Secret Relations: Women in Hollywood, Book 1 (19 page)

Chapter Fifty-One

Charlotte and Sean went to several industry parties. They mixed and mingled and enjoyed each other’s company. Charlotte stood near the bar while Sean took pictures with some of his colleagues.

“That black sure looks good on you.” Charlotte recognized the voice.

Darryl was the last person she wanted to see. She stared into the face of pure evil. She turned to walk away but he grabbed her arm. She jerked it away. She took a few, deep breaths and then she turned around to face Darryl.

The party was in full swing and people were passing by. They stood closer to each other than Charlotte wanted.

“Darryl, what you’re doing could be considered harassment.”

Darryl laughed. “Like you harassed me all those years ago.”

Charlotte had enough of feeling like a victim. “We both know that’s a lie.”

“You broke my heart and used me to further your career.”

Charlotte felt her veins popping out of her forehead. “Stop with the lies. Your ego got deflated when I ended an engagement you really didn’t want in the first place.”

“It’s the way you ended it. You could have come to me and let me be the one to end things.”

“Are you serious? I was supposed to let you humiliate me more than you’d already done? God only knows how many women you slept with while we were together.”

“I’m sorry. What more do you want me to say?” Darryl asked.

“You tried to ruin me. You made me feel like crap with your constant belittling of me. I got fired from my job because of you. Should I go on?” Charlotte now stood with her arms folded.

“Can you keep it down? People are beginning to look our way.”

“If you don’t leave me alone, I’m going to get even louder. I’m sure since you’re now up for president of one of the largest record labels in the country, you wouldn’t want a scene. Yes, Darryl, I’ve been keeping up with you too. So don’t call me, don’t email me, definitely don’t stop by my office or I will tell everyone you’re a bully.”

“No one’s going to believe you.”

“The mere fact there’s a possibility can ruin you. So try me if you want to.” Charlotte crossed her arms.

Sean walked behind her. “Everything okay here?”

“Sean, my man. What’s up?” Darryl reached out to get a handshake.

“No, man. We’re not cool.”

Darryl looked at Sean and then at Charlotte. “Oh, it’s like that. Peace, I’m out.” Darryl walked away.

“What was that all about?” Sean asked.

Charlotte took a quick gulp of her drink. “I’ll tell you in the car. I’m ready to go now.”

Charlotte poured herself another drink when they were inside of the limousine. Sean took the bottle from her.

“Slow down. You know what happened the last time you drank too much.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Did Darryl say something disrespectful to you?”

“He tried to, but I put him in his place. It felt good standing up to him too.”

“Good for you,” Sean responded.

“I don’t have to worry about him ever again.”

Sean reached for Charlotte. “Come here, baby.”

Charlotte sighed and fell into his arms.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Sean watched Charlotte as she slept. He didn’t like seeing Darryl upset her. Darryl had no clue on what he was up against. Sean knew Darryl was in the running for president of his last record label. Sean vowed to make sure Darryl didn’t get the position.

Charlotte reached out to him. “Baby, what are you doing over there?”

“Just thinking.”

“Come and get back in the bed. It’ll be time to get up before you know it,” Charlotte said.

“I say we both take a long weekend. Just the two of us. We can lie in bed all day if we want to,” Sean suggested.

“Okay.”

Sean slipped back under the covers and lay on his back, arms crossed under his head. Charlotte lay on her side, wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest. She fell back to sleep while Sean stared at the ceiling.

The sound of Sean’s cell phone ringing woke them both up. Charlotte’s phone started ringing too.

They both searched for their phones. Sean answered his while Charlotte answered hers. They both could be heard talking over the other.

“Say what?” Sean asked.

Sean jumped out of the bed and looked out his window. At the end of his driveway were news vans, reporters and camera operators.

“Sean, put some clothes on quick,” Charlotte said.

Sean said to Taylor over the phone. “Thanks for the heads up.”

Sean ended the call with Taylor and rushed to get dressed.

“Where’re those clothes I left over the last time?” Charlotte asked.

“On the right side of the closet. Fresh from the cleaners.”

“I wish I knew why I’m the last person to find out the police are on their way to see me,” Sean said, while he got dressed.

Charlotte yelled from the closet. “There’s no telling who at the LAPD is leaking this.”

Charlotte’s phone rang again. She came out of the closet trying to fasten her pants and talk on the phone at the same time.

Sean went to the bathroom, washed his face and brushed his teeth. He would worry about taking a shower later.

Charlotte was fully dressed in a pair of black slacks and a cream colored blouse. She’d whipped her hair up in a ponytail.

“Since the police are on their way over here with a search warrant, I called my attorney. He’ll be here soon.”

Sean did his best to remain calm. “If Dana was killed, I had nothing to do with it. I’m innocent. Charlotte, what am I going to do?”

“According to a police source, there’s evidence here. I couldn’t find out what the evidence is supposed to be.”

The doorbell rang. Sean looked at Charlotte with fear in his eyes.

“I didn’t have anything to do with Dana’s death. You do believe me don’t you?” Sean asked.

Charlotte looked Sean in the eyes. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just can’t think about this on a personal level right now. I have to treat you like my client. Let me do most of the talking. The attorney will be here shortly.”

This time a loud knock could be heard. Sean opened the door.

“Sean Maxwell,” a uniformed officer said.

“Yes,” Sean responded.

The officer handed him a piece of a paper. “We have a warrant to search the premises.”

Before Sean could respond, his house was bombarded with several police officers. They went from room to room searching for something that Sean was unaware of.

Charlotte held his hand. “Keep calm,” she urged.

“I’m trying,” he responded.

Sean watched as they went from room to room. It looked like they were going through every inch of his house.

He heard one officer say on his walkie talkie, “Everything’s clear in here.”

By now, a man in a suit walked in. “Charlotte, I came as soon as I could.”

Charlotte walked up to the man and shook his hand. “Luke Hogan, this is my client, Sean Maxwell. He may need your representation.”

Sean shook his hand. “I’m not sure of what’s going on.”

“Don’t worry. I just need your John Hancock on this to give me the right to represent you and then I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Charlotte nodded her head. He trusted her, so he signed the paper without reading it. Luke took the paper and placed it in his left pocket.

Luke said, “Let me see the search warrant and then I’ll go find whoever is in charge. Relax. You’re in good hands.”

Sean just looked at Luke and Charlotte. Life as he knew it had ended. He stopped doing petty crimes and became a singer so he could avoid the cops in Houston and now here he was in Los Angeles being surrounded by them.

Charlotte paced back and forth outside of Sean’s living room. She wished she could have been in the room with Sean and Luke when the police interrogated him. Charlotte stopped when she noticed the door opening. Luke exited but Sean remained inside. Charlotte didn’t like the solemn look she saw on Luke’s face.

Luke walked over to her. “It looks worse than what it is.”

“So, is he being arrested?” Charlotte asked.

“That’s what I’m waiting to see. I don’t think they have enough evidence, but it depends on what the District Attorney wants to do at this point.”

Charlotte hung her head. “I hope this new DA isn’t trying to make a name for himself. If so, we’re screwed. He would try him just for the notoriety.”

“I’ve tried cases against this new DA. He’s good but he’s usually fair. Don’t give up hope yet.” Luke’s phone rang. He looked down at it. “I need to take this. Wait here and I’ll be back.” Luke re-entered the room where Sean was.

Charlotte decided to eavesdrop. She put her ear to the door.

She heard Sean say, “The relationship I had with Dana shouldn’t have bearing on your investigation. If she was killed, I want her murderer found too.”

Is he confessing that he had a relationship with her?
Charlotte asked herself.

Charlotte needed to talk to a friend. She moved away from the door and called Mona. She’d given Mona an update. “Mona, I don’t know what to believe. It sounded like there was more to his relationship than he’d told me.” She turned around and to her surprise Sean and Luke were standing nearby. “I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

Charlotte rushed over to Sean. “Are you okay? Are they through with their investigation?”

“They want me to come down to the police station for further questioning,” Sean said in a dry voice.

“I’ll go get the car and meet you both out front,” Luke said.

Luke left them alone.

“I think it’s best Luke and I handle this alone.”

“But you need me to mediate between you and the press. Trust me. This is a delicate situation and I would never leave you out there to fend for yourself.”

“You’re getting paid a hefty twenty percent so I’m going to let you do your job with the press, but I don’t need you to be there.”

Charlotte opened her mouth to say something but didn’t. She would forgive him for his snide remark.

“I’ve called Jason. He’s just waiting on me to call him back. He’s already drafting a release to send out.”

“Charlotte, no disrespect, but I really don’t feel like talking right now.”

“You don’t have to talk. Just know that I’m taking care of everything.”

Charlotte and Sean walked to the front door and opened it. She could see Luke’s car and a crowd of reporters at the end of the driveway.

Charlotte tried to comfort Sean by holding his hand but he moved his hand away.

Sean turned to Charlotte. “Since you don’t trust me, I don’t need you at the police station with me.”

“What are you talking about, Sean? I’m here for you.” Sean gave her a skeptical look. Had he overheard her conversation with Mona?

“Luke’s waiting on me and I really don’t have time to go back and forth with you. I’ll keep Jason and Taylor posted on what’s going on with me. You can go and deal with your other
clients
.”

Sean, with his head held low, left Charlotte standing in the doorway of his house as he entered Luke’s car.

Chapter Fifty-Three

Later on that day, Charlotte tried to contact Sean to find out what happened at the police station but he wasn’t returning her calls. She replayed their last conversation over and over in her head. She should have cleared up what he’d overheard her say to Mona.

Yes, for a moment she was questioning whether or not he’d ever slept with Dana, but she never believed he’d had anything to do with her death. As she thought more and more about it, she knew in her heart Sean was telling the truth about him and Dana not having an intimate relationship.

If he would take her calls, she could tell him that, but he wouldn’t. She felt miserable. She curled up on the couch and called Kem. Kem put her on hold and got Mona on the line with them.

“I feel like I let him down,” Charlotte fretted. “He’s having to deal with this by himself. I should be there with him now.”

“Calm down,” Kem said. “He won’t take your calls so just go over there.”

“I can’t just pop up at his house uninvited,” Charlotte sighed.

“You’re his manager. He’s going through a crisis. You don’t need his permission,” Mona said.

“Charlotte, it’s clear to me it’s all just one big understanding. So all you have to do is go over there and let Sean know that. Use the excuse that you’re there strictly on business,” Kem suggested.

“Kem and I agree, so get your behind off the couch and go make things right with your man,” Mona said.

“I don’t know what to believe,” repeated itself over and over in Sean’s head. Hearing her speak those words cut him deep. Seeing the pain in her eyes didn’t help matters or maybe the pain was actually doubt. She must doubt his innocence or she never would have said it to her friend, Mona.

Sean stayed in the shower so long the water turned cold. He turned the knob and got out of the tub. He dried off hoping that the police found a resolution to Dana’s murder. He wasn’t guilty of any crimes and he didn’t want the cloud of doubt hanging over his head.

He heard a knock.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Sean said.

Sean removed a black terry cloth robe from the wall and placed it on. He tied the robe tight. He opened the door and Charlotte was standing near the foot of his bed.

“What are you doing here?” Sean asked.

“I’m here to check on you,” Charlotte stated.

“Where’s Taylor?” Sean looked away and asked.

“He’s down stairs. He’s the one who let me in,” Charlotte replied.

“Send him up. I need to talk to him about some things,” Sean said. He went to his closet to find something to put on.

He picked a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He picked out a pair of sneakers to match his shirt.

Charlotte stood in the same place where he left her.

“What? I thought I asked you to send Taylor up,” Sean inquired, as he went to put on his clothes.

“I’m on your side, remember?”

Sean looked at Charlotte. “Really? Are you really on my side? Or are you just here to earn your paycheck?”

Charlotte placed one hand on her hip. “Your current circumstances do not give you the right to talk to me any kind of way.”

“You’re right. I apologize. I shouldn’t mix my personal feelings with business.” Sean sat on the bed and put on his sneakers.

“What happened in the interrogation room?” Charlotte asked. She now stood near him.

“Nothing I want to talk about.” He tied up his shoes without looking at her.

Charlotte reached for him. Sean leaned back.

“Don’t act like you care,” Sean said.

Charlotte grabbed Sean’s hand. This time he didn’t pull away. “Sean, all of this has been one big misunderstanding. I know you overheard my conversation with Mona. I should have cleared things up immediately but I didn’t so I’m here to do so now. I’m sorry if it came across as me not trusting you.”

“I felt like you were abandoning me at a crucial time,” Sean said.

“I overheard what you told the detective. I was just talking the situation through.” She patted her heart with her free hand. “I know in my heart you’re innocent of everything people are trying to accuse you of.”

“Looks like I have a lot to think about,” Sean responded.

“Take all the time you need. I’ll send Taylor right up.” Charlotte released his hand and left him alone with his thoughts.

Sean felt a sigh of relief after Charlotte cleared up the misunderstanding. In order to get through this ordeal, he needed her to believe in him.

A few minutes later, Taylor stood in his doorway. Taylor exclaimed, “The phone won’t stop ringing. The voicemail is full. I can’t respond to the emails fast enough.”

“Slow down,” Sean said. “As soon as Charlotte’s people finish the press release, I want you to post it to my page. You don’t have to address those emails one by one. In fact, delete them. Don’t even bother to read the negativity.”

Sean and Taylor went downstairs where Charlotte and Jason were both on their phones and iPads doing things.

Jason said, “Sean, I’m with you so don’t stress out.”

“Thanks, man,” Sean responded.

Charlotte placed her hand over her cell phone. “We got this handled. Taylor, can you check to see what’s wrong with the printer?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Taylor responded. Taylor went straight to the printer and began troubleshooting.

Sean watched Charlotte and wondered why he even doubted her. She’d proven herself time and time again. With Charlotte by his side, he would be able to face anything.

Taylor got the printer working. The printer shot out several pages. Jason picked up a sheet, scanned it and walked over to Sean and handed it to him.

“How does this sound?” Jason asked.

Sean read the press release emphasizing his innocence. “Sounds good to me.”

“Taylor, what’s your email address?” Jason asked.

Jason and Taylor went to the desk and talked.

Sean stepped over to the couch and sat next to Charlotte. He waited for her to get off the phone. “I want to apologize for how I acted earlier,” Sean said.

“Forgiven. I know you’re under a lot of stress,” Charlotte replied. Her hands never left her phone. He noticed her texting.

“No excuses. I thought you doubted me and that hurt.”

Charlotte placed her phone down in her lap and looked up at him. “Sean, if I doubted you, I wouldn’t be here right now. I wouldn’t be doing my best to make sure this incident didn’t get blown out of proportion.”

“You say that, but it’s your job. You would be doing it anyway.”

“But would I be doing this?”

Charlotte got up and kissed him. She’d never kissed him in front of anyone. Although Jason knew something was going on between the two of them, she’d never confirmed it.

Her public display of affection caught Sean off-guard. She pulled back and took her seat. “Any more doubts?” she asked.

“None,” he responded, as he licked his lips.