Like the last time I thought Theo knew my secret, that feeling of dread returned, except this time I knew he actually knew. Every possible scenario shot through my mind— word getting out, my family finding out, being outed to hundreds of thousands of people. I couldn't let that happen. But wasn't it too late? Theo knew. He'd been standing there. He heard everything. It was over. He knew.
I opened my mouth to deny it, to play it off, to do anything, but instead, hot tears just started pouring down my cheeks. The anger I felt toward Marco crashed into the anxiety I felt from Theo's words, rendering me speechless. My chest constricted so much that I found it hard to breathe, let alone talk my way out of this. It was the worst possible timing for not only him to show up, but also for my emotions to catch up to me.
The amusement on Theo's face vanished, his eyebrows furrowing. He glanced behind me at Marco for a moment, before stepping out of the threshold of the door, his foot keeping the door open. "Go."
I blinked up at him through my bleary eyes, confused. Why was he letting me go? Didn't he want to question me? I'd already given him so many lies. Why wasn't he angry? Wouldn't he accuse me of being a pervert again?
"Theo!" Marco called from behind us, making me jump. "The man of the hour is here! Did you need me for something?"
Theo frowned, stepping forward so he stood between myself and Marco, now holding the door open with his hand. "No, I came to find Maisie."
"Maisie?" Marco repeated, sounding confused at first, then snapping his fingers. "Ah, right. She has the updated script for you."
"We'll be on our way, then," Theo told him, his arm going to my waist, but only hovering over the area, not touching me, guiding me out of the stage. "Let's go."
I followed Theo as he took off in front of me, crushing the revised script in my hand with how tightly I held onto it. It took everything in me to keep from hyperventilating. I focused on his broad shoulders, the gold necklace around his neck, and the slightly uneven line of hair at the nape of his neck. Theo knew. It kept repeating in my brain, echoing loudly, drowning out the sound of the busy halls.
We came to a halt outside a door and it took me a second to realize it was Theo's dressing room. He unlocked it and swung the door open, turning back to me, lips pressed together. "Come in."
"You want me to come in?" I asked, the surprise momentarily making my panic subside.
"I think we need to talk."
My two choices were standing out in the hall with tears in my eyes and drawing even more attention to myself or going with him. I stepped into his dressing room and he closed the door behind us. Using the back of my sleeve, I wiped my eyes, embarrassment creeping in for having Theo seen me cry. I heard the click of a lock and I looked at him in alarm, but he ignored me, testing the handle three times to make sure it was locked.
Seemingly satisfied, he stepped away and finally noticed my unease. He glanced back at the locked door and tensed a bit. "It's not to lock you in. It's to keep people out." After a second, he reached for the lock again. "I can unlock it if you feel uncomfortable—"
"It's fine," I said, my voice sounding thick. "Um, about what Marco said..."
"I heard everything," he said. "Or do you plan to lie your way out of this one, too?"
I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. Could I lie my way out of this one? If I was convincing enough, would he believe me? Lying had gotten me this far. It was worth a shot if I could save my secret. "I'm really not the author—"
"I didn't expect you to actually try to lie again," Theo cut me off, rubbing a hand over his jaw.
I stiffened. He wasn't even going to give me a chance. My hands trembled. This was really it. Out of everyone to find out my secret, why did it have to be Theo? He was famous. Word could get out so easily. It'd be everywhere on the internet. Everyone used the internet. My family would find out in no time.
Theo slowly paced the room, his hands in his pockets. "This is more believable than the story about your mother being friends with Eileen, considering I've known Eileen for some time, and she's never mentioned you being a daughter of a friend. Development has been ongoing for almost a year, so you'd think she would have said something at some point."
I didn't take my attention off him, waiting for the moment he took out his phone and told the world. What would I do? What would happen? I felt sick. My head felt fuzzy. I shut my eyes, trying to fight off nausea, my knees feeling weak. I really felt like I was going to faint.
"It also explains why you'd be invited to our dinners. I didn't understand why an assistant script writer would be invited, but you being the author makes more sense."
Him saying the words out loud really set it in stone for me. My eyes flew open and I dropped the updated script, going up to Theo, and grabbing his hand. "Theo, please. Don't tell anyone. Please, please, please," I begged, my breathing unsteady, my head lowered. "I can't let anyone else find out. I really can't, so please—"
"When did I say I'd tell anyone?" he asked, going still under my touch.
I paused, looking up at him, but his expression was stoic and unreadable— the usual for him, I was coming to realize. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I did, however, realize just how close I stood to him. The faint scent of his cologne wafted in the air between us and I immediately took a step back, letting him go. "Sorry. I shouldn't have grabbed you."
"I'm the one who overheard you without making my presence known," he said, bringing his hand closer to his body and hunching his shoulders. "I know even without you telling me that you kept this as a secret for a reason. I'm not going to tell anyone else."
"But..." I trailed off, unsure. Was he really not going to tell anyone? Could I believe that? I barely knew him. What reason did he have to keep it a secret for me?
He gave me a flat look. "Then, do you want me to tell everyone?"
"No!" I said immediately.
Theo lifted his shoulders and let them fall in a loose shrug. "Then I will keep your secret for you. I have no reason not to."
I thought back to the night before, the heavy look Theo had given me, how angry he had been. Was he over that already? Or was he pretending right to be over it right now, but actually biding his time now that he had a secret to get hold over me for revenge?
No. Even though I barely knew Theo, I didn't think he was that kind of person. He wouldn't be standing here saying he'd keep my secret if that were true, either. I couldn't let my anxiety cloud my thoughts about this. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. One thing for sure was that I still needed to apologize and he was right there. "I'm sorry for saying that to you last night. You know, about you not being all that."
Almost immediately, Theo's posture changed again, the muscles in his jaw going taught. His gaze slid to me again, dark and stern. "That wasn't the issue I had with your statement."
I frowned. Then what was? I couldn't really remember what else I'd said. Or had it been something before that?
"And if you're just apologizing because you think I'll tell your secret to get back at you, don't bother. I have morals."
"No, I'm not apologizing just because of that," I said quickly, feeling my cheeks warm up in shame because he was partially correct. "I was going to come find you today and apologize, anyway. Really. I spoke rashly."
Theo considered my apology for a moment, expression as unreadable as ever, but then he loosened up marginally, folding his arms over his chest instead of keeping them locked at his sides. "I'm not sure what I can do to have you believe I won't tell your secret, but it's also not my problem to convince you. Judging by both your reaction for thinking I found out last night, and me actually finding out today, you're obviously serious about keeping this a secret."
"I am," I told him, flexing my hands to try and release some of my own tension. The anxiety had subsided a little already. I wanted to believe Theo. "This is the first time someone ever found out."
"A word of advice is to not talk about it so publicly in the future, though," he said.
"I know. I never do. Marco just made me mad and I wasn't really thinking about anyone being around to overhear," I admitted. "I thought we were alone."
"I heard you two arguing from outside and that's why I went in to see what was going on," Theo told me. "You two were just arguing... right?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What else? I didn't threaten to punch him or anything like that."
A crack appeared in Theo's mask, his lips twitching. I thought I'd imagined it for a moment because his pink lips were pressed right back into a straight line within a second. "I would hope you wouldn't threaten the producer. But what were you two even arguing about?"
"He wants to change the script," I said, feeling the annoyance bubbling up again. "It's so stupid. He wants to cut a bunch of Evie's scenes and replace them with you. Well, I mean Jun. But still. They're scenes that show who Evie is as a character and how she grows!"
Theo moved further into his dressing room, leaning against the back of one of the couches in the sitting area. "And why does he want to do that?"
"Because he thinks people are only going to watch this movie for you and seeing you in romantic scenes," I said bitterly, mindlessly following him, stopping about a foot away. Even with him leaning against the couch, he was taller than me. "Marco is willing to sacrifice Evie's character to give more to you."
Silence followed my rant and I realized after a moment that it might have sounded like I was better about Theo getting more screen time, and opened my mouth to correct myself when Theo spoke.
"That's bullshit."
His bluntness surprised me. I did a double-take. "Huh?"
"Evie's character is part of the reason I took this role," he explained, his hands resting on the couch's back. "She's well developed and someone you can really cheer for. And not only that, but I enjoyed the way the script tackled the romance between her and Jun. They support each other but do not solely rely on each other, creating and maintaining a healthy relationship while they solve their own problems and try to become better people for each other. She deserves that screen time."
That wasn't what I was expecting from Theo. I thought he'd be happy to have more screen time. I didn't think he'd defend my story. I didn't think he'd understand my characters and the story so well, either. Or sound so passionate about why he chose the project— care so much about Evie as a character even though he wasn't even the one playing her.
Theo's dark brown eyes met mine and he stared at me as if waiting for a response. I squirmed a bit, finding it hard to remain under his gaze, even harder to hold eye contact. I already knew it, but Theo was incredibly handsome, and just his gaze made me feel warm everywhere.
"Did you hear me?" he asked flatly, breaking the moment.
He had said something? I grimaced inwardly. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"I asked if you wanted me to talk to Marco about it."
"You would?" I said, eyes widening in disbelief.
Theo pushed himself up from the couch and walked over to a mini-fridge in the corner of the room, taking out a bottle of what looked like green tea. "I can think of a few ways to get him to rethink taking out Evie's scenes. It's not really fair to Sienna, either. Want something to drink?"
"I'm good," I answered, "but, yeah. I'd be grateful if you did that. It didn't sound like he was going to listen to me. Evie is a really important character to me."
"She doesn't deserve to be limited to a cheap romantic plot line," Theo agreed, as if reading my own thoughts, and took a sip of his drink. "Enough was left out of the movie adaption from the original book."
My skin prickled. "You read the book?"
"Of course. I do my research before a job."
I noticed the revised script still laying on the floor and bent down to pick it up as an excuse not to face him as I asked my next question. "...Did you like it?"
"I liked it," he finally said, his tone casual.
A thrill of pleasure went through me and I forgot about the script, looking back up at Theo, excited. "Wait, really?"
He put his tea down, arching an eyebrow as he walked toward me. "Are you fishing for compliments?"
"No!" I said immediately, waving my hands in front of me in denial. "I really was just curious about what you thought. Um, but oh, right. I brought this script for you."
As I reached out for the script, Theo bent down beside me, reaching for it too, our hands brushing. A jolt went through me at the touch and I pulled my hand back, letting him pick it up. We rose together and I stepped back to put more space between us.
My heart raced in my chest, but it wasn't from anxiety this time. In fact, after talking to Theo, the anxiety about him knowing my secret was almost gone. I'd gotten so inside my head about it, but maybe I hadn't needed to. Theo seemed trustworthy. I almost felt glad it was him out of everyone who'd found out.
"I've read most of your books, actually," Theo mentioned, flipping through the revised script.
"You have? Wow, thank you! I appreciate that. Which one is your favorite?" I asked cheerfully.
Theo glanced at me and I slapped a hand to my mouth, horrified. I'd somehow slipped into the way I talked with my readers online, the pitch of my voice even rising. I didn't know I could do that while speaking with someone in real life. Over text was different. It'd happened so naturally too.
"Oh, god, I'm sorry," I said, mortified. "I don't know why I did that. I'm treating you like a fan and not a professional."
"It's fine," he said, returning his attention to the script. "It's cute."
Time seemed to freeze. Cute? Cute? Did those words really come out of his mouth? My face flamed. Had he even realized he's said that? It didn't seem like it, because he was completely unaffected, lips pressed together as he took in the script changes. Me, on the other hand, I had never heard anyone call me cute in my entire life, and my ego was running with it.
Cute.
"Shouldn't you be getting back to set?" Theo asked after a moment. "Zara will be looking for you."
I gasped. I'd totally forgotten I'd only been supposed to drop off the scripts! "Crap! Yeah, I've got to go. Um."
Theo let out a small sigh as he took in my hesitation. "I'm keeping your secret. I told you I would. Just don't go spilling it to anyone else yourself."
"I won't," I said, a bit offended he had to mention that twice.
"I hope for your sake."
Okay, maybe Theo wasn't so different than I originally thought. He could still easily make me annoyed. I forced it back though. "Thank you," I said sincerely instead. "Really. I'll make it up to you somehow."
He waved me off. "There's no need."
"If you can think of anything, don't hesitate to ask me," I said, heading to the door. I unlocked it and opened it, pausing before leaving. "I'll lock this before I leave."
Theo seemed surprised at my consideration, but I locked and shut the door before he could respond.
Once outside the door, I fell back against it, letting out a long breath. A headache was beginning to form and I figured it was due to the rollercoaster of emotions I'd been through in the past half hour. Theo had found out my secret. I'd thought I'd be so distraught and worried, but it wasn't like that. Yes, there still was that small amount of anxiety, but that would never go away, because just like I had, Theo could slip up one day.
I just had to trust that neither he nor I would.
Or Marco.
Or Director Ahn.
"Stop," I said out loud to myself, firmly. I wouldn't let myself spiral.
"Funny, I was about to say that myself."
Rowan's voice had me standing straight and on guard in a second flat. The smoky eye makeup she wore today made her look more intimidating than usual, paired with the fact she wore a leather jacket, white t-shirt, and black jeans. Her red hair was striking against the black leather.
I hated to admit how attractive she was, but her looks couldn't make up for her attitude toward me. "I was just leaving," I said, trying to brush past her.
She stepped in my way immediately and I nearly bumped into her chest. "Really? But I just got here."
"That's why I'm leaving," I lied but wanted to get in what I could against her.
"Oh, so you're not just running away from me?"
"Why would I?"
She stepped in closer to me, a smirk on her red lips. "Why would you, indeed?"
I fell back, against the door again, Rowan crowding into me. "Listen, I already apologized to Theo."
"At least you know when you've done something wrong."
"Says the one intimidating me right now."
Rowan quirked an eyebrow, her hand coming up to press against the door, keeping me trapped. "You think I'm intimidating?"
She smelled so good. Did Rowan and Theo both try to be the best-smelling person in the room, or something? What in the world kind of perfume was she wearing? No— I couldn't be distracted by that. I slipped under Rowan's arm, not wanting to play her games. "Ask Theo himself if you don't believe me."
"I plan to."
I scowled at her and she glared back at me before I stomped down the hall, hurrying to meet back up with Zara. Rowan was so infuriating. Were all bodyguards like this? Or did she have it out for me specifically?
I didn't want to think about them anymore and I shoved them out of my mind. I had to focus on work.
Zara didn't ask anything about where I'd been when I returned and just instructed me on what she needed me to get done. The day flew by after that, the filming going smoothly, even with the script changes. Although Sienna had said she struggled with changes, she performed flawlessly. Levi did, too, as he promised. He was mesmerizing. He captured the entire room's attention. Honestly, everyone did. I was really lucky to have such amazing actors in my movie.
When the day finally wound down and Zara and I finished making our notes on the set, I packed up, and headed for the exit, hoping to get home early. I wouldn't go out to dinner even if they invited me tonight. I'd left Levi hanging and owed it to him to hang out and play games. But before I could reach the exit, I ran into Director Ahn by the secretary's desk. She stood with Theo, who still hadn't changed from the outfit he wore for the filming.
I lowered my head, hoping to sneak by, but before I'd even taken five steps I heard my name being called out.
"Maisie! Come here for a second."
I slunk over to Director Ahn, mentally preparing myself to decline her invitation. It wouldn't be considered rude, would it? "Hey," I greeted the pair, smiling.
Director Ahn immediately turned her attention to me. "Maisie, can you help me talk some sense into Theo?"
"Uh..."
"He has a film award show coming up where he's won best male actor for his previous movie, but he's refusing to go in person," she explained.
I tried not to grimace. This didn't sound like something I should give involved in. "I think Theo has his reasons." I glanced at him, trying to judge if he liked my response.
He gave a subtle nod. Good.
Director Ahn put her hands on her hips. "But it would be really great promotion for this movie if he went and told everyone to look forward to it after accepting his award. His publicity manager agreed, too."
"We can't force him," I said.
Director Ahn closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a breath, seemingly realizing I would be of no help. Then she turned to Theo again. "Theo, listen, I wasn't going to tell you this because your father asked me not to, but I don't have a choice. He's really looking forward to you attending. It's your first Best Actor award. He said he already has his TVR—"
"DVR." Theo corrected, hands balling into fists.
"DVR set up and everything. I tried to subtly get you to agree to go, but if you're going to be stubborn, I thought you should know," she finished, frowning. "I know you'd want to know."
"That old man," Theo muttered.
"So, will you go? I can find a date for you. Or we can go together."
Theo carded a hand through his black hair, sighing. "You know I can't just take anyone, Eileen. If he hears I'm rumored to be dating someone, he's never going to let it go."
"You can't go solo."
"Why can't I?"
"You think your father would be happy seeing you there alone?"
Theo's expression turned contemplative, his fingers drumming on his crossed arms. "No, he wouldn't. You're right. I'll need to find someone."
A sense of foreboding appeared in my gut. Like I just knew something bad was going to happen before it did.
I needed to leave.
"Well, have a good night," I started at the same time Theo's gaze landed on me and he said, "Maisie."
He stepped closer to me. I stepped back.
A glint of amusement danced in his eyes. "You're not busy this Sunday, are you?"
Author's Note:
Here are Zara, Director Ahn, and Rowan!