause and cheers as I made my way to the stage. I was handed the golden statue, surprised by how hefty it felt, and also given the envelope with my name.

Looking out at the sea of people, I saw they were all still standing and I got a little overwhelmed. I recalled the past few months and the long hard road to get to this moment in time. I was about to get choked up until my eyes landed on Rob. He stood there beaming up at me with such love and pride on his face. I cleared my throat and locked eyes with the only person in the room that mattered.