The truth can hurt

The tears fell freely down Kelley's cheeks as she raced towards her car, her stomach churning with a mix of disgust and anger. She had to get out of there! She tried to force the image of what had just happened out of her head but a little voice whispered cruelly "it was your own fault, you should have just kept the secret to yourself!”

One week earlier

Kelley stepped out of her car and surveyed the scene unfolding beneath her. What seemed like hundreds of people were rushing about, like worker ants, eager to please their queen, or rather, their director.

A long piercing whistle made her jump. Turning in it's direction, she saw a girl with short curly black hair waving frantically at her from the steps leading into a long black motorhome.

Grinning, Kelley reached inside her car, grabbing a large makeup case before making her way over. "Girl, what you standing around for? Get your ass in here, we've got work to do!" 

"Hi Becka" Kelley replied with a smile. She followed Becka inside and set her case down on the workstation in front of her, before being introduced to the others in the van.

For the next few hours, Kelley worked methodically, applying makeup to the faces of several extras due to take part in the next scene that was being filmed, for what was billed to be next years big blockbuster. By the end of the day she was exhausted, but filled with satisfaction at playing her part in helping people look as authentic as possible in line with the plot Becka had described to her as they went along.

After work, she returned to her hotel along with a couple of the other makeup artists, bidding them goodbye as she unlocked her door and entered her room before collapsing on the bed in front of her.

The following day, Kelley hurried inside the van. She had overslept, and had just had time to pull her long red hair, still wet from the shower, into a high ponytail. Becka smiled at her with a good natured tut. "Look lively! We've got a couple of the main actors in today. Have to make a good first impression!"

A short while later, a woman entered the room, and took a seat at Kelley's workstation. She was stunningly beautiful, even with no makeup on and her long brown hair hanging loose. Kelley caught sight of her own harried reflection in her mirror and sighed inwardly to herself.

Despite her intimidating appearance, the woman was extremely friendly and chatted away whilst Kelley and another artist worked on her. Once finished, she gave Kelley a quick hug, exclaiming her thanks before bounding out of the van.

Cleaning up her station, Kelley glanced up as another person entered the room, a man this time, her heart almost stopping as she took in his recognisable features. Jameson Powers, one of the most famous actors for the past 20 years stood there. Tall and incredibly handsome with wavy brown hair, he took her breath away. Kelley was almost relieved when he seated himself at Becka's workstation instead of her own.

Working with her own clients, Kelley found her attention constantly drawn back over to where the man was reclined back in a chair, Becka murmuring quietly to him as she bent over him. She fought down the stab of jealousy and breathed a sigh of relief as she finished her last client of the day. As she gathered her things together, one of the other artists hurried over to her. "Hey, there's a party tonight, you coming? Should be a good one!" he grinned at her hopefully.

"I don't know Tristan" she sighed. "I really shouldn't, I've got an early start tomorrow".

He looked at her with a puppy dog expression "come on Cinderella, I'll get you back to the hotel before midnight. It's a good way for you to get to know the rest of the crew!

Laughing, Kelley agreed and arranged to meet him and a few others in the hotel lobby later that evening.

It took her a while to get ready, as she couldn't decide what to wear, but eventually settled on a short silver dress, blow drying her long hair straight and leaving it loose around her shoulders.

Once they arrived at the nearby club, there were a groups of others inside who she recognised from the set, included people from the props department and some of the minor actors. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and Kelley joined in along with them on the dance floor. After a few hours she looked up and found herself locking eyes with Jameson  who was sitting alone in a booth across the room, a stoic bodyguard standing  behind him. She let out a small gasp, and Tristan glanced up sharply from behind her, spotting where she was looking. "My my, eying up the big bad boss are you?" he rolled his eyes. "Seriously Kelley, don't go there, you'll regret it". Kelley glared at him. "I'm not! I wasn't doing anything! I was just surprised to see him here, that's all!" 

Tristan let out a sarcastic laugh. "What, lording it in here, keeping a beady eye on his drooling fan club? There's a reason he chooses to come in here and it's not to ensure his lowly minions are kept in line". He finished his drink. "I'm off to the bar, you want another?" She nodded and he disappeared into the crowd.

Kelley looked back towards Jameson, noting he was still watching her. She flushed and hurried towards a nearby table, becoming aware of just how much her feet were aching. She settled down in a seat to wait for Tristan.

Suddenly she sensed someone beside her. The bodyguard she had noticed earlier stood there holding out a brightly coloured cocktail glass. He nodded to her. "From Mr Powers, miss. He said if you cared to join him....?" He set the glass down in front of her and left before Kelley could say a word. She took a sip, trying to decide what to do.

Before she could make her mind up, Tristan slid into the seat next to her with a couple of bottles of beer,, raising his eyebrows when he noticed the drink in her hand. "Jameson sent it over" she told him. He frowned. "And suggested you go over there to keep him company? Jeez Kelley, don't be this stupid, please!"

Kelley looked furiously up at him "don't you dare call me stupid! You don't know me!" She gulped the rest of her drink down in one go and slammed the empty glass down on the table, glaring defiantly at Tristan. He sighed and rubbed his eyes before reaching over to take her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. You're not stupid, just naive. Men like him, sure, he's good looking, has the power, rolling in money, but that doesn't make him a nice person. I've seen it too many times. Girls like you, ending up with their hearts broken, because they thought they were different, special to him".

Kelley didn't meet his eyes, concentrating instead on their fingers, still entwined on the table. "I am different" she mumbled "but I'm not going to do anything like that. I've got a reason..." She was aware of her words beginning to slur. Tristan looked at her in concern "god, just how many of those drinks have you had?" He pulled her to her feet, steadying her as she leaned into him. "Come on Cinderella, I promised you I'd see you to your pumpkin before midnight, and unlike some, I keep my promises."

The next morning, Kelley awoke in her hotel room, noting with relief she was alone. She had an awful taste in her mouth and a pounding headache. She tried to sit up but the room was spinning. She fumbled for her phone, dialling Becka's number. 

"You mean you got drunk? Shit, Kelley, you know I fought to get you this job! And now you can't come in because of a hangover?"

"Becka, honestly, I only had a couple of drinks. I don't know why I feel like this!" Kelley put her head in her hands, hating herself for being so irresponsible. On the other end of the phone Becka's voice softened "honey, I know this is all so new and exciting for you, I don't blame you for wanting to party. But you have responsibilities to us too. I've told Tristan he needs to look after you better next time. Not that there should be a next time, yet! " she paused. "Also, you should know, Mr Powers came in, asking if you were available to do his makeup. When did you meet him? Anyway, I'm not sure what happened there, but you better be in tomorrow, to keep Mr Bigshot happy!"

Kelley felt a frisson of excitement in her belly, which was quickly pushed away by another wave of dizziness. Agreeing with Becka, she hung up, and went back to sleep.

Feeling refreshed, Kelley arrived early to work, greeted by a quick hug with Becka who took the opportunity to whisper in her ear "now, don't be scared but Mr Powers is on his way in and I'm guessing he'll ask for you again. He can be a bit....well, just be careful ok?"

As predicted, when Jameson entered the room a short while later, he made his way straight over to her station, and held his hand out "I'd like to know the name of the girl who didn't thank me for my drink". She nervously shook his hand "Kelley and I'm sorry about that. I meant to, but I must have drank more than I realised, and my friend took me home". She blushed as he nodded, frowning. "Well if that's the case, I'm glad you had a friend to keep you safe".

He sat down in her chair, and although Kelley was still intimidated, she tried hard to replicate what she had seen Becka do a couple of days before. As she worked, she felt herself relaxing and even laughing as he told jokes and tidbits of gossip. When she'd finished, Jameson got up to leave and handed her a card with his telephone number. "There's something about you, I feel I need to get to know you more. Give me a ring later so we can talk."

Later that night, Kelley straightened her shirt, and checked she didn't have lipstick on her teeth. It had taken her a while to decide what to wear, when he'd invited her to his hotel earlier, she definitely wanted to look respectable for him. Whilst she waited for him to answer, she ran through the speech she'd prepared on the way here.  Gently and honestly as she explained to him the reason she had wanted to meet him in person. He had enquired about going for a meal first, but she wanted to tell him what was on her mind without other people being around.

Jameson beckoned her inside, taking her coat, and offering her a drink. She opted for water, feeling how dry with nerves her throat was. Pouring himself a glass of brandy, he joined her on the sofa, closer than Kelley expected.

She cleared her throat "sir, thanks for letting me come here today, I actually asked my friend to get me the job here so I could meet you, you see..."

He cut her off "what's with this sir business? You can call me Jameson. After all, you did say we needed to get to know each other better..."

Without warning he suddenly lunged at her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders, pinning her underneath him. His tongue forced its way into her mouth, blocking her blocking her shocked protestations. Biting down hard on his lip, she caused him to rear back long enough for her to knee him in the groin and struggle out of his grasp. "What are you playing at, you little prick tease? You came here for this!" he sneered at her, going to grab her arm again.

"I came here to tell you you're my father!" Kelley screamed "my mother told me everything. I've seen pictures of you together. You dropped her when you became famous, you knew she was pregnant!" She looked at him. His face was pale, as he kneeled on the sofa. She felt bile rise in her throat. "You're an absolute bastard. You almost raped your own fucking daughter. I didn't want anything from you. I just thought you should know. You don't even deserve that". She paused "wait, that night at the club, did you DRUG me? To get me to come here? You put something in that drink you sent over. I should have realised then!"

Kelley grabbed her bag and yanked open the door. Glancing back, she saw him for the pathetic creature he was. No longer the handsome hero as she'd imagined when watching him onscreen. instead he was weak, preying on impressionable girls to make himself look important. Had her mother known? It would explain why she'd kept it hidden all these years.  He didn’t deserve to know either of them.