SLEAZE: A Hollywood Comeback Story (Book #1)

Chapter 55

    To Sophie's surprise, I snatched the flicker back and sat on it, motioning at the screen. "Listen," I urged, and she reluctantly turned to watch.

    "I've never stood up for Sophie," Richard continued, furrowing his brows, "and I recently realized how selfish that makes me."

    "Stood up for her?" Bobby Robertson looked worried now, as if afraid to learn where the conversation was going.

With a strange smile on his face, Richard scratched the back of his neck. "Sophie never cheated on me."

"Excuse me?"

"Back in January, I asked Sophie to do me a favor," Richard said, ignoring the panicked look Bobby shot him. "See, uh, I've had some issues in the past."

"Issues?" Bobby asked, and Richard hesitated for a moment, as if wrestling with his answer.

"I went to rehab last year." He paused again. "I'm an addict."

I felt Sophie's body tense as she breathed in sharply. I glanced at her but her gaze was fixed on the screen, her eyes wide. Bobby Robertson looked dumbstruck.

"As I was saying," Richard went on, "after I found out that we'd be working together again, I called Sophie up and told her that I was going through a rough time. It probably sounds weird that I turned to my ex but it's hard to find someone you trust in this industry. I figured, she knows me better than anyone, so why not?"

"I don't understand," Bobby managed to stammer. "You two weren't dating?"

"Nah, she was more like a babysitter than anything." Richard grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "I hoped something might happen but she turned me down right away. That's actually what I mean about her being loyal; when the rumors about us started, she could've told everyone the truth but she didn't want to embarrass me or have people question why we spent so much time together. Eventually we decided it'd be easier to keep going with it."

By then, Bobby had recovered from his speechlessness and he leaned forward to study Richard sympathetically. "Do you think it was easy to talk to her because she's had her own struggles with...?"

"Oh, no," Richard replied, shaking his head. "Other than alcohol, Sophie's never touched a drug in her life. She always gets mad at me for smoking around her."

Bobby's confusion returned in full force and I could see him trying to reconcile what Richard had said with what he knew -- or thought he knew -- about Sophie. I had a feeling that this confessional would be the tabloids' big news story by the morning. Richard's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. He looked directly into the camera. "Anyway, I wanted to clear that up because I know Sophie's taken a lot of heat recently and that's my fault."

"Honestly, you actors are so complicated," Bobby said, trying his best to regain control of the interview. He tossed the papers on his desk into the air and the audience laughed. "Why'd I bother pre-writing all those questions, huh?"

"Sorry about that," Richard replied with a chuckle.

"Well, then." Bobby tapped his chin. "Well, then, the guy who Sophie was with in those photos--"

"He's a good guy. I've met him and I like him." Richard saluted the camera and then added, "My publicist is probably having a heart attack if he's watching this. Can someone send a car to his house to check on him?"

    The audience laughed again but the host merely stared at Richard, clearly rattled by everything he'd heard. "I had no idea about any of this," Bobby admitted. "Maybe it's inappropriate to ask, but aren't you afraid of how this'll impact your career? This is going to be quite a shock for many of your fans and their parents, too, in a lot of cases."