Yesterday I shared a steamy excerpt from my latest release, and today I'm back to share another one (albeit far less steamy). I hope you enjoy!
“My heart broke for him. For me. For us.
He wasn’t alone in those desires, and while it would be simple if we were other people, we were who we were. We lived in a world where if he defied the studio’s mandate it would spell the end of any career he might have. If my eggs were shriveling up, he wasn’t getting any younger either and there weren’t a lot of leading roles for unknown actors over a certain age. He couldn’t live on commercials or bit roles in made-for-TV movies for much longer. If he played this awful game, he would have more money and fame than he’d ever dreamed and we would be set for life.
“I see this playing out two ways. If you give up on this role—because that’s what you’d be doing—you can move home to Ohio and help your dad run the farm. I’d go with you. Or you can do this movie their way and when you eventually do go home, it’s with your head held high. Your dad won’t have to break his back well into his seventies since the money you get from this trilogy will set your parents up for life. It’ll set us up for life.”
I hated myself for playing dirty like this but it was for his own good. Once I’d decided to sacrifice my pride for the good of his career, that had been that. He’d accused me of not wanting to fight for us, but that’s exactly what I was doing. I was just playing the long game.
“If you do this, you won’t ever have to compromise again. You’re going to be a huge star and once that happens you can tell Broderick or any other director how it’s going to be, have stipulations built into your contract that prevent them from meddling in your personal life.”
As the words tumbled from my lips, I watched him work through what I was promising in his head.
Sealing the deal for Broderick—and in a roundabout way, our future—I continued. “Once this movie wraps, we’ll go public. We just can’t do it now. They’ll cut you loose and hire the other guy and then it’ll be gone, just like that.” I snapped my fingers. “They’ll do it too, don’t ever doubt that. Broderick is ruthless as hell. He’ll ruin you if you ruin this movie. But don’t think of it like that. This is an opportunity. A difficult one, yes, but in the end, it can work. I promise, I’ll be by your side the whole time. You won’t be alone.”
I felt his resolve weakening as I laid it out. Once he’d established himself as a leading man, we could be together publicly and he could knock me up and buy all the damn farms in Ohio if that’s what he wanted to do. I was offering him the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and all he had to do was do what he did best: play a part.
When his shoulders slumped in defeat, I knew I’d won, if that’s what you could call this. Because in the short term? I was the loser.
This is all for him, I reminded myself. My sacrifice now ensures our future.
He dropped his head forward and closed his eyes. “I know I’m going to regret this,” he whispered.
And that, my friends, is how I became Cameron Scott’s best-kept secret.”