Off Camera

Chapter 52

Tee POV

I don't like this one bit. How can a rescheduled event suddenly go back to the original date? Isn't the purpose of rescheduling it so it isn't on the original date?

Ugh...

I march through the agency's front door and past the reception desk, ignoring the young lady trying to stop me. With a wave of my hand in the air, I huff, "I'm here to see my agent."

"But.."

I don't care what she has to say. They aren't going to stop me now.

Tae is still working through his problems after the phone call earlier from Jane. It is best for him to stay back at the apartment, anyway. I don't need him having another panic attack because he saw someone who looked like his crazy stalker. It would break my heart to see him going through another one in a day.

I grind my teeth together while my mind runs through what I'm going to say to Jane. Usually, she is so supportive, but this time she is throwing Tae to the wolves. I bet if he was unconscious, she would have propped him up in a wheelchair and continued on with the event.

This whole thing is so infuriating.

I march through the halls and ignore anyone trying to greet me. I'm on a mission, and I don't want anything to stop me.

With steam rolling off me, I march right to Jane's office and, without knocking, walk right in. A younger man is sitting in front of her desk. She stops in mid-sentence and looks up from her guest. She raises an eyebrow and stares at me.

The muscle along her jaw twitches. "Do you need something? I'm in a meeting right now."

Her curt voice irritates me, and I stomp forward, glaring at her. "How could you? Do you have any idea what you did to Tae? He..."

Her stern and frustrated look quickly morphs into one of concern and worry. "What happened to Tae? I didn't say anything to him to trigger an attack."

A snort slips from me. "Yes, you did. Your entire conversation was a trigger. Do you know he couldn't even talk? I came out of the bathroom to find him collapsed on the floor. Collapsed! He couldn't even talk. Somehow, he luckily managed to call his doctor, and the doctor was trying to calm him down when I walked back into the room."

I shake my head and breathe fire. "If anything had happened to him, I would hold you and the event responsible for it."

She shakes her head. "The event? He had a panic attack talking to me about the event."

My lip twitches as I nod. "Yes. It was so bad he couldn't even talk. All he could do when I found him was make a few grunting noises. Nothing else."

Her eyes widen as she slowly shakes her head. "He has never had a panic attack from talking about an event."

I stride over to her desk and slam my hand on top of it. "We can't even talk about the crazy witch anymore or he will start to panic. One mention of her and his mind races while his breathing shallows out and turns to short pants. He might have slowed down his sessions with the doctor, but it doesn't mean he is over the issue. Tae needs weeks, if not months or years, off to recoup and recover from this."

If it is up to me, I would make him take several months off until he starts to feel better. Unfortunately, he can't do that. He has already committed to a few small projects and is hunting for another big drama to do. He has plenty of money and could afford to rest longer, but he doesn't want to take too long off, or he will lose his top actor status.

To me, the top actor status means nothing if he can't go through the day without having a panic attack.

Jane stares up at me. Tension builds between us and becomes so thick you can cut it with a knife.

After a few moments of our silent staring war, she finally sighs and looks down at her desk. "I was hoping he was doing better, but I see I was a little too hopeful. I understand where you are coming from, but my hands are tied here. There is nothing I can do to postpone or reschedule the event. The sponsor and event organizer have decided, and they have changed their minds. I don't know why they've changed their decision, but there is nothing we can do to change it back."

She looks back up at me and gives me a sympathetic look. "The best I can do is to have plenty of security, so no one can get close to him. Sorry."

Her apology does nothing for me, but I accept she can't do much to change it now. Either way, I don't like it.

My hands ball into fists while I glare down at her.

I want to fight more and voice my frustrations, but it won't change anything.

After a few minutes, I take a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to ask Tae to follow up with the doctor to prep him before the event. Hopefully, the doctor can pull a miracle out, and Tae won't be impacted too much by it. If he is, I'm going to be right next to him and get him through it."

A determination builds within me.

Jane nods. "Good. Now, can I get back to the interview you barged in on?" She raises her eyebrows.

I glance to the young man sitting quietly in the chair. I don't want to end this here, but I don't know what else to say.

I pause for a moment. The young man fidgets in the chair and lowers his head a little before turning his focus to the floor in front of him.

My anger continues to bubble within me, but something about the guy gnaws at me and pulls at my conscience.

Reluctantly, I turn back towards Jane. "Okay, but we are talking about this later and in more detail. I want to know everything you are planning on doing for the event. Don't leave anything out."

She nods. "Fine. Now go."

I continue to stare at her, looking for any sign she doesn't plan on following through, but I see none. Instead, I spot her growing frustrations with me.

I turn towards the young man. "Good luck."

He lifts his head and smiles. "Thanks."

I can feel Jane's eyes burn holes through me. Without looking back at her, I spin on my heels and walk out of her office.

***

Rhonda POV

"Are you sure everything is set?" I lean back in my office chair and tap my finger on the end of the armrest while my gaze locks on my phone, laying in the middle of my desk.

For once, I think things are finally going my way, and hopefully, I'll have what I want soon.

A man's rough voice flows from the phone. "Yes. I've made sure everything is exactly how you wanted it to be. There isn't any way for it to not work this time."

The corners of my mouth curl upwards. "Good. I've already spent way too much money and have gotten nothing. I better get what I want this time, or heads are going to roll."

More than heads will roll if I don't get Tae alone and to myself.

The muscle along my jaw twitches.

Nothing is going to stop me now.

Absolutely nothing.

Published December 21, 2022