Idiot For Hire [On Hold]

10: Downward Spiral

“You don’t see a problem here?” she repeated in a shrill voice. “Are you completely forgetting about Mitch? Your boyfriend of three years? What am I supposed to tell his parents? What are you going to tell him when this is all over the tabloids tomorrow? His movie premiere is today. What is everyone going to think when you show up with him after pulling this stunt?”

I shrugged, overwhelmed by the amount of questions she was throwing me and the fact that I couldn’t think of an acceptable answer for any of them.

“Not to mention the fact that Celebrity Island is coming up soon,” she went on. “This puts you and Mitch at such a disadvantage. Who’s going to vote for a cheating couple?”

My mouth dropped open, and I didn’t even consider the implication behind her words. I was just mad she had the nerve to say something like that. If we hadn’t been in public, I probably would have snapped, but instead of bursting into an effusion of anger, I simply said, “Then I guess no one would vote for us, anyway. Mitch made sure of that long ago.” That was when the meaning behind her words began to sink in, and I backtracked. “Wait, what are you even talking about? What have you done?”

“I signed you and Mitch up for Celebrity Island. You’ve heard of it, haven’t you? It was fairly popular last year, and it’s expected to be even better this year.”

I was so shocked, I actually dropped Nathan’s hand and took a step back. “You did what?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Oh, my God. This wasn’t happening to me. This couldn’t be happening to me. There was no way I was going to go live on an island with Mitch and nine other celebrity couples for two months. I would go insane.

“Don’t even try to get out of this. Everything has already been worked out, and the official announcement is being made tomorrow,” my mother said. “I don’t know how I’m going to fix this mess you two have just made, but I’ll figure something out. Just do us all a favor and get rid of this boy once and for all before he makes things even worse.”

“No,” I exclaimed, horrified that she was saying this in front of Nathan. He was a human beings; he had feelings, and I hated the idea that she might be hurting them. “We’ve been over this already. I’m not firing him.”

“Adriana, he’s already ruined this fashion show. You can’t let him ruin the rest of your life.”

I was just about to tell her Nathan was doing quite the opposite when Lawrence popped over and put his hand on Nathan’s arm. “Ruined it? Are you kidding me? He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to this runway! He brought a light to this show that I’ve never seen before. I have so much to learn from his methods. This is the best show I’ve ever done!”

My mother shook her head. “I don’t understand any of you. Is this really what’s become of this industry?” She let out a loud breath and began to fan herself. “Oh, I need some air. Adriana, if you come to your senses, I’ll be outside. If not, don’t bother coming out.” With that, she stalked outside with her head held up high, like always.

The minute she left, Lawrence let out a deep squeal. It was terrifying. “I knew he had modeling genes in him!” Focusing on Nathan, he added, “Honey, you are a lifesaver. I don’t care if you lost a few garments. You come back anytime you’d like. If you’re feeling in the modeling mood, just call me up, or have Adri call me up and we’ll work you right into my next show, no problem.”

Nathan chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind, but me and Dree are kind of a package deal. I probably wouldn’t go without her.” So now we were a package deal? Oy vey…

“I would expect nothing less. Adriana is my go-to-girl and you are officially my go-to-guy. I have big plans for us, guys. Big plans!” He was still muttering to himself about these big plans when he finally walked away to go talk to the press.