Free Sweet Downfall by Eve Montelibano

what’s wrong?”
    “There’s something you need to see.”
    “What? Show me!”
    Betty gestured to the executive table. Several tabloids were lying there. She frowned. “You know I don’t read those stuff, Betty.”
    “Those were brought in by some employees of the hotel.” Betty was twisting her fingers in apparent agitation.
    She raised a brow. “And why would they bring tabloids to my office?”
    Betty gingerly picked up one tabloid and showed the front page to her. The headline screamed in big bold, red letters, almost dominating half of the entire page.
    Angelina Yulo and Jaq Montero in a Sex Video Scandal?!
    It didn’t register at first. Why would her name be in a tabloid? With Jaq Montero of all people?
    Wait…Sex video?!
    She went cold all over.
    “Oh my God!” she gasped, her hand on her throat.
    Her legs turned to rubber and she grabbed the back of a chair to steady herself. She walked on wobbly legs toward the sofa and dropped on it. Suddenly nauseous, she was afraid she would retch on the carpet. She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves.
    “Angie, are you okay?” she heard Betty ask anxiously.
    Okay? Oh God! She didn’t understand. Why would she be in the rags with Joaquim Arkeus Montero, that Hollywood director who was as famous as the actors he directed, at least in this country? She was afraid to read the articles. But she was sure it was bad! Sex video? What sex video?
    Jordan! She had to talk to Jordan first before he’d get to see those tabloids!
    With shaking hands, she groped for her cellphone inside her bag. She blanched when she saw the screen. 27 miscalls! Mostly from Jordan, her father and brothers! She didn’t hear the rings. She forgot to unmute her phone from last night.
    She was afraid to make a call now.
    Her phone suddenly vibrated. Terrified, she just stared at it.
    The caller was her fiancé.

    Today was a holiday in hell.
    Jaq was on the phone talking to his company’s publicist. Lulu called him from LA screaming like a banshee she nearly busted his left eardrum. Fuck. Shit traveled fast nowadays. The internet was an uncontrollable monster.
    “No, Lulu! I ain’t doing any press conference to deny it! That’s me in the vid. Yeah. I’m sorry. It’s an old, old video....Hey, listen, this is different.... No, I’m not dating her. No…an old girlfriend from way back. I don’t care!...Listen! Relax. You don’t need to issue any statement. I don’t need to talk to the local press either….Just Jared? The fuck? What do they want from me? I’m a fucking director not Justin Bieber! They should leave my ass alone! Alright…alright…I’ll deal with it, okay? I need to go. I’ll call you later.”
    He angrily ended the call. “Joey!” he barked.
    His PA popped up inside the huge tent. “Geez, man, seems like you’re back to your ol’ bad boy days! They want your ass!” She meant the local paparazzi trying to kill each other to get a piece of him. The security men he’d hired were fending them off. He had no idea the local paparazzi could be as rabid as their western counterparts.
    The world was awaiting his next opus as this was a major studio production, especially in this country where Hollywood movies were regular entertainment staple.
    On normal shooting days, people flocked to his set like tourists but they didn’t behave like this. Madness! His set quickly turned into a damn circus and he was the main entertainment.
    “I think you can make a living as a porn star, cuz,” Joey commented.
    Jaq kicked one of the plastic chairs near him, sending it like a missile toward Joey who jumped back in surprise, narrowly missing getting hit.
    “Aw, man! A joke, okay?!” she whined.
    “Shut the fuck up!” he growled.
    She made a face and hunched her shoulders.
    He really wanted to kick someone’s butt for real.
    Eric Gould, one of his assistant directors entered the tent. “Jaq, I think we need to stop shooting for now. The crowd’s getting