Something Didn't Add Up

As Evan and his crew boarded their flight to Boston, a Los Angeles paper called the Entertainment Herald published a set of photographs and a story.

The name sounded authoritative. The paper itself was a small celebrity tabloid, built to attract attention rather than command respect.

Its editor, Scott Kate, had received the photographs through a reporter he knew. They came with a confidentiality agreement and forty thousand dollars in hundred-dollar bills.

Scott had been in the business for seven or eight years without getting very far up the pay scale. The unexpected money was roughly equivalent to a year's income.

Even so, he had hesitated. The person in the photographs had enough influence to make publication a dangerous decision.

With ordinary stars, a paper like his could afford to be brazen. If someone objected to an exaggerated or invented story, let them sue. A celebrity lawsuit could draw more readers than the original article.

Powerful industry figures were different. They had capital and connections. They weren't limited to an angry public statement; they could make a newspaper feel the consequences.

Despite the money, Scott had avoided elaborate speculation. He had enlarged the pictures and put a big headline above them.

"NAOMI WATTS EXPECTING: IS EVAN ROSENBERG THE FATHER?"

The photographs had plainly been taken without permission inside a hospital. Naomi's pregnancy was visible. Beside her was Sergey, Evan's personal security man.

At first, almost nothing happened. A few readers discussed the story privately, but a paper with that circulation was never going to reach everyone on its own.

Half the day passed without a public uproar. Scott began to relax. If the story disappeared quietly, he could keep the money and avoid most of the risk.

Then more than a dozen smaller outlets picked it up. Within hours, a report almost nobody had noticed had become a story people were discussing everywhere.

Larger media organizations followed. Reporters converged on the Rosenberg estate, hoping to confirm the news or interview someone involved. Jimmy's agency received a flood of calls.

At Warner, journalists learned that the production had already left for Boston. Some booked flights. Others called their Boston bureaus.

Readers were curious too. Evan had become one of Hollywood's most visible examples of the American dream, yet he had never publicly announced a steady girlfriend.

Now there were photographs of Naomi pregnant and headlines suggesting he was the father. In the quieter stretch of the early-December movie calendar, the story drew a remarkable amount of attention.

"Mr. Rosenberg! Are you the father of Naomi Watts's baby?"

"Evan, when are you going to propose?"

"Have you already married in secret?"

The reporters surrounded them as they entered the airport arrivals hall. Evan frowned at the questions.

They had kept the pregnancy private because he didn't want Naomi harassed. He had hoped the baby could arrive without a press campaign attached.

Since the news was out, however, there was little point pretending otherwise. What concerned him now was security at the estate and keeping people away from her before the birth.

Cameras flashed around them. Sergey and airport security cleared a path while Evan kept his head down and moved slowly toward the exit without answering.

Only once they were in the car to the hotel did he turn to Nina.

"Call home. Ask Nami to stay in unless she needs to go out, at least until the first rush is over. And no interviews."

He had just brought an entire production to Boston. He couldn't abandon everyone and fly straight back to Los Angeles. There was nothing shameful to conceal in any case. Neither of them was married or betraying another partner.

In his view, the loss was privacy. They both knew what it meant to live in public. This would bring another period of inconvenience, but he didn't expect it to do lasting damage.

Nina finished the call.

"Hela says the press is all over the gate. They're even stopping the staff who go out for groceries. Nami's all right. She knew this might happen sooner or later."

Evan rubbed his forehead and exhaled smoke.

He had always wanted to keep his private life out of the papers. It was a wish he had never had much chance of realizing. Entering the business had made the attention inevitable.

"Leave it for now."

He closed his eyes and considered the shooting plan. With this news breaking, a quiet first day was out of the question. The sequence he had prepared would have to change.

Nina's mobile rang as the car entered the hotel parking area. After a brief conversation, she passed it to him.

"Bruce Rosenblum."

"Give it here."

Evan took the phone and opened the car door.

"Hi, Bruce. Don't tell me you're calling about that damned story too."

"Of course I am. By tomorrow, every fan you've got will have heard. Ready for all the congratulations? Nami has plenty of admirers herself. Watch out for her more obsessive fans. One of them might decide to shoot you."

Bruce was alluding to John Hinckley Jr.'s obsession with Jodie Foster. The case had made it hard to dismiss what a fixated admirer might do.

"I haven't got time for it."

Evan signaled to Hector, who was waiting to show him to his room.

"Those reporters have already made me change the first day's schedule. Forget congratulations. I'd settle for being allowed to start the movie in peace."

"You sound like yourself. Good. That's one less thing to worry about. There are forty or fifty of them downstairs here. You and Nami are going to keep a lot of little papers in business this week. People love this stuff."

"Mm-hm."

He followed Hector out of the elevator and stopped outside his suite on the top floor.

As usual, Sergey went in first with a black case. He checked the rooms for concealed recording equipment and other security problems before letting anyone else enter.

"Do you want our publicity department involved?" Bruce asked. "How do you want to handle it? In my experience, silence makes people more curious. You two are too well known for this to disappear on its own."

"What do you suggest?"

"A press conference. Announce it properly. Otherwise they'll spend the next few weeks following you everywhere."

Evan was quiet for a moment.

"I'll think about it. I need to fix the schedule first. We'll talk."

After hanging up, he thought about the child and felt a fresh surge of irritation.

Lucky and unlucky before it was even born. The baby would never have to worry about material security. It would also be watched from the moment it arrived.

With parents this visible, an ordinary childhood might be difficult to arrange.

"All clear, boss," Sergey called. "Come in."

"So much for a quiet evening. Fuck."

He went into the living room and pulled out his director's notebook. While Nina unpacked, he began rearranging the following day's work.

He had intended to begin with the police-academy material. The simpler setups would help the crew regain its rhythm after months apart and give the actors time to settle into their roles.

But those scenes involved too many people. The principals might ignore the reporters. Supporting players and extras would be more vulnerable to the distraction.

"Straight to the rooftop?"

If he couldn't start gently, he could begin with the confrontation between the two leads. It was a demanding scene. He had already allowed three days for its coverage, enough time to work patiently with the actors.

He had just finished revising the plan and was thinking about ordering food when Nina approached, phone in hand. Her expression had tightened.

"Nami's former agent, Jenny, gave an interview. She confirmed the pregnancy and named you as the father."

"They would have found out eventually."

He lit another cigarette and waved wearily.

"Did she say anything else?"

"Not yet. But something about this doesn't feel right."

The way one disclosure followed another seemed familiar to Nina. She couldn't identify the pattern yet. She only knew she didn't like it.