A/N: Hi guys, long time no see! I'm picking up my rewrite and am working to get back into the habit of writing during my downtime. It's harder to find time out in the real world with an adult job, but I'm hopeful! Hope you guys enjoy.

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Chapter 15

Publicity Stunt

A little less than a week had passed since that painfully awkward moment on set, and things were still uncomfortable between Christian and me. Instead of finding ways to make Christian's life impossible like I normally did, I avoided him like the plague.

When the weekend came, I was relieved to have some time to myself. I loved my job, but I wasn't too crazy about some of these circumstances.

I spent my Sunday afternoon relaxing and watching TV while Tori searched her closet for the perfect date outfit. She was having dinner with Nick and couldn't decide what to wear.

When Hollywood Tonight came on, I tried to change the channel, but Tori wouldn't let me. The expression on my face was sour at best as I watched the show with Tori. Not long after the show started, Frank Renaldo's name was mentioned and Christian's obviously followed.

"Christian, are the rumors true?"

Christian and Frank barreled through a wave of reporters. With dozens of questions being hurled at them, it was hard to make any of them out, but some of the reporters had more commanding voices than others.

"Christian, what about your ex, Cassie Lovett?" a voice from the back inquired.

"Can you tell us about your new movie?"

"What's going on with you and your costar?"

Frank stopped in his tracks and spoke up. "We're not answering any questions right now. Christian has places to be."

"Christian, where are you going?"

He didn't reply, instead maneuvering his way into a big black limo.

"Christian, are you going to see your girlfriend?"

"No, he's not going anywhere with Sophia," Frank replied in exasperation.

At first, what he said didn't really process. Either that or my mind rejected it as soon as it tried to register in my mind.

Excited chatter resounded through the sea of reporters. Multiple microphones were shoved in Frank's face, and if the gleeful look on his face was any indication of his feelings towards this sudden change of events, it was obvious he loved it.

One question protruded over all the rest: "So he and Sophia are involved?"

Frank smirked. "Well, they didn't want anyone to know, but I guess the truth always comes out somehow. Yes, they do have a thing going on."

He did it. He went ahead with it. Frank had blatantly disregarded my wishes and gone ahead with his stupid plan. My face turned red with embarrassment and anger, the heat spreading to my ears.

"What is he doing?" I asked, my voice screechy and several octaves higher than normal. I sat up abruptly, feeling like I had just gotten slapped or had a bucket of ice water dumped over my head.

Tori looked over at me in alarm. "Soph... are you okay?"

I didn't answer her.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Are they exclusive yet?"

"What about Cassie Lovett?"

"This is very new and they haven't put a label on it yet. They're just taking it slow for now and getting to know each other. An insider said it themselves. The sparks were undeniable," Frank said.

More questions were thrown at him, but Frank was no longer interested. He'd already done his part. Something told me this had been the plan from the start. It didn't matter whether I wanted to go along with it or not. He was going to go through with it anyway. I knew I wasn't in charge of Frank just like he wasn't in charge of me, but he should have had the decency to respect my decision. I was the one who was affected by all of this, not him. This was my life.

But if he thought this was where this would end, and that I would just give in and play the role of Christian's sweet little girlfriend, he had another thing coming.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and searched my list of contacts until I found Christian's number. With an angry grunt, I pressed 'call.'

Christian knew what was coming as soon as he answered. "Before you start yelling at me, hear me out."

"Did you do this?" I forgot the colorful tirade I was planning on giving him and settled for that instead, although it was more of a scream than a question.

"Ow. Of course not. Why the hell would I do this?"

"Well, when Frank suggested it, you considered it."

"You look into things too much. That doesn't mean anything. I had no idea he was going to do this."

If Frank did this on his own, he was going to hear me out.

"Where is he?"

There was a pause on the other line. "Well..."

"Cut the crap and tell me."

Christian gave in more easily than I expected. I figured he'd at least try to fight me on it. I guess he was starting to figure out fighting me on certain things was pointless. This certainly made the cut. "I don't know where he is right now, but he's coming over in a bit to meet with me. I can tell him to call you when he gets here, or—"

I cut Christian off. "I'm coming over now."

"What?"

"I said I'm coming over now. Give me your address."

"Jesus, you're bossy," he complained, still sounding mildly shocked at my proclamation. He gave me his address without further protest, much to my surprise. I hung up as soon as I'd written it down. I shoved on a pair of sneakers and threw my hair in a ponytail before making my way towards the door.

Tori ran after me. "Can I come with you? Please? I don't have to go on my date with Nick. I can reschedule!"

"Not today," I said, grabbing my keys. "Go out with Nick. You'll have more fun with him. Trust me."

She paused for a moment. "Fine... but bring me back a souvenir. Maybe one of Christian's boxers... or a movie prop... or something."

I was already halfway out the door, but that made me stop in my tracks. I stared at her, slowly blinking.

"Or not."

On that note, I left. Christian's house wasn't too far from where I lived, although it was on the outskirts of the city.

When I got there, I understood why he went home most days. The magnitude of his house was astounding. It couldn't even be called a house; it was a mansion. Huge, golden gates surrounded the entire property. Every blade of grass was a perfect shade of green. The mansion itself was ten times bigger than my house, and you had to wonder what a guy like Christian did with a house like that. His security was so high-tech I was surprised I was even allowed entrance.

After I was done drooling over his house, I parked in the front and ran out of my car. I impatiently pounded on the door as soon as I walked up the steps.

Christian opened the door. "What are you trying to do, break the door down?"

"You wouldn't answer the door."

"You didn't give me a chance to."

"Be quicker next time." I walked into his house, ambling into what looked to be his living room. It had two huge leather couches, a recliner that admittedly looked heavenly, two clear glass tables and two giant flat screen televisions. Not to mention the pizza boxes and garbage flung here and there.

"Next time?" he asked under his breath.

I started to pace around the living room while secretly admiring his house out of the corner of my eye. As soon as you got inside, there was an enormous staircase right in the middle of the room with gold railings—gold railings—and plush white-carpeted stairs. The floor was a polished mahogany and everywhere you looked, there was another hallway or another room. In short, his house was to die for, although I'd never tell him that.

When the doorbell rang, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Christian shot me a warning look. "Stay here. I'll get it."

I motioned towards the door. "It's your house. I'm just your guest." It hurt a little to choke out the word 'guest' when it was Christian we were talking about.

He walked to the front door. I heard the two of them exchange brief greetings, but Christian didn't get the chance to warn Frank. When Frank walked into the living room and saw me, he froze.

"Sophia." He forced a smile. "What a surprise. I hope no one saw you leave the house like that. You didn't even bother wearing makeup."

Words came out of my mouth before I could even process the anger his words provoked. He had some nerve. "Why would I need makeup to come yell at your bitch asses?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Would you mind telling me what the hell today was all about? Chris and I both told you we weren't comfortable with a publicity relationship, yet you go off and tell the press a bunch of fabricated junk about us? What is that?"

"Don't play the victim here." Frank sneered at me. "I did you both a favor. Publicity is exactly what you need right now. Without Chris, you're nothing. When someone asks who Sophia Hastings is, they're going to say 'Christian Ryder's girlfriend' or 'Christian's costar.' I gave your existence in this business meaning."

"That's just it. I don't want to be connected to Christian. I want to be my own person, not Christian's shadow. How am I supposed to make a name for myself if I have to spend the next five years shaking this title off of me? You didn't do me a favor." I shook my head. "You made things worse."

"How have you not gotten this by now?" Frank looked at me curiously. "No one cares what you want. No one cares what you think. You're a newcomer. You do as we say. You're going to play along until the premiere because that's what newcomers do, sweetheart."

"I won't do it. I already told you I wouldn't, and I mean it."

"Oh, I think you will," he said. "This is out of control. You'll go along with it, and do you want to know why?"

All I could do was curl my fist, my mind whirling with a million different ways I could have responded, when all I really wanted to do was whack him with the nearest object.

When I didn't answer, he continued, his smug expression never faltering. "You'll go along with it because I have the power to ruin your precious career before it even gets a chance to really take off. It's what you've always wanted, isn't it? To be an actress. That's what every shiny-eyed newcomer who comes to Hollywood wants. It's the reason you put up with Christian. It's the reason you're going to put up with this and the reason you're going to put up with me."

"Quit with the threats already," I said, imagining myself swinging at him with the beer bottle sitting on the table. "I'm not some kid you can scare into submission."

"I think that's exactly what you are, actually."

"Don't underestimate me, Frank. You don't know the first thing about me."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and immediately shrugged it off. Christian looked at me pointedly. "Alright, yeah, he shouldn't have said those things, but you're kind of overreacting. It's not the end of the world."

"Overreacting?" I laughed without humor. "I am not overreacting. Have you been listening to this? Your manager is threatening my career and trying to force me into something that I already said I wasn't willing to do, and I'm overreacting? I'd rather bite my foot off than pretend to be your girlfriend."

And then, it was like something just snapped in Christian. He tried to be patient with me in general, and he put up with most of the insulting comments I whirled his way. Sometimes he even tried to get along with me, especially when he was in a good mood. He put in the effort I refused to put in, even in private. Although he bantered with me often, he'd never exploded like this until that day. He had admittedly been a good sport before this.

"Jesus, Sophia, I'm honestly not that bad. Frankly, I don't understand your hatred towards me. I've done nothing to you. I don't know how I got stuck with the biggest bitch this business has seen in a long ass time. This is publicity, okay? This is how this business works. This is what we do. We pretend to date our costars because it sells. Love sells, sex sells, relationships sell. This is to help not only you and me but the movie too. Why can't you put aside your feelings and quit being so fucking selfish?"

I felt the words coming up like vomit. I almost did it. I almost told him the truth. But at the last minute, I stopped myself. It was for the best this way. "This is coming from one of Hollywood's biggest divas. How am I supposed to take you seriously? You won't drink water that's not directly imported from Europe, there has to be a bucket of chicken wings available for you at all times, and if your trailer isn't at exactly 70 degrees, may God have mercy on the crew's souls. Yet I'm the brat here?"

"I'm Christian Ryder. I can be a diva if I want. I've earned that right. Do you know how many people know my name? Do you know how many girls fawn over my very existence? Do you even realize how famous I actually am?"

I didn't say anything, partly because I wanted to see how far he would take this, how he really felt. The other part was still surprised by his outburst.

"And who are you, Sophia? You're nobody. The only reason people even know your name is because of me. You should be worshipping the ground I walk on, yet you'd rather spend your time thinking you're so much better than everyone else."

"Let me get this straight. So because I don't worship the ground you walk on, I'm conceited? You flatter yourself, Christian. I don't worship the ground you walk on because you're not a god, no matter how highly you think of yourself, no matter how pretty your face is, no matter how sculpted your body is, no matter how many airheads go crazy for you. At the end of the day, you're just like everyone else. No amount of money beside your name will ever change that."

Christian clenched his jaw. "You know, I'm starting to think it's all a scam. You must be a better actress than I thought. 'Pretty face?' 'Sculpted body?' Maybe Savannah's right. Maybe you are just secretly in love with me. Maybe your anger about this publicity stunt is just your way of hiding your excitement. Are you secretly in love with me, sweetheart? You wouldn't be the first."

I felt the anger dissipate. I didn't want to scream at them anymore. I didn't want to make a scene. I wasn't angry anymore. I was just numb.

"What I feel could never be described as anything but hatred and this is exactly why. Who could love a guy like you? You're arrogant. You're rude. You're condescending, you're shallow, you're selfish, you're heartless, you're a hypocrite, and you're a liar. You, Christian Ryder, are despicable."

The look he gave me was one of absolute astonishment. He looked like I'd just shot him repeatedly. He opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

"Well, I'm glad you appear to have gotten that out of your systems," Frank told us, breaking the silence that followed my harsh rebuttal. "It'll make your relationship with Christian much easier."

"I meant it when I said I wasn't going to do it," I said, ignoring the numb feeling in my chest. I'd kept those rampant feelings hidden for so long they'd just... exploded. While I meant every word, I couldn't get his wounded expression out of my head.

He shrugged. "And I meant it when I said you were."

Was this guy serious? "Are you deaf? I'm not going along with this. I'm not dating him, and I'm not going to pretend I am."

"You are not going to ruin this for me or for Christian. You are not going to be the one to contradict me and make me look like an idiot. You have no say in this. Like Christian said, you're nobody. You have no power here. Do you understand?"

Well, if he didn't want to look like an idiot, he should have kept his mouth shut.

"Do I understand? Do I understand? I am so sick and tired of you, and I barely know you. I'm sick and tired of being walked all over just because I'm not as high up on the Hollywood food chain as you two. I don't have power, no, but I have rights. I'm still a human being. I shouldn't have to agree to anything I don't want to do." I shook my head. "God, you two have no idea what you've just done. You messed with the wrong girl."

My eyes met Christian's briefly. I kept the whirlwind of emotions I was feeling off of my face and gave him a blank stare before turning my back on him and walking away. My eyes brimmed with angry tears the minute they couldn't see them anymore, my breathing labored. I knew Hollywood wasn't all glitz and glamour, but how had things gotten this bad?