Don't Go Home

"Couldn't you at least smile? Aren't we supposed to be on a date?" Nicole asked, cutting into her veal.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Would you prefer this? Or this?"

He stretched his mouth into a broad grin, then pressed his lips together in an exaggerated curve. The faces invited either laughter or an eye roll.

Nicole did neither. She glared at him, put down her knife and fork, and took a long drink. "What, do you want tomorrow's papers saying we've had another fight and we're about to break up?"

"Would it matter? We go shopping together in two or three days, look affectionate, and they'll say we made up." He sounded perfectly relaxed, which somehow made him more irritating.

Nicole clenched her teeth and held her temper. "You know they won't keep falling for the same trick, Adrian."

"Why wouldn't they?" He shrugged. "You know reporters don't care what actually happened. They just need a story."

"But the readers do. They get bored when the same thing keeps happening." Her irritation rose again. "Once they're bored, the reporters will need a new angle. They'll start digging. What do we do then?"

"Break up, of course." He gave a quiet laugh. "Wasn't that the plan?"

Nicole narrowed her eyes. "You sound awfully eager. Have you already laid the groundwork? Was getting photographed in that bar with Jessica part of it?"

"That was an accident. Jessica's the lead in a film my company produced. It's coming out soon. We ran into each other at the bar and had a couple of drinks." His tone stayed casual. "Who knew there was a reporter sitting nearby? That's where the story came from."

They were talking about something that had happened roughly a week earlier. To celebrate landing the lead in The Aviator, Adrian had taken Galen and the others to a familiar bar. Jessica Biel was there. The Butterfly Effect had wrapped, postproduction was almost finished, and the release was set for late September. They talked for a while over drinks.

Someone nearby photographed them and put the pictures online under a headline claiming Adrian Vale was seeing someone behind Nicole Kidman's back. The story quickly drew attention.

Three months and two rounds of publicity into their supposed romance, Adrian and Nicole had become a routine item in the gossip pages. Their names still appeared now and then, but seldom caused much excitement. Hollywood produced too many fresh stories every day.

Plenty of people still followed the relationship between the older actress and the younger actor. Some wished them well. Others were waiting for the pleasure of seeing them break up, and that second group seemed especially numerous.

So the photographs spread quickly, along with confident predictions that the relationship was over.

One reporter wrote with obvious satisfaction that their turbulent three-month romance was nearing its end. Jessica Biel, the piece suggested, was much more to Adrian Vale's taste than the no-longer-young Nicole Kidman.

Soon the breakup rumors were everywhere. They could have used them to end the arrangement. It had already attracted considerable attention, and reporters were spending less time on the other subjects Nicole wanted left alone. She did not think it had fully served its purpose, though. At her insistence, they had arranged this dinner.

"Do you really expect me to believe that, Adrian?" Her expression made her opinion of his story clear.

Jessica had arranged the meeting and the photographs to raise her profile. Adrian's explanation to Nicole was a lie, not a mistaken guess about what Jessica had done. The two had stayed in touch after their earlier private involvement and sometimes met for drinks. When he noticed someone watching as Jessica approached the bar, he texted Frederick to keep an eye on the entertainment sites.

Frederick was slow to respond, but the timing worked out: he found the headline just as it appeared online. By the time Adrian and Jessica got into his car, the message had reached Adrian's phone.

"I think you owe me an explanation," Adrian told her in the car, holding up the screen.

"You think I'm shameless?" Jessica gave a self-mocking smile, then looked away. "That's all right. I understand. Not everybody gets your breaks, Adrian, however hard she works. I want to take every chance I can get. Women run into more obstacles than men do. Go ahead and laugh at me, or dislike me. I did approach you because I wanted your eye for a good opportunity to help me get somewhere. There's no point denying it."

She was clever. By offering no excuse or denial, she made herself seem candid. Adrian knew at least half the vulnerability was a performance, yet still found it difficult to dislike her. She understood how to win men over. He could object to what she did without disliking everything about her.

Later, at Jessica's home, their closeness became part of the bargain rather than something separate from it. She was counting on the judgment and connections behind his rise; Adrian understood what she expected in return and chose to take part.

Neither of them put the terms into words. Adrian was not especially worried. He could not vouch for every aspect of her judgment, but he did not think she would sacrifice a longer-term advantage for a short-term gain. He only needed to be a little careful.

Three years earlier, when he first arrived in Los Angeles, he had neither been disgusted by such arrangements nor approved of them. Hollywood had changed him. Years of participation, not merely observation, had made his old position harder to sustain.

He had once declared to Frederick that he would never compromise or give up. But he also knew he had a family to fall back on. Without that support, after ten years of waiting for a break, he might have become just as calculating and hungry for success.

He could hardly condemn Jessica for wanting a way forward. That did not mean he felt anything for her. He remained emotionally detached, treating their connection as an arrangement rather than a commitment. Even his arrangement with Jennifer was more lasting than this. He would provide what was understood between them, then move on. He did not expect to stay in touch.

That was the truth of the matter, but he had no interest in telling Nicole. He disliked lying to women. He might tell half the truth or keep silent, but he did not like inventing things that had never happened. Nicole was apparently an exception. Since the publicity began, he had not done what most people assumed he had. Their certainty irritated him.

Their earlier closeness during Cold Mountain made Adrian's denial less honest than it sounded. He still wanted more from Nicole than their present arrangement offered, and that unmet desire fed his resentment as much as the publicity did.

"Don't worry about it, Nicole. Just finish your dinner. Then we walk out together, arm in arm, smiling, and go back to your place. I stay a couple of hours, like last time, and tomorrow all the breakup rumors disappear." He spoke as if the matter were settled.

Then he added, "You might want to start smiling now. We don't know who's outside with a long lens pointed at the windows."

Nicole gritted her teeth. After a moment, she forced a smile and returned to her plate. The atmosphere had spoiled whatever pleasure either of them might have taken in the food. They finished as quickly as they could and left together.

Reporters closed in at once. The earlier outings had made them bolder; one tried to push his camera almost between their faces. Whatever Adrian thought of Nicole at that moment, he moved to shield her and kept the man back.

"Show a little professionalism, gentlemen," he said firmly.

It did not drive the photographers away, but it made most of them exercise a little restraint. Those deliberately trying to provoke a reaction were still in the minority.

With cars following, Adrian drove Nicole home. At red lights, photographers crowded close to the windows to take pictures. There was little worse than that, at least. Nobody stood in front of the car and refused to move.

Then they reached her house.

Once they were inside, Nicole turned to him. "Don't go home tonight."