A fine trembling took over Gina’s body, a combination of fear and adrenaline and pure, white-hot anger.
How dare they fuck with her career this way? With her reputation, with her wishes, with her fuckinglife.Could she sue? Probably not, but her agent was getting a call as soon as this whole mess was over with.
Natasha sat with her, making sure she sipped from a bottle of water. They were sequestered away in one of the empty offices.
“You’re a good friend, Tash.”
“Keep drinking.”
“Fine.” Gina took a small sip. “I still have another dance to get through.”
“Not until the second hour. And I’m not needed until then, either. For now, we sit.”
Natasha didn’t ask any questions, which was part of what made her a great friend. She didn’t push or pester, didn’t ask, “Are you okay?” Any one of those things would have probably made Gina cry, but Natasha’s quiet support was exactly what she needed to stay strong.
When the shaking subsided from earthquake to rumbling subway levels, Gina set down the water bottle. “He knew.”
“Knew what?”
“He knew they had the footage. And he didn’t tell me.”
Natasha sucked her teeth. “Qué jodienda, coño.”
Gina massaged her temples. A headache flirted at the edges. “He’s probably looking for me.”
“So what?” Natasha crossed her arms. “And why? To explain why he acted like a bonehead? Too bad.”
“He might have had a good reason.”
“Don’t defend him. What they did was fucked up. It’s okay to be mad.”
Natasha’s words rattled around Gina’s head. Yes, she was angry. And it was justified. She had every right to be angry at having a private moment recorded. Without mics, on a day when filming was supposedly canceled and she’d been unaware there was a camera present. The producers were no better than the paparazzi, sneaking around to get the dirt and then airing it without her knowledge or consent.
And Stone had known they had the footage, and he hadn’t told her. When the paparazzi had confronted them outside his hotel room, he’d been present for it. She hadn’t hidden that from him. Sure, she’d gone to Donna on her own, but after he’d gotten pissed off about that, they’d agreed to handle things together.
“I bet this is Donna’s goddamn fault. Fucking Donna.” Gina got up to pace in the small office. “How many times did I fucking tell her I didn’t want the producers crafting that kind of storyline for me?”
“Our agent even told them that.”
“Yeah! My fucking agent!” Gina blew out an angry breath, clenching her hands into tight fists. “And who cares if I am having… relations… with Stone. It’s my business. We’re both consenting adults. And we weren’t supposed to be filmed during that rehearsal.”
Natasha snapped her fingers in agreement. “Amen. Fuck who you want to fuck. Ain’t nobody else’s business.”
Gina narrowed her eyes. “You had sex with Jackson, didn’t you?”
“Sure did. And it wasuh-mazing.But you don’t see them trying to make up a story about me.”
“They tried with Dwayne. And with Stone.”
Tash waved a hand dismissively. “I had no chemistry with Dwayne. It wasn’t going to happen. You and Stone, on the other hand… I saw that coming from a mile away.”
Gina dropped back into the desk chair and covered her face with her hands. “Really?”
“Yeah, girl. You’re obvious as fuck.”
“I tried really hard to hide it.”
“I’m your roommate. And that man has a lot going for him.”
