Yep, her phone was definitely required here. ‘Okay, I’ll be right back.’ She stretched up. ‘Calvin, I’m just going to grab my bag. I’ll come back and sit with you until the car comes.’
He gave her such a look of gratitude that she got a tug straight in the heart strings.
Out of the office, across the entrance and into the private dining room and… Shit. She’d expected it to be empty. Thought that they’d all have gone home when the guest of honour was shepherded off. But no. Elliot was nowhere to be seen, but the rest were all still there, quaffing the free booze and dining out on the gossip.
Over in the corner, Rex was now schmoozing one of the producers, who was flicking her hair back and laughing as if he was the most hilarious man she’d ever met. Tress didn’t even care. All she wanted was to retrieve her bag, make sure Odette got away safely, and then get out of here, go home, kiss her boy, get into her pyjamas and maybe call Noah to see how his day was going.
She still hadn’t spoken to him since his meeting with Anya. What if… what if… She tried to shut that thought down, but it kept coming back, bringing a sickening shudder of dread every time. What if seeing Anya had reignited something in him and he’d realised that he wanted to take her back? They’d been the happiest couple she’d ever known, so compatible and genuinely in love – and yes, she knew how ridiculous that sounded given what had transpired. What if seeing her had reminded Noah of all the good things they’d had together, and he decided to give it another shot? Somehow, she’d managed to find a way to live without Max. She wasn’t sure she could survive without Noah in her life.
She rewound that thought and changed it. She would survive – she’d realised over the last year that she was tougher than she could ever have believed. However, her life, and Buddy’s life, would be so much less without him.
Rex spotted her as she scanned the room for her bag and made an immediate bee-line in her direction. ‘Hey, you’re back.I was just speaking to Cindy – she thinks that they can do some really creative things with my character over the next few months.’
Tress spotted her bag, over the back of her chair, and pulled it up over her shoulder, ignoring Rex Marino, not through petulance, but because she honestly couldn’t look at his face for a second longer than necessary. Had he not heard what she’d said to him earlier?
‘Look, I know you’re pissed off with me…’ Okay, so he had heard her. He was just choosing to ignore what she’d said because he was just so thick-skinned that he didn’t care. ‘But honestly, Tress, that’s just the way this business goes. Dog eat dog. And it sounds like your pal, Odette, knew that from the outset.’
Tress had taken a step to walk away, but now she rounded back on him. ‘You know, you might be right. But I’ve known people like you before, people who just live for themselves, for their own agendas, and don’t give a single thought to how anyone else feels.’
‘And I bet they had great lives,’ he countered, grinning, still acting like this was all a game. ‘How did it work out for them?’
She clamped her mouth shut. Don’t say it. Do. Not. Say. It.
‘He died.’
She said it.
This was who Rex reminded her of, so it made perfect sense. She’d loved Max’s confidence, his charm, his determination to embrace life, and somehow, then and now, that made her overlook the flaws.
Lesson learned. Once was a mistake. Twice was a relapse. There wouldn’t be a third time.
This time she was walking away relatively intact.
He reached out, touched her upper arm to try to block her from leaving when a voice behind her spat out, ‘Ryan, take your hand off her before I break it.’
Still staring at Rex, Tress had never seen anyone go from smarmy to horrified so quickly.
Who the hell was Ryan? And why did she recognise the voice that had just spoken? It was so out of context that it took her brain a few seconds to put it together, but yes, it was definitely… ‘Keli!’
As Tress said it, she turned to see that Noah’s sister was right behind her, and she had no idea where she’d come from. Oh, and there was Keli’s friend, Yvie. And another woman who was staring straight at Rex, like he was something she’d scraped off her shoe.
‘Keli, what are you doing here? Were you in the restaurant for dinner?’
‘No, I came to see him,’ Keli explained, nodding to Rex, who mumbled, ‘No way. Fuck. This is a total set-up.’
‘Hey, Tress,’ Yvie chirped, giving her a wave that was wholly out of keeping with the sudden frostiness in the atmosphere.
‘How are you doing, Ryan?’ the stranger said, the stare of her piercing blue eyes locked on his face.
Again, who the hell was Ryan?
Keli noticed her puzzlement. ‘Rex Marino is his stage name. Ryan Manning is his real name. Doesn’t quite have the same Hollywood ring to it.’
Tress had no idea what was going on here, but she could sense that whatever it was, Rex slash Ryan wasn’t going to come out of it well.
‘Tress, I need to tell you something…’ Keli began, and Tress could feel her anxiety. That opening line, and the tension in the air, led to the obvious conclusion.
‘That this guy is a piece of crap and I should stay well clear of him? Way ahead of you there.’ That felt so good to say, and Keli’s visible relief made it so much sweeter.
