There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "Where are you?" He said it against his better judgement.
"I'm at Hunt's." Alex cringed as she said it. If that news was upsetting Ethan didn't let on. "I'll be there in ten. You should call Addison." He hung up.
"Ethan?" Hunt was standing behind her holding two healthy glasses of scotch.
"Yeah. Was calling him unfair thing to do?" Alex could still hear the conflict in Ethan's voice. She shouldn't have said she needed him…no matter how subconscious it was still a dirty play.
Hunt sat down and handed Alex her drink. "It depends on who you were calling. If you were looking for your agent then, no. He has a professional obligation to help you. If it was more personal, then it may have been a rash decision."
"With Ethan there's hardly ever been a line between professional and personal," Alex lamented.
Tersely he replied, "Not exactly music to my ears, but I understand what you mean."
"We never had a reason to define it. We were friends that worked together. It was fine, or least I thought it was…" She looked down into her scotch and took a big gulp.
"Alex, you can't torture yourself over this. You have absolutely no control over other people's emotions. Sure, the "I need you" may have been unintentionally manipulative…" He trailed off hoping to soften the critique.
Glancing out of her periphery at him she said, "Fuck, you heard that?"
"Was I not supposed to?" Hunt frowned, troubled.
Alex mumbled with embarrassment, "No…I just— it wasn't exactly my finest moment."
Gently, he tucked a stand of hair behind her ear. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. And it wasn't a lie. We're going to need all the help we can get and Blake is one of the best agents I've met. Speaking of agents, I should give my own people a call."
"You have people?"
"Of course I do. I'm a highly visible public figure I need to cover my ass somehow…especially when I do things like date a student," he joked trying to lighten the mood.
Welcoming the attempt Alex cracked a half-smile. "I guess all we have to do is wait for the cavalry to arrive. Which reminds me, I need to call Addison."
Ethan looked down at his phone, 'Alex' lit up his screen It was a call he had been expecting but not one he was looking forward too. He tried to ignore it, but at the last minute something compelled him to pick up.
"Ethan?" That may have been his favorite sound. "I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now. But this Bianca thing just went nuclear…and…I need you. Please."
He never should have answered. Angry at his inability to deny her anything, Ethan let out a heavy sigh. "Where are you?"
"I'm at Hunt's"
It felt like he had been slapped. Where else? Aloofly he replied, "I'll be there in ten. You should call Addison."
Ethan ended the call and almost threw his phone across the room. He was so sick of this. Watching her with Chris had been one thing, at least he was America's sweetheart; he was good for her. But when Alex started to show interest in Hunt, Ethan hoped it would pass, that she was simply a student infatuated with the handsome professor, because he knew whether Hunt intended to or not all he would bring Alex was heartache. And he had been right…here he was grabbing his car keys rushing off to rescue her because of fucking Thomas Hunt.
Ethan's phone jingled, he was relieved to see it was Addison. "Alex called you?"
Gravely she answered, "Yeah, it doesn't sound good. I think they're in real trouble this time. Any chance I could get a ride?"
"This never would have happened if they had shown a little restraint."
"Ethan…" Addison said in a mollifying voice
"I don't need your pity, Addison. I'm fine."
Her voice hardened. "You are clearly not fine. You just got a call from the girl you're in love with asking you to help her continue to sneak around with someone else. I'd be worried if you were fine."
"Okay, you and Alex need to stop using the 'love' word like it's a catchphrase. She's a good friend that I'll admit I'm attracted to, but it's far from love."
"Whatever. I know you like her more than you're willing to admit. Either way, our friend needs us. Can I get a ride or not?"
"Only if you promise to stop reading into Alex and me more than is wholly necessary."
"Fine. I'll stop telling you the truth if that's what you want," Addison grumbled.
He didn't bother responding to that overstatement and barked, "If you want a ride I'm leaving now. Be ready."
"I will, and your mood better have improved by the time you get here." With that she hung up.
Ethan ran his hand over his head, this was going to be a long night.
Hunt was pacing back and forth, jaw clenched, with the phone pressed to his ear. "Yes, it's an emergency— No, I don't want to explain it to you over the phone— You work for me,remember? —Just get over here and I'll tell you everything. Well, you can tell him something more important came up…I don't know, that's your job." Hunt ended the call annoyed.
"That was your PR rep?" Alex said laughing. "She sounds like quite a handful."
"Yes, that was Veronica. She's…a bit of a barracuda and apparently I interrupted a dinner with George Clooney. She was even less pleased when I wouldn't tell her why."
"Yeah, I don't blame her. Dinner with George Clooney? Sign me up." It just slipped out.
Hunt raised an eyebrow at her, a smile flirting on his lips. "Do I have something to worry about?"
"I just meant he's a Hollywood legend, that's all." And a silver fox.
Hunt was about to retort when there was a knock. He went to the door and met Ethan and Addison. Immediately, Addison ran up and gave Alex a hug. "Alex. I'm so sorry! I can't believe Bianca. She's just pure evil." She released Alex and nodded to Hunt with more demure. "Professor."
He smiled back. "Ms. Sinclair, I'm glad you're willing to help. Alex speaks very highly of you."
Addison's cheeks glowed a deep rose colour. "Anything for a friend."
Hunt turned to Ethan holding out his hand. "Mr. Blake, thank you for coming on such short notice. I'm sure you understand the time-sensitive nature of this…situation."
Alex watched cautiously unsure what to expect. Thankfully, Ethan broke into an easy smile and shook Hunt's hand. "Professor Hunt, of course. If you don't mind I would like to have a word with my client…in private."
She threw Ethan a look. "Whatever you want to say you can say it—"
Hunt interrupted. "It's fine. You can use my study. Down the hall, to the left. Addison, would you like to help me make some tea and coffee. I have a feeling we're going to need it."
Addison looked thrilled at the prospect of one-on-one time with him.
Ethan dragged Alex into Hunt's study. It was a modest sized room with a large bay window, and modern wooden furniture. There was less mahogany than Alex would have expected but plenty of books and a few mementos from his early directing days. Streamlined but classic, just like its occupier.
Alex closed the door. "I'm not interested in a lecture, Ethan."
"Don't worry, you've got Professor Boyfriend for that."
It was a low blow.
"If you are going to keep throwing that in my face then you're no better than Bianca."
"Someone has to mention it and I seem to be the only person taking it into consideration. He is your professor, Alex. The only way this ends is in disaster…what am I saying? It already has," he snorted.
"You think I haven't taken that into consideration?" Alex said heatedly.
"I can't see how you could have and still ended up at the conclusion that staying with him is the right answer. Especially now that Bianca's involved. She'll never let this rest."
"The reason we're standing here months, not days, after the masquerade is because he's my professor. I considered it all and I decided I care about him more than I do about what people think."
"Don't care what people think? You called me to cover this up," he challenged harshly.
"That's out of necessity. I'm not ashamed of my relationship with Thomas, but if the media got a hold of this now, they'd twist it. They'd make it into a horrible fetish of his, or mine, or whatever, and most importantly, it's no one's business."
Cynically Ethan argued, "This is Hollywood, it's everyone's business."
"It doesn't have to be." A flicker of fear invaded her speech.
Ethan softened. "When did you decide? That he was worth this?"
"I've felt seriously about him since the masquerade, but I wasn't sure there was any hope until Centaurus Lost."
"Sounds about right," Ethan commented unimpressed.
"I know this must be hard to understand, but we have this…I don't know how to describe it…but it's nothing I've ever felt before. Especially when we were filming. There were a lot of late nights where we were often too tired to put up the fronts we'd usually have crafted with precision. I got to see that there's more to him then he'd ever let most people know and in exchange I started to let him in. We aren't just screwing around."
He looked at her for a long time before responding. "I'm sorry, Alex, but I can't support this. Whatever you think you feel for him I can't imagine it's worth your reputation…your future. You can do so much more than be Thomas Hunt's student-notoriously-turned-girlfriend and if you keep this up, that's all they'll ever see."
Alex had tried, but he wasn't in the mindset she needed him to be, if they hadn't been friends, if he didn't have feelings for her, she was sure he'd be behaving differently. And that was who she needed: her agent, her press superstar. "Stop acting like you're only doing this to protect my career or whatever you tell yourself…I know, Ethan."
His mask wavered briefly. "You know what?"
"You…like me." The words felt so juvenile.
He didn't deny it, but he didn't confirm it either. "That's what you think this is about? I'm recommending you stop dating your teacher, Alex. It's hardly an unreasonable request."
Alex crossed her arms. "That's what any old agent would say; the Ethan Blake I know lives for a challenge. The only reason you're suggesting this uninspired plan is because you have a personal stake in the outcome."
Refusing to trust his words she stepped closer searching his face for the truth. Ethan tried not to meet her gaze but found he couldn't resist. Alex was looking up at him with an odd mix of sympathy and determination. He loved her eyes and how they never seemed to commit to a colour family continually shifting between blue and green; at the moment they were a bewitching emerald.
"You're right."
Before he could stop himself, Ethan leaned down and kissed her.