by Hazel Parker
If for that reason alone, Jace was starting to feel a bit sorry for her. No matter what the occasion, Jessica seemed always to have to answer some kind of degrading question about a past commercial role or an embarrassing community theatre role. He’d asked Nora to tell the interviewers to knock it off, to leave Jessica alone and not to ask questions about her past theatre experience since it did seem to upset her, but she’d reluctantly told him that she had no control over what the interviewers asked, even if she did tell them that they didn’t want to answer them. Though the week had been trying, probably more so for Jessica, there was still one interview that needed to be completed, and it was the biggest one of all: the Soap Opera Daily, a morning talk show with two brutal female hosts who were infamous for asking tough questions. It was the top viewed talk show on the network, so Nora getting them a spot at all was a feat in itself, and no matter how much of a hard time they might give Jessica, there was no way around it: this was a good opportunity for Jace to talk about his future acting perspectives and thus good for his new image.
He stepped into the green room with a cup of hot coffee, aware that Jessica had already been there for probably an hour and fixed his tie in the mirror before approaching a nervous-looking producer with a clipboard.
“Jace Oliver,” she sighed, “I was starting to worry that you were going to be late! Your fiancé is in makeup,” she said, pointing to the other side of the room where Jessica sat in a chair, getting her hair tugged at painfully by a short, scowling man. Jace wasn’t close enough to hear what he was scolding her for, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out, so he instead went to search for his hair and makeup artists to approve his look before he went on stage. Jenn Keller, the talk show’s host, was known for being picky about not being upstaged, so she often enforced specific rules for her guests, including natural makeup and toned-down clothing.
“Jenn is ready in ten,” one producer announced to the room. People began to work faster around him, and Jace realized how close he’d cut the time as three separate designers scrambled to fix his appearance. Just as his finishing touches were added, Jessica came to stand in front of him. She’d been put in a pink shirt with a black blazer and skirt, very business casual, and her beautiful, wavy hair had been tied in a neat bun.
“You look nice,” he remarked. It was true, and also proof that Jessica just looked good in anything.
“So do you,” she replied dutifully. “Are you ready for this?” Jace rolled his eyes. This was his wheelhouse. Of course he was ready, even if he’d never been in front of an audience this big before. When he finally looked up from his reflection in the mirror to look at her face, he noticed that her hands were shaking. She hadn’t asked that question for his sake, he realized, but because she was incredibly nervous.
“I’ve never been in front of an audience this big before,” she admitted. Though her commercials were broadcasted all over the U.S., they were scripted, and for many of them, she didn’t even have a speaking role. Soap Opera Daily was filmed in front of a studio audience and broadcasted live to homes internationally.
“The first time is always the hardest,” he reassured her, “but you’ll be fine. You’ve done so many interviews this week, it’s almost as good as rehearsal. There’s nothing she could ask you that you haven’t already knocked out of the park.”
Jessica hesitated. “What if she asks about my commercials?” she worried. “Or my fucked up relationship with my brother? Or—”
“Jessica,” he intervened, placing a hand on her shoulder, “you’re spiraling. Take a deep breath. You’ve got this.” Jessica obeyed, forcing a shaky but steadying breath just as the show’s producer beckoned them backstage.
“Oh, God; it’s time,” Jessica fretted. Jace took her shaking hand and held it. Together, they walked out onto the stage, trying not to squint against the blinding lights and forcing smiles for the wild audience.
“Give it up for Jace Oliver and his fiancé, Jessica Owens!” Jenn announced, standing to shake Jace’s hand and give Jessica a hug. They sat side by side on a small couch, as the stage was set up almost like a living room, complete with an end table with two cups of water set out for them. Jessica immediately took a sip from hers, unable to hide her shaking hands, and Jenn, as if she could smell weakness, noticed.
“Aw, sweetheart, are you nervous?” she asked condescendingly, but Jessica wasn’t oblivious, so she straightened up and forced a giggle.
“I’ve just never been on live TV before,” she reassured, “but I’m more excited than nervous.” Charmingly, she looked directly, into the camera. “Hi, mom!” she exclaimed before turning back to Jenn. “I’m sorry, I promised her I would.” The audience laughed, and Jace squeezed her shoulders in victory. Jenn was a tough cookie, but Jessica was tough too.
“Well, we’re so glad to have you here,” she greeted. “Your engagement was such a surprise to everyone; I think we’ve all got questions, right?” The audience clapped affirmatively. “So, I think the first thing that’s on everyone’s mind is ‘why?’ Why all the secrecy?”
Jace took the first question, resisting the urge to lean back in his seat like he normally would: serious actors had excellent posture in interviews, he told himself. He’d worn a suit jacket that covered his tattoo sleeves on purpose, too.
“Well, it wasn’t a secret,” he replied, “not really. We’re both pretty private people, but we didn’t mean to keep it from everyone. I fully intended to show her off before we got engaged, but it happened faster than we expected.”
Jenn nodded along to the story. “And how did that go?” she asked. “How did you propose?”
By this point, the fabricated story was a reflex. “I took her to the restaurant where we had our first date,” he said, “and she looked so beautiful. We got to talking about the end of Code Blue, and how we met, and I just realized that she was the person I wanted to spend my life with. I’d bought the ring with the intention of waiting a few months, but I couldn’t resist. I got down on one knee, and the rest is history.” Both Jenn and the studio audience melted, “aww”-ing and applauding the story even though most of them had probably read it or heard it somewhere, by this point. Jenn looked positively dreamy, a face that set Jace on edge.
“That’s so sweet,” she fawned, fanning her face with a hand as if she were holding back tears. “Every girl’s dream, right, Jessica?”
Like a well-trained puppy, she turned loving eyes on him and smiled. “He’s every girl’s dream,” she replied, eliciting more cooing. “We’re just so happy.”
Jenn’s eyes turned hard like stone. “So you don’t have any concerns about marrying a man who’s, no offense, but so much more… renowned in your field?” Jessica blinked; that had thrown her.
“I’m always happy for Jace when he’s successful,” she answered smoothly, “and he’s happy for me, too. We encourage each other.”
“Oh, but there’s some competition, right?” Jenn pushed. “I mean, he’s Jace Oliver, and you’re a commercial actress. That’s got to be disheartening some days.” The falter in Jessica’s smile was unmistakable.
“Well, that’s not Jace’s fault,” she said, immediately knowing it was the wrong answer. Jessica pounced.
“So it does cause tension,” she deduced, turning out to the audience and the camera. “No couple’s perfect, folks! Do you think it’s enough of an issue to break them up?” Before the audience could answer, Jace waved a hand dismissively.
“This was actually supposed to be a surprise,” he baited, knowing fully well that what he was about to say was something he’d planned to reveal on the show the whole time, “for Jessica, but you’ve reminded me: my agent actually booked us both a role in a major motion picture.” He felt Jessica’s posture go erect in surprise.
“Wait, seriously?” she asked, excitedly enough that the audience took a collective suspenseful breath and he couldn’t help but laugh a bit.
“Yes,” he replied, “Nora got the call yesterday
. We’re both supporting roles, but it’s still something.” She gasped and so did Jenn, though likely for different reasons. Truthfully, Jace had been looking forward to watching Jessica’s reaction to this news. Her genuine shock was cute; her green eyes went wide and even began to tear up.
“You’re amazing,” she giggled, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. It wasn’t enough affection to make the audience uncomfortable, and Jace’s objective was clearly achieved, because the crowd went wild and even Jenn was speechless.
“So, I’ll be the first to know when there are more details available about this big couple’s movie, right?” Jenn asked, trying to sound like an old friend instead of someone who just tried to verbally dress Jessica down in front of America, but they had to nod anyway.
“Of course,” Jace replied. “We’d love to come back again.” The announcement changed the tone of the interview, ensuring that it was jovial and friendly rather than undercutting and petty. With the audience already head over heels for Jessica and Jace, Jenn changed her tone, knowing that she’d be in trouble if she continued to try to poke holes in their foundation. Instead, she asked surface-level questions about things like wedding venues and whether or not they wanted kids. As one of several guests for the day, it was also relatively short, probably cut even shorter by the fact that they’d given her nothing from which she could create drama.
As soon as the cameras were off them, Jessica’s face contorted from a confident smile to a look of anxiety. They were allowed to leave the studio as soon as their segment was finished, and she followed him to his car instead of going her own way to the driver he’d arranged to take her home. While he wanted to ignore her and hope that she’d just give up and go home, she didn’t, and he finally wasn’t able to start his car up fast enough to outrun her. He rolled down the window as she tapped on it.
“Can I help you?” he huffed.
“Was what you said true?” she asked, leaning in close to the window. “The part about the supporting roles. Are we really going to be in a movie?”
Jace sighed, barely paying her any mind as he started the car and put on his sunglasses. “Yeah,” he said, “it’s true. It was kind of a last-minute casting—they had to fire the woman who was supposed to play your role for reasons they wouldn’t disclose, and the guy in my role broke his foot. The studio called Nora because they thought it’d add an element of appeal to the film if the roles were played by a real-life Hollywood couple.” He almost laughed. “Kind of ironic, if you think about it.”
A shadow of guilt crossed Jessica’s face. He knew just as well as she did that they’d have announced their breakup long before the movie debuted, which almost felt like cheating. However, Jace wasn’t concerned about that. Thinking the conversation was over, Jace put the car in reverse, but Jessica opened the door and sat in his passenger seat, clearly not done asking questions.
“What’s the movie about? What’s my character like? Is it a drama or a comedy?” she demanded, barely breathing between the onslaught of questions.
“Nora will send you all that,” he returned curtly, but she shook her head.
“I want to hear it from you,” Jessica maintained. That was annoying. Well, if they sat here in the parking lot for much longer, someone would think they were arguing—he could already see people pointing and gossiping—and they couldn’t risk that news spreading, so he put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot to head to Jessica’s apartment.
“The movie is about a couple on the brink of divorce who rekindle their relationship in Hawaii,” he said. “We’ll be playing a husband and wife who own the hotel they stay at and teach them to communicate better. It’s a drama, but our roles are less serious than the main two.” Jessica nodded along, looking more and more excited as he continued talking.
“Sounds like you’re already getting what you wanted,” she observed.
“So are you,” Jace returned. “Any role at all is a step up, isn’t it? Not to mention a major motion picture. This’ll be in theaters.”
Jessica had to bite her lip to keep from squealing, and Jace couldn’t help but take his eyes off the road, sneaking glances at her just to watch her face. She showed excitement like no one else he’d ever known, her eyes lighting up with a genuine sparkle that he almost never got to see in this business. Even the best actors couldn’t fake something like that.
“Oh, I forgot to mention,” he added as an afterthought, “the movie is being shot on-location. We’ll actually be in Hawaii shooting for a month.”
If Jessica had been standing, that would have knocked her over. “We’re going to Hawaii?” she gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. “That’s amazing!” Of course, Jace had been to quite a few tropical locations, so many that it didn’t really excite him anymore, but watching Jessica so ecstatic was almost enough to rekindle that energy he’d had the first time he’d been told he’d be traveling for work.
“Alright, alright,” he chastised, “don’t freak out. Real actors do this kind of thing all the time.” Unfortunately, that only seemed to feed her elation, making her giggle and throw her hands into the air.
“I’m a real actor!” she cheered. At that moment, she didn’t care that she looked ridiculous or that Jace wasn’t at all impressed by her “feat.” All that mattered to her was being one step closer to her dreams. Jace found himself feeling almost proud despite that he’d been a large part of the reason she’d been cast at all. As he slowed to a stop at the red light, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek unrestrainedly. Objectively, showing affection with Jessica was something he was prepared to do. In most situations, he treated it like any other role he’d ever played. He’d kissed dozens of women he wasn’t romantically attracted to for television, gone further than that with several of them. It was just part of the job, and it didn’t bother him. One of the most common questions he was asked by fans and paparazzi was whether he found it awkward or hot when he had to do steamy scenes, and the answer was neither: it was just another day at work. He knew it meant nothing and that the attraction was purely fictional, so he didn’t waste too much time thinking about it.
That was true with Jessica, too, for the most part. When she told him she loved him on a stage or kissed him at a party, he didn’t even flinch. However, sometimes, in these quiet moments in which they were alone with no audience, sometimes he wondered what her motivation was. He’d been awful to her. He was awful to everyone; it was just his MO. Perhaps she was trying to extend the contract. That, really, was the only thing that made any sense: that she’d had a taste of the fruits that came along with being his partner and now wanted to use it as an opportunity to get close to him so that perhaps at the end of the contract, he’d ask to marry her for real and she could keep reaping the benefits of his Midas touch. She wouldn’t be the first person to execute that plan in Hollywood, nor would she be the first person to try it on Jace. He wasn’t going to fall for it. He didn’t comment on the kiss or even say another word to her for the rest of the car ride, nor did he walk to her door when he dropped her off in front of her place. Jessica must have noticed the shift in mood, but she didn’t question it, sobering quickly when he didn’t react to her excitement and dropping the conversation when he stopped speaking with her. As he watched her walk to her building, he rolled down the window to remind her of one last detail he forgot to mention to her.
“Jessica,” he called, “you should start packing. Shooting for the film has already started, so we’re being flown out tomorrow.” Her jaw dropped, this time more in shock than excitement, but she didn’t fight it.
“I’ll be ready,” she replied. For the staring fans who were hovering around the front of the building, Jace smiled.
“See you tomorrow, then,” he said. “Love you, sweetie.” She bit her lower lip and waved.
Chapter Seven: Jessica
Jessica had been on so few vacations in her life that she had to go to the store to buy luggage. She’d emailed Nora to get more in
formation on the trip: a driver would come to pick her up and take her to the airport at five-thirty the next morning and the production company was putting them up in a hotel (she’d be sharing a room with Jace, of course). The shoot was going to take a month. When the previous actors had needed to leave the movie halfway through filming, they’d had to cut a lot of the scenes that these characters were in, trimming both roles from main cast to side characters at best, and most of the rest of the film was already shot. Conveniently, or maybe the opposite, they’d be finishing filming just about the time hers and Jace’s contract ended, meaning that it would appear to the world that they’d fought in Hawaii and been unable to repair the relationship. She didn’t exactly care about her reputation, and she trusted Nora to handle that part of things, but it didn’t take all the edge off the anxiety of how people would react to her after the breakup.