CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Max would have been happy to never see Alana again for the rest of his life but it was not to be. After the play, he and some of his castmates went for a pint down at the local pub and Alana strolled in with his ex-assistant Gemma. At first he’d tried to hide behind his friends, keeping his head down as much as possible. The two women sat down at a table on the opposite side of the room but apparently someone outed him because Alana was now crossing the pub with a very determined expression on her face.
That was never a good thing.
She sidled right up to the table and leaned over to speak to him, her breasts almost spilling out of the ridiculously low-cut blouse she was wearing. It was loud in the large room but she was close enough that she didn’t have to yell to be heard. His friends had tactfully turned away and were speaking quietly amongst each other. No one liked Alana. She had a terrible reputation in the theatre community.
“Max, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Bullshit. Alana wasn’t the pub type but she liked to be where theatre people hung out. This was all about making a connection with Max’s director and producer, probably hoping for a part in an upcoming production.
“I didn’t expect to see you either,” he said wearily, his gaze pointing at Gemma who still sat at the table. “Nor did I expect to see my former employee.”
Alana smiled and laughed but it sounded too sharp to be from happiness, in contrast to Carrie’s laugh which always seemed to come from her heart. “She’s my assistant now. Does a good job too. You shouldn’t have fired her.”
Max was tired and didn’t have the patience for this. Time to cut to the chase.
“What do you want, Alana?”
Running a finger over her collarbone, she gave him a look that once would have set his blood on fire. Now it simply left him cold. He felt nothing for this woman and he could only wonder how he ever had. It didn’t say much for the man he was…or at least had been.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”
Fuck no.
“No, you’re done using me to get acting jobs. Now what else do you want?”
She ran her fingers up Max’s arm but he wasn’t having any of it, shaking her off.
“Don’t be so mean. You didn’t care that your little redhead used you to get a part in a movie. Why would it matter if you introduced me to a few of your theatre friends?”
Frozen in place, Max silently tried to count to ten but only made it to five.
“What are you talking about? Carrie didn’t use me to get a part in a movie. She doesn’t want to be an actress.”
Carrie had said so and he believed her.
Tapping her chin, Alana shrugged carelessly. “Are you sure? Because Gemma was talking to Tyler Gaylord’s stylist a few hours ago and she said that Carrie was in Los Angeles today at the same movie studio where Tyler Gaylord is making his next picture. There’s a rumor that he’s offered her a part in it, which isn’t all that surprising. They were photographed together, weren’t they?”
“Thanks to you,” Max growled, his mind desperately trying to come up with a million reasons for Carrie to be in Los Angeles when she’d told him she was in Florida. “It probably wasn’t even her.”
Alana’s smirked. “It was her and she was with Tyler, walking around and laughing like they were old friends. Why don’t you ask her about it? I’m sure she’ll tell you the truth.”
Anger burned in Max’s gut and bringing an end to this little conversation was imperative.
“Get out of here, Alana,” he said through gritted teeth. His jaw ached from the tension but the pain gave him something to focus on instead of the bombshell she’d dropped. “You’re on thin ice here. I don’t think you want these people to know what I truly think of you.”
She should have been afraid but Alana had absolutely no sense of self-preservation. Instead of leaving she learned down farther and bit his earlobe, giggling the entire time.
“Take care, lover. I’ll be around.”
With that she turned on her heel and sauntered away, her hips swaying back and forth, capturing the interest of more than a few males in the room.
They were welcome to her. God help them.
Max just sat there, his thoughts in turmoil as he contemplated what Alana had said. It couldn’t be true. Not his Carrie. She was different, he was sure of that. She cared about him.
Him.
Not his career or what she could get from it.
Him.
She was not in Hollywood. She was in Florida visiting her family and friends. She’d attended her brother’s party and he’d talked to her right before that but not since. He’d been busy with the play and the promotional interviews with the press. She’d sent him a vague text about her plans changing a bit but he hadn’t thought much about it.
It was certainly possible that she was in Los Angeles. Airplanes and all. But not probable. Not bothering to say anything to his colleagues, he stomped outside where it was quieter and pulled out his phone, dialing Carrie.
Max could clear this all up with one phone call and then go back to his evening.
She was in Florida with her family. Not at the movie studio with Tyler.
Carrie picked up on the third ring.
“Hamlet, how was the play tonight?”
Just hearing her voice had his heart beating faster. He missed her more than he’d ever thought possible. The house was an empty shell when she was gone.
“It was good. Very good. Just out for a pint with some of the boys.”
“And you thought of me. How sweet.”
Her giggle was like music to his ears. He wanted to make her laugh every day for the rest of their lives.
“I am sweet, aren’t I? Love, I know this is going to sound like a strange question but just humor me. You’re in Florida, right? You aren’t in Los Angeles.”
A small silence that had Max holding his breath before she rushed in to answer.
“How did you know? Did Tyler or Nate tell you?”
Max’s heart fell straight down to his feet as acid rose in his throat.
No. No, not his Carrie.
“Where are you exactly?”
There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone. “I’m in Los Angeles on business. I had a meeting with the movie studio. Listen, I have some fantastic news–”
Her admission took his breath away. He’d never believed it could be true but she’d said it. He was well aware of what her news was and he was disgusted.
“Was Tyler there?” he asked, not letting her finish.
“Yes, he was here. Why?”
He didn’t answer. There wasn’t much left to say. “Listen, I need to get back to my friends. I’ll see you when you get back.”
Max pressed the end button, not waiting to hear her reply. He couldn’t stand to even hear her voice. Not anymore.
Stumbling and falling back against the stone wall, he sucked air into his lungs, concentrating as he inhaled and exhaled. It was the only thing he knew to do when everything inside of him wanted to scream and rage, pound his fists against the building until they were battered and bloody. He wanted to crawl away whimpering like a puppy as he licked his wounds. He wanted to hide from the cruel world that had led him to this moment.
So this was what a broken heart felt like.
It was funny what happened to a human being when all hope was gone. At first all he’d felt was pain and then he went numb. Completely dead inside.