Chapter 299: Avoiding A Scandal At All Costs
The night to the premier, the cast held a small launch party, where everyone but Sadie was in attendance. It came as a shock that Damien flew into the country to make it for the premier, when everyone online had speculated that he’d distance himself from the movie entirely.
The cast rented a whole restaurant to themselves, and had a farewell dinner. After the dinner, the cast members went drinking at a private club owned by one of Damien’s friends.
Brooke had called for the driver and was about to go home, but Damien held her wrist, stopping her.
"Won’t you come drinking with the rest of us? Even your stuck-up side kick is coming." He pointed out.
Brooke withdrew her hand, then looked behind him at Dylan, who was in the midst of the rest of the cast.
Her features stoic, she answered, "I don’t have it in me for an after party. Besides, I’m trying to stay out of trouble until after the movie premiers."
Even if it was a couple of hours to the premier, she didn’t want to take any chances with her infamous bad luck.
"You’re being a spoil sport. I flew all the way back to see you, don’t act so harsh." He said, leaving her confused.
She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, then folded her arms, "I know you hate my guts Damien, so if there’s something you want to ask me, just say it."
"Fine," he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and his car keys. He opened his car, then held the door out for her. "Get in, I wanna ask you something, just the two of us."
Brooke looked at him with skepticism, "Why can’t we talk here?"
"Because, this will benefit you more than it will me." He said, then got in the driver’s seat.
Reluctantly, she got in his car. However, she texted the driver, shared her location and asked him to follow them closely.
Once they were seated, Damien started the car, Brooke wanted to protest, but he said, "It’s just a quiet drive, I don’t want to risk us getting photographed by staying in one place."
"So? Why did you want to see me?" She asked.
"Straight to the point, you must really not enjoy my company." He said, "Are you like this with me or just all men?"
"What’s your point?" Brooke replied sharply.
He laughed, earning a frown out of her. "I’m sorry, it’s just...I feel stupid to have not connected the dots sooner. The truth was staring me right in the face too."
Truth? What had he found out?
"Look, if you don’t have anything to actually tell me, then I’ll just leave-"
He cut her off, "Level with me here, how did you go from being Ethan’s ex to the wife of the Grayson heir?" he asked, leaving her stunned.
Brooke’s heart skipped a beat, "How did you find out?" She knew there was no point in lying to him, it was best to know how he found out, and why he was bringing this up all of a sudden.
He could not hold back his laughter, but something about his humourless tone created an errie vibe in the car. "You two must’ve felt so proud about yourselves, making a fool out of me."
"Damien, what exactly are you playing at here? When did we ever do anything to you? Who my husband is makes no difference-"
"Makes no difference? Isn’t it that cocky shit of a man who made Cassie our business’s ambassador?!" He punched the steering wheel, honking his horn at the cars in front of him.
Brooke furrowed her brows, "But you’re not on the line to inherit the business, and you’ve never been interested in business either. Why would you be so bothered with Cassie as the ambassador?" In the first place, it wasn’t like Cassie could do anything, at least not with her pregnancy.
Also, it was strange how much Damien detested Cassie, it was almost starting to seem like there was more to it.
"Have your husband drop her from the ambassadorship deal." Damien insisted.
"What? Why should I?" Brooke refused.
"Isn’t it obvious what will happen if you don’t do it? I’ll expose your marriage to Thane Grayson, and then everyone will know that you slept your way to that role." He told her.
Brooke pinched her temples. Where did this problem surface from? If she was being honest, she didn’t understand why Thane made Cassie the ambassador to Damien’s family company. But seeing how bothered he was by it, she could guess it was more than just solidifying Cassie’s trust.
"Damien, you’re in this movie too." She reminded him.
"No one will care, they’ll be too focused on trashing your reputation online." He said.
Brooke took a deep breath, letting his words sink in. Even now, just a night to the premier, Cassie was still causing problems for her.
Speaking of the devil, Brooke’s phone vibrated on her lap. She picked it up, thinking it was the driver. Unfortunately, she saw a text from Cassie.
It was a hotel room number, alongside the picture of one of the sponsors she was meant to convince into helping Cassie land the role. Underneath it were clear cut instructions.
"Spend the night with him and make sure I get the role. Don’t you dare make the mistake of not going! I will release that photo of you." Cassie instructed.
Brooke didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her sister had asked her to do this knowing fully well that her debut movie premier was tomorrow.
She also knew, that if she did what she was asking, she would be walking into a huge trap. And yet, she found herself saying to Damien, "Hey, could you drop me off at this hotel?" She asked flashing her screen at him.
Damien frowned, "What?" He asked making sure he heard well.
"There’s something I need to do here, please drop me off." She said.