A/N: As it turns out, wine is the best way to get the creative juices flowing. Someone keep me stocked with wine 24/7 and I'll never stop writing. Okay, you don't have to do that, but seriously, it helps. Here's the next chapter!

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Chapter 13

I didn't even look up at Frank as he talked about his proposition for Sophia and me. "She's not going to go for it," I said without missing a beat.

"How do you know that? We haven't even had a chance to argue our position."

I glanced up at this just so I could give him a look that made him feel as stupid as he sounded. "Have you met her?"

"It's a good idea, Chris," Frank insisted. "And it'll only benefit the both of you. You've seen the news. The press is already saying it's true without even asking us. Why not give them what they so clearly want?"

"Oh, I've seen the news. And I'm telling you, she's not gonna be happy about it."

"She gave in on the interview with Renee. Who's to say she won't give into this, too?" Frank raised both eyebrows at me and smiled smugly. He didn't care what Sophia or I thought. He was already planning this out in his head.

I sighed. Normally, I was the one with the dumb suggestions. Why couldn't he let this go? It was never going to happen. "She won't. An interview is one thing. A fake relationship is another."

Frank unlocked his phone and shoved it in my face. He had an internet tab pulled up with a news article about Sophia and me. "Do you see this? Chris Ryder and Sophia Hastings: Hollywood's Hottest New Couple? It's phrased as a question. It's up in the air. People are already whispering about it. All we have to do is say yes, it's true."

I hadn't actually read the article yet, but I'd heard about it through Frank and a few of the girls I was uh, involved with. Involved with was probably the wrong way to describe it. "Involved with" insinuated a future where there was none.

"Just read it and tell me it's not the perfect set up." Frank handed me his phone.

I sighed and took the phone from him. I didn't know why he thought reading the article would make a difference. Just from the headline I knew it wasn't going to end well. Plus, this looked like one of those stupid gossip magazines that never got anything right.

Christian Ryder and Sophia Hastings, the stars of the upcoming teen flick "Kidnap My Heart" are Hollywood's hottest new actors. Could they also be Hollywood's hottest new couple?

Okay, describing Sophia as one of "Hollywood's hottest new actors" was kind of pushing it. It was an accurate description of me, sure, except for the new part, but Sophia? Nah.

Ryder, 21, and Hastings, 18, play love interests in the teen rom-com inspired by the New York Times bestselling novel.

The newly single Chris has assured the public and the press that there is nothing going on between the two. Sophia and her newly hired manager have also denied the rumors.

So the newbie finally hired a manager of her own. Halle-freaking-llujah.

Yet an inside source on set reports that "sparks fly around Christian and Sophia, and they always seem to be together."

Always together? We were the stars of the movie. We were forced to always be together. That wasn't an indication of "sparks."

"Kidnap My Heart" fans worldwide are rooting for the pair, but one person who isn't too excited about this news is Christian's ex, Cassie Lovett. A source reports she's had it out for Sophia since before the rumors started.

Luckily for Cassie, Rystings are keeping their relationship on the down-low for now!

Alright, that last part about Cassie was probably true. She'd texted me a few times asking about Sophia and trying to rekindle our relationship. I wouldn't put it past her to be plotting against Sophia over a few rumors. There was a reason we were no longer together, after all.

"So? What do you think?"

"I think the article said it all," I said, handing Frank back his phone. "It openly says we've both said it's not true, yet they're still reporting on it. It's bullshit. You know it, I know it, Sophia knows it, and the world knows it."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Just give Sophia a call and tell her to meet us in front of your trailer."

"She's not –"

"Just give her a damn call," Frank snapped, cutting me off.

I shot him an annoyed look and let out a loud breath. "Fine. But I get to say, 'I told you so' when she shoots your proposition down in three seconds flat."

Sophia, of course, let it go to voicemail the first time I called. And the second time I called. And the third. On my fourth try – and let me be clear, there were only four tries because I had an angry, middle-aged man breathing down my neck – she finally answered the phone.

"What do you want?" was her lovely response.

"Well, hello to you too."

"Stop talking. What do you want?"

"I can't answer your question if you want me to stop talking."

Frank raised an eyebrow at me, probably realizing this conversation already wasn't going well. And I hadn't even asked her to do anything yet.

"You're the one who called me. I'll just hang up if you don't answer my question."

Here went nothing. "Damn it. Fine. I need you to meet me in front of my trailer right now."

"No," Sophia said, but it sounded like she wasn't really talking to me. Her voice sounded kind of far away.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Why do you need me to meet you there?"

I tried to pick my words carefully. "Frank wants to talk to us."

There. That was vague enough. She wasn't the biggest fan of Frank, though, understandably so, so it wasn't the best opener.

"Last I heard he was your manager, not mine," she pointed out. "Why do I need to talk to him?"

"I don't know," I said. I didn't want to be the one to tell her Frank wanted us to pretend to date. I wasn't going to be the one who had his head bit off. "He just told me to call you. Don't shoot the messenger."

"If I had a gun, I would."

And there it was. "Just get over here."

"Your manager's not exactly my favorite person. I'm going to have to pass."

And with that, she hung up on me. All of that just to shoot me down. I was sure she knew she was going to say no as soon as the word "Frank" came out of my mouth, yet she continued to humor me. I didn't understand her.

"What do you know?" I slipped my phone back in my pocket. "She said no. I know, I know. I'm shocked too."

"You've been spending too much time with that girl," Frank said with a grunt. "Quit with the sarcasm. Let's go."

If he thought I spent too much time with her already, why the hell did he think pretending to date her would be a good idea? For fuck's sake.

Instead of starting an argument, I simply asked, "Go where?"

"To Sophia's apartment," Frank said, heading towards the door of my trailer. I could have slept for an extra hour today. Instead, I came on set early for this? This was bullshit.

"Her apartment? I don't even know where she lives."

"I do. Let's go."

What the fuck? "How do you know where she lives?"

"That doesn't matter. Let's go." He didn't even bother looking back at me when he walked out of my trailer, assuming I would follow. And I did, mostly because I wanted to watch him get yelled at.

Sophia lived at a medium-sized apartment complex a few miles away from the set of "Kidnap My Heart." It wasn't nearly as nice as the places I was used to, but it wasn't a terrible way to start out in Hollywood, I guess.

I followed Frank up the concrete steps and into the apartment. We had waited for someone to exit the apartment so we wouldn't have to alert Sophia of our presence. There was no way she would have buzzed us in.

We walked up a few flights of stairs and Frank led us right to Sophia's apartment. It was actually pretty creepy that he knew exactly how to find her, but whatever. That wasn't my problem.

"You knock," Frank said when we got to the door of her apartment. He moved out of the way and left me right in the danger zone.

"Why me? She hates me."

He shrugged. "She hates me more."

That was debatable, but I didn't want to waste any more time on this. Sophia and I both had to get back to the set soon and I didn't know how long this pissing match would take.

Bracing myself for the worst, I knocked on the door. A girlish voice I recognized as her friend Tori's shouted, "Can you get that?" from inside.

A muffled reply from Sophia was heard and a few seconds later, she opened the door – and proceeded to slam it shut when she saw it was me at the door.

Honestly, I expected nothing less. Which is why I stuck my foot in the doorway before the door fully closed. "Not so fast," I said.

She made a face and tried to push the door shut against my foot. Once I started pushing back, she didn't stand a chance and backed up, giving Frank and me the opportunity to walk in the apartment before she could lock us out.

"Sure, come on in," she said in a tone that made it clear we were not welcome in the slightest.

"Don't worry," Frank said. "This won't take long. I have places to be, and it's quite... small... in here."

I glanced around her place. Sure, it was kind of small, but it looked homey. Much homier than my huge place that I'd never really gotten around to making feel more like home. "It reminds me of my mom's house," I said. "Well, kind of. You don't have nude paintings up like she does."

Sophia furrowed her eyebrows and looked like she was trying not to appear amused. There were worse things than admitting something I said was amusing, but apparently she didn't think so.

"I have a proposition for you," Frank began. I was nervous for him. He was about to get his ass whooped by a girl who was barely five feet tall. "I assume you've seen the news."

She slowly narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes..."

"Then you know everyone is already sure there's something going on between you and Christian. I think it could be good for your careers if you go ahead and give the public what they want. Pretend to date for a little while, just long enough to make it believable. Then the two of you can amicably split. Believe me, the publicity will be great."

"No, thanks. I'm not interested in that kind of publicity."

Honestly, I had to hand it to her. She listened to Frank's entire proposition before shooting him down and did so politely. Maybe there was hope for her yet in this tumultuous world we were a part of.

"Give me a reason why not. I don't understand why you're not jumping at the chance to be involved with Chris. There are girls whose names are now out there because they've been tied to Chris. Music careers and acting careers have been launched with the help of his name."

"I'm just not interested," she said. "Sorry."

"At least take some time to consider it." Frank unfortunately decided to turn the conversation towards me. I'd been perfectly happy being an outside observer, although I wasn't sure if I could be an outside observer if I was part of the issue being discussed. "What do you think, Chris?"

I looked between the two of them, unsure which one to appease. No matter which way I leaned, one of them would snap at me. "Well, I don't know," I began carefully. "I guess –"

Sophia cut me off before I could even reveal my affiliation. She just assumed I was taking Frank's side. "Whose side are you on? It's not happening, guys."

Frank gave in sort of easily. It was both surprising and worrying. Frank only gave up so easily if he had something else up his sleeve. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what his plan B was. "You know what? Fine. Your loss. Let's go, Chris."

I helplessly shrugged at Sophia. While I didn't agree the whole fake relationship thing was necessary, I did think it couldn't hurt either of our careers. But it was never going to happen, so why bother? Sophia was out of my reach, both in the real world and in the world of publicity.