Love Scene, Take Two

by Alex Evansley

  Olivia chuckles.

  “But it does say how you need to be smart and rational above everything else, and you were being stupid,” Teddy bites out.

  “I was stepping up and doing what needed to be done instead of waiting around for something to happen like everyone else in The Company.”

  “No, had you looked at the bigger picture, you would have realized how irresponsible it was to go off the grid on a rogue mission without telling anyone where you were going or what you were doing,” Teddy shoots back; then he adds, “I don’t know why you have such a problem with letting people in, Katherine.”

  Bennett stares at her script.

  The line is supposed to read, “Letting people help you.”

  “I don’t have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is taking unnecessary precautions,” Olivia says, adjusting the first part of her line to fit Teddy’s deviation. “And it’s not like you didn’t know I was thinking about it. I told you I wanted to do this as a solo gig a while ago. You didn’t have a problem with it then.”

  “You told me that two months ago and then never mentioned it again! And just because you wanted to do it solo doesn’t mean you should have, Katherine!” Teddy grinds out with a little more intensity than Bennett thinks necessary.

  “Are you going to wrap this up soon, or are you gonna drag it out?” Olivia asks. “I need to go file my report.”

  “Nice, Kat. Glad to see you didn’t lose your knack for pissing me off while you were gone.”

  “And I’m glad to see you didn’t lose your knack for blowing everything out of proportion while I was gone, either.”

  “You think me privately reprimanding you about one of the biggest transgressions you’ve pulled since you were recruited for The Company is ‘blowing everything out of proportion’?” He pretends to laugh, even though the script specifies it’s supposed to be a serious question.

  “I’d say yelling at me about something that’s kind of none of your business is pretty close.”

  “I was assigned to be your partner. Everything you do is my business,” he snaps. “Nothing kind of about that.”

  That last line is not in the script, and to Bennett, it kind of feels like a slap in the face.

  “Oh, I like that little addition there; what do you guys think?” Burt says, looking around to the rest of the producers. Again, no objections. “Let’s keep it going, Teddy.”

  Teddy reads the next few lines, with Olivia following along, while Bennett forces herself to believe it was a coincidence. Nothing more.

  “Do you have any idea what would have happened had you not made it back?” Teddy asks.

  “Here I am, aren’t I?”

  “Sure, here you are, and you haven’t even looked me in the eye yet.”

  That isn’t in the script, either.

  “I spent four years in training, Jack. I don’t need a bodyguard.”

  “And those four years of training couldn’t help prevent that nice little shiner you’re sporting right now, huh?”

  “You’re clearly upset because I managed to make it to the headquarters and back without your help,” Olivia says.

  “No, I’m freaking livid because not only did you go without telling me, you also ignored every attempt I made to get in touch with you!”

  And just where the hell does he think he’s going with that?

  “Jack—”

  “If you’re going to disappear on some solo gig because you think it makes you look like the hero, then at least act like you’ve done it before and follow the protocol for solo missions—which includes checking in with The Company so people won’t think you’re dead.”

  Olivia tries to start her next line, but Teddy cuts her off again.

  “You know how that made me feel? Completely shutting me out like that? Every call and text going unanswered? We couldn’t even leave you voice mails anymore because it was full with all the other voice mails you ignored!”

  What the fu—no. Bennett is imagining this. She’s being paranoid.

  But this is all wrong. So wrong. Yeah, Katherine ignores their attempts to get in touch with her in the script, but Jack is supposed to understand Katherine doesn’t want anything traced back to The Company. Jack isn’t supposed to be dwelling on this at all.… Why the hell isn’t Burt stepping in?

  Olivia frowns. “Clearly I was a little preoccupied at the time, and I didn’t want to have any contact because they could’ve traced me back to you and The Company.”

  Damn. Despite everything, Bennett has to admit Olivia’s good with improv.

  “Yeah, right, Katherine. You didn’t want to give me a chance to talk to you because you were afraid of what I had to say, and you know it.”

  “What was there to talk about? This solo gig had nothing to do with you!”

  “There was a lot to talk about,” Teddy says defensively. “And you wouldn’t even hear me out—you disappeared and pretended not to notice how it would affect everyone.”

  “Can you blame me?” Olivia asks, getting back to the script. “Jesus, Jack! I needed to do this, and I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d go running off to tell Mitchell I was violating protocol the first chance you got. Don’t try to tell me you wouldn’t have.”

  “You act like I’m some tattletale that’s out to get you all the time.”

  “Well, then, stop acting like you are, and maybe I’d trust you more. Constantly using protocol against me is a high-horse move, and you know it.”

  Teddy groans. “There’s a reason we have protocol, Katherine. Get used to it.”

  “Fine. You wanna talk about protocol? What’s the protocol on separating yourself from your work, huh? Approaching everything objectively instead of letting your emotions interfere? Because you’re certainly going against that little part of protocol right now.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, you don’t? So, you freaking out about this has nothing to do with anything other than protocol?” Olivia asks, and Bennett exhales slowly. They’re coming up on the end of the scene, and for a second there she thought …

  “What, you think it has to do with something else?” Teddy shoots back.

  “I don’t see you getting this worked up when other agents go against protocol—which, by the way, is all the time.”

  “I’m just doing my job,” Teddy scoffs. “Don’t flatter yourself, superstar.”

  Bennett tries to convince herself she didn’t hear that correctly—that that didn’t just come out of Teddy’s mouth—but she can’t pretend the calm demeanor she’s been clinging to all morning didn’t just crack beyond repair.

  “Why don’t we stop there for a moment and discuss?” Burt says, and Bennett can’t move. Her hands are numb. Her shoulders are up by her ears. And since she definitely isn’t getting enough oxygen circulation to keep her brain from short-circuiting, all she can do is switch to autopilot and hope to God her face isn’t giving her away.

  Another producer says, “Even though some of that was a little more unscripted than I’d like, I’d say it still worked nicely. I like the idea of Jack’s character getting more upset about not being able to get in touch with Katherine.”

  “Thanks, man,” Teddy says. “I don’t know, after getting to know Jack’s character more, I kind of pictured him reacting that way.”

  “I’d be careful about coming off too forward, Teddy. Jack’s character isn’t the type to admit to pining over a girl, no matter how much he loves her,” Olivia throws out.

  “That’s true, too. I guess that’s just what I personally would’ve done in a situation like that. It seemed more organic.”

  Burt folds his hands behind his head and says, “I could definitely see us being able to work that in, Teddy. It’s a good idea.”

  “Yeah?” Teddy says innocently. “Hey, Bennett—what do you think about it?”

  And you know what? That’s enough. Teddy messing with her during the table-read was one thing,
but throwing it in her face while everyone else is blissfully unaware of what he’s doing is a whole different ballgame. And it’s exactly the motivation Bennett needs to snap out of the anxiety-induced paralysis she had going on a minute ago.

  This is how Teddy wants to play it? Fine. Bennett will bite.

  “Yeah, I like it,” she says after pretending to clear her throat. “I think it works well with Jack’s complete inability to take a hint.”

  Burt turns all the way toward her in his chair, eyebrows raised. “Inability to take a hint?”

  Bennett shrugs. “Jack’s character isn’t stupid. If he knows Katherine as well as he says he does, he would understand she had legitimate reasons for not responding to him on the mission—that’s why we wrote it that way in the script. But Jack’s also pretty fragile. I could see him getting worked up over being ignored, even if it makes him look a little desperate.”

  “Or maybe it’s his refusal to take a hint instead of inability,” Teddy mutters, and Bennett presses a hand to her mouth to hide her grin.

  “I feel like Jack trusts Katherine’s judgment, regardless of how many times she goes against protocol,” Olivia points out thoughtfully. “But again, I still don’t think it’s in his nature to pine over a girl, regardless of how desperately in love he is with her.”

  “The refusal to take a hint component could appeal more to our target audience, though. It looks more romantic,” one of the producers says.

  “I agree,” Teddy cuts in. “Plus, once I got to know Katherine’s character—you know, from reading the books and stuff—it seemed like she wanted Jack to put in more effort instead of waiting around for her to come back. She spends the entire book trying to prove she doesn’t need anyone else, almost to the point of overcompensating. It fits.”

  Olivia considers it, pushing out her bottom lip and tipping her head to the side. “That’s true. I did sense Kat secretly wanting someone to chase her through all the stunts she pulled. Maybe she likes the reassurance of Jack being so persistent? She’s already proven she’s insecure like that,” she says, and Bennett gets so irrationally defensive that it takes her a second to remember Olivia’s actually talking about the character.

  “Definitely likes the reassurance,” Teddy says. “Katherine’s not exactly one to hold her tongue when it matters. If she wanted Jack to stop, I think she would’ve told him to.”

  Bennett isn’t sure who he thinks he’s talking about now, because if he seriously thinks Bennett ignored him for the past five months for reassurance, then he’s not as observant as she used to give him credit for.

  “I dunno—I agree with what you guys are saying, but I also think there could be more to this for Katherine than the reassurance,” Burt says.

  “Like what?” another producer asks.

  “Like Olivia said when she was improvising, Katherine knew the risks of contacting anyone from The Company while she was on such a critical mission,” Burt explains. “Ignoring Jack could correlate with how much she cares for him.”

  “And maybe correlate with her not wanting to look vulnerable, especially after everything that went down between, uh—them.” Teddy hesitates before adding, “I mean, with the unspoken mutual attraction they had before she left.”

  And what would Teddy Sharpe know about being vulnerable?

  Burt nods. “Exactly. This scene is already important because it solidifies what’s going on between them. This new factor could take it to the next level if we play it right.”

  “I think we need to be careful,” Bennett says suddenly, unaware of when she decided to speak. She has to work hard to keep her tone even. “I mean, it’s safe to assume the majority of the audience has read the books, so they probably already have an idea of Jack in their heads.”

  “So?” a producer says.

  Bennett leans forward to rest her elbows on the table. “I wouldn’t want people to end up confused or disappointed if Jack doesn’t turn out to be the person they thought he was. We don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.”

  Sure, it’s not her most eloquent response, but it’s enough to get her point across. Out of the corner of her eye, Bennett watches the jackass who started this shift in his seat, sighing loudly through his nose.

  Screw looking vulnerable.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The table-read meeting comes to an end, and once everyone passes their newly noted scripts back to the producers, Burt thanks them for coming and gives a special shout-out to the actors for making the first table-read so successful. Bennett’s in the middle of holding back an eye roll when Burt asks if she can stay after the meeting.

  “It’ll only take a few minutes,” Burt insists as people file out. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  Bennett feels someone drop a hand on the back of her chair as she and Burt wait for the room to empty out. When she turns to see who it is, she watches the reason this meeting shaved off a few years of her life continue around the table to introduce himself to Greek Goddess Barbie.

  Actually—it’s unfair for Bennett to call her that. After seeing how the table-read went, Bennett’s sort of looking forward to meeting Olivia. That doesn’t mean Bennett enjoys seeing her smile her megawatt, million-dollar smile at Teddy, though. They shake hands, then Teddy holds the door for her and they both disappear from the trailer, leaving Bennett behind to sulk over all her conflicting emotions.

  “I’ll meet you at your car, B,” Emmy says before heading out herself.

  Burt stretches his arms over his head once everyone’s gone. “Wanted to touch base to see where your head’s at about the first read. What’d you think?”

  “I thought it went well,” Bennett hedges.

  “Really? I couldn’t tell if you liked the improvisations or not.”

  “I was just … engrossed.”

  Burt hums, then finally removes his sunglasses. “You sure? Maybe I was just misreading. You haven’t changed your mind about casting any of the leads, right?”

  What a loaded question.

  “No, I haven’t,” she tells him, and it’s surprisingly the truth. Bennett’s just changed her mind about a few other things when it comes to one of the leads.…

  “Good,” Burt says, then he launches into a ten minute analysis on the table-read and how he thought the actors meshed well together. Bennett’s just fine with sitting back and letting him talk. She knows the longer she sits here, the less likely she’ll run into anyone after they’re done.

  “I know this has been a lot to put on you, so I appreciate you taking everything in stride,” Burt says as they gather up a few stray scripts and notes left around the table.

  “It hasn’t felt like too much,” Bennett says.

  “Good. The industry doesn’t need another overprocessed young adult book adaptation that fizzles out after opening weekend. I want this to be next wave,” Burt tells her, which isn’t the first time he’s made a comment like this. “Although, it helps your book was already so adaptable,” he adds, swinging open the trailer door so Bennett can walk out first.

  Her eyebrows knit together as she descends the trailer steps. “I thought the whole reason you wanted me working on the script was to bridge the gap between all the parts of Parachutes that weren’t adaptable.…”

  “No, I wanted you working on the script because of how you write dialogue,” Burt says casually. “I figured you wouldn’t have trouble with the transition because your book already read more like a script than a novel, anyway.”

  Bennett frowns.

  “That’s a good thing, by the way,” he says when he catches her expression. “Most of the YA adaptations during the past five years either tanked because they deviated too much from the original storyline or they stayed so close it created plot holes for people who didn’t read the books. Parachutes had a few things that wouldn’t adapt, yeah, but it has more potential to find the Goldilocks medium here than any other series I’ve seen optioned for film recently.”

  Bennett isn’t sure wh
y Burt’s telling her this, but now it’s got her thinking about expectations—the black hole of Bennett’s doubts about everything. Burt veers off toward one of the buildings on the far side of set, calling over his shoulder, “See you later. I’ll consolidate all the script notes and e-mail them out to the writers tonight.”

  Bennett’s still frowning as she crosses through the parking lot toward her car. She never considered the idea of Parachutes reading more like a script than a novel. She spent the past three and a half years trying to pass off Parachutes as a decent piece of prose, and now Burt’s saying she still might not have pulled it off.…

  “Hey, Bennett!”

  Bennett’s head whips up from the parking lot gravel. Emmy is standing by Bennett’s Jeep, waving her over. And she isn’t alone.

  Seriously, what the hell is this?

  Teddy hasn’t been on set for more than three hours and he’s already everywhere. Which is so typical Bennett can’t stand it. She fishes around in her bag for her sunglasses, unconcerned that it’s cloudy out.

  “Hey,” is all Teddy says when Bennett reaches them. She doesn’t look at him, but she knows he’s looking at her.

  “What’s up?” she says, because it’s safe and she can’t think of anything better.

  “I was just telling Teddy about the hotel we’re staying in,” Emmy replies.

  “Yeah,” Teddy says, scratching the back of his neck. “I, uh—got dropped off straight from the airport this morning, so I haven’t seen it yet.”

  Bennett nods, wondering how bitchy she’d sound if she asked if there’s a point to him informing her of this.

  “His manager is running a little late right now,” Emmy provides, folding her arms across her chest. “I said we could give him a ride back to the hotel if he needs it.”

  “Only if that’s cool with you, though, Bennett,” Teddy’s quick to add.

  Of course. This is all just too perfect.

  “Sure,” Bennett says, her voice an octave too high. She presses the unlock button on her car key and steps around both of them, making a mental note to have a word with her assistant later about the definition of betrayal.