chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Taylor made it through the final day of work on the season finale. As she sat down in her trailer, her entire body hurt from the tension she had carried all day. Dodging questions about the article, avoiding calls to the set from reporters, and finally walking through the crowd of reporters and paparazzi trying to get a picture or comment from her had drained the last drop of energy she had left.  

Taylor was ready to be home. She thought about the dinner sitting in her passenger seat that she had picked up from her favorite Mexican restaurant and smiled. At least she could have a quiet and peaceful dinner. Her good mood was increasing as she mentally picked out which movie she would watch during dinner. That good mood was shattered as soon as she could see the entrance to her apartment building; it was filled with reporters. How had they found her? Three years of being on TV and in movies and they had never found her! Someone must have tipped them off. This was NOT a good thing.

The only bright spot Taylor saw was Joel, her doorman/security guard. With a sigh of relief she sent up a prayer of thanks that he was on duty tonight. Joel and his family had taken Taylor in when she first arrived. They were very close. Taylor even thought of his daughter Kim as a sister. Joel had called in backup. Normally there was one security guard, tonight she counted four. Four guards trying to make a path for her to drive through. It took a couple of minutes, but finally there as a path. Taylor parked and took a deep breath as she grabbed her stuff and opened the door. Joel was there; ready to shield her as much as possible. Taylor knew that she had to say something; she had to express her feelings, even if she was not going to answer the reporters’ one burning question.

“Joel, it’s ok. I am going to talk to them. Just stay close.”

Joel looked skeptical, “Ok, if that’s what you want.”

“Apparently what I want is no longer being considered.” Taylor handed her backpack and food to Drew, another security guard that happened to be Joel’s nephew. Then she turned to address the crowd. “Hey guys, I would like to say that since I have been here, no reporter has ever come to my apartment and it is not appreciated.” She tried to continue, but no one was listening because everyone was trying to ask questions. “HEY!” Everyone got quiet. Taylor Robertson was mild mannered and polite; she did not yell. “A press statement has been released. However, apparently it was not to your satisfaction, so I will answer three questions…three. So ask wisely.” She looked out in the crowd and pointed. “You.”

The girl looked startled. She had not expected to be chosen, which is exactly why Taylor had chosen her. She was young and Taylor could tell she was a novice. Maybe this would help her career. Even in with the stress, frustration, and annoyance, Taylor was still trying to help someone else.

“Me? Ummm…okay.” The girl eyes were wide and Taylor saw her swallow. “The statement said you were at an undisclosed location and that you had no intention of disclosure anytime soon. Why have you chosen not to say where you were? Especially considering the reaction.”

Taylor smiled. The girl had guts, and she hadn’t asked where she had gone, which gave her a point in Taylor’s book. “What is your name?”

“Amanda.”

“Okay Amanda, thank you for your question. I have chosen not to say where I was because I believe it is my business and no one else’s. I do not think that the public needs to know where I am all the time. I take my privacy very seriously and I wish that everyone understood that.”

“Thank you.” Amanda said writing furiously in her notebook.

“Question #2: You” Taylor picked a veteran this time. Someone that she had seen on many occasions.

“Yes. Miss Robertson, I would like to know why you have chosen not to tell anyone. Sources have reported that not even your best friend Hailey Lewis knows where you went.”

Taylor was no longer smiling. She knew Hailey wouldn’t have shared this information so the source had to be someone on the show. And she had an idea of who it was. She could have screamed, but she was a professional, so she answered the question with a straight face, none of the reporters knew anything was wrong. “I would like to know who your source is. And I will not confirm or deny what Hailey does or doesn’t know. That is between us. I will say that you are wrong in the belief that no one knows where I went. It is just that very few people know.” He vet reporter did not like her answer, too bad. Taylor picked her last questions, “You.”

The woman smiled, she was happy to be chosen. “Okay. I would like to ask a question that may seem obvious. Any of the rumors of where you went true?”

“No. None of the rumors that I have heard are true. I did not have an abortion. I have never done drugs. I took one drink on my 21^st birthday just because and I have not had any alcohol since. And I do not have an eating disorder. Unless you count not eating due to impromptu press conferences.” She pointed to her now cold dinner and smiled.

A couple of the reporters laughed with her. “That is all I have. I am going to my apartment now.”

“Thank you” was expressed by several of the reporters.

Joel and Drew walked her to the door and went in with her.

“Are you okay?” Joel asked in his fatherly tone.

Taylor smiled. “It was the perfect end to today. But yes I am okay. And I am going to go to my apartment, eat, watch tv, and not think about it until I wake up.”

Drew joined the conversation with a compliment. “You’re tough I will give you that. And you handled yourself very well.”

“Thanks.”

Joel got back to business, “We are going to have two guards on duty as long as this,” he pointed to the door, “continues. I have asked that either Drew or I are here most of the time. Since we know you the best.”

Taylor was touched. It was true that she was more comfortable with Joel and Drew. Joel because he had taken over as her protector when she moved in and Drew because he had taken up right where his uncle had, as protector. They had both been working at the complex since before she moved in, so they had known her before she was ‘somebody.’ Joel had taken her in as family, she was invited to his house for dinner at least once a week and Taylor had become a big sister to Kimberly, Joel’s only daughter. Drew reminded her of her brother; early 30’s, veteran, and humorous even in tough situations. Joel, Drew, and Kimberly were Taylor’s Hollywood family – totally unexpected and absolutely welcome.

“Thanks guys. I appreciate it. Hopefully it won’t last long. Or I will have to come up with a new plan. Good night.”

“Night.”

“Night.”

Finally Taylor was alone. She was so ready for this part of the day. The part where she wasn’t Taylor Robertson. The part where she was just Taylor, a girl from Memphis. She knew though that she owed Hailey an explanation. She deserved to be told. So she picked up the phone and called her best friend.