Kathleen Brooks - Secrets Collide

“I’m sorry, I have to get a drink for Mr. Davidson, “ Gemma said to the small crowd trying to hand her cards and headshots. She made her way to the private bar and took a seat to wait after ordering two drinks.

She didn’t have to wait long for Sarah to take a seat next to her at the bar. “Hi. I’m Sarah.”

“Gemma, nice to meet you.”

“Same. So who’s your boss over there? Seems pretty popular.”

“Cy Davidson. He was a stuntman, but now he’s gone into producing.”

“Oh, that’s Cy Davidson. I’ve heard a lot about him. I see the talk is true. Yummy! What’s he producing?”

“A new reality series. He’s trying to find someone young and new to follow around as they audition for major roles. Basically, he wants to document them becoming an A-list actor.” Hook, line, and sinker, Gemma thought as she saw the excitement in Sarah’s eyes.

“Really? What does new mean?”

“Well, they need a little family history in Hollywood so they may actually get their foot in the door, you know?”

“Of course. I completely agree with that. Oh, here,” Sarah said as she winked at the bartender in the VIP section. “Let me get those. You sit here and take a minute to recover from those vultures. I’ll take this to your boss.”

Gemma sighed with relief. “Really? Thank you so much, Sarah.”

Cy saw the second Sarah picked up his drink. Gemma had pulled it off. He turned to the women around him and asked for a couple minutes to relax. His assistant had their numbers and headshots and he’d look over them soon.

“I guess I have good timing,” Sarah purred as she handed him his bourbon.

“I guess you do,” Cy responded as he blatantly checked her out. “For bringing me my drink, I’ll give you five minutes.”

Sarah smiled, thinking she had succeeded. “I’m Sarah Flannery. My mother, Cashmere Flannery is a soap opera star. I’m twenty-one and looking to make it big in the industry. I have almost six million followers on Twitter and have a lot of buzz around me right now after that horrid sex tape was leaked.”

“Horrid. Too bad. If it were a good sex tape, then you’d be interesting.” Cy took a sip of his drink and turned away from Sarah.

“Oh, it’s good. It was just horrible that it was leaked. Someone hacked my phone and stole it.”

“I guess that means they want more of you. My assistant has a list of questions with her that we use during interviews. Why don’t we sit down and go over them. If I’m interested, I’ll get back to you in a couple days and you can come back for an audition.” Cy led Sarah over to their couch and waved for Gemma who came looking very professional with her tablet.

“Miss Flannery has captured my interest. Now let’s see if she can keep it.”

“Oh,” Gemma said, feigning surprise. “Let me pull up our background questions. Okay, here we go. Tell us about your immediate family, including any acting experience, how much money you had growing up, and where that money came from.” Gemma looked up. “You know, old money from Granddad’s oil days, new money from your mother’s technology company, stuff like that. And then what your family does now. Jobs, hobbies, and how close they are to you.”

“Well, my mother is so talented. She’s on Summer Heat, the soap opera. Before that she was a Vegas showgirl in town. She would be perfect for the show. I'm an only child, but I have two super-close girlfriends from prep school that add the sisterly feel. I don’t know my dad, though. Is that a problem?”

“You don’t know him? Surely you know a name,” Gemma asked as she typed all of Sarah’s responses onto her tablet even though it was recording the conversation.

“Nope. Mom said there was some massive party in the Hills one night and she was too drunk to remember what happened. See, her parents, my grandparents, were big in casinos and they passed away leaving a huge fortune to my mother. She said it was too painful to stay in Vegas because it reminded her of her parents. She hasn’t been back once in twenty-two years. Anyway, she picked up and moved to Hollywood. She was celebrating getting her role on Summer Heat when she went to this party and got knocked up. Doesn’t have a clue who my father is.”

“That could be an interesting line for filming . . .” Cy murmured.

“Oh. That would be so cool. We could find my dad and interview a whole bunch of famous actors to see if I’m their daughter. Although, I’m super close to my mom and she wouldn't like it. But if I’m on the show, maybe she’ll help out, too. It would be a real family bonding episode.” Sarah’s hands were gently crossed over her heart as she played up the show.

“Good point. Now, how is this sex tape going to play in? Are your lawyers getting it removed? Can we mention it or is it a no-go?” Cy asked.

“No, you can mention it. I decided to sell my rights to it so I can at least make money off it. As I said, it's very good.”

“We’ll need to talk to the man who starred in it with Sarah. Get his permission to be on the show as a guest a couple of times,” Cy told Gemma.

“You can’t do that,” Sarah said as her voice cracked.

“Why not? This show is about your life and this is a big part of it,” Cy reminded her.

“I know. It’s just that Seth was killed. He was murdered right after the tape came out. They haven’t caught the guy yet. Hey, could that be used on the show? A big shot investigative reporter is going to write a story on it, too, so I bet it would be really interesting to have it featured on the show. Very emotional and all. Hey, she kinda looked a lot like you. Ha! You have a twin out there and you didn’t even know it.”

Cy saw Gemma freeze and knew he needed to get her out of there fast. But he had an idea and he needed Gemma to play along one last time. “Gemma, let’s take a picture of all of us.” Gemma snapped out of it and handed the tablet to a waiter before joining them.

“Thanks for the picture, Sarah. We’ll be in touch with you.” He shook her hand and hurried Gemma from the club.

He opened the door of the limo the hotel provided and ushered Gemma into it before tossing one last glance at the club. Sarah was by the door with her cell phone out, no doubt checking him out. She saw the name of the hotel on the limo and smiled. He had a feeling he’d be hearing from her soon.

Cy closed the door and pulled Gemma close. She was shaking even though the club had been hot. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You did it. We got all the information we needed.”

“Was the picture really necessary? The thought of my sister talking with her just  . . . I had this really weird feeling this is what got my sister killed.”

“The picture was definitely necessary. Didn’t you find it weird what she said about her father and her grandparents? And then her sex tape partner being murdered. Too many coincidences for me.”

“That is strange. And strange that her mom got all that money just a couple days before getting pregnant.”

“Yep. I think Mr. X is Sarah’s father. Got a Vegas dancer knocked up, pays her off, and she moves away from Vegas with all this new money to try to become a star.”

“And the picture?”

“I’m going to put the photo on the Internet with a caption about my great talk with Sarah. I’ll have Cade work his magic so he can capture the IP addresses of whoever looks at it. I bet one of those addresses will belong to Mr. X. I also bet it’s going to make him very nervous to see us both with her. So nervous that he’ll make a move he’s not prepared for.”

“Are we heading home then?” Gemma asked.

“Not yet,” he smiled. “I have plans that involve the marble soaking tub. Plans that will take most of the night and morning.”

“Who needs sleep?” she asked as Cy slid his hand up her legs. “Totally overrated.”

“What’s not overrated? You in that dress. Now take it off.”

Dani looked at her husband and gave him a smile. She felt a little useless as the house was in chaos this morning while they were getting ready to take the king’s plane to Rahmi for the birth of her child. Mo was directing what needed to be put on the plane versus what needed to be shipped when Bridget came in.

“I swept the limo and the plane. No explosives, and Marko and I are ready for the flight. Just let me know if you need me to help with anything else,” Bridget said as she gave Marko, her explosive-sniffing Belgian Malinois, a scratch behind his ear.

“Thanks, Bridget. It really means a lot that you’ll take time off to come to Rahmi with us. I feel safer just having you there.”

Dani stood up from the table as Ahmed came in, looking serious as always. “The last of the bags have been sent to the airport. Your parents are waiting outside with the royal family. Nabi and Bridget will escort you while I lock the house down and instruct the remaining staff. My brother has all your security covered for your arrival and I will be in Rahmi as soon as Cy’s back with your plane.”

“Thank you, Ahmed. I don’t know what we’d do without you, my dear friend.” Dani clasped his hand and screamed.

Mo caught her as she fell to the ground and Marko barked as the tension in the room escalated. Dani blinked her eyes and took some deep breaths as her parents and four royal in-laws came running into the room along with most of the security force and staff.

“What is it?” Tony De Luca cried. She tried to give her dad a reassuring smile, but oh my God, she was in pain.

“I’m in labor,” Dani said between clenched teeth.

Her mom pried her hand from Ahmed’s and placed it in hers as Mo gathered her in his arms. “That’s right, dear. Breathe.” Her mom’s confident voice soothed her.