The Redhead Plays Her Hand (Redhead #3)(13)
Author: Alice Clayton

Was the Scientist Mad?

New heartthrob and sexy scientist Jack Hamilton from the hit movie Time crashed his car into a signpost, causing an accident that involved three other vehicles yesterday in Beverly Hills. Onlookers report that Hamilton ran off the road causing fender benders. Paparazzi flooded the scene, capturing the star sitting on the side of the road with his head in his hands. It’s unclear at the time whether authorities suspect foul play.

Doheny Dr. turned into a media circus yesterday when movie star Jack Hamilton ran off the road trying to get away from intrusive photographers. No one was seriously hurt in the accident, but it took more than 45 minutes to get the street cleared, and additional police had to be called to the scene to handle the crowd after it was reported on Twitter that the one and only Sexy Scientist Guy was sitting on the side of the road in Beverly Hills. Hamilton rose to fame late last year with the success of the movie Time, the first in the series that has grossed more than $300 million worldwide. Hamilton’s fans call themselves Jack’s Pack, and they are devout in their devotion to their favorite actor. “He is, like, so freaking hot,” one of them gushed. She then screamed her love to Jack as he talked with police after the accident. After being treated for a minor cut on his forehead, Hamilton was bundled into an SUV and whisked away by security. His car was towed. No word on whether any charges have been filed.

I sat back in my chair, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. My heart was pounding, my pulse was racing, and my palms currently were more clammy than a bowl of chowder.

To calm myself and take the attention off my nerves, I allowed my eyes to sweep across the room, taking note of the congratulations balloons in the corner, the tastefully beautiful bouquet of sugar-pink peonies on the table in front of the sofa, and the strategically placed bowls of hard candy scattered about. As my eyes roamed, they landed back in the mirror directly in front of me. I studied my face as I continued to work through my breathing.

Hey, fruitcake, you got this. No sweat.

I do have this. That’s true.

I glanced down at the stack of magazines next to me, grinning when I saw my boy on almost all the covers, smiling rakishly into the camera, casting that pure sex vibe across the entire country. Jack was on location out in the Mojave with the rest of the cast for his movie. The paparazzi had been relentless since the accident, catching him at all hours of the night and day. The green eyes, the closely cropped hair, his deadly grin—yep, he was a movie star now, pure and simple. He’d finally been officially anointed the Sexiest Man Alive, even after the terrible haircut I gave him. Oh, well, duh I’d known this for a while now. As always, when my thoughts drifted to Jack, a little flutter ran through my tummy on its way to setting up shop somewhere decidedly south. Before my thoughts could go full gutter, I heard a loud knock on the door, and my heart once more began to pound.

“Ms. Sheridan, you’re wanted on set,” the second AD called through the door.

First day on the set of my new series. No big thing.

Really big thing.

That’s what she said.

I grabbed my script, gave a final tousle to my curls, and thunked down the steps of my trailer, giving a big smile to the woman who knocked on the door. “No Ms. Sheridan. Call me Grace.”

As I made my way to the set, I saw Michael waving me over. Winking at the assistant director, I made a beeline for him, grasping his hand and squeezing it tightly. “I see you’re not wearing Adidas today. Good call.” I laughed, looking down.

“No way. I know how you like to puke on them.” He laughed as well as we looked at each other nervously. Years of history, months of rekindled friendship, and weeks of frenzied work had brought us to this moment. We were about to start shooting our TV series, and it was a little surreal.

“Can I tell you something?” I whispered as we walked toward the set.

“Sure,” he whispered back, nodding at PAs as they scurried by.

It was a hot set, and there was activity everywhere. I’d been there since early this morning, getting hair and makeup just so. This was the world I’d been dreaming of since I was little, and it was all here now, right in front of me. Since we’d shot the pilot and everyone finally figured out how green I was, I’d been sent to “acting for the camera” class. I finally knew how much work went into television production, after taking it for granted all those years as a viewer.

“I kind of can’t believe this!” I quietly squealed, resisting the urge to shout and scream. I was here! I was doing this! Holy Lord, I was doing this!

“I kind of can’t believe it either, but we’re cool. We’re cool. Nothing to see here, just two industry professionals.” He squeezed my hand even harder as we caught sight of a chair with my name on the back.

“Wow,” I said, dropping his hand to run my fingers along the back, tracing the letters in my name. “I have to take a picture of this. I don’t care how dorky it is.” I snapped a quick shot with my phone and immediately texted Jack.

Look look! They gave me my own chair!

“Did you send that to Jack?” Michael asked as I settled in my chair. My chair!

“I did. I wanted to document the beginning of the diva.” I laughed, posing as he took a picture as well.

“Oh, please. I think I have an actual Polaroid of that moment somewhere in my parents’ basement.” He snorted as he texted furiously. “How’s he doing, by the way? That accident with the photographers looked intense.”

“Who are you sending that to?”

“Holly. She has to see this too.”

“Of course. You know, he’s doing okay. We circled the wagons a bit. We had Bryan come to the house and check things out, increased the security system, that kind of thing.”

“He’s okay then?”

“He’s as well as can be expected. Normally when someone has a little car accident, it doesn’t end up on the nightly news.” I sighed, looking down as my phone chirped.

Looks great, Crazy! As long as you’re taking pictures, I need a new one of you. Sparkly boobies?

I smiled. He was pretty freaked out after everything that had happened, to say nothing of the accident I almost caused trying to get to him. When his phone went dead I had damn near come out of my skin. My mind went through the worst possibilities, calming only when Holly was able to get through to Bryan and find out where he was. Bryan was able to track him with his cell phone—how weird was this world? When your boyfriend’s bodyguard could find him just by tapping a few buttons on his phone?