He proposed to me in Naples, Italy, after we’d eaten two dozen pizze at La Notizia and were both drenched in a sudden summer rain.
I thought he and I would always be together.
Later that night I felt my mom French braiding my hair, softly tugging the strands as if she didn’t want to wake me.
“He was the one who convinced me to be a brunette you know?” I cried.
“Shhh,” she rubbed my back. “Go back to sleep. We can talk later.”
“Was she prettier than me?”
“Melody, don’t do that to yourself. There’ll be someone else.”
“I don’t want someone else.”
“Go to sleep Melody.”
I tried to keep my eyes open in protest, but I quickly succumbed to the stubbornness of heavy eyelids.
Chapter 2
Matt
I shoved my notes into my pocket and walked out of my trailer. For some strange reason, the usual throng of fans was nowhere to be found. The only paparazzi were two men chatting away on their cell phones, punching the air with their fists.
“Matt! Matt!” my agent Shelby waved at me. “I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you were going to be up so early today. George made a couple of adjustments to the park scene.”
“What? Why?”
“Do you really think they give agents insight on the creative process?”
I sighed. “What’s different?”
“Well, George thinks the ‘rain and kissing’ scene should involve some skin. So when you’re running through Central Park looking for the love of your life, your shirt will need to be off.”
“My shirt needs to be off? I thought my character had just gotten back from the airport.”
“He did,” she clasped her hands together. “But the air conditioning in the plane malfunctioned. So since he was in business class, the flight attendant asked him to take off his shirt to block the fumes coming from the cockpit. And then—”
This can’t be real life. I’m going to wake up any moment now and be on the set of a film with substance and not stuck in another romantic comedy that involves me taking my shirt off.
I mean, I’ve never minded stripping for the camera. Someone’s got to do it and it might as well be someone like me. But the sheer lack of “art” involved is getting to me. I went to Julliard for Christ’s sake! Surely Broadway will re-launch “Death of a Salesman” and I can snag the role of Willy Loman. Or maybe— “Matt?” Shelby’s shrill voice brought me back to the present. “What brand of baby oil do you prefer?”
“I don’t care,” I rolled my eyes. “Where’s Joan? I need a couple of things from Saks before we wrap today.”
“I believe she’s across town getting your breakfast.”
“Oh,” I looked at my watch. I really was early. Two hours early.
I took out my phone. “Joan?”
“Mr. Sterling? Did I set your alarm for the wrong time? I’m sorry if I—”
“No, Joan. I’m just up early today. Is there any way you could bring me two extra bagels? White truffle cream cheese?”
“Not a problem sir. Do you still need me to pick up your order from Saks Fifth Avenue this afternoon?”
“Yes please.”
“And sir, don’t forget that I’ve made dinner reservations for you and Miss Ross’ two year anniversary tonight.”
“That’s tonight?” I sighed, trying to mask my annoyance.
“Yes sir. I have to go now. I’ll see you in about an hour.”
“Fine,” I hung up and headed back to my trailer.
Joan was the ideal personal assistant. She was always twenty steps ahead and knew me better than I knew myself.
She was probably well aware that today, my two year anniversary with A-list actress Selena Ross, was something I really didn’t feel like celebrating. In fact, I wasn’t sure if Selena and I were in a real relationship anymore. We were nothing like we used to be and that was a damn shame.
Two years ago, I was sitting in some hole in the wall coffee shop in Tribeca. My latest film, So Amazing, was number one at the box office and I wanted to get away to read the reviews in private.
I pulled out the folder Joan prepared and started reading. All the major critics were letting me have it: Roger Ebert said I “was out of [my] league and looked lost for half the film.” The New York Times said I was “the weakest link in an already dilapidated film.” The Chicago Sun Times called me “bland and unbelievably boring even when barely clothed.”
Annoyed, I flipped through the remainder of the reviews until I reached a title that caught my eye: “Matt Sterling’s Amazing Romance.”
Finally, a positive one.
“So Amazing, the newest picture from Lighthouse Studios, casts Matt Sterling as Tom Stein, a hot shot billionaire who (GASP!) has never fallen in love. In Stein’s world, relationships are for the weak and the only things that matter are mergers and assets.
“That all changes when he meets Hilary Redding (Scarlett Johannsen), a young accountant in his company who dreams of being a writer.
“I wish I could tell you how these two fall in love, but the writers of the film managed to leave that part out. For one hour and forty minutes we are forced to watch Matt Sterling twist his face into an expression that can only be deemed “constipated and confused.”
“When he first sees the lovely Scarlett Johannsen—who, by the way, makes the most out of this trite romantic comedy—he gives us constipated and confused. When he realizes he’s falling in love with her, after just one encounter, he gives us constipated and confused. When he jumps off the train (after taking his shirt off first, mind you) and catches up to her, he gives us constipated and confused.