In the wake of his noisy departure, Gail could see her employees creeping toward her interior window. They gazed in at her with wide eyes and mouths hanging open.
She ignored them. Ian was still in her office, breathing heavily and eyeing her as if he’d like to wring her neck on Simon’s behalf.
“Thanks for that,” he snapped.
She swallowed hard. “You deserved it. If you really went after my business the way he said, you don’t deserve to work for him. Or anyone else in Hollywood.”
“Like you deserve to work here after the little stunt you pulled? Accusing an innocent man of rape?”
“I didn’t leak that bogus story!”
“Then where’d it come from?”
She felt too much loyalty to Josh to reveal his complicity. Since he worked for her, she was responsible for what he’d done, anyway. Caught between her disapproval of his actions and her understanding of the frustration that had fueled them, she shook her head to avoid answering. “Regardless, it’s become public. Now we have to decide what to do about it.”
He paced to her credenza and back. “What, exactly, do you suggest?”
The sarcasm that dripped from those words implied that there was no way out. But there had to be.
She pressed her fingers to her temples. “First of all, we have to calm down so we can think.” Her employees, all except Ashley, who was busy with the phones, were still gaping at them, trying to figure out what was going on. Irritated by the lack of privacy, she waved them away.
“Easier said than done when we’re all facing the end of our careers,” Ian grumbled, frowning as their audience reluctantly dispersed.
“This article is just the latest in a series of bad developments,” she said. “The real problem started long before now. Simon’s been rolling downhill for months, drinking too much, fighting, acting belligerent, walking out on jobs and getting sued for breach of contract. He was already in trouble.”
“That’s no excuse for what you’ve done. Chelsea Seagate and I have been trying to get things turned around, but you’ve just made his situation exponentially worse.”
She wondered what Chelsea was going to say about this, how she’d try to contain the damage, and was actually grateful that she might have some help. “I agree. I’m saying this isn’t a new problem. It’s more of the old problem. Simon needs a fresh image. We’ve got to pull him out of circulation until he can decompress and get hold of himself.”
Ian shoved a hand through his thick, unruly hair. “How do we pull him out of circulation? He has a new movie coming out. He’s contractually obligated to promote it. That puts him on every major talk show in America.”
He’d probably show up drunk at those appearances because he couldn’t bear to do them sober anymore. She’d never seen anyone so burned out. “What if he had a good reason to change things up? What if we gave the movie’s producer such a great PR angle he’d be thrilled without the usual dog-and-pony show?”
“I’m not following you,” he said, but he seemed somewhat mollified and encouraged by her tone.
“It’s been six months since Simon’s divorce.”
“And he’s still not over it.”
She threw him a dirty look. “We’re talking about solutions. He’s available again. That’s the bright spot.”
He stood by the window and peered out through the blinds. “What are you saying?”
“That what we should do is—” her mind scrambled to focus the idea that was coming to her “—find a nice girl for him to marry.”
The blinds snapped as he let go of them and swung around to face her. “Marry? After what Bella the Bitch has done, I don’t think he’ll ever marry again.”
“But consider what a new relationship would do to distract from, and counteract, all the bad press. If we could find the right person.”
He prowled around, examining the awards she’d won, tossing her paperweight from hand to hand. “And who would the right person be?”
“Someone sweet enough to soften his rough edges. Someone whose character is sterling, above question, so there won’t be any shocking revelations down the road.”
He sighed. “Too dangerous. Anyone could end up being unpredictable.”
“Not necessarily. This will be a business deal. The woman will sign a prenup as well as a contract outlining exactly what she can and can’t do. If she fulfills her obligations, she’ll be generously compensated. But she’ll get paid only if she abides by the terms. We’ll make sure she says nothing that isn’t nice about him and acts with proper adoration in public. He’ll have total control.”
Ian still seemed skeptical. “There’s no such thing as total control. How do you know that whoever we get won’t turn out to be a psycho? Or cause bigger problems? It’s not like you’re going to find someone who doesn’t know who he is. Any woman would smell money.”
“You have so much confidence in the female gender,” she said with a grimace.
He shrugged at her sarcasm. “I’m just sayin’. What if she gets tired of putting in the time and sells her story to the tabloids to make a quick buck instead? Reveals that she’s a plant? Tries to blackmail him or take him to the cleaners?”
“That would be breach of contract.”
“So?” he said, exasperated. “People break contracts all the time. And once the truth is out there—”
“The wife would have to be someone we trust,” she conceded, “someone who has no appetite for fame and no interest in pursuing the Hollywood crowd.”
“Someone who appears dutiful and devoted,” he added.
He was starting to see the potential, which ignited a flame of excitement in Gail. What she was picturing could work, even for someone as far gone as Simon. “The public will eat it up. Who doesn’t enjoy a good love story—especially one in which beauty tames the beast?”
He hesitated as if tempted, but ultimately shook his head. “No. What’re we thinking? That’s crazy. Even if we could find the ideal lady, Simon would never agree to this. He’s had enough of women—er, marriage. That ex-wife of his ran his heart through a meat grinder.”
Gail propped her hands on her hips. “And he didn’t do the same to her?”
“Maybe he did. But he never used their son as a weapon against her, like she’s doing to him. He hasn’t been able to see Ty for weeks. And there’s a lot more you don’t know, because Simon refuses to make her look bad. He’s taking full responsibility for the breakup of the marriage, even though she’s no gem.”