Casting Lacey

by Elle Spencer

  “Fuck you.” Quinn threw the bean bag with her good arm. It didn’t even come close to hitting Lacey, landing in the deep end of the pool.

  “Fuck me? Yeah, you’re way too weak and you obviously aren’t so proficient with your left hand.” Lacey shook her head dramatically. “Such a pity…” She motioned with her head toward the pool. “That bean bag isn’t going to save itself.”

  “I hate you so much sometimes,” Quinn said with a scowl.

  “No. You hate being weak. You hate being out of control. You hate that you can’t get on your bike and ride up that mountain, so take your clothes off and save that bean bag!”

  “Take off my clothes? Ha! Nice try, drill sergeant.” Quinn plopped into a chair at the table and drank from her bottle of water.

  Lacey sauntered over to the table. “Hey, that’s what Jillian Michaels would tell you to do. She’d say, Quinn Kincaid, you hot mother fucker, take off your damn clothes and save that fucking bean bag!”

  “I’m tired. And you’re bossy as hell. It’s getting old.” She unconsciously rubbed her sore arm.

  “Fine.” Lacey pulled up a chair. “You can have a break, but we have to do these exercises before dinner.” She grabbed a bottle of lotion off the table and gently massaged Quinn’s arm.

  “Is the housekeeper done yet?”

  “She has a name. It’s Vera, and she’ll be done in a few minutes.”

  Quinn closed her eyes and moaned, clearly enjoying the way Lacey was working her muscles. “Are you sure she hasn’t taken any photos of the house?”

  “Positive. It’s a very reputable company she works for. And she does a great job. Much better than I do. Compared to you, I’m a total slob.”

  “I had a stalker,” Quinn blurted out.

  Lacey looked completely thrown off. “What?”

  “I had a stalker. That’s why I’m so obsessed with privacy.”

  Lacey’s hand ran down Quinn’s arm to her hand. “God. That must’ve been…”

  “Greer never understood my fears. He never respected our privacy. I hated him for that.”

  It was the first time Lacey had heard Quinn say her ex-husband’s name out loud. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she stayed quiet.

  “It happened when Greer was shooting a movie in Montana. The guy got into my bedroom when I was asleep. I’d left the balcony door open by accident, and when I woke up, he was standing over me, taking photos on his phone.”

  “Oh, god.” Lacey squeezed Quinn’s hand.

  “It turns out the guy had been watching me for years. They found all sorts of pictures and crazy love letters in his apartment.”

  “Jesus. It’s no wonder…”

  “I don’t trust anyone, Lace. I know it’s wrong. I know I’m keeping everyone at bay now. Even people who used to be close friends.” Quinn shook her head at herself. “I renovated this house and none of the cast and crew have ever seen it. The people I work with every day, don’t even know where I live.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Lacey said it again, unsure what else to say.

  “I know that doesn’t jive with you waltzing into my life and me just letting you move right in. Will you keep rubbing my arm? It feels so good.”

  Lacey poured more lotion into her hands. “Or letting me, of all people, take care of you when you were your most vulnerable.”

  “I know,” Quinn agreed. “It was a feeling. And really, it was either you or a stranger. So, I went with my gut.”

  Vera poked her head out of the door. “I’m done, Ms. Matthews. May I have my phone back?”

  Lacey shot Quinn a sly grin as she stood up and wiped her hands off on a towel. “Apparently, I don’t trust anyone, either,” she whispered. She walked over to Vera, pulling a phone out of her back pocket. “Here you go. I’ll walk you out.”

  “Gut feeling,” Quinn said with a smile.

  ***

  “And, action!”

  “I can’t believe you!” Selena followed Jordan into her office and slammed the door behind her.

  Jordan tossed a file on her desk and sat down. “I thought it went well.”

  “You were flirting with opposing counsel during a deposition! Is that what you’d like me to learn from you?”

  “You’re exaggerating.”

  “AM I?” Selena shouted.

  Jordan noticed her assistant turn and look at them so she got up and closed the blinds. “Calm down,” she warned. “He’s a friend.”

  “Oh! He’s a friend! So that must make it okay?”

  “What is this really about, Selena?”

  “It’s unprofessional. And you’ll be lucky if the judge doesn’t notice you and your…sex eyes!”

  “Sex eyes?” Jordan asked in amusement. She sauntered over to Selena. “And just what are my sex eyes saying to you right now?”

  Selena tried to hold Jordan’s gaze but had to look away. Her chest was heaving with anger as she made eye contact again. “He’s an ass. You deserve better.”

  Jordan went back to her desk, keeping her back to Selena. “We’re done for the day. You can go.” She kept her back turned until Selena left. Then, she turned around and leaned on her desk while she stared at the closed door.

  “Cut!” J.J. took his copy of the script out of his back pocket. “Was sex eyes in the script?”

  The script supervisor stepped forward, reading from the script. “It’s unprofessional and you’ll be lucky if the judge doesn’t notice your antics. Yeah, nothing about sex eyes.”

  Lacey threw her hands up in the air. “She has sex eyes, okay? It just came out!”

  “Attention, everyone!” Quinn waved at the crew, trying to get their attention. “If anyone calls me Sex Eyes, they’re fired!”

  J.J. laughed. “Hey, maybe we’ll keep the sex eyes, but let’s do another take, just in case.”

  Quinn turned to Lacey and whispered, “Good one.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t making that up,” Lacey replied. “They say you wanna fuck me.”

  Quinn’s mouth hung open.

  “You asked what your sex eyes are saying to me, and that’s what they’re saying. You desperately want to bend me over that desk and…”

  Quinn folded her good arm over the fake cast she now had to wear and smiled at Lacey, waiting for her to finish. Lacey didn’t know that the makeup artist was standing right behind her, waiting to pat the shine off of her forehead. Laura cleared her throat, causing Lacey to close her eyes in embarrassment. She turned around. “Sorry, Laura.”

  Laura usually kept her South Carolina accent in check for the Hollywood crowd, but at that moment it managed to come out in full force as she laughed. “Honey, don’t you dare be sorry. Whatever this thing is that you two have, it’s hot, hot, hot. Not to mention funny. Ratings are gonna shoot through the roof and that means I’ll still have a job next year. So, you two can sex eyes each other ‘til you get glaucoma and I won’t be anything but grateful.”

  ***

  The following day, J.J. was giving Lacey direction as they prepared for a scene. “You’re going for gentle here. Selena is feeling contrite about their argument and Jordan needs to sense that. She needs to believe Selena’s starting to care about not only her job, but also, her.”

  Lacey put on her character’s coat. “A turning point?”

  J.J. pointed his script at her and winked. “Perfect turn of phrase.”

  J.J. walked away and Quinn took his place. “This is the one we need to kill,” she whispered. “Make it sexy.”

  Lacey winked at her. “Try not to get turned on.”

  J.J. clapped his hands. “Quiet everyone. We’re rolling!”

  “And, action!”

  Selena rang Jordan’s doorbell. Jordan opened the door but didn’t greet her. She turned around, walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. Selena took her coat off and set her purse by the door. She walked up behind Jordan and paused for a second. “Good morning.” Her greeting was soft and apologetic.

  Jorda

n turned around and held out her arm. “Good morning,” she said, mimicking Selena’s soft tone.

  As Selena buttoned Jordan’s cuff, she noticed that her blouse was mis-buttoned. She pointed at it. “You’re…”

  Jordan looked down. “Oh, god.”

  “I’ve got it,” Selena slowly and gently unbuttoned the shirt, revealing Jordan’s black bra. Her breath caught as she re-buttoned the blouse. Jordan’s chest heaved as if she was having trouble breathing.

  “You usually wear your cross with this blouse,” Selena said.

  “The chain broke.”

  Selena made eye contact. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s just a chain.” Jordan turned back around and poured cream into her coffee.

  Selena noticed that Jordan’s skirt still needed to be zipped up. She took a step forward. “No, I mean I’m sorry…for last night,” she said as she zipped up the skirt.

  Jordan turned slightly, looking over her shoulder. “Do over?”

  “Yeah,” Selena replied, relief evident in her voice. “There’s this little place I found when I first moved here. Great margaritas. We could…maybe sometime…”

  Jordan turned back around and smiled. “Cute glasses.” She took a sip of her coffee, keeping her eyes firmly set on Selena.

  Selena touched her black glasses, feeling shy that she was wearing them. “My eyes…they’re too dry for contacts today.”

  Jordan held the stare a little longer than any normal person would. After what seemed like an eternity, she broke the connection, turning to get another cup out of the cupboard. She poured more coffee and said, “Let’s work here until lunch.”

  Selena breathed another sigh of relief and took the cup from Jordan. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

  “And, cut! Re-set.” J.J. paused a minute to make sure his direction was heard and then turned to Lacey. “That last line…”

  “Right,” Lacey said. “Sorry. It was supposed to be ‘sounds good,’ right? My bad. I’ll hit it on the next take.”

  “No, no. It’s good. Your way is good. Keep it. And, ladies?” Quinn and Lacey both turned to J.J.

  “Great scene.” J.J. quickly abandoned the conversation, moving on to managing the crew.

  Quinn turned her attention back to Lacey. “You look adorable in those glasses.”

  “Really?” Lacey playfully replied. “Because I could totally wear them to bed for you…you know…when we…”

  “Hush!” Quinn said in a loud whisper as she looked around. “People will think…”

  “Isn’t that what we’re going for? People thinking something that’s not true?”

  “Not yet. The characters first. Then us.”

  Lacey nodded her understanding. “Got it. I’m kind of getting a complex, though. You’re the only woman who’s ever had to fake it with me.”

  “Yes, well…” Quinn tried hard to suppress her smile, not wanting to give Lacey the satisfaction of a laugh at her joke. “I actually have no comeback for that.”

  “You’re thinking about it, aren’t you? How good it could be? I see that blush on your cheeks,” Lacey teased.

  Quinn shook her head as she walked away. Since they’d decided to turn up the heat with Jordan and Selena, Lacey had turned it up in real life as well. Quinn reminded herself that Lacey had a tendency to stay in character. Then she reminded herself again.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Quinn gave Lacey a reassuring look. Dan, one of the producers for Jordan’s Appeal had just asked the two of them to stay behind for a few minutes after a production meeting. He waited until the last person had closed the door behind them before he turned to them. “Thanks for staying. I just have something I need to run by you quickly.” He tapped his pen on the table, eyeing them both for a moment. “As you know, the first two episodes of the season have aired and the feedback on Lacey’s character has been stellar.” He waited for Quinn’s reaction.

  “That’s great!” Quinn glanced at Lacey. Was this the moment they had been waiting for? Were they going to take Jordan and Selena’s relationship to a new level? All the signs were pointing in that direction. Subtle script changes, along with the whisperings on set regarding their great rapport had them both feeling optimistic.

  “Brock has been pushing for a romantic arc between John and Selena,” Dan said, still tapping his pen and looking apprehensive.

  Ugh. Brock Tennison. He was the pompous ass who played the D.A. He was a classically trained stage actor, a fact he never let anyone forget. Lacey got a sour look on her face. Quinn laughed and said, “Brock has tried to get a romantic arc with every female on the show, including me. As if Jordan would ever! She hates the man with a passion.”

  Dan stopped tapping his pen, but didn’t respond.

  Quinn leaned forward in her chair. “Please tell me you’re not considering this, Dan. Selena is gay, remember?”

  Dan chuckled. “She didn’t start out that way. The writers wrote that in after you’d shot a couple of episodes. Besides, don’t you think it would be kind of fun to watch Dent try to get in Selena’s…” Getting no reaction from the women but a glare, Dan cleared his throat. “I guess not.” He picked up his pen and started tapping it again. “Look, you might hate the thing I really brought you in to talk about even more, but just hear me out, okay?”

  Quinn leaned back in her chair, breathing a sigh of relief. For a moment there, she thought Dan was seriously considering giving in to her co-star’s stupid ideas. She’d seen the way Brock watched Lacey on the set. He was always right there in the background, whether he had scenes with them or not. She’d felt protective of Lacey when he was around and it might’ve taken a fight, but she would’ve done whatever it took to make sure that storyline never came to fruition. She resisted the urge to pat Lacey’s hand, letting her know everything would be fine. Instead, she gave her a slight smile and turned her attention back to Dan. “We’re listening.”

  Dan took a deep breath. “Okay. So, here’s the thing. You two have amazing chemistry and our viewers are talking about it.” He hesitated for a second as he eyed Quinn. “And we had a thought.”

  Lacey covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile while Quinn waited for Dan to tell them what they already knew.

  “What if…they fall in love?” Dan narrowed his eyes, trying to read the two women.

  Lacey tried to remain stoic. She turned to Quinn, giving her the chance to respond first.

  “What if Jordan and Selena fall in love?” Quinn asked, her eyebrows raised.

  Dan nodded, his eyes darting between the two of them. “Yes.”

  Quinn tried her hardest to keep a straight face. “What are you hearing from the viewers?”

  “They love your chemistry,” Dan said. “And honestly, I’ve never seen two actors smolder the way you two do. It’s like you’re two seconds away from jumping each other’s bones at all times, even when you’re yelling at each other.” He chuckled. “And there’s a hashtag. It started trending three days ago.”

  “A hashtag?” Lacey finally let herself smile. “What is it?”

  “Well, there are several actually, but my favorite is hashtag justkissalready, but there’s also hashtag getitjordan and hashtag breakmyarm.”

  Quinn burst out laughing. “Hashtag break my arm? Seriously?”

  Dan smiled. “Seriously.”

  She looked at Lacey. “Apparently, we have chemistry.”

  “It’s her sex eyes, Dan.” Lacey wagged her eyebrows. “They just draw people in.”

  Dan laughed. “Quinn, will you please use your sex eyes to convince Lacey that this is a good idea?”

  “She doesn’t have to, Dan. I’m in. Quinn?”

  Quinn paused for a long moment. Just when she thought Dan was about to take his suggestion back, she said, “I think it’s a great idea. All I ask is that I have some say with how things unfold physically.”

  Dan breathed a visible sigh of relief. “You already have that, and we’ll make sure you’re comfortable with the storyline.”

  Quinn nodded her approval. “Okay. Let’s see what the writers come up with.”

  “How’s the arm?” Dan asked, his tone sounding much lighter.

  “Better.” Quinn instinctively rubbed her upper arm. It still hurt more than she was willing to admit to anyone. “The doctor says I can’t ride yet, which is ridiculous, but I’ll get there.”

  “Good. Lacey, we’ll need to extend your contract. We’ll discuss the details with your agent.”

  Lacey stood up and shook Dan’s hand. “Thank you. It’s been great working with all of you.”

  “You’ll have a few days off, and then we’ll go full speed ahead again. And in the meantime, all the usual confidentiality applies. Don’t you two dare let this get out,” he said, pointing at both of them.

  Dan left the room. Quinn and Lacey looked at each other. “We should just fist bump and save the real celebration for later.”

  “Agreed,” Quinn said, standing up and opening the door. “Just act casual.”

  “We’ll scream when we get in the car,” Lacey whispered.

  “Or, maybe wait until we’re off the lot.”

  “On the freeway. We’ll scream on the freeway.”

  ***

  Lacey held up her beer bottle for a toast. “Here’s to us. So far, so good.”

  It was Lacey’s idea to stop at a little roadside bar on the way home, not Quinn’s. She didn’t frequent roadside bars any more than she shopped for her own groceries. A delivery service took care of that. But Lacey went on and on about wanting to stop, so here they were, sitting in a very public place.

  The realization that their plan was officially being set in motion was hitting Quinn hard, but she wasn’t about to admit that she was scared to death, so she smiled and tapped Lacey’s bottle. “I’m praying for a good storyline.”

  “We’ll make sure it’s good.” Lacey looked around for the waiter again. “What I’m praying for right now, is a taco. They make the best street tacos here.”

  Quinn eyed Lacey for a moment. “I bet I know what you really want.”

  “Oh, yeah? You’re a mind reader now?” Lacey finally caught the attention of the waiter. “Yeah, half a dozen al pastor with extra green sauce on the side.” She turned back to Quinn. “What were you saying?”

  -->