Page 94 of Nathan
“Never mind. I should probably get some sleep.”
“Okay. And just so you know, Denise and I are working on a way for us to be together.”
There was no shine in his eyes or relief on his face. If anything, there was a skepticism, as if he didn’t quite believe it. I was afraid that he might bring up that with us living in two different countries this would never work, so I quickly blew him a kiss. “Sweet dreams.”
Nathan blew a small kiss back, and we ended the call.
Filling my lungs with a large intake of air, I gathered my strength and walked back into my living room, where Denise was on my couch texting on her phone.
“Denise…”
“Mmm?” She looked up.
“What if I told you I have a picture of Storm in bed with another man?”
Denise leaned back and crossed her arms, her dark eyes narrowing. “I would ask you if you’re a hundred percent sure it isn’t fabricated.”
“Looks real to me, but I’m no expert.”
“Let me see.”
Walking to her side, I found the photo Nathan had sent me and showed it to Denise.
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
“This isn’t like you. I thought you’d be excited and want to use it against Storm.”
“If this happened while he was supposed to be engaged to you, then sure… I’m fine using it to prove he’s a hypocrite, but exposing his sexuality…” Denise shook her head.
“You know I’m a big supporter of the LGBT community, but Storm cost me my biggest role yet. You said it yourself,Wood and Waterhad Oscar potential and it was going to get me the biggest paycheck in my career. If that’s not enough, he caused a ton of suffering for people I care about. I really don’t give a rat’s ass about who Storm sleeps with, but he doesn’t get to tell his dirty lies at my expense.”
“You’re right.” Denise fiddled with her necklace as I continued.
“Think about poor River, who he used shamelessly, and how he destroyed Nathan’s and my reputation to benefit himself. Are you gonna take his side just because you’re both homosexuals?”
Denise made a sound of protest. “My sexual orientation has nothing to do with this. I’ve been out and proud for more than twenty years, but I’m thinking about my clients who are hiding the same secret as Storm. Outing one of their colleagues won’t make them pleased with me.”
“All I’m asking is that you tell Kevin what we know. I’m sure theNew York Timeswon’t include anything they can’t verify. Can you think of a better way to drive home the point that people judge situations they don’t understand? I can’t tell the world that I was never in a relationship with Storm, but maybe the public will judge me less if they know that Storm isn’t grieving in his hotel. He’s busy living his parallel life with his lover.”
“You’re right. It would change the agenda,” Denise agreed.
“You’re the one who made your speech about everyone hating on celebrities from behind their screens. Half of Hollywood is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction because no human is built to withstand the bullying that we go through. You’re the one who wanted Kevin to shine a light on the way the press builds us up only to tear us down. It’s been that way forever, but now we have the whole bloody world joining in from behind their screens.”
“All right… I hear you.” Denise closed her eyes with her long fake eyelashes. “But answer me this. Did you know about this before you made those comments about his lack of performance in bed?”
“No. I was just trying to insult him. Women worship Storm, and calling him a lousy lover was the best I could come up with at the time.”
Playing with a lock of her hair, Denise scrunched up her mouth in her thinking expression.
“I didn’t know,” I repeated.
“Maybe…” Denise’s breathing was calm, but I could see her mind spinning. “Maybe I could justify this to myself if I think of Christopher.”
“Who?”
“Christopher La Rose. He was a Broadway star when I was a teenager. He was so incredibly handsome and talented, and he played all the leading male roles until he disappeared for years.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard his name. What happened?”
