For the Moment

Martin was angry about the story too, Sanders told Adrian. There was no clear evidence that anyone on the crew had fed it to the press, but their publicist and the production's spokesman had worked well together.

Frederick used to handle matters like this. Since Sanders had become Adrian's manager, he had inherited the job of coordinating them, whether he liked it or not.

Adrian now had a publicist, legal counsel, and a health team as well as the publicity apparatus around a major production. Sanders had assembled most of it. They were still learning to work together.

When Adrian decided to push back against the coverage, Sanders went straight to Scorsese. With his agreement, their publicist and the film's spokesman issued a joint warning: they would consider legal remedies if outlets kept publishing irresponsible claims.

Sanders had come to tell him how the press conference had gone. On balance, it had gone well. Adrian's standing in the industry was still relatively new, but Scorsese commanded respect. He had confronted the press before, and most reporters understood that the Cate story rested on speculation. Sanders expected them to ease off for a while.

Adrian's frown deepened. "That's it?"

"That's a decent result. Between the First Amendment and the public's appetite for stories about celebrities, a warning is about all we can do unless an outlet prints a specific, defamatory claim." Sanders sounded tired.

He could not understand why Adrian was so intent on punishing these reporters. In the past, he had mostly shrugged them off. Had burying himself in Hughes really changed his temper that much?

Adrian had no idea what Sanders was thinking. If he had, he might have encouraged it. The role would make a useful explanation.

At the moment, he wanted the papers taught a lesson, especially the New York Post. It had been hostile to him from the beginning.

Most coverage of the Cate rumor tilted toward her. Cate had a family, a child, and a reputation for keeping her private life private. Reporters tended to suggest that Adrian was pursuing her and she would never return his interest.

According to what Sanders and Frederick had found, the original tip had carried the same slant. The New York Post had gone the other way.

One of its stories recalled Adrian and Cate getting coffee together while making The Talented Mr. Ripley in Italy. It then paraded his history with older actresses, naming Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, and Halle Berry, as well as his brief relationship with Nicole Kidman, before inviting readers to believe Cate might be drawn to him too.

The paper had done its homework. It dug up years-old gossip to make the new allegation seem plausible, building toward the suggestion that an affair would hardly be surprising.

Of all the stories, Adrian hated that one most. The writers seemed eager to see what damage their speculation could do. If a public warning was the only official response available, he would look for another way to make them regret it.

"Call Neil," he said darkly. "I need people who can do some dirty work."

Sanders stared at him. He glanced around before lowering his voice. "Do you hear yourself?"

"I'm not planning anything huge. I want a few people singled out and made uncomfortable. I don't mind paying for it." Adrian waved away the objection. "I've decided, Sandy."

After a pause, he added, "Keep an eye on the crew too. Even if Martin won't sign off on an investigation, find a way to watch. I think someone inside is feeding the press. The timing was too neat: the Cate story took off just after the photographs of Katie and me. Some of the details would only be known on set."

"All right." Sanders sighed. "Are you done for the day? Want to head back together?"

"I'll stay a little longer. My head's clear enough to sort through a few things." Adrian shook his head. "And remember what I asked for."

"I heard you. Don't overdo it." Sanders looked as though he wanted to argue, but he raised both hands and left.

Adrian closed his eyes and leaned back, trying to settle the confusion and irritation still crowding his mind. His reaction was extreme; he knew that. He would have felt the same even if the Post had been as restrained as the other papers. He wanted what had happened between him and Cate to remain theirs alone. If the public learned the truth, the consequences for her could be severe. He had to make the connection seem unthinkable.

He owed Cate that much. The early days in Italy had given him some of his happiest memories. Afterward, he had pursued her relentlessly despite knowing she had a family. He had used pressure and persuasion to draw her into an affair, then pressed demands he had no right to make.

She had been distant at first, and the guilt of the affair had never entirely left her. Yet she had responded to his feelings. Adrian took that as proof that she cared for him, and as one more reason he had to protect her. Galen, Sanders, and Frederick still knew nothing about them.

The unexpected link the press had made between them landed while he was already struggling to keep Hughes out of his private life. It helped explain why his self-control had slipped. The rumor had also forced him to tell explicit lies for the first time to Naomi, Jordana, Katie, and Zooey.

He had always dodged questions he did not want to answer, joking or steering the conversation elsewhere. In his mind, withholding an answer was not the same as lying. This time each of them had asked, and he had denied the affair outright. The distinction he liked to draw had collapsed.

He could not blame them, and he did not want to blame himself. His anger needed somewhere to go. The Post made an easy target. He was troubled, but not so far gone that he would pick a fight he could not win. He lacked Hughes's power. He could still humiliate the people who had made his life harder.

That would take time. For now, the film came first. Scorsese had slowed the schedule because of Adrian's condition, but Adrian refused to pull all the way out of Hughes's state of mind. Cannabis eased some of his agitation, though nowhere near as much as he had hoped.

He told himself it was a milder drug, and that the others would stop him before he used too much. He disliked smoking it anyway. He would not see a doctor for a sedative, and he had no intention of trying anything stronger. None of those rationalizations made the experience much easier.

He held on. Scorsese finished the solo scene, then moved quickly through most of the shots that showed Hughes's compulsions. Only after those were done did he tell Adrian he could stop.

"You were extraordinary," Scorsese said, exhilarated. "I think we may have made something people will remember."

Adrian finally exhaled. The private time he spent with Jessica had provided an escape from the pressure on set that cannabis had not.

After a bath, Jessica stood near the door with a robe in her hands.

Adrian came up behind her and reached for her.

"Wait, Adrian," she said. He held on for a moment instead of stopping when she asked. Then he let go and moved away.

He sat by the tub with his back against the cool wall, giving himself a moment to breathe.

Jessica hesitated, then came closer again. Their private relationship continued, but he had not respected her request at once.

They had spent many evenings together while he was filming. Adrian did not turn to Jessica for comfort or conversation as he did with others. He treated the relationship as a way to escape the pressure he brought home from the set.

The arrangement also carried a career incentive for Jessica. Adrian had helped secure her the lead in a major film backed by Backlot Pictures, giving him leverage neither of them could ignore.