Kate

While Cam had offered me a seat in his car, the idea of enduring the forty-five-minute ride to the hotel with him and his little fuck buddy was entirely unappealing. As a result, I had politely declined in favor of riding with Lizzy and Evander, with whom I had quickly fallen into easy friendship.

“Are you sure you don’t want to ride with Cam?” Lizzy asked politely as our SUV pulled away from Landmark Airways in the private terminals at Pearson Airport headed toward our hotel in downtown Toronto. “He almost never asked Evelyn to join him. She drove him absolutely bonkers.”

“I’ll pass. I’m really not interested in witnessing round two with Amber up close and personal, if you know what I mean.” Lizzy had the good grace to blush a bit as I continued. “I can’t believe he actually had sex with someone on that plane with all of us sitting in the next room,” I said.” No offense, but what a pig!”

“Cochon!” Evander exclaimed. Both Lizzy and I stared at him in confusion. “It’s French for pig. Cam’s definitely more of a fancy pig. It seems more appropriate in French.”

Lizzy and I both busted out laughing. As Lizzy caught her breath, she eyed Evander. “Listen, Kate, full disclosure: I’m not just Cam’s assistant, I’m also his baby sister. So, while I can’t dispute his behavior today, I do love him dearly, so if you could take it a bit easy on the Cam bashing in my presence, I would really appreciate it.”

My stomach flipped. I was mortified. Why did I never seem to have any control over my tongue? “Lizzy, I’m so incredibly sorry! I should never have said anything. I’m always putting my foot in my mouth… I …”

Lizzy laughed good-naturedly. “Stop. Cam is being a legitimate wanker today. He’s earned the bashing this time, for sure.”

Evander and I both laughed at Lizzy’s proclamation as we neared the city, our sleek SUV gliding smoothly along the expressway with Lake Ontario chasing us to our right. I found myself captivated as the city of Toronto began to slowly reveal itself to me. There was something quaint and unintimidating about the city, but patches of elegant high-rises, trendy restaurants, theaters, and museums made it clear that this was a very metropolitan city. I had always loved traveling to new places and absorbing their unfamiliar energy. As we turned the corner onto Wellington Street, I craned my neck to view a lovely park that quietly proclaimed itself as Victoria Memorial Park. I watched as senior citizens serenely read books on benches and parents chased after their children and precocious pups. It was sort of picturesque and made me feel quickly at ease in the city.

My reverie, however, was quickly interrupted by the roar of a small crowd erupting on the opposite side of the car. I quickly turned to my right to view the gleaming silver letters of the Thompson Hotel above me, which I knew would be our home base for the next two days. The building was very modern, all glass and imposing metal with clean lines. There was a café on the bottom floor with a welcoming blue awning with the name Colette emblazoned on it and as much as I wanted to picture myself sipping a glass of rosé and enjoying the view of the park across the street, I knew that I was there to deal with the four dozen or so autograph-seekers who had parked themselves outside the door of the hotel next to a gaggle of paparazzi with cameras at the ready.

Smartly, the hotel had cordoned them all off so that they couldn’t rush celebrities as they entered the hotel. My hope was that we’d be able to slip into the hotel without incident. I had known that the entire town of Toronto would be swarmed with celebrities this week, meaning that fans and photographers alike would be everywhere and that I would need to be on my guard at all times, for Cam’s sake.

I watched as Tony jumped from Cam’s vehicle with equal focus on his own face as he ushered Cam and his unabashed crew of star-fuckers toward the inviting glass doors at the front of the hotel. As Lizzy, Evander, and I quickly collected our belongings and headed toward the hotel ourselves, I noticed Cam switch direction suddenly at the beck and call of one of his fans and head straight into the lion’s den of screaming women and paps. Damn you, Camden Atwood! Exchanging an irritated glance with Tony, my mind instantly switched to publicist mode as I temporarily shelved my feelings of disdain for the man and shifted into intense professional concern.

Like a parent monitoring a child at the pool, I looked on as Camden greeted his fans while jovially signing autographs and flashing that panty-dropping smile that made women around the globe weak in the knees. Eventually, he leaned back into the crowd to shoot a selfie for a particularly giddy fan who looked like she might explode from the sheer excitement of Cam’s presence.

This was all typical and well within my comfort zone, but my anxiety shot up as one of the paps blurted out the dreaded, “Cam, is it true you’re being considered for the next Bond movie?”

Oh, Lord, here we go. Evelyn had made just three things crystal clear to me before I had left:

1. I was to keep my chastity belt firmly in place where Cam was concerned.

2. It was my responsibility to keep Cam and his likely bedfellows out of the tabloids.

3. There was to be no response to the incessant Bond rumors that had been circulating for the last month.

Before I could usher Cam away from the paps, he turned to the cluster of photographers and recorders and simply said in a tone fully meant to instigate, “I can neither confirm nor deny such reports,” and gave a dramatic wink. “But what I can say…” he continued on. My heart began racing as I pulled Cam by his enticingly firm bicep toward the door of the hotel as he waved to his adoring fans.

“I’m afraid we have to get Cam inside now. Thank you,” I said hastily as I yanked him forcibly into the hotel.

As we reached the relative calm of the hotel lobby, I turned to Cam, my heart racing, and my blood boiling. “Really? You couldn’t have just ignored that?”

“I wasn’t going to say anything ‘confidential.’ Katie, you have to relax,” he said nonchalantly as he grasped my shoulder in an effort to calm me.

“And you have to stop calling me Katie.”

Cam let out a long, pained breath, which just served to irritate me further.

“Look, if you’re not going to take me seriously, I don’t know why you’ve asked me here.”

“Kate, it’s not that big of a deal. I just stirred up a little speculation. It’s good for business. No harm, no foul.”

“You understand that saying the wrong thing could put that role in jeopardy for you entirely, right?”

Cam crossed his arms and leaned into me with a smirk. “Tell me something. Are you planning to be this uptight the entire trip, or is today a special occasion? What the hell happened to that fun, captivating woman who took my breath away on my doorstep two weeks ago?”

I was momentarily speechless. Took his breath away? Me? I quickly brushed the comment aside and tried to regain my focus. “Look, I know you thought you were getting a new playmate to add to your little entourage, but I’m actually here to do the job that Evelyn entrusted me with. This is important to me.”

“This is my career, Kate. It’s important to me, as well,” he said, sobering a bit.

“Sure doesn’t feel like it.” I knew I had gone too far yet again with that remark.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” he said, the amusement quickly draining from his eyes.

“I don’t know, you just seemed to have other things on your mind on the plane today, that’s all.” I crossed my arms defiantly, briefly glancing at the woman in the nearby fan cluster who was now admiring her own breasts with Cam’s signature newly scrawled across them. I shook my head in disgust.

Cam stared at me impassively, seemingly mildly confounded by my reaction. Our awkward moment was cut short as a jovial zaftig woman draped in an all-black, sack-like outfit approached us with an ear-to-ear grin and an irritating sing-song voice.

“Welcome to Toronto, Mr. Atwood! I’m Megan Davies, SVP of International Publicity at Worldwide Pictures. We’re so excited to have you here for the festival and the rest of our press tour. My team and I will be with you guys every step of the way in all six cities. If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Cam visibly regained his composure and shot Megan one of his practiced, glossy white smiles and thanked her for the hospitality, not giving away a second of the awkwardness that was percolating between us. It was clear that he was a pro at putting up this façade when required.

“Do you have a moment to go over logistics for the screening and red carpet tonight, Cam?” Megan chirped hopefully.

“I’m sure you can sort through all of that with my highly capable publicist, Katie…I mean, Kate Prescott,” he said, patting me roughly on the back. “I’ll do whatever she tells me. She pulls my strings from here on in.”

I crossed my arms angrily, now completely exasperated.

“Of course! Kate, if I could have a minute?” Megan began as she rolled out a slew of elaborate seating charts and schedules and all manner of documents that I had little patience to go over at that moment. But, just as I began to resign myself to an overly involved conversation about tour logistics, I suddenly, heard a loud voice shout across the lobby.

“Where the fuck is that asshole, Camden Atwood? You tell him we’re all here ready to work, waiting on his pansy ass, as usual!” I swiveled around in alarm and watched Matt Castell, another of Hollywood’s most gorgeous leading men and one of Cam’s co-stars in Due North, as he sauntered into the lobby with a sly grin on his face.

Where Cam had an Oxford bad boy aesthetic, Matt was all California surfer with a golden tan and an attitude that said he clearly didn’t buy into the Hollywood bullshit. Cam made his way over to Matt and the two engaged in an epic man hug complete with requisite back pat. All eyes in the dimly lit but trendy hotel lobby were now on the two screen gods. So much hotness in one space seemed to completely suck all of the air out of the room. I watched as women all around the room suddenly became clumsy marionettes unable to focus on anything other than the unapologetic man candy at the center of the room.

“How are you, man?” Cam exclaimed excitedly.

“I’m good! I was just going to head upstairs to get beautiful when I saw you pull up. Thought I’d say hello,” said Matt jovially.

“It’s great to see you! It’s been too long.”

“Yeah, not since that party at Leo’s, right?”

The two laughed conspiratorially, obviously remembering some epic moment that they had shared at Leo’s—no doubt involving more ridiculous bimbos. I rolled my eyes.

“You remember Amber, and of course, James.”

The duo waved at Matt as they took their room keys from one of the nearby studio reps.

“We’re gonna hit the bar,” James exclaimed as the two headed off toward the elevators. Cam waved them off.

“And let us not forget pretty Lizzy over here,” Matt said as he approached her and brushed a loose tendril from her face, tucking it behind her ear with a warm smile.

I couldn’t help but notice the ridiculous flush on Lizzy’s face as she became undeniably girlish in Matt Castell’s presence.

“Hello, Matthew. It’s lovely to see you again,” she said shyly.

“Take it easy there with my sister, Castell!”

Matt grinned good-naturedly.

“Then we’ve got my stylist, Evander, and you know Tony on security.” Both waved briefly as they went off to attend to Cam’s luggage.

“Man, you’ve got quite the entourage, buddy. Hope I can be as big time as you one day.

“Oh, and you mustn’t forget Kate,” Lizzy exclaimed. “Cam’s got an even half-dozen of us stragglers in tow this trip.”

Matt’s gaze swung around to me, and almost instantly a smile blossomed on his face. “Holy shit! Kate Prescott?” he exclaimed with glee.

A smile crept across my face for the first time since I had arrived at the hotel. “I can’t believe you actually remember me,” I said as Matt wrapped me in a warm hug.

Matt’s smile beamed. “How could I forget you, Katie-cat?” Matt held me at arm’s length as he examined me from head to toe appreciatively.

Cam cocked his head in confusion, suddenly regarding me with interest once again. “I’m sorry…Katie-cat, is it?” Cam quipped incredulously.

Matt laughed at the words as they came across Cam’s lips in his posh British accent. “Yeah, we met on my very first studio movie, Sidekicks 2. We did this god-awful mall tour through the Midwest to promote it, and Kate was repping that boy band kid who was trying to act. What the fuck was his name again?”

“Chase Masterson,” I said, my eyes involuntarily rolling at the thought.

“Chase Masterson! He was such a douche. Oh, man! With the sideburns and everything. Awful.”

Matt and I laughed conspiratorially. I couldn’t help but notice that Cam seemed to be slightly irritated at our familiarity and looked on with mild concern.

“So, you two like know each other, then?” Cam asked with furrowed brow.

“Are you kidding? Katie-cat was the bomb! You don’t forget someone you’ve been in the trenches with. I’m pretty sure we ate at every Chili’s in the Midwest together. This girl can put away the baby back ribs! God, we had such a blast.”

I blushed, remembering the nearly ten pounds I had put on during that tour, eating the most ridiculous diet of blooming onions, French fries, and cheeseburgers every night with my overly generous studio per diem. I hadn’t had a care in the world on that tour. Fresh out of college, traveling around the U.S. for the first time on a movie studio’s dime with young wannabe celebrities. It was night and day to the five-star hotels and private jet set that I was now dealing with.

Cam took a deep breath and crossed his arms, clearly trying to figure me out. “Well, here I am thinking you just hated being called Katie…let alone Katie-cat.”

“It was a stupid inside joke.” Matt beamed and gave me a wink.

Shifting again, Cam revealed his discomfort with Matt’s familiarity toward me. I had to admit, I was kind of enjoying putting Cam off his game for a moment, after all of his shenanigans this afternoon.

“It’s not that I hate being called Katie, just that it’s more of a ‘by invitation only’ privilege,” I said wryly.

Cam turned to me directly, clearly drawing some sort of an invisible battle line between us, not letting his eyes leave mine for a moment. “Oh, I see, and my invitation’s been lost in the mail, is that it?”

“I’d say it’s more so that it’s been delayed in processing, Cam.”

We stared each other down for a moment, his lip curling a bit in amused animosity.

I turned abruptly away from Cam to Matt, clearly throwing him shade. “So, are you still repped by TMK?”

“I’m actually between publicists right now. Diana and I had a strong difference of opinion on how to deal with the paps and parted ways a few months ago.”

“Is that right? You just up and left your publicist?” Cam asked with faux concern, trying to inch his way back into the conversation. “Did you hear that, Kate?”

I ignored Cam, no doubt leaving Matt somewhat puzzled by our dynamic.

“You know, I don’t know why I didn’t think to call you, Kate. You and I would be great together,” Matt exclaimed.

Tension filled Cam’s frame as he crossed his arms in front of him. I smiled, relishing Cam’s discomfort.

“Yeah! We should definitely talk.”

“What are you doing tonight? We could grab a late dinner after the screening. I was planning to bail on the after-party early anyway.”

“That sounds…”

“You know, I don’t see how Kate would have time for that tonight,” Cam interjected. “She’s really impressed upon me the importance of taking my job more seriously. As the star of the film, I should really make an appearance at the party tonight, you know, hang in there until the bitter end. Really give the fans and press what they want. And Kate being Kate will be right by my side to make sure I don’t do anything stupid, as we actors are inclined to do from time to time,” he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder with a fake thousand-watt smile. “Right, Kate?”

I felt my irritation reaching its apex, knowing that if he was true to his word, I would have a long, excruciating night on my hands. He was punishing me in the worst way possible and I knew it. Well played, Atwood.