“Is she in some type of trouble?” she looked concerned.
“No. I just need to talk to her about something…something kind of important.”
“I see,” she smiled. “Well, I can’t give you her work schedule, hun. I’m sure you’ll run into her again at some point.”
“Right. Well, thank you very much,” I stood and pushed my stool back up to the counter. “Are there any good bars around here?”
Chapter 13
Selena
My coworker handed me a napkin before dropping me off at my hotel. I unfolded it and saw another handwritten note from Ethan: “If I attempted to sue you for potential third degree burns would that make you talk to me? Can I call you? I really want to talk to you…PS—You looked really pretty yesterday…”
I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to reject his advances. Every time I saw him my heart did a cartwheel, and no matter how hard I tried to act unaffected, I failed miserably. I felt like some of the women in the movies I played, the ones who were left speechless and flustered by a mere wink from the male lead.
What’s more was that Ethan pursued me without even being around: Every morning there was a new white and fluffy teddy bear wearing a golden “Looking forward to that some other time date with you” necklace waiting for me. He even waited for me to get off work some nights, offering to give me a ride home, but I turned him down and slipped into Joan’s car each time.
Although each gesture was sweet, I was becoming skeptical of him. I wasn’t sure if he was some undercover reporter trying to get me to talk, and I still couldn’t believe he’d never heard of me before.
I unlocked the door to my hotel suite and saw Joan typing away at the desk.
“Joan?”
“Yes?” she looked up at me.
“I know this may sound crazy, but could you fly to New York and get me some more clothes? They can be a mix of casual and couture. I have a contact at—”
“Burberry, Chanel, and Neiman Marcus. I sent for some outfits yesterday,” she closed her laptop. “They should be here tomorrow morning.”
Either she’s really that good or I’ve never had a good personal assistant…
She sighed. “Anyway, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. What do you want to hear first?”
“The good news…” I shut the door and sat on the couch.
“Okay. The screenplay you submitted to Universal Studios three years ago was green lit this morning. You have a meeting with the directors in February, so congratulations! Also, Matt wanted me to give you this,” she handed me a small beige envelope.
I pried the flap open and pulled out a beautiful piece of silk white paper. A wedding invitation:
Because you have shared in
our lives by your friendship and love, we
Melody Nicole Carter
And
Matthew Ryan Sterling,
together with our parents,
invite you to share
the beginning of our new life together when we exchange marriage vows at
Heartwood Lake
2665 Raleigh LaGrange Road
Memphis, Tennessee
“He wants me to come to his wedding? After everything I put him through?”
“He does,” she nodded. “He wants to leave that crazy stuff in the past and start all over, especially since you two were good friends in the beginning. He also wants me to emphasize that this is a private event, so no mention of this to the press and whoever you choose to bring as your date can’t be high profile.”
I ran my fingers across the intricate envelope and smiled. “I’m honored...”
“Are you ready for the bad news?” she looked as if it was hurting her to keep it inside.
“Yes…”
“I know you’re already aware that Cover Girl decided not to renew you as a spokesperson for their next campaign, but as of this morning, Macy’s pulled their holiday endorsement of you as well. They replaced you with Taylor Swift.”
Again?
It was bad enough she’d taken my place in the Sweet Tennessee film: They’d wanted to start shooting it next month, but I couldn’t bear being seen in public yet, so I had to back out.
“I can’t believe this Joan!” I covered my face and cried. “I didn’t know he was married! He pursued me! I’m not that horrible of a person…or maybe I am! Maybe I really am…”
“You’re just involved in a scandal. You’re not a horrible person. It happens to everyone at some point, and the truth is bound to come out eventually. We just need to keep preparing for when this all blows over and then—”
“Do you remember that news story about me saving those baby pigeons that fell out of a tree in Central Park?” I made no attempt to wipe my tears. “It was everywhere…‘Selena Ross Saves Baby Birds.’ The animal rights group even gave me a medal.”
She shrugged. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I made my assistant knock their nest down with a brick first…Then I saved them.”
“You did what!”
“See? I am horrible…I did it because I was only mentioned in two papers that week and I wanted to be mentioned in them all…You remember that story about how I canceled my appearance at the Children’s Film Festival fifteen minutes beforehand so I could fly to Australia to visit that fan who was dying from cancer?”
“Please don’t tell me anything else.”