“Hey!” Levi’s head emerged from behind the camera. Pulling his phone out to summon Carlos back to the red carpet, he jerked his chin at the group of people moving in our direction.
“I know,” I mouthed, trying my best not to roll my eyes as every single reporter gawked at me. Being under a microscope drove me nuts. Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t be myself anymore. One wrong move or word and I’d end up on TMZ again. Like I had last week. Someone had taken photos of me leaving my gym, and a few days later, they’d appeared on various Hall Affinity fan sites and had eventually made it to a few tabloids.
At least people who worked the red carpet refrained from calling me names or asking me questions about Frank. My Twitter and Instagram, on the other hand, were flooded with message requests from certified weirdos. People didn’t seem to grasp the concept of privacy.
Levi and I shared a concerned look as the couple strode over. Cameras flashed. Voices grew louder. Caleb Waters was obviously the main attraction. The biggest name in skateboarding after Tony Hawk, the man had just signed a ten-million-dollar deal with Nike.
The PR gal leapt over to the center of the step and repeat and held up a sign with Caleb and Heidi’s names. A few reporters who had no idea who the two were made notes. Others plunged forward. In my peripheral, I saw Carlos. Both cameras up in the air, he ripped through the crowd and pushed his way to the front of the line.
My palm that was wrapped around the base of the microphone dampened. My cheeks hurt from hours of smiling. The unraveling chaos became too much, and I hated Frank for making me despise something I’d once loved—doing press.
Caleb was battling a barrage of questions while a silent Heidi clung to his arm. They moved along, nearing our side of the red carpet. A microphone was thrust at them right before they met up with Levi’s camera. More questions poured from the guy to my right. I stepped back, contemplating whether Caleb Waters was worth the hassle. Rewired readers probably didn’t care about skateboarding.
“I think I’m skipping this one,” I whispered to Levi.
“Are we done then?” He surveyed the reception area to make sure we didn’t miss anyone. When I followed his lead, I caught a glimpse of Dante’s hat bobbing above the heads of the people crowding lane twenty-two. I heard a long rumble of the ball, followed by the crash as it knocked into the pins. Everyone on the floor cheered and clapped.
“Yes. Let’s pack.” I nodded, returning my gaze to Levi.
He reached for the LED panel to turn it off. As if on cue, one of the PR girls leapt over. Then she grabbed my elbow and said in a low voice, “I know Rewired doesn’t feature sports, but Caleb is endorsing Richie Kingston’s next record. He’d appreciate you helping him to get the word out.”
“Our readers are mainly rock music fans,” I said with a smile. Turning down an interview with a person who had over five million followers on Instagram went against my beliefs, but I had no desire to be anywhere near Frank’s ex right now, even if her new beau was in cahoots with a Grammy nominee. “I’m not sure how well the interview would be received by our target audience.”
The girl matched my smile. “I understand that.” Her face remained calm. “If it makes any difference, Tommy Bryce will appear on a few tracks.”
My curiosity was piqued. A metalcore guitarist on a hip hop record? Experiments like this intrigued me. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. Getting first dibs on this exclusive info that, to my knowledge, hadn’t been released yet was worth being in close proximity to Heidi Fox for ten minutes.
Levi and I exchanged a quick glance. He powered the LED up again.
“Rewired would be happy to chat with Caleb as long as he’ll be willing to talk about Richie and Tommy’s collaboration,” I said quietly, needing verification.
“Absolutely.” The girl patted my forearm and stepped back. Her gaze flickered over to the skateboarder, who was about to wrap up his interview with another outlet. They had a brief, covert exchange before he stepped closer.
Deep breaths, Cassy. You can do this!
I tried to ignore the anxiety as we dove into the first question, but Heidi’s stare was like a dancing laser beam across my skin. Burning me raw. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Her perfume, however, reached my nose as if the woman had bathed in it before going out. Distracted by my emotions, my tongue didn’t listen to my brain. They were in total disagreement. I stuttered, not once, but twice. It was pathetic because the woman posed no threat to me whatsoever. But the sea of cell phones floating above my head did. People were taking photos of me interviewing the man who was seeing the woman who used to be married to the man I was still allegedly with.
Talk about complicated.
My stomach lurched. Swallowing down the nausea, I went on with my next question. Dark-haired with a rough, freckled face, Caleb was a well-spoken charmer. He and mute Heidi Fox seemed like an unfortunate mismatch.
I was on my fourth question when a bright light entered my line of vision.
“Excuse me for a quick second.” Giving Caleb my best smile, I turned toward the string of reporters huddled around Levi and motioned at the phone pointed at my face. “Could we please get that out of the way?”
The light jerked back.
“Thank you. Please keep it there.”
Snide whispers swept through the crowd. Great, now I had haters because I didn’t want some paparazzi wannabe with a cell phone to blind me and the person I was interviewing.
Shifting my attention back to Caleb, I resumed our chat. Then my heart jolted into a mad sprint when Dante’s thin frame emerged on the opposite side of the red
