A Humble Heart (Hollywood Hearts #1)(61)

Dana sighed and pulled out the money she'd stuffed in her pockets for a hotel earlier. “Look, gentlemen, I can guarantee that if you even think about showing any of those tapes, my future mother-in-law will have a field day with you in court. You’ll be in serious debt before you’re old enough to drink. What I suggest is that you give me all of the tapes, and they better be the real tapes, and I will give you each,” she thumbed through her money, “Four hundred dollars.”

“Four hundred bucks?” the middle and short one asked.

“Yes, but I want all of your tapes, that includes blanks.”

“Done!” the two young men said. They handed her five tapes and took their money, happily. “Thanks!”

“No problem, gentlemen. How about you?” Dana asked the tall boy.

“This is bullshit!”

“Don’t talk to her like that again,” Edward snapped.

“Just give her the tapes. Don’t be such a prick, Brad. She’s not an ice bitch like you said she was,” the shorter one said.

“Um, thanks,” Dana mumbled, too stunned to manage a coherent sentence.

“Fine!” he slammed three tapes into Edward’s hand. “But, you two douche bags, can find another ride home.”

`“What the hell, man!” the middle one said.

“Come on, guys, we’ll give you a ride home,” the officer said.

“That’s cool,” the short one said. He looked at Dana. “I’m sorry. I hope we didn’t embarrass you.”

“It’s fine, guys. I appreciate your help.” She pulled out a fifty and handed it to the short one. “This is to cover the cost of the tapes.”

“This is going to sound ballsy after what we just did, but um, could I have your autograph? I’m a huge fan of your books,” the middle one said nervously.

“No, that’s fine.” Dana said, chuckling. She signed as Edward looked on protectively. When the short one went to hug Dana he stepped forward.

“Oops, sorry man,” the boy said, grinning nervously.

********

“That was embarrassing,” Dana said as she followed Edward upstairs to his old bedroom. It was after five in the morning and everyone else was still asleep.

Cole stumbled out of his room and walked into Edward’s room. “I want to sleep with Daddy,” he announced.

“You and me both kiddo,” Dana mumbled, making Edward laugh.

He kissed her. “I’m sorry. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I see how it is.”

“Exactly.” He walked to his room and paused before closing the door. “Sorry, no girls allowed,” he said with a mischievous smile as he shut the door. She made her way back to the room Cole abandoned and collapsed on the bed.

Dana woke up an hour later and made her way into the bathroom, feeling the need for a shower before everyone else woke up in the morning. She washed her hair and stayed under the hot water until she was completely relaxed.

Afterwards she went downstairs and sat at the computer, knowing no one else would be up for an hour. The kids had to get up in an hour to get ready for school and for Deana. She decided to check her e-mail. She answered her fan’s emails twice a week.

“Oh great,” she muttered to herself. They made the headlines last night. The lead stories were about the bomb. She read over the stories, most of them were pretty accurate. She didn’t appreciate the pictures of her kids scared and huddling on the ground when the gun was pointed their way.

A headline caught her eye, “Dana Mathews is an unfit mother.” She felt her stomach twist into a knot. She read through the article which mentioned Cole’s burns from a few months ago, the fact that she was a single mother, well was officially, and left her kids with friends while she worked. If she was anyone else people would be saying she had great friends helping her out, but since she was sort of a celebrity she was abandoning them.

The fact that Deana was both a friend and an employee didn’t make a difference to them. She read through the article until it mentioned her unborn children and the concerns for an unwed mother taking care of four children. There was an interesting interview from Jeff who surprisingly said he knew the kids were in great hands and he didn’t have a single worry.

She read through a few more articles that informed her of things she wasn't aware of. Apparently she used sex as a weapon with her ex-husband and was a recovering alcoholic even though she never so much as tasted a drop of alcohol in her entire life. Why make herself sick on purpose, that was her motto. There was several more claiming that she was a sex addict, very interesting…well, she was addicted to sex with Edward, but who wouldn’t be? The man was incredible in bed.

Edward apparently, according to several articles, was very unhappy in the relationship and looking to get out. Dana apparently was forcing him under her thumb because of the babies. There were pictures of Edward moving boxes out of his house. The article described how she laid down the law and made him move in with her. She was pretty sure she was the last one to know that he was living with her. Even the kids seemed to know before her.

“Darn it,” she muttered. She got stuck on a page that wouldn’t back track. She hit the home key to refresh the screen and felt her heart speed up with an alert on Yahoo. “Sex tape of Edward Pierce and Dana Mathews leaked on web.”