“Yes. My grandmother raised me.” Her voice nearly shook.
“Mm-hmm. And what about Astrid Larsson?”
Olivia felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. She even rocked forward slightly. She didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t know what TJ wanted from her. She was beginning to sweat. A bead rolled down her cheek. Or maybe that was a tear, she couldn’t tell. “What about her?” she managed to say.
TJ casually held out his hand palm up. “Have you ever talked to her about it all? I mean, your parents’ affair ruined her marriage.”
The statement knifed into her. Olivia had never spoken to Astrid. She imagined the woman loathed her simply for existing, but she’d always been thankful that Astrid had never sold her side of the story either. She had been notoriously tight-lipped for nearly thirty years despite the public’s pleas for dirt. If she ever changed her mind, the enormity of her broken silence would send shock waves through the entertainment world and surely upend Olivia’s quiet life, and she did not want to be thrust into the spotlight as the living, breathing reason that everyone’s favorite actress was heartbroken.
She was suddenly angry with herself for not seeing the trap she’d walked into.Of coursethey were going to ask. She was an idiot for not realizing it.
“Do you feel guilty about the roleyouplayed in it all, Olivia?” TJ asked.
Her lips began to tremble. She felt cornered. Tears hot with anger and embarrassment washed her eyes. She blinked them away as best she could. “I…um…”
“Okay, I think that’s enough.” Chuck reappeared from behind the cameras. He put himself between Olivia and the crew. She didn’t even know he was still in the yard.
“Hey, man. No one called cut,” TJ protested.
“Yeah, well, these questions are out of line. They have nothing to do with us, and that’s what we signed on for,” Chuck said with an edge to his voice. He turned to face Olivia. The soft look on his face caught her off guard. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said weakly.
He held out a hand like he was going to pull her up but remembered the rules and beckoned her instead. “Come on.”
“Um, we’re not done,” TJ said, annoyed.
“I think we are, though,” Chuck said without turning around. He flipped up the back of his shirt and unhooked his mic pack. He unthreaded it through the front of his shirt and wadded the tangle in a ball.
A reluctant smile lifted Olivia’s lips that he was coming to her defense. She followed suit and unclipped her mic before disentangling it from her dress.
“You guys can’t leave,” TJ whined as they tossed their gear onto the table.
Chuck ignored him and spoke directly to the executive producer. “Parker, you can call my agent about the direction of the show. I’m sure he’ll have concerns after he hears about this.” He stepped around the crew and nodded at Olivia to follow him.
They walked off toward the house and left the crew gaping after them.
Olivia waited until they were back in the bedroom to speak. “Chuck, what are you doing? We can’t leave! We need the money!” she said in a harsh whisper.
Chuck stopped to face her. “Don’t worry. They need us. We have to show them they can’t push us around.”
The way he saidusshot a pang of…something through her.
“You don’t think they’re going to get mad?”
He casually shrugged. “Probably, but that’s their problem. He shouldn’t have gone after you like that. It was out of line, and they need to know it.”
Discomfort from TJ’s questions left a bitter taste in her mouth. At the same time, she felt a swell of affection toward Chuck. “I should have known they were going to ask about my parents. I feel like an idiot. But thank you,” she said. “For stepping in like that.”
He gave her a soft, sympathetic smile. “No problem.”
An ease settled between them, and Olivia nipped it in the bud before it could blossom into something that would lead to trouble. “Isthisthe kind of behavior that gets you fired from sets?”
He rolled his eyes with a sigh. “No.”
“Sorry! If you’re not going to tell me, then I’ll just keep making assumptions.”
“You and everyone else…” he muttered.