Matt & Lotta - On the Best Laid Plans of Reporters and Actors...
With a trembling hand, Lotta closed the door to Engarde Mansion behind her. She still couldn't believe what she had seen on that DVD. And she had to write an article about it in a week's time! She knew she had to talk to Matt about it, but... Just standing there, not doing a thing, her face was hot and no doubt beet red... She couldn't help glancing around nervously.
She clutched at her purse, holding the DVD in question. How the hell was she supposed to bring this up?
Matt stood silently in the kitchen, glaring down at the sandwich he had made nearly a half an hour before. He had been hungry, but after reading through Cora's diary, he felt more nauseated than anything. Try as he might, to focus on the nice things she said about him, he could only see one name pop up on the pages in his mind.
Corrida. Juan Corrida.
She had been in contact with him. She had lied to his face when she said she never met him in person. At least, that was the impression Matt had gotten. Maybe he was wrong.
Either way, she was in contact with Juan Corrida and therefore, could not be trusted. He wouldn't say anything yet. Not until he had more evidence or facts against her.
Sighing, Matt turned from the counter, grabbing the sandwich and hobbled towards the trash can.
Water. I'll get a glass of water an' calm down an' then I'll go an' talk to Matt. Yeah. That's what I'll do.
Still feeling an almost unnatural heat in her face, she strode across the room and into the kitchen, making a straight shot for the cabinet with the glasses, not caring to even glance from the path in front of her.
After tossing his uneaten sandwich into the garbage, Matt turned and being a little distracted with his own thinking, nearly fell over when Cora collided with him. However, her being so small, he quickly regained his balance, but can't find anything to say. He stared at her, silently. "..."
Lotta let out a surprised grunt and stumbled, very nearly falling. She remained on her feet, but her purse clattered to the ground. She scrambled to pick it up again, not giving a thought to Matt yet, and peeked inside. She let out a small sigh of relief; the DVD was fine.
But she looked up and saw Matt's face and couldn't help a sharp intake of breath. Her hands shook and she could feel her face going even redder. She glanced down from his face to look at his body instead- Oh God, it was stuck in her head now- She looked away, forcing a smile.
"I-I'm s-sorry m'dear... I should've b-been paying attention..."
"..." It was obvious that something was up. "What's wrong, Cora?" His voice remained neutral when he spoke to her this time.
She had no idea what to tell him. How the hell do you tell someone you've seen their...very early work (or she hoped it was very early work) and have to write about it? And his tone of voice...seemed so odd. But then she was being very odd, she was sure.
Cora only glanced at him for a split second when she answered. "Uh... I... I've j-just had a bit of...an odd day."
"Oh?" He couldn't help but see the flush that was now covering her whole face. "What happened?"
"I d-don't really know how to say this..." She her hands tightened their hold on her purse as she just looked at the floor. It was the only safe place for her eyes. "But...um...I..." Her throat tightened suddenly and she squeaked.
Her squeaking made Matt tilt his head to the side. "...Should you sit down for this or something?"
Cora didn't hear him over the peptalk she was giving herself inside her head. Just get it over with. He can't get mad at you for trying to look out for him or doing your job. Well, maybe, he could, but- Oh, hell-
She suddenly blurted out, "I saw your porno movie!"
"......................" Matt stared at her.
She immediately looked off to the side, gluing her gaze on a wall, and started stammering. "S-somebody at the Gab f-f-ound it an' Breslin assigned it m-me an'...h-he didn't tell me w-what it was so I watched it an'...."
"....Did-" His voice wavered. This was not something he ever expected to come up again. "Did you watch all of it?"
Cora nodded, still not looking away from the wall. She knew she'd only go redder if she looked back and saw Matt...naked again in her mind.
"W-Why didn't you stop it?!"
"Because-" -Trainwreck principle applies to people I know in porn- "...I couldn't...move. It was..." She cleared her throat- "An'... It's m-my assignment..."
The full impact of what she said finally hit Matt and with a growl he turned to the side, a very small flush in his cheeks. "I..." What could he possibly say to someone who had just seen a video that was supposed to have been destroyed long ago? "..."
"I....I'm supposed to d-do an article on it...for next week...."
"!" His eyes opened even wider. "W-what?"
"Th-they want me to write about it. But I wanted to tell you about it first... I d-don't know what to do..."
"..." Matt looked down at the floor between them, suddenly feeling the need for a drink. "Ah."
There just wasn't anything else he could say.
Cora finally dared to look at Matt again, directly in the face, flushing harder. "If you don't want me to, I won't."
"...Really?" He kept his gaze away from her.
"Yeah....but...I can't say for sure if that'd stop them printing s-something about it. They could just give the movie to someone else..."
A sigh escaped his lips. "Well shit. And here I thought it had been gone for the last three years..."
Three years. That wasn't that long ago....
"I don't know how they found it... Hell, I never thought you would've made something like that..." Her eyes slipped downward and a flash of memory surfaced, and Cora jerked her gaze back onto the wall. "I...had trouble believing it was really you...."
"...I made it for a bit of extra cash before I made it big with The Nickel Samurai. Not having a manager and starring in only a few cheap commericials at Global wasn't going so well for me." Matt glanced up to her. "They practically jumped on me when I turned eighteen to make it."
Cora, Lotta, had seen some hard times in her life. Maybe the options were just different for someone like Matt Engarde, but she could never imagine acting in porn for extra cash. But she wasn't a tall, handsome and....talented man.
For the first time since she had arrived back at his home, Cora looked Matt in the eye, still feeling her cheeks burning. "I had no idea.... Things got that tough for you. I'm sorry..."
Though it had never really bothered him, Matt suddenly felt embarrassed about what he had done. His quickly averted his eyes.
"W-whatever. Doesn't matter..." Gritting his teeth, he abruptly stopped all images and thoughts of that time of his life from getting to him. That was not a time he would ever want to think about.
"If you don't want it getting out... I can try to stop it. But-" She shrugged. "-I don't know how much I could do..."
"Dammit...This is definitely not refreshing..." He let out a bitter laugh. "I'm screwed."
"H-hang on, you can't give up that easily, there has to be something...." Her eyes widened and she leaned towards him a bit, embarassment temporarily forgotten in her need to help the man. "Why'd you say you thought they were gone?"
At her sudden movement, Matt felt very unsteady on his broken leg. One hand reached out to hold onto the wall to help steady himself. He still looked downwards. "They promised it wouldn't ever get out to anyone outside of the people who wanted it. It was...uh, requested..."
"Requested... Wouldn't put that past the slimeball...." She looked away from him again, biting her bottom lip. "Was it done with some kind of...legal...proceeding? Something in writing?"
Matt shrugged. "Fuck...I don't know. I just lost my manager and didn't know what the hell I was doing. I just wanted the cash, but...But I think I signed something like that."
"...do you still have it?"
"...Maybe..?"
"Well... I don't know if it'd work... But I know I never requested it. So, maybe... If you've still got that paper, and no one at the Gab requested the movie..." She squinted at the wall. "It wouldn't stop the article, but if all that's true... We might could get the evidence out of their hands..."
"Really? You think so?"
"I...I'm not certain, but it's the best chance we've got... But, common sense says, if there's some contract that prohibits them having copies of that movie, they'd have to give them up. But you've got to find that contract, and real quick like."
"A-alright." Matt glanced off to the side, still not looking at her. As if this situation wasn't bad enough he still couldn't get her diary entries out of his head. "I'll find it. I'm sure I kept it somewhere..."
Cora nodded, noting that Matt was still acting strangely. She really couldn't blame him...except he was being a little funny even before she brought up that movie.
"I'm sure. Just wave that under their noses and...everything should be alright. But other than all this... Are you doing okay?"
Matt was silent for a moment, mulling over things in his mind. He couldn't possibly bring up what he did earlier without her getting upset. And what if it was over nothing?
Still glancing away, he nodded, even if it was a little reluctant looking.
Something was bothering him... But it still could've just been that movie and that contract. She wanted to cheer him up, but, what could she-
Cora grinned at Matt and started taking small backwards steps towards the kitchen door. "Wait here for a minute, okay? I've got something for you."
He finally looked to meet her gaze. "Huh? Something for me?"
She felt the flush surge back into her cheeks, but didn't let herself look away. "Yeah, something for you. You know. Like a gift."
Matt's eyes widened as he tilted his head. "A gift?" His lips pursed though he couldn't deny he was interested. "Why would you get me a gift after seeing that movie..?"
"I actually got it for you a while ago... I've just been waiting to give it to you." She matched his headtilt. "And why would some movie stop me from giving something to my dear Matt?"
"...Oh. Okay. Well..." He crossed his arms, straightening up. "I'll wait while you grab it."
Clutching her purse and giving Matt another grin, Cora turned and rushed out of the kitchen and rushed up the stairs to the guestroom. She set her purse on the bedside table and picked up her overnight bag, setting it on the bed. After a few moments of groping around the contents, she came up with her prize: a small burgundy box.
She opened it and took out the locket inside it. It was a simple sliver rectangle with rounded corners on a sturdy silver chain. The pictures inside, one of the cats, one of her and Matt at the beach, and one of just her, she hoped would cheer him up a little. It was worth a try.
Cora palmed the necklace and rushed back downstairs again and into the kitchen, stopping just in front of Matt, still smiling and blushing. "Lean over a little."
"Huh?" He bowed his head forward only slightly.
She laughed lightly, shaking her head, and reached up with her free hand to hold the back of his neck. She gave a few gentle pulls and rolled onto the tips of her toes. "A little more than that."
Matt allowed her to pull him forward.
"That's better. Now close your eyes."
Resisting the urge to sigh, he closed his eyes.
She brought the hand that held the locket up and the hand on Matt's neck down and undid the clasp on the chain. Putting her arms over his shoulders, she brought the two ends together again behind his neck, and hooked the clasp beck together. As Cora stepped back, she placed a light kiss to Matt's cheek.
"Happy early birthday, I guess, my dear."
Matt's face darkened for a very brief moment as her lips pressed into his cheek, but the expression melted away and turned back into the forced blank stare.
He straightened, glancing down at the new weight around his neck. He stared down at it.
"You gave me..........jewelery?"
She honestly kind of expected that reaction. "It's a locket. Look inside."
"A locket?" Weren't those for teenage girls? Still, he couldn't just ignore it now. Taking the small locket in his much larger hand, he strugged with the locket part of it until the hinges finally allowed it to swing open.
Though it was upside down, Matt could easily make out the pictures in it. "..." His mouth suddenly felt very dry as he gaped openly at the picture of Cora and himself. Any other day he would have jumped at this gift, but now? He felt a knot of uneasiness at the bottom of his stomach.
He only hoped his earlier suspicions were totally false.
Finally, he allowed himself a smile. "Wow..." He licked his lips, feeling a little parched now. "This is, uh, ...wow." His eyes flickered over to hers.
Cora held his gaze, feeling her smile withering away. It was obvious to her. "What....what's wrong?"
"Huh?" Matt glanced down to the locket and the pictures before smiling wide. "Sorry. I just haven't been given something so thoughtful before, you know? I'm a little shocked...But I love it! I, uh, I really, really do. Thanks."
She couldn't tell if he being truthful or not. Matt usually didn't react this way, but... If he was telling the truth, he usually didn't have a reason to. No, if he didn't like it, he would have said so.
Her smile returned. "I'm so glad you like it. I wasn't sure what to do for you, as a gift..."
"It's, like, perfect, you know?" He found he was able to smile easier now as he let the locket drop onto his chest. "It's one of the few things I wouldn't be able to buy in a store!"
She let out an uneasy laugh. "I was counting on that. It was the old 'what to give the man who has everything' riddle... with answers besides chocolate and love, that is."
"Yeah." Matt shrugged. "Thanks Cora. I love getting birthday gifts early!"
"You're welcome, I love giving them. But now... I need to think something to give you when it's actually your birthday."
"...What? No no. This is way more than enough. Really, Cora."
Cora shook her head. "It's bad luck to not give a friend something on their birthday. It'll just be a little thing, my dear."
"If you want to, Cora. Thanks. I'm..." He took a step backwards. "Going to grab some water, take a few pills, and then go lay down."
She nodded and moved to lean against the counter, to be sure she was out of the way. "Alright. I think I'll make myself something to eat, if you don't mind."
"Go right on ahead. What's mine-..." Matt hobbled to the sink, pulling a glass down from the cupboard. He realizes just what he was saying, but he continues anyway. "Is yours."
He quickly fills up the glass and turns back to her, taking a small drink.
Matt wasn't looking, so she let her smile soften a little. Her paranoia, it had to all be in her head. "Thank you, my dear. I really appreciate it... You have a nice lie down, and call me if you need anything at all."
Matt wasn't looking, so she let her smile soften a little. Her paranoia, it had to all be in her head. "Thank you, my dear. I really appreciate it... You have a nice lie down, and call me if you need anything at all."
Matt nodded before moving past her. "Come wake me up if you need anything. Night." And with that he moved, as swiftly as he could, out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards his room.
She watched him leave. Well...that didn't go as bad as I thought it would...
She made herself a small salad, and after clearing and cleaning up her dishes, went upstairs herself. Getting ready for bed, she made sure her alarm was turned off. Early morning wakeup calls were obviously some kind of bad luck.
An hour passes by before the actor peeks his head outside of his bedroom door, glad to see his guest room's door is also closed. Stepping into the hall, he walks quickly (but as silently as he can) down the stairs and into his living room. He pauses, a small frown on his face before he grabs the key to his study out from his desk and moves to the door, unlocking and entering it. He locks the door behind him.
Looking up at his wall of videos, Matt lets out a sigh. Here is a good place to start looking for evidence. He hasn't been keeping up with things in Juan's life recently and maybe there is a clue in one of these videos.
He grabs the first one in the section of videos he hasn't seen and puts it into the VCR. He sits down on the couch and grabs the remote. This might take awhile...