CHAPTER SIX
TWO HOURS LATER, the elevator door closed behind him and Greg released a deep exhale as he leaned against the back wall, thankful for a moment alone.
He'd just spent an hour and a half with Nate and Shawn, and his mind was still obsessively going through everything they'd talked about. The guys told him the plan was working fine, and the pictures from the alley should be buried quickly under all the other ones that clearly suggested Greg and Sylvia were dating. Basically, nobody even got to suggest Sylvia was a prostitute, since the photos of their breakfast hit the Internet almost at the same time—and that meant the worst case scenario was unlikely to happen at this point. Everyone had agreed last night that Greg and Sylvia should twist the real elements into their "romance", so the story turned into one about Greg being an attentive boyfriend who helped his girlfriend when she was about to faint. Dot Entertainment couldn't play the morality card for something like that.
Greg knew he wasn't completely out of the woods yet—he wasn't going to be until the last possible minute—but he could at least say the situation was a lot better now than it was when he was running away from the paparazzo last night.
He pulled out his phone to check the time as he was crossing the foyer to the exit. Ten past twelve. He still had almost an hour before he was meeting Charlie for lunch, so he decided to take a walk. It had been way too long since he'd last visited New York. In a weird way, he always felt at home here, and every once in a while he even entertained the idea of moving here at some point in the future. Since his days of audition marathons were long gone, he didn't have to live in L.A. anymore.
And if the next two and a half months went well, Greg would love to do more theater work. It always held a bit of his heart, reminding him of the college years and the ups and downs of working on a stage production for months at a time.
Get through this one first, he told himself firmly, putting a ball cap on. You don't even know if you'll still have a role to play in a few weeks. He didn't want to get his hopes up, so he had to try and tone down the urge to plan out his future when his present was on shaky ground.
His present had Sylvia in it, though, and that brightened his mood. Sure, they had been thrown together by accident, and fake dates weren't an ideal situation for anything, but Greg still enjoyed their time together, and he was looking forward to seeing her again. They'd all agreed the two of them should keep up the ruse for at least three more weeks until Greg couldn't be forced out of New York anymore and he was more than happy to do it. Sylvia was passionate, funny, and beautiful, and she hadn't thought twice about helping him, even when she was clearly uncomfortable with being in the public eye. Keeping up the appearance of enjoying her company wasn't going to need any acting on his part.
***
He was supposed to pick up Charlie from the theater, so he turned into the same alley he and Sylvia had met in yesterday. In the daylight, the dumpster area actually looked worse than last night. He'd been smart enough not to touch anything, including the wall, but he still grimaced as he glanced at it now. Fortunately, the rest of the street made a much better impression, and by the time Greg got to the theater's backstage doors, he had no problem leaning against the wall next to it.
He busied himself with his phone but didn't have to wait long. Charlie busted out of the door at five to one, and after spotting Greg, he hooted and ran to him, throwing his arms wide.
Greg couldn't help but laugh. As they fell into an embrace, he hugged Charlie as hard as his friend was hugging him, and they swayed on their feet.
"My boy," Charlie said, tightening his arms one more time before releasing Greg and pulling away. "I've missed you."
"Not enough to drop the boy thing, I see." He shook his head, amused. Charlie had been calling him that since they'd graduated together, in a mockery of their old drama teacher, who called every male student "my boy" and every female student "my dear".
"I'll never drop it." Charlie shrugged, eyeing him up and down. "You look good. Still hot."
Greg snorted. "Glad I continue to meet with your approval."
"Always." Charlie grinned with a leer, and Greg rolled his eyes but grinned back. Some things never changed.
"I've missed you, too, you brat." He threw his arm around Charlie's shoulders and turned him into the direction of the street. "Come on, let's go eat."
Twenty minutes later, when they were sitting in the booth at the back of Charlie's favorite Italian restaurant, Greg leaned back in his seat and let himself relax completely. The smell of tomato sauce and garlic promised him a good meal, and the company of one of his oldest friends let him drop the act and enjoy himself.
"Tell me what's going on with you," Charlie said, leaning his forearms on the table. "How's my city treating you?"
Greg snorted, not knowing where to start. "I've been here less than two days and it's already been a crazy ride."
"That's New York for you."
"If you say so," Greg said dryly. "But I saw Illuminations last night, and you, my friend, were great."
"You were there last night?" Charlie sat up. "Why the hell didn't you say anything? Or come back stage? We have some new people I could show you off to."
Greg chuckled. "Tempting. I was going to come up and see you afterward, but then my night turned on its head."
The waitress came back with their food—Greg couldn't resist ordering lasagna, since he wasn't on a fitness regime now—and when she left, Charlie pointed at him with his fork.
"Spill."
Greg could lie to his agent and publicist, but there was no way he would lie to Charlie, so he spilled the story as they ate, up to and including the whole pretend dating scheme.
His friend kept quiet, only shoving pasta into his mouth, but his eyebrows slowly moved up as the story continued. When Greg finished, Charlie shook his head.
"Your life is crazy. I know I tell you this at least once a year, but seriously—your life is crazy."
"I know." Greg swallowed another piece of lasagna. "But this is more insane than anything that's happened in a while."
"The fact that it isn't the most insane thing, says so much about your life."
Greg nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Well, the Oscar nomination is still up there in the first slot."
"Maybe in your book. As far as I'm concerned, this whole thing trumps the Oscars."
"I'm just glad the plan seems to be working. I really want to do this Broadway thing I've heard so much about," he joked after swallowing another bite.
Charlie grinned. "I can't wait to play opposite you again. We haven't done it in ages."
It was Greg's turn to point with his fork. "I've asked you to come play in a movie with me probably a million times."
"And I've told you a million times, movies aren't my thing. That's why I had to drag you here."
"And you did."
In the end, it was as simple as that. He was in New York, about to play on Broadway, because his old friend had called with an offer Greg couldn't resist. And now they were going to play opposite each other in Illuminations, after Charlie moved from the understudy to the lead actor in a few weeks.
For probably the fifth time today, Greg wondered for a brief moment what Sylvia's reaction was going to be. She hadn't pushed this morning when she'd asked about his secret project, which he really appreciated. He'd been tempted to throw caution to the wind, but it wasn't only his ass on the line. If the word got out and he couldn't play later on, the repercussions to the theater and the whole production could be severe.
He still wanted to be the one to tell her about it when the time came—to see her face, see that spark in her eyes she always got when she talked about Broadway. He was pretty sure she was going to be over the moon, especially since he wouldn't mind letting her use the "family ticket" for the majority of the performances, save for one or two when his parents would undoubtedly take the trip up to New York to see him on stage.
The kick in the shin abruptly brought him back to the present.
"Hey!"
Charlie looked at him innocently. "What?"
"You are a big child, Charles Donatello Amis."
"Shhhh." Charlie waved his hand. "Low blow, man."
One of the advantages of knowing someone half his life was that Greg had enough ammunition on Charlie to last him for many years to come. And Charlie's hate for his second name was endless.
"I'm not the one who went for the kicking," Greg told him.
"Well, you zoned out on me." Charlie shrugged. "What were you thinking about?"
Greg hesitated and his friend's face lit up. Damn. The downside of knowing someone for so long was that they usually knew him just as well.
"You like her!" Charlie almost cooed, but not loud enough for anybody else to pick up on, thankfully. "Oh, this is so great. It makes this entire thing even better."
"I'm glad this is so entertaining for you," Greg muttered. "And it's not like that."
"If I thought we'd lose a chance to play together, it wouldn't be, but I'm confident it'll be fine. And having you step into a romantic comedy situation after only a day in New York is gold. I'm going to cherish this and laugh at you for the rest of our lives."
Greg grimaced at that. Maybe he should look for some new friends.
"There, there, I won't laugh at you too much…for now," Charlie said, grinning. "Tell me a bit more about this Sylvia."
"Well, the first thing I learned about her was that she was a big fan of yours," Greg admitted and watched as his friend lost it and erupted in laughter loud enough to turn heads on the other side of the room.
Yeah, Greg was screwed.