Soon after takeoff, Brandon leaves his seat and mingles with the guys. I, in turn, enjoy chatting with Blake Burns’s wife Jennifer, who I met at Jeffrey and Chaz’s engagement party, as well as with Brandon’s co-stars, Jewel Starr and Kellie Fox. Kellie tells me the season finale is to die for. I can’t wait to screen it with Brandon. While Jewel and Kellie move on to chat with Jewel’s husband Niall about tomorrow night’s festivities, I spend more time with Jen.
The more I talk with her, the more I like her. She’s super sweet and asks me a lot of questions about myself including where I grew up and how I came to work for Brandon. I’m somewhat in awe of her. Besides being so pretty and married to one of Hollywood’s top television executives, she’s super successful in her own right. About the same age as I am, she started a women’s erotica channel—MY SIN-TV—and has single-handedly made it a huge success. I try to hide my inferiority complex. Here I am, almost twenty-five, and I’m just a lowly assistant. And she’s running a network.
“Do you have career aspirations?” she asks over champagne.
Taking a sip, I tell her I thought about getting into acting but had to abandon that dream because it was too risky and financially challenging for someone like me.
“You’re adorable!” she counters. “You should reconsider. I’m going to keep my eyes and ears open for any parts that might work for you.”
Wow! I thank her from the bottom of my heart, and the conversation switches to Jeffrey and Chaz.
“I’m so excited about their wedding,” she gushes.
“Me too.”
She goes on to tell me that she and Blake have offered to let them exchange their vows in the expansive yard of their new Santa Monica house.
“I’m sure it’s going to be an extravaganza. A total showcase for my brother’s event planning talents.”
“All the better.” She smiles. “He made my wedding unforgettable.”
She goes on to explain how Jeffrey worked with her creative husband Blake to transform her parents’ backyard into a winter wonderland in the middle of July. As she spews the details, a tinge of melancholy nips me. Growing up, Jeffrey was forever planning my dream wedding, acting it out with Barbie and Ken, but as I grew older, I knew that was a long shot. In fact, now I seriously believe it’ll never happen. The man of my dreams is engaged to another. And truthfully is way out of my league. I shoot him a glance; he’s in a serious conversation with Blake. I wonder what they’re talking about.
As much as I’d like to ask Jen to tell me more about Katrina, I don’t broach the subject. From Chaz, I know she despises Brandon’s fiancée as much as I do. The bitch almost came between her and Blake. In fact, she almost cost Blake his life. I still haven’t shared this info with my boss. Jen doesn’t bring up Katrina either. A nice girl from Boise, she was probably raised with the value: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” Growing up with brutally honest Pops and Jeffrey, I was taught to tell it like it is. I internally sigh. I so wish I had the nerve to tell Brandon what I know about the crazy bitch. Just maybe I will.
Brandon
“The season finale looks f*ck
ing amazing,” says Blake after taking a sip of the expensive Scotch we’re both drinking. “That ending is killer—no pun intended.”
“Thanks,” I say proudly. “And thanks for believing in me and letting me write it.”
“We have high hopes for it. Libby Clearfield, our research head, has been tracking intent to view and the score keeps going up every day. Ninety-eight percent of your viewers say they won’t miss it. There’s even considerable interest among non-viewers. The buzz is sensational. We anticipate the ratings to go through the roof.”
“Wow,” I say, both humbled and blown away.
“We’ll get our first feedback when we screen it tomorrow night.”
I take a sip of my drink. “I’m a little nervous.”
Dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt like me, Blake laughs and gives me a warm pat on the back. “Don’t be, man. It’s going to rock and the Q&A afterward will be a piece of cake. I’m moderating it so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Great.” I imbibe more of my Scotch and swallow just in time before Blake pops a disquieting question.
“Where’s Kat?”
Katrina. The mere mention of her name in any form makes my stomach churn. She’s been out of sight, out of mind. The memory of her showing up at my lunch with Blake back in January and shredding his wife Jen storms into my head. The alcohol burns through my blood as my cheeks heat up.
“She’s couldn’t come.” My voice wavers. “She had previous commitments.”
Blake takes another swig of his drink and nods. “That’s good, man.”