Typecast

by Kim Carmichael

  Don’t dwell on Drew. If you were meant to be, your paths will cross one day.

  Ryder

  Even though the e-mails were exchanged a few years ago, at Ryder’s news, Ivy’s chest tightened all the same. She blinked away the tears for the woman she mostly disliked. What happened with Drew? Did Erin really love him?

  She went to the next e-mail from Erin to Brian.

  My love,

  I’ve been sitting in my bungalow for hours trying to think of what to do, who to call, where to go. All paths always lead to you.

  I swear I’m not on anything. I was off that day thinking of things I lost, when I should have remembered I found you, or you discovered me. Not that it matters.

  I know you love me, though it would be nice to hear the words.

  I won’t show up at your home to make it all better, but remember my fake diamonds and cheap perfume left you panting and begging for more.

  If you come to me, I promise to leave you panting, no begging required.

  Years of e-mails told a story of a troubled woman, one who wanted love, but didn’t know where to look besides her history.

  More importantly, the mist that surrounded that night, that awful night that seemed to define them, began to clear.

  She glanced at the time and went to an e-mail sent only days before Logan walked into her office for an interview.

  Logan,

  It’s been a while. The anniversary is upon us. I can’t believe it’s been twenty years since the premier of the movie that changed all of us forever. Funny, I still feel like the eighteen-year-old on that screen. At the time I thought you were so young. The gap between seventeen and eighteen seemed as large as the Pacific Ocean. Who knew that the fact you were underage would later save me and Ryder?

  You may have been the youngest, but you were the smartest and the most talented. Don’t think that every day I’m not reminded that you should have been a star. I will speak for Ryder and say we hope that giving you a piece of our careers made up for the fact you lost the sequel and the other parts you wanted. Unfortunately, Logan Alexander became typecast. Maybe in a way we all did.

  As per our agreement (look at how official I sound), Ryder and I will continue to not speak about the movie, the night you were arrested, or the sequel. You were always the one to take care of us. You know what needs to be done and remember all the details. Hell, at this point, I can only remember the name of the movie.

  I have started to get phone calls and such asking to break my silence. I would like to know, how do you want to handle this? I’m done making mistakes in my life. Seems they last decades.

  When I decided to write to you, I swore I wouldn’t mention the unmentionable, but I can’t stop myself. Will you tell Drew I need to see him? Do you think that maybe twenty years is penance enough? How many times do I have to beg? Is the fact that I never moved on enough, or do you still think I’m the world’s greatest actress? If so, you better figure out a way to get me a goddamned Academy Award.

  Since I’m not allowed to talk about this with anyone but you, I will say this. If I had one thing to change about that night, or the days leading up to that night, I only regret not getting the chance to talk to him and plead my case. Everything else, I take responsibility for, though in the end you took the blame.

  I will ask one more time.

  Attached are the places that already contacted me.

  Wren

  Ivy clicked on his response.

  Erin,

  As always, I will hold up my end of the deal. Continue to give me any information.

  I’ll see about that Oscar.

  Logan

  The only e-mails after that were ones forwarding Logan media contacts.

  Finally, she did as she should have done before and logged out of Erin’s e-mail. Her prediction was spot on. The answers were all there. Somehow the two of them had roped Logan, the underage teenager, into taking the fall for their drug use and getting the sequel canceled. In turn, the guilty parties had paid him for his silence, leaving him the villain in the movie and in real life.

  “I seem to be low on what has now become my basic sustenance for life and I need my IV.” Logan knocked on the doorjamb.

  No matter how many times he showed up for her, her breath caught at the sight of him. “You’re here.”

  “Always.” He pulled a long-stemmed red rose out from behind his back.

  As if on automatic, she stood and went straight for him. Rather than taking the gift, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest and breathing in the scent of his soap and bit of cologne.

  “Are you all right? You seem a little spooked.” He ran his hand through her hair.

  “Is it all right to tell you I missed you?”

  “Only if it’s all right to tell you that you didn’t miss me one fraction of the amount I missed you.”

  She tilted her face up to him. “How was your meeting?” Her stomach twisted at the thought, though somewhere along the way her jealousy seemed to have vanished.

  He bent down and gave her a soft but lingering kiss. “You know, throughout the years the three of us have sort of waxed and waned. We were sort of thrown together and just stayed that way, but I think after this gala, I need to wane.”

  “I understand.” She pressed her palm to his face. A little stubble tickled her skin.

  “You always do.” He kissed her wrist. “However, I didn’t spend my entire time with them. I had to do a little planning, and tomorrow night I have something sort of special planned for the grand finale before the gala.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ll be the director, and you’ll be my leading lady. It will involve a very apropos reenactment, as well as some sweeping romance, and some shocking reveals and plot twists, and that is all you’re going to find out.” He winked. “How about we go home? I thought I would make love to you and then make dinner.”

  “Isn’t it supposed to be dinner then making love?” She raised her voice to sound coy.

  “No, I need you first.” He kissed her. “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you. Let me get my things.” With a sigh, she separated from him, returned to her desk, and peeked over at him. The world needed to know who the villain was and who the hero was. They needed to know they got it wrong.

  She turned back to her computer staring at the Chargge.com home page before turning it off. Of course if the world knew, then Logan would know she had betrayed him. She didn’t know if she was ready to write that script.

  HOLLYWOOD STARDUST

  CUT TO:

  INT. STEVEN’S ROOM — GRANDPARENTS’ HOUSE — FLAGSTAFF, AZ – NIGHT

  ROXY sneaks into STEVEN’S room.

  ROXY

  Can I come in?

  STEVEN

  Looks like you already did.

  STEVEN slides over in the bed and pulls the covers back.

  ROXY checks the door and joins STEVEN in bed.

  ROXY

  Tomorrow we will get to Hollywood Stardust.

  STEVEN

  Aren’t you celebrating with the wrong person?

  ROXY turns on her side and faces him.

  STEVEN

  Or maybe it’s the right person after all.

  STEVEN kisses her. ROXY pulls back and gasps.

  STEVEN

  So what happens after we reach Hollywood Stardust?

  ROXY

  I don’t know. All the rest.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Logan.” Ivy held her arm out in front of her in a vain attempt to navigate where he led her. “When can I take the blindfold off?”

  “When we’re at our destination and Wilson can film your reaction.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tight. “We’re almost there.”

  Thus far, Logan had made her wear the blindfold from leaving their apartment to wherever they stopped the car, and now it seemed as if they had walked several miles. In preparation for what she
assumed was going to be his quote unquote sweeping romance, she wore a halter-style 1950s maroon dress, complete with matching heels. The heels! She also didn’t expect to be accompanied by her best friend and Logan’s brother, but they were filling in as the production crew for their final shoot before the twentieth-anniversary gala.

  “Hold on. We’re right there and Wilson just needs to set up.” He positioned her and gave her a light kiss on the top of her head. “Are you ready? This could be life changing.”

  Her stomach filled with flutters. Before Logan had hid her eyes, she had caught sight of him in black pants, a white shirt, and a black blazer, a bit dressier than his normal shoot attire. “What’s going on?”

  “Ivy, I thought you wanted me to take the blindfold off,” he crooned in her ear.

  She tried to use her other senses to take in her surroundings, but wherever he had brought her was pretty silent. “Where are we?”

  “Why don’t you take a peek?” He pulled the tie on the blindfold.

  Once her vision cleared, she gasped. “Oh my God!” For fear her knees would buckle, she grabbed on to Logan’s arm.

  Before her, in all its grandeur, stood the Hollywood Stardust theater, well facade. The straight lines, the triangles, and the squares done in rich blues, reds, and metallic gold exemplified the art deco styling of the famed theater that never truly existed.

  She glanced around. Logan had brought her to the movie studio lot. Other buildings, or pieces of buildings, littered the area, and she smiled.

  “I felt it only fitting we do our last shoot where the movie ended.” He guided her closer.

  “It’s so amazing.” She stared up at the slice of building that meant so much to her and pictured the last scene of the movie. How Steven drove away. The moment Roxy opened her eyes and watched him go. Maybe the moment wasn’t life changing, but it was certainly one she would never forget. More life changing was what she knew about Logan’s past but didn’t know how to tell him. “Thank you.”

  “Wait, we are not close to done.” His low, robust voice reverberated around her. He led her to the front of the theater and turned them toward Wilson. “I’m going to tell you a secret.”

  “What would that be?” Though she knew they were filming, the only jitters she felt were for the man in front of her.

  He pointed back at the building. “Even though every moment of the movie leads up to arriving at this spot, I have never been filmed outside this set piece.”

  All right, maybe the moment was life changing. She couldn’t stop the smile. Only the two of them would have this moment. If the sequel were ever filmed, maybe he would have had his chance in the limelight in front of the facade on a much bigger screen. At the thought, her heart ached.

  “In fact, Miss Ivy, you may or may not know this, but you’ve been instrumental in many firsts in my life.” He turned to her and took both her hands. “The first time I trusted someone, the first time I honestly couldn’t wait to see someone so bad it hurt, the first person I fell in love with.”

  The energy around them seemed to change, sizzle with pent-up anticipation. Unsure of what would happen next, she held her breath.

  “You are the only person I will ever love—maybe that’s a first and a last.” Out of nowhere, he got down on one knee and reached into his jacket pocket.

  She froze and watched Logan as if she were watching a movie. No way could this be happening to her.

  “All I know is we are finally at the point where I am losing count of the days and I never want it to end. Will you marry me?” Like magic, he produced a diamond ring and held it up to her.

  Marry Logan?

  Marry Logan.

  Tears blurred her vision.

  Mrs. Logan Alexander.

  Ivy Alexander.

  She swore if she looked in some old prepubescent diary she could find where she practiced writing her name that way. They would always be together. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

  “I love you.” He slipped the most amazing ring on her finger, a huge pear-shaped diamond surrounded by a halo of smaller stones. “I chose something timeless, yet unique, like you.”

  At seeing his ring on her finger, she succumbed to the tears. “I love you.”

  He stood, took her into his arms, and leaned her back.

  “I’m going to be your wife.” Her eyes searched his.

  “That you are.” As only Logan Alexander could, he treated her to a kiss fit for any movie screen, yet one that would live in her heart for all time. “Once Wilson stops filming, I have one more surprise for you, future Mrs. Alexander.”

  “There’s more?” All she could do was hold on. No doubt being married to Logan would be a ride of a lifetime. Yes, tonight changed everything.

  “Yes, we need to plan our future.” He motioned to Wilson.

  “We’ll see you in a while. Now we’ll peruse the studio.” His brother saluted them, rushed over, and handed Logan a duffel bag. “Excellent grand finale.”

  “Congratulations!” Giselle blew them a kiss and the two walked away.

  “I want to show you something.” He kept a tight hold on her and they went around to the back.

  The facade had nothing on the flip side, only some scaffolding and supports, nothing too spectacular.

  “First things first.” With a little flourish, he took a blanket out of the bag and spread it out on the ground. “I take it you like your engagement ring.”

  Her cheeks heated at being caught staring at her ring as the last rays of sunlight sparkled off each facet. “What?”

  He motioned for her to come over. “Before I reveal your surprise, I want to show you something.”

  She joined him on the blanket, crouching down next to him.

  “I hope it’s still here.” He nestled her beside him and opened up a little panel. “Bingo.”

  They leaned forward and her breath caught.

  Written on the back of the wood door to be protected from the years and weather were their four names, their signatures, and a date. By each of their names, they put a dash and a word. “What is this?”

  “This was the wrap date.” His voice was almost reverent as he pointed to the date. “And of course our names and autographs.”

  “What are the words for?” She stared at what few others had ever seen.

  “We all chose the occupation we would have in the real world when this ended.”

  They were both silent as she read the list, smiling at their different handwritings.

  Ryder’s writing was more of a scrawl. “Rock star. That’s not surprising.”

  Logan let out a laugh. “He can’t sing.”

  A shudder ran through her at recalling what the man could do, especially with his costar. Erin came next, her writing that of a schoolgirl, big, neat, and bubbly. “Actress.”

  He nodded. “She always got what she wanted.”

  Well, she almost got everything she wanted. The third person on the list, Drew, eluded the woman.

  Next down the line, their missing member, Drew, his writing precise and neat almost like what one would expect from an architect. “Astronomer.”

  “He put the star in Hollywood Stardust.”

  “Look who’s next.” Avoiding any talk of their missing member, she hugged him.

  “Yours truly.” Logan tapped his own name.

  “Director.” She took in his writing, jagged and slanted, cool even if it wasn’t meant to be cool. “I didn’t know you wanted to be a director.” As the words left her mouth, she wrinkled her nose. Maybe in the back of her mind she had an inkling he wanted to direct, especially in the bedroom. Actually, the man was born to direct, be in charge, and tell others what to do. “I take that back. I mean, we just never voiced that you wanted to be a director.” Again, she wondered if his dream would have come true if he hadn’t taken the fall for his friends.

  “As you know, I’ve helped produce some projects, even Ryder’s little film, but that only involves me forking over a c
heck.” Once more, he reached inside the duffel bag. “I never had a project that excited me, or a soon-to-be wife to share it with, but I think you’ll understand when I say this is perfect for us.” He pulled out a thick spiral-bound book and placed it on her lap.

  “Hollywood Starburst?” She put her hands over her mouth and read the simple typewritten cover page once more. Hollywood Starburst—Sequel to Hollywood Stardust.

  “I’m going to give you the story you have wanted all along.”

  Her heart took off at such a rapid rate that she found it almost hard to breathe. Was he finally going to tell her? If he revealed the truth, she could tell him what had happened with little fallout.

  “Have you ever heard stories about producers or directors who destroy sets so they won’t end up in other movies?” He put his arm around her.

  She turned to him.

  “For about five years, I listened off and on to rumblings about the sequel being made with a different cast. At first I didn’t care, but as time went on, the thought of either not being in it or having it ruined in some other way grated on me. So I purchased the story and the rights. What you have in your lap is the original sequel. I own it, and now we own it, and you know everything there is to know.” He leaned in until they were nose to nose. “Should we make a movie?”

  Was that all he was going to tell her? Were they going to start their official lives together without ever addressing the rest? Did he still not trust her? “Logan.” She inhaled. “I know you wanted to do the sequel. I know you weren’t the reason it was canceled, and I would be more than honored to help make this happen with you.”

  “What are you talking about? You know the sequel was canceled because of me and my indiscretions. Back then I wanted to move on to other projects.” His eyes widened.

  “Please, don’t lie to me. I know the truth. I know everything. Let’s just lay it on the line and move on.” Her body broke out in trembles, but maybe it was better this way.

  “Ivy.” He moved back and stared her down. “I demand to know what is going on right now. What have you done?”