STAGESTRUCK - The Complete Series (37 page)

“Hey babe, will you pass me the Sun?” Dylan asked without looking up from the paper. It was Monday night and we were lying on his bed reading the evening papers. I’d woken up that morning determined to break things off with him, but I hadn’t found the nerve to actually do it. When he’d called and asked me to come over for the night, I decided to give him one last chance.

“Here,” I said, passing it to him. “But I don’t know why you even bother with that one, it’s a piece of trash.” I’d grown tired of reading about myself weeks ago, so I turned back to The New Yorker.

“I know it’s a piece of trash,” he told me. “But it’s popular. It’s important that we know what they’re saying.”

“I don’t see how,” I told him. “But suit yourself.”

Dylan dug through the Sun and pulled out the theater section. I tried to return to my magazine, but I was distracted by his running commentary on the article.

“This one’s about the same as the others.” He told me. “Everyone’s still on ‘stalker watch’, as they’re calling it. This guy’s actually being pretty nice… says you’re staying brave in the face of controversy… ah, there I am. ‘The dashing Dylan Matthews has stayed by his love’s side, proving to the world that he goes deeper than his playboy reputation.’ That may the best compliment I’ve been given though this.” Dylan beamed.

“I’m glad you’re getting so much great publicity, Dylan. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll get shot and really make you look good.” I snapped.

“Kate, calm down,” he said dismissively. “I can’t control what these people write, I’m just saying that I’m glad they’re being nice. You seem tired baby; did you sleep alright last night? You know, it’s not too late to call the guards back.”

“I slept fine,” I told him. “I guess I’m just stressed out and ready for all of this to go away.” I said, gesturing to the newspapers.

“Kate you know that even after the case is solved, the press isn’t going to disappear right? They’ll just find new stuff to write about. And if they can’t find anything interesting, they’ll make it up.”

“I know, but nothing they could make up would be as awful as what’s happening now.” I argued. “I’m hungry, are you ready to go to dinner?”

“Almost, I just have the Chronicle left.” He told me.

I climbed out of the bed and went to the bathroom to check my hair and makeup. I returned to the bedroom a few minutes later and found Dylan anxiously pacing the floors.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“This,” he said, shaking the Chronicle at me. “I told you that something like this would happen Kate. Someone must have called in a tip or something, none of the other papers got the story this fast. And you’d better hope that they don’t all take this angle.”

“Let me see it,” I sighed. I took the paper from his hand; the moment my eyes fell on the headline, dread filled my body.

HAS BROADWAY STARLET BEEN PLAYING US ALL ALONG?
— C. Mangus

The city has been abuzz for the last month about the recent trials and

tribulations of Broadway star Kate Harper. Multiple sources, including

the NYPD and New York Presbyterian Hospital, have confirmed reports

over the past few weeks that the actress has been the victim of an

alleged stalker. Harper herself released a statement, providing a detailed

description of three attacks that took place in her Lincoln Theater dressing

room.

Since the attack that left Harper hospitalized, she’s been under the careful

watch of several different security teams, as well as the NYPD. But weeks

have passed since the last attack, and many in the industry are beginning

to wonder if the story was ever true at all.

While most of the industry has rallied around the new star, those who

doubt her sincerity may have just been vindicated. Multiple sources inside

Lincoln Theater have confirmed that Harper has put an end to all of the

extra security measures that were put in place to ensure her safety.

The NYPD confirmed this afternoon that no arrest has been made in

regards to Harper’s case. If the culprit is still at large, why does Harper

feel like she no longer needs protection?

Perhaps it’s because she never had a stalker in the first place. Sources in

the Jersey Boys theater have long insisted that Harper is willing to do

whatever it takes to make a name for herself in the industry. While

ingesting arsenic is a drastic measure to take to keep your name in the

papers, many believe that that’s exactly what Harper did.

Harper first proved that she was willing to go to whatever lengths

necessary to advance her career when she became involved with

costar Dylan Matthews. While the couple has gone to great lengths

to prove that their courtship is genuine, Harper’s latest actions have

also led people to wonder if the relationship and the stalking claims are

nothing but a publicity stunt, orchestrated by the actors to sell more tickets

to their show. Perhaps it’s time for the public to show them that they’re

lies aren’t appreciated; there are plenty of other shows on Broadway.

“I told you this would happen, Kate.” Dylan insisted again. “I don’t even know where to start on the damage control. Not only did this Mangus guy call us both liars, he told people not to come to the theater. Bruce is going to be pissed.”

“It’s one article,” I said patiently.

“No, it’s the first article.” He argued. “What do you want to bet that half of the papers run something like this in the morning editions?”

I shrugged. “What do you want me to say? I can’t control what these people write.”

“Nice, turn my own words against me.” He spat. “We’re calling Bruce first thing tomorrow and asking him to put Josh’s team back at your apartment. Everything has to go back to the way it was until the cops find the stalker and prove that we weren’t lying.”

“I’m not having any more guards in my house.” I said defiantly. “I don’t care what the press says; I know that I’m handling this the right way. They’ll all find out the truth soon enough when I prove that Serena’s behind this.”

“No Kate, I’m putting my foot down.” He insisted. “We’ll bring back the security, I’ll have Peter call in a tip that something else has happened and we won’t answer any questions about it. We’ll have to wait a couple of days so it doesn’t look like a reaction to the article.”

He was talking a mile a minute but I couldn’t get past his first words. “Excuse me,” I interrupted him. But you’re putting your foot down?”

“Kate please, I have more experience with this type of thing than you do. It’s time for you to cooperate and let me call the shots. Even if your plan works, it could take too long and our reputations may never recover. And I just got my fucking reputation turned around!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I grabbed my purse from the bedside table and turned to face him.

“MY reputation will be just fine after I do what needs to be done. Your reputation is no longer any of my concern. Tell me Dylan, did this relationship ever mean anything to you at all? Or was it just an act to help redeem yourself after years of being a man whore?”

“You know that’s not the case at all!” Dylan replied. “We’re so much alike Kate, I don’t know how you don’t see this the way I do.”

“We’re not alike at all,” I told him. “I promise to act like a professional at work, I hope that you can do the same. But I can’t keep arguing with you Dylan, I’m done.”

His face turned red; I’d never seen him so angry. “After everything I’ve done for you, you think that you can just walk out on me?” He growled. “I’ve made you what you are and I can unmake you any time I want.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Dylan.” I told him. “At this point I’m fine with the idea of leaving the show, if it means that I never have to see you again.”

“I still can’t believe that you stormed out on Dylan like that.” Mark said, shaking his head. It was Wednesday and Mark and I were on Fifth Avenue shopping for his wedding registry.

“I couldn’t take it anymore.” I told him. “He was just so condescending and arrogant.”

“I know, when you told me that line about all he’s done for you I wanted to punch him in the face.” He confessed. “It kind of got me thinking, actually.”

“About what?” I asked.

“Dylan obviously had an agenda in your relationship. He wanted the press to see what a great guy he could be and what better way to do that than put you in danger and then come to the rescue?”

“You think that he’s been behind this the whole time?” I gasped.

“You don’t?”

“I honestly haven’t thought about it.” I replied. I stared at a silver serving tray as I considered Mark’s theory.

“It would explain a lot.” Mark continued. “Why no one noticed anyone strange around your dressing room, why he couldn’t stand to stay at the hospital… he felt too guilty to stick around and look at what he’d done.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think he was behind it… I’m lucky I didn’t die that day Mark, my whole lunch was poisoned.” I reminded him.

“I know this is hard to think about Kate, but maybe he didn’t care if you died. He could have played the grieving boyfriend and the press would have eaten it up.”

“I guess it’s possible…” I slowly agreed. “But I still think that Serena’s the one who’s behind everything. I honestly can’t believe that she hasn’t made a move yet, now that she knows I’m moving around on my own.”

“Well, regardless of who’s behind it I hate that you’re putting yourself in danger.” He sighed. “Parker and I were talking about it last night. We’re tempted to follow you around the theater all day whether you like it or not.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I told him. “I’m pretty sure Bruce still has people watching me from a distance. Besides, you have better things to do than follow me around. I’m so happy that you’ve finally set a date for the wedding.”

“I’m happy for Parker that his parents finally came around.” Mark told me. “To be honest, I couldn’t care less about the wedding. I’m looking forward to everything that comes after.”

“Have you talked to an attorney yet?” I asked.

He nodded. “She said we actually have a pretty good chance of getting a baby.” He beamed. “We’ll have to get married and get all of our legal stuff in order, but she said that it bodes well for us that we’ve been together so long. Who knows, maybe we’ll be filling out a different kind of registry soon.” He beamed.

“The two of you are going to make great dads.” I told him. “But I have to admit, I’m going to miss you once you’re a boring old married couple.” I teased.

Mark laughed. “A few years ago, I felt the exact same way. But I’ve had my excitement, Kate, I’m ready for boring.”

“I can understand that.” I told him. I was quiet for a while, remembering quiet mornings with Max.

“Have you talked to him again?” Mark asked softly.

“No, I haven’t talked to Dylan since Monday. He hasn’t tried to call me either.” I answered. “Luis covered for him last night; I’m kind of hoping that he’ll just leave the show.”

“That’s not who I was talking about. Janette told us that Max called you. Do you want to talk about it?” He pressed.

I shrugged. “What’s there to say? I ruined it Mark. I know that I got all defensive and accused Max of overreacting when he broke up with me, but the truth is that I was kissing Dylan when he walked into that bar. I was in love with him, and I threw it all away so quickly.”

Mark nodded. “And you didn’t want to admit that you’d made a mistake, so you jumped into a relationship with Dylan to justify what you’d done.” He finished.

I stared at him blankly. “Have you known that this whole time?” I asked.

“Yes. And no, I didn’t tell you because you wouldn’t have listened to me. You had to realize that for yourself.”

“So you just let me carry on with Dylan, knowing that I was making a mistake?”

“You were having fun, I figured it was harmless. And again, you wouldn’t have listened to me if I’d brought it up.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “You’re right; I wouldn’t have listened to you. But what do I do now?”

“You pick up your life and move on. If you want to be with Max, apologize to him and then give him some space. And then, you’ll have to accept whatever answer he gives you.”

“I can do that.” I agreed. I checked the time on my phone. “Shit, I’ve got to get to work Mark. I love you, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Do you want me to walk with you?” He offered.

“No, I have a phone call to make, remember?”

“Apologize in person, Kate.” He advised. “You owe him that and he’ll know you’re sincere.”

“You’re right,” I smiled. “I can get to the theater on my own, finish your shopping.”

“Okay, I love you too. Call me if you need anything.”

I stepped out onto the sidewalk and turned towards the theater. I thought about what Mark had said and I felt encouraged. Max had been kind over the phone and I thought that there was a good chance that he’d forgive me. I vowed that if I ever won him back, I’d never lose him again.