Alter Ego: His Sultry Lover

"You're learning really fast," Cage grumbled. Learning fast meant she was getting disillusioned about his world. At the end of the road, she would see the real picture. She might not run away but she might come to dislike him.

"And you sound haunted by that. Don't worry. Just because I had a setback doesn't mean I'll break down every time something happens to me." She wished she could role her eyes or reassure him in another way.

"I hope so. I'd have to whip you into shape otherwise," he proclaimed proudly.

"Your dominant side is coming out. I'm not a whips and chains kind of gal, Mr. Cavanaugh. I'll settle for some spanks, though. I miss them." Cage groaned as he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Beautiful picture. Not helpful.

"I don't want to talk about your beautiful ass," he bit back. "We don't have a shower I can use nearby." Poor baby.

"Tonight," she promised. 

"Tonight," he replied, relief flushing through him. The makeup artist was back, waiting for him to be done with the call. He smiled politely at the woman before closing her eyes and calming himself down. "I need to get my makeup done and change. Miss you."

Though she didn't want to hang up, she knew they both had work to do. She shook her head, feeling a lot better than before and murmured a quick 'I love you,' before hanging up. 

Her mind was clear and her chest didn't feel like it would explode, so she got to work.

But before that, she needed to text Laurence to let him know she would come over. She needed someone to go with her, though. She called up on her friends and lured Angelina into coming with her. Relieved, she finally sent the text. 

[K: Send the address of your hotel. I am free tomorrow at 7.]

[L: Thank you!] He replied immediately. The location was attached. She saw it and calculated. It was half an hour away, so she could slowly finish work and then go over. 

With that, she turned to her laptop and started to edit the videos. She needed to post as soon as possible to maximize effect. 

"You've got to call in a couple of minutes," Stephen reminded him as they sat in the car and made their way back to the hotel. The clothes for next day's shoot were finalized and the lines were gone over meticulously before he left the premises. He had found that he had become leaner than before. Somehow, despite being well-fed and eating without abandon before he came to shoot, he had somehow retained body shape. Thank god for that. Though that meant the stylists altering his clothes last minute, he felt better about his body. He did look amazing, if he may say so himself.

Cage called the prearranged number and waited for someone to pick up. "Hi, this is Entertainment Tonight's guest line. How may I help you?0

"Hello, this is Cage Cavanaugh. I was asked to call this number shortly before I am supposed to go live," he informed, helpfully.

"Oh!" the woman cooed, overjoyed. "I'll put you through immediately."

There was a pause and then the interviewer was on. "Hi, Cage. Thanks for calling in. We'll be right on after the commercial, okay?" Cage wanted to scoff at how benevolent and appreciative this interviewer sound, nothing like how he threatened him if he didn't come on.

"Sure," Cage agreed, kicking back on the seat.

"And we are on in five…" In the background, the producer was counting down. "This is Entertainment Tonight and I am on the phone with… you guessed it, Cage Cavanaugh!" There was a round of applause. The live audience was cheering for him.

"Hi everyone," Cage spoke. "Thank you for having me." Not that he was given a chance to say no.

"Cage, we are beyond excited." Of course, he was. Cage smirked at that. "You've been on everyone's mind in the past couple of days…" he trailed off, wanting Cage to take up the conversation from there.

Cage laughed warmly. "Yeah, it has been loud since Giselle outed me in front of the world." He tried to keep the edge out of his voice and he succeeded wonderfully. He brought it on himself, he had no one else to blame.

"You've been single for a very long time now and we haven't gotten any official news from you for a couple of months. What prompted you to open up?" The interviewer asked.

Right. Back to the questions. "I have been career-oriented since the beginning and never gotten into a relationship. Well, love does slam you in the face when you are least expecting it."

The interviewer laughed. "Well, now that you say it, maybe I have been looking too hard for love. That's why I am so single." Cage laughed along with the audience, not talking about how shitty the interviewer was as a person. That was why he was single. "So, what can you tell us about your mystery girl?"

He expected that question. Giselle was yet to publish the article, so no one knew that he didn't want to talk about it. "The only thing I can tell you is that she makes me happy beyond belief. Also, please don't look for pictures of us together. She's not in town and you will never find them." The confidence made the interviewer pause.

"You won't even tell us a name? You're really making me think that she is imaginary!" The interviewer sang like a canary.

"She is unreal, but definitely part of this world," Cage engaged without taking offense. "She's not part of the industry. That's all."

"It's hard to meet someone who is not in the business. How did you come across her?" The actual question was, how did you evade the cameras while you dated.

He was done with the question. "It is difficult but not impossible. There is one more thing I can tell you about her." The taunt in his voice was evident. He wanted the audience to take the bait. Whispers broke out as the audience went wild.

"What's that?" The interviewer question hurriedly.