Chapter 24
Clarke was already on her way to the set, they wanted to protect her from possible paparazzi and had brought her through the back exit to protect her from possible fan onslaught. At the film set she passed the control and wanted to go to the toilet, but she got lost in the midst of all the caravans standing around, in which the actors could retreat during the shooting breaks. But Lexas was nowhere to be found. Everything looked the same that night.
All of a sudden, a woman approached the blonde, at first she couldn't recognize her, but the closer she got, the bigger the surprise became.
"Hey Clarke."
"Costia? What are you doing here? And how do you know my name?"
"Lexa invited me and that's where I know it from, among other things."
Skeptically, the blonde looked at her.
"Somehow I can't believe you. Lexa would have told me for sure if she had invited you. Especially, after everything."
The young woman smiled at Clarke.
"Oh, Lexa never actually tells you everything. Or did she tell you about our kiss the other night in her hotel room?"
That sunk in. She felt it all the way to her bones. The stab she felt in her heart surprised her in its intensity. Was she jealous after all? She couldn't explain where it came from. She liked Lexa, as a friend, at least that's what she told herself, but then why didn't she want to share her? She had already noticed that in the club, when she had danced with this woman. But hadn't Lexa just told in the interview that she had someone? But could that really be Costia? After everything this one had done to Lexa?
"I guess that means no. If she's keeping this from you, what else isn't she telling you? Think about it, how could I have gotten on set without an invitation from her? Everyone gets vetted."
She took a step toward the blonde before continuing.
"I saw you on the Good Night Show, I sat very close to you.... Who do you think she was talking about if not me? Have you ever met anyone else in her circle?"
"Yes, her sister."
Briefly, the young woman froze before regaining her poise.
"I meant someone she almost had sex with lately, except for me..."
The young woman's smile widened even more before she walked away, leaving Clarke perplexed.
She didn't mean to, but doubts had arisen in her gut about how honest Lexa actually was with her. And what they both were to each other. Was Costia right?
Lost in her thoughts, she returned to the set, no longer needing to use the restroom, and if she had ever been hungry, it was now gone.
While Clarke and Costia had been talking, Lexa had come to the set and ordered Titus to join her in her trailer.
"How can this be?" She shouted as soon as he had entered. "How does he know about Costia? And where did Charles get the photos? They said there was a cell phone ban throughout the club, except in the VIP areas. How could a photo be taken there? What did we cover for beforehand?"
"Lexa, I understand your displeasure, but I warned you what would happen if you didn't distance yourself from Clarke. In the end, everyone will betray you."
With anger in her eyes and her face contorted accordingly, she glared at the bald man.
"This has nothing to do with Clarke! She didn't do it!"
"Forgive me, but you thought the same thing about Costia. All the way to Nia the gossip reporter, I had to take you until you believed me completely."
"That's enough! When is the manager coming?!"
Appropriate to the question, there was a knock on the trailer door and the manager of "The Dropship" entered.
Immediately, Lexa turned to the man standing there in front of her.
"Yaha, you assured me, and by contract, that nothing like this could happen. You put your hand in the fire for your whole team, for every single employee. But now my sources say you've been burned badly."
Defensively, the latter raised his hands.
"I don't know how that can be. There must be a leak, there's never been anything like it. It was for absolute privacy that I founded the club in the first place. But I assure you Miss Woods, I will find out who did it immediately."
"You knew the consequences."
"No, you can't do that."
"You signed it. Now live with it."
"Ms. Woods, please..."
But she had already walked out of the room.
She knew no mercy for people who went behind her back. She had learned to hedge her bets, and so they had negotiated a contract. She would post that she was at the club, bringing him lots of attention, in return he agreed to give her absolute privacy. No cell phones, no opportunities for paparazzi or any other leaking of data. If he broke the contract, the club would be hers and he would owe her $10 million.
Her first act as the new manager had been to fire all the staff.
She was on her way to the set when she heard a voice that immediately brought a smile to her face. Beaming with joy, she headed in their direction when she realized Clarke was on the phone.
"Yes, this is Lexa and me."
Silence.
Who was she talking to on the phone? Had she been wrong after all and she had set it all up behind her back?
"Oh man, yeah, the photo is real, so what?"
This silence almost killed her.
"Gee Bell, we're friends. Just friends. We danced together, that's all there was to it."
Clarke listened to him again and the sting that spread through Lexa's heart increased with every word said. To the brunette, the doctor was far more than just a friend. At the club yesterday, she had thought it had been more for both of them. But from the sound of it, that wasn't true for Clarke; maybe it suited her nature and she danced that way with Raven and Octavia, too. Maybe she had to live with never being more than she already was.
"Of course we seem familiar. That's why it's called friendship, isn't it?"
The two talked on the phone for a few more minutes until the blonde hung up and snorted lightly. Lexa pretended not to notice and approached her with a smile. But when this wasn't returned, instead earning her a dismissive look, she suspected there was more going on than just the phone call just now.
"What's wrong?"
But the blonde remained silent.
"Clarke? Talk to me."
The brunette had taken a step toward her and placed a hand on the blonde's cheek, making her look at her. Their two faces were close and she didn't care if anyone saw them, right now only Clarke existed for her. Gently she looked into blue eyes to find the cause of sorrow. She didn't want to see her like this and take away all the pain, even if she didn't know where it came from. She wanted to be close to her, to tell her so many things, to hold her in her arms and never let go. She wanted to be there for her. She would be able to handle her own grief, she always had been until now, it was just Clarke's pain that she couldn't handle.
At that moment, she was spotted by the director.
"Lexa? Will you please come, we want to get started. We're running out of time."
The addressed stiffened. She didn't want to go and leave the blonde alone, but she also knew she had no chance.
"We'll talk about it later. I have to go."
Clarke didn't look at her, instead she looked for Titus and asked him to get the driver. She just wanted to get back to her hotel and forget about the day.