"Actually," he said, shaking his head, "I think we need to find a way to publicise this that doesn't ruin either of our careers."

That was an impossible task, of course, but as soon as Thomas had spoken the words, he knew he wanted nothing more in the world than to be by Danielle's side not only in the privacy of their own homes, but also in the eyes of the public. If he had told himself he wanted it for Danielle's sake only, that would have been a lie. His reasons were selfish first and foremost because he didn't want to watch from the sidelines when she walked the red carpets of the world, he didn't want to be seated on the other end of the room when they attended industry events together, and he sure as hell didn't just want to sit in the audience and clap when she inevitably won her first Audrey. No, he wanted to stand up and kiss her when she returned from the stage, and that was exactly what he would do, because there was no way he could ever pretend he was only a former professor of hers. He'd never been just that. And she'd never been just a student. Not even the student. She was Danielle Allen, and even though he'd never admitted to himself, she'd always had him wrapped around her finger because she was simply her.

"But… how?" Danielle asked quietly, ripping him right from his thoughts. "Don't get me wrong, I want that more than anything, but I don't see a way to make it happen."

Thomas sighed, knowing full well she was right. He knew himself that this wouldn't be easy but, for all the reasons he'd listed before, he had no choice. "Let's get back to the cabin and regroup. I think we need to get your—we need to get Winters involved, and anyone else who could be helpful."

The whole world had seen the kiss now, anyway, so why would he keep this a secret from those closest to Danielle? After all, she trusted them, and if she did, Thomas would have to trust them, too.

When they returned to the cabin, walking at a somewhat safe distance from each other, there were a million thoughts running through Danielle's mind. She'd thought it was all over, but Hunt had said something she'd never thought possible. He didn't want to bury this – he wanted her, publicly. Unfortunately, she knew that wasn't going to be easy, but they had to try, right?

Back in the living room, Chris and Zoe were already waiting for them. "Sorry, I had to tell her."

"Yeah, and I honestly think you should have told me," Zoe said, clearly not very amused. "Dani, you know I'm always down to help, and so is Desi, by the way."

Hunt grimaced. "Desirée Stone knows?"

"Don't worry, she's on our side," Danielle said, turning to him. At least she hoped so, but she had no reason to believe otherwise. "Besides, we could use all the help we can get."

Chris chimed in again, then, "And especially your agent's, Dani. I think we should get Ethan out here to—"

"No," Hunt interrupted, shaking his head. "No one else is coming out here. And we're not staying."

Everyone turned to him in shock. What did he mean, they weren't staying? Danielle asked, puzzled, "But what about the movie? What about—"

"Montmartre broke his word. Yes, he still has more, but I am no longer in any way obligated to be a part of this project."

Danielle looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Did you forget that everyone else here is bound by a contract? We can't just leave so easily."

It wasn't quite true – Ethan had said he could get Danielle out of her contract, but she was not about to leave her friends behind. She'd meant it when she'd told him it wasn't just about Hunt.

Hunt laughed, then, shaking his head. "Not to discredit any of you, but I am the director, and this film is not getting made without one. If you want to stay here, Danielle, be my guest. But I will be leaving, and I would love it if you came with me so we can take care of this mess together."

With that, he walked towards the stairs, probably ready to pack and get the hell out of here. Danielle shrugged at the other two. Hunt was right, and Montmartre would call them back to L.A. as soon as he heard that Hunt was gone, anyway. So they all went upstairs to pack their things. Unsurprisingly, Chris kept asking Danielle all kinds of questions about the situation with Montmartre and Hunt while they were putting their things back into their respective suitcases. Danielle did her best to answer them truthfully – there was not much of a point in lying now, was there?

Until that one question came that she had been dreading. "He said Viktor has got more on you, right? Like, pictures from when you were at Hollywood U?"

"Yes," Danielle said with a sigh. "Look, it really isn't—"

Chris cut her off. "You know I'm no longer… I mean, we talked about this, but… there really was nothing going on between you two then? Nothing ever happened?"

Danielle swallowed hard. She could have easily just said no and it wouldn't have been a lie. But it wouldn't have been the truth, either. She put the final piece of clothing into her bag, then closed the zipper and turned back to Chris. "Nothing like what you are probably thinking of, but you know it has always been… tricky with him."

"Did you ever have feelings for him?" he asked.

Wow, that was an even worse question. "Beyond how much I hated him, at times? No, not that I thought I did, but in retrospect, I may have. But does it matter? He never did. My relationship to Hunt was nothing beyond what you thought it was, I swear."

"Good. You're one of my best friends, Dani, and I do know you would never hurt me on purpose, but this whole thing is bigger than just you and him," he said slowly. "I don't only want to know these things for my peace of mind, but also because I would hate to be caught off-guard when asked about you. And you know they still do. They always ask about us when we're working together."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Danielle said, almost laughing. Then, she sighed again. "Look, I'm not keeping any secrets from you, okay? You'll be the first – well, realistically, second or third, but you know what I mean – to know about what we're going to do and say to the public, all right?"

Chris nodded. "All right. Now, go on, I know you're just dying to talk to him again. I'll meet you at the airport, yes?"

"Thanks. Seriously," she said, then hugged him. "You really are a good friend, you know that?"

Thomas felt relieved when he'd heard the others come upstairs as well, but he was nervous. He had talked a big game downstairs, but he was not the biggest player in it by any means. Despite feeling absolutely justified in his decision to leave after Montmartre had, not so surprisingly, broken his word, he knew that the bastard still had all the power. What bothered him even more, however, was not knowing why Montmartre had done this. He, too, must have known that Thomas would walk away the second any of this got out. Why would he have gone to such lengths to hire him only to risk losing him almost right away? The film was nowhere near done and, just as he had said, it was not going to be made anytime soon without a director. It just didn't make any sense.

His train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Thomas didn't have to guess who it was. "Come on in," he said, expecting to see Danielle when he turned around, but that wasn't who was walking through the door.

"We need to have a little chat," the very man he'd just been wondering about said. Viktor Montmartre turned back around and locked the door. "Without your little pet, preferably."