Fin began his rounds, talking to reporters and other industry heads as he promoted the new film. Typically, he had an assigned room in the suite rented by the movie producers. The interviewers would come in and ask questions during their twenty-minute slots. That meant anywhere from fifteen to twenty quick interviews with a few strategic breaks in between, depending on how packed the schedule was.
Over the years, he and Addie had worked hard on cultivating an image with the press that screamed “stay away from my private life if you want an interview,” and this image helped him navigate events like this much easier. When he’d first started drawing attention in the industry, they’d been more interested in who he dated than the work he did. These days they focused on his work, and any newbies who hadn’t gotten the message didn’t get invited back for future interviews. Word spread and people played by the rules. Mostly. Occasionally, he still had to give his dead-eye stare until the interviewer moved on to another question. He had perfected that stare. He’d only used it twice in this morning’s torture rounds.
During the lunch break, Fin found a spot at a corner table away from the crowd. A loud clang rang out as his costar, Mac, pulled out the chair beside him, bumping the base on the leg of the table. Fin grinned. Francis “Mac” McBrewster was a veteran actor who had more movies under his belt than everyone in the room combined. Yet somehow, he stayed in the background and the press didn’t hound him as much. Fin wished he knew Mac’s secret.
“Finley! How’s it going?” Mac asked boisterously.
Fin’s grin broadened at his friend’s cheeriness. “Great,” he declared sarcastically. “Only eight more to go. What I want to know is how you have all this energy and how do you keep it up? I’m already exhausted halfway through.”
“Ah, that’s easy. I love this shit! And I’m an extrovert. I get my energy from people. You, on the other hand, are a diehard introvert. People suck the life out of you. You need a massage or some other spa treatment tomorrow to get your groove back.”
“Mm-hmm.” Fin nodded in agreement, thinking it odd that his introversion had come up twice within twenty-four hours.
“So, what all are you appearing at this week?” Mac waved the brochure containing the scheduled promotional events. “I haven’t yet decided which of these affairs I’m attending. I’m thinking about the one down at the Space Center.”
“Aye, the NASA tour looked appealing,” Fin agreed, “but I’m not planning to attend any others. I’m sticking to the required events and taking some time off before our next leg.”
“Ah, a bit of ‘me time.’”
“Precisely.”
Mac clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then looked back at Fin. “Ya know, that sounds inviting. Maybe I’ll take a minute or two to myself. Texas is a great place to get lost. It’s so big, you know.” He waggled his eyebrows at Fin and laughed at his own joke. “And the women here are gorgeous!” Thinking of Alex, Fin agreed with his assessment.
They spent the lunch hour discussing their various interview experiences from the morning, the state of Texas, and how Mac could wrangle up some company for his Texas adventures. Soon the junket staffers came to collect their charges and Fin left for this next round of interviews, feeling lighter after lunch with Mac.
Miranda Cole slid behind a column,hiding from the three men at the far end of the hallway. She’d managed to avoid Finley McAlister all day and didn’t want to blow it as her interview time approached. When her colleague, another reporter fromCelebrity News, had fallen ill, she’d jumped at the chance to take his place.
Finley McAlister was the one blight on her otherwise successful track record. They’d bumped heads early in her career as a Hollywood beat reporter, and he had actively blocked her access to him ever since that one ugly run-in. It frustrated her that she had identified him early as someone to watch and then been denied the opportunity to do so. Well, that hadn’t stopped her. She’d followed his career from afar and watched him rise from a local stage actor to an international film star nominated for and winning multiple awards.
Everything she’d read about him said his life was ideal, but Miranda knew this business. No one wasthatperfect. She wanted the real story, the one he kept hidden. McAlister exasperated her, guarding his privacy like a hungry dog protecting a bone.
She’d had minions following him for years, but her last promotion had given her the clout to get back into his inner realm. Miranda had clawed her way into a position that commanded respect and came with the chops to demand airtime from him. And she intended to get it.
However, his success gave him clout of his own. McAlister blacklisting her meant she had to carefully plan her reinsertion into his orbit. The opportunity to represent the entertainment news company at this event was her way back. His schedule still showed her colleague’s name on this afternoon’s interview. She planned to use the misprint to catch McAlister off-guard and see what juicy tidbits she could get out of him. Every good reporter knew the key to getting the scoop was a surprise attack.
Fin openeda fresh water bottle and scowled as the reporter for his last interview session walked into the room. This woman was on his “no fly” list. In fact, she was on his “no way, not ever” list. By nature, she was ruthless. And they had a particularly ugly history. He wanted nothing more than to demand how she’d made it in the room, then show her the door. But that didn’t fit the professional image he and Addie had cultivated over the years, so instead, he lingered for a minute at the refreshment station and shored up his defenses for the upcoming confrontation.You are a professional, he reminded himself. He would get through this, and then rip someone a new one for allowing her anywhere near him.
Fin ambled back to his chair and coolly acknowledged the woman as he sat. “Ms. Cole.”
Miranda Cole smiled back at him with a smarmy look in her eye.Great,he thought,she’s looking pretty smug at manipulating her way onto my schedule.
“Finley, how have you been?” she purred.
“Fine. Shall we begin?” He cut off any attempt at small talk and pushed to move the interview along.Twenty minutes,he reminded himself,it’s only twenty minutes.He hoped he could get through this without losing his cool.
She began with a few customary questions about the film and how he’d approached his character development, which he fielded with his standard answers. Then she leaned forward and arranged her face into a serious, probing look. Fin wondered if she practiced the look in the mirror. Perhaps she regarded the pose as the one that would propel her to the top.Here it comes,he thought,the question that makes my head explode.He mentally braced himself while schooling his features to show no reaction.
“So, word is you got off the plane yesterday with a rather attractive blonde. Care to share with your fans exactly who she is?” she asked.
Fin was so surprised by the question he burst into laughter. “I didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?”
“Well, let’s see… technically, I guess I did. I, along with 200 other passengers, walked to the baggage claim area together to pick up our bags.” He yawned and blinked at her, hoping she would take the hint and move on.
“My sources say you walked side by side with one woman the entire way through the airport,” she insisted.
“Ms. Cole,” Fin’s voice dripped with disdain, “it’s a direct path from the gate to the baggage area. Is it truly newsworthy if I walk the same route as a fellow passenger? Your access to interesting news must be limited ifthatis the story of the week. I can see the headline now: ‘Finley McAlister Walks to Baggage Claim beside Random Passenger.’ Titillating news in the entertainment world today.”
