CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It felt as though my mind had just shut off when a loud bang sounded from outside Aiden’s trailer. I pulled the sheet over my nude body and shook Aiden awake. “Someone’s beating on the door,” I told him.
He just mumbled something and turned over as I peered through the window.
It was already daylight, so I knew I’d slept longer than I thought. “Did we oversleep?” I asked. “What time is it?”
Aiden grabbed the alarm clock by his bed. It was seven, and we weren’t supposed to be on set until nine, but the banging continued.
He got up, slid his jeans up his legs, stuffing his limp dick into the denim. He didn’t bother fastening his pants. Instead, he just opened the door.
Gretchen and the head producer pushed into the camper. My heart sank when I saw the looks on their faces. We’d spent the night together before, and it hadn’t been a problem. Had something changed I wasn’t aware of?
Gretchen held a stack of papers in her hands which she immediately dropped onto the bed. Pictures of Shep and me were plastered over the front cover of the tabloids she’d brought inside. I could feel my face losing color, and I grew light headed and dizzy as I stared at them, blinking hard, trying to make them say something else.
I reached for the top one. It had a picture of Shep with his hand on the small of my back walking through the Four Seasons lobby. I was wearing the blue dress, the one I knew was too sexy, and it looked as if we were having a fling in the fancy hotel.
“Oh my God!” I exclaimed.
“Oh my God is right,” Gretchen snapped. “What the hell were you two doing in Boston?”
The accusation beat into my ears and my heart picked up pace as I struggled to respond.
“W-we had dinner with my f-friends,” I stuttered, then took a deep breath. “He was walking me to my room.”
Gretchen gripped a handful of tabloids and pulled one from underneath. “This room?” she asked. The picture showed the two of us entering the same room together, and me in that slinky blue dress. I knew my explanation wasn’t going to be good, but it was all I had. I took another deep breath and explained that the hotel was booked, that the entire city was booked due to the marathon.
“I had a private bedroom; he slept on the couch,” I pleaded for them to believe me.
Aiden looked bitter as he sat down in the chair at the table and browsed through the tabloids that were placed in front of him.
“I would like to know who the source is,” Gretchen snapped, pointing at the tag that read “unnamed source inside production.”
“I don’t know,” I murmured, trying to remember seeing any cameras. I hadn’t. I was sure of it.
The head producer was silent, his eyes just glaring into me as I tried to explain everything away. It was evident they didn’t believe me.
“This is just a big misunderstanding,” Aiden said, surprisingly on my side. I thought for sure he would believe the tabloids and accuse me of sleeping with Shep all along. My eyes filled with tears as I realized how guilty I truly was. These photos, these accusations, they were all true, at least they might as well have been.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, the real problem here is the image of the show,” Gretchen snapped. “And the integrity.” Her eyes flashed across the wrinkled bed.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” I pleaded. “I promise.”
“You’ve really created a mess for yourself, and for our show.” Gretchen’s voice was brittle. “I should have known with your history that you wouldn’t be a good fit.”
I was going to throw up.
I heard her words, but couldn’t absorb them enough yet to be angry. I pushed through the tabloids, reading headlines like: Things Are Getting Hot on Extreme Cuisine, Steamy Reality Cooking Show Romance Caught, and Sexy Vixen Stirs the Pot to Get a Win.
“This is all bullshit, and you know it!” I yelled, tossing one of the tabloids across the camper.
“I know you were in Boston alone with Shep during filming, and I know you had him stay in your hotel suite. You wore a sexy dress and had dinner together. And now it’s plastered all over the world for everyone to see!” Gretchen screamed.
It freaked me out to see her so angry. She was always so calm, so professional and perky.
“I’m sorry, it isn’t what it looks like, and these people, this source is made up, or they’re flat out lying,” I argued.
“This doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” the producer finally spoke up.
I waited eagerly for his spin on this, hoping there could be some light shed on the horrible situation.
“I mean, there’s no denying you’ve created quite the reputation for yourself while on this show, whether you meant to or not,” he said. “So, all I know to do is to use it to our advantage.”
Gretchen seemed to nearly sag with relief as she stared at the producer. Then she smiled. “I like it.”
I still wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but I got the feeling it wasn’t going to be something I liked. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“I think by working the relationship drama into the show, we could have our ratings soar, and then there’s nothing secretive for the tabloids to report,” he said. “Why should they get all the attention for our story?”
“It’s not your story, it’s mine, and there’s nothing to tell!” I argued.
“I’m afraid it’s the only way we can put a positive spin on this,” Gretchen said, her eyes flicking down my body.
I spent enough time with Kennedy to know you always read everything you sign, and I’d spent a good deal of time reading my contract for the show before having her look at it too.
“Gretchen, I’m afraid that doesn’t put a positive spin on the show, it puts a negative spin on me and my life and that is unacceptable. I refuse to be a ratings rat for you,” I snapped.
“Claire, I don’t think you have much choice in the matter here,” Gretchen said sternly. “We can add a few shots of you and Aiden and have you both talk about the triangle that is creating the drama on the show.” She snapped her fingers. “Simple and easy.”
I fumed inwardly. “You’re talking about creating a scenario that doesn’t exist, that’s only in the air from pure rumor and speculation. It’s lying. I’m not going to pretend that I’ve been having some type of love affair with both Shep and Aiden. It will ruin my reputation.”
She didn’t even blink. “I believe your reputation is already smeared pretty good, sweetie, and that’s thanks to your little trip. The least you could do is help the show recover from the mess you made.”
“I’ll not film anything that doesn’t pertain to cooking or the cooking show,” I said with authority. “My contract states that I agreed to filming during specific hours, nothing more. Anything you’ve filmed of me that isn’t during the regular filming time should not and will not be aired, or I will bring you down quicker than a burning bridge made of toilet paper!”
They stared at me.
I added another nail to this particular coffin. “And, in case you were wondering, that includes filming others as they speculate on my personal life.”
Gretchen’s face burned red and her fists clenched against her clipboard. I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t. I’d channeled Kennedy through me, and it felt good. I knew I was right. Thank God I’d read my contract.
The producer tugged on Gretchen’s arm and whispered something in her ear. He smiled at me sourly and nodded. “You’re within your rights to refuse filming of anything other than the cooking show activities,” he said and pulled Gretchen from Aiden’s camper.
I watched Aiden stand and run a hand over his spiky hair. I sat there numb, uncertain what to do next. I’d flee, but I wasn’t sure my legs would hold me up long enough for that to happen.
To my further surprise, Aiden climbed on the bed and pulled me into his lap, nuzzling my neck. “It’s okay, baby,” he whispered. I was shaking from the anger and the embarrassment of it all. Kennedy was right; I was setting myself up for a bad reputation.
I was thankful that Aiden believed me, even though I didn’t know why he did. He had been so jealous, so territorial around Shep, and now that dozens of pictures were flaunted in his face showing us together in the same hotel, he was fine. I was so confused.
My thoughts drifted to Shep. I wondered how he was handling this.