Casting Lacey

by Elle Spencer

  Margaret set her fork down. “Are you sure that’s the best thing for your show? Jordan has never shown any signs of…she’s only been with…men.” She turned her attention to Lacey. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, honey. I have no problem with gay people.”

  “Unless, they’re your daughter,” Quinn said.

  “Don’t put words in my mouth, dear. I’m just not sure people will believe that Jordan is…” She looked at Lacey again. “Of course, if Jordan Ellis met Dr. Sarah Covington she’d be very impressed, wouldn’t she?” Margaret’s face lit up like she’d just had a huge revelation. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

  Lacey lowered her gaze and pursed her lips together, trying to hold back a giggle. She quickly sobered up when Quinn let go of her hand and covered her eyes. “I can’t do this,” Quinn whispered.

  Quinn started shaking as the sobs worked their way up. Lacey immediately wrapped her arms around Quinn. “Shh…it’s okay.” She stroked Quinn’s hair as she cried and whispered in her ear, “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Margaret sat there, watching. “Honey,” she said, getting no reply. It took her a moment, but then she said, “Oh my god. You had me so confused, but I think I understand now.”

  Lacey took the napkin off her lap and offered it to Quinn as she lifted her head, meeting her mother’s gaze. “You do?” Quinn whispered.

  Margaret sighed. “You were afraid to tell me? Why, Quinn? I’m your mother! Why am I always the last to know anything? And how could you keep the fact that you’re dating Lacey Matthews from me? You know what a huge fan I am!”

  Margaret got up and rounded the table. She leaned down in between them and kissed Quinn’s cheek and then Lacey’s. “Maybe now I’ll get a grandchild.”

  ***

  “Stop gloating.”

  “I’m not gloating.”

  Quinn plopped into a chair. “You’re gloating so loud they can hear it in fucking Cincinnati.”

  Lacey poured Quinn a glass of wine from the bottle she’d just opened. “I’m just out here enjoying your awesome backyard. And lower your voice. You don’t want your mother hearing you swear like a sailor. She’ll think I’m a bad influence on you.”

  “You are. But my mother would never believe it. She thinks you walk on water.”

  Lacey pushed the glass across the table. “Are you really going to let your mother’s love and admiration for my incredible acting skills keep you from enjoying the fact that you just came out to her and she still loves you?”

  “For now, she loves me, but what happens when I break up with the goddess of daytime soaps? I’ll just be a disappointment to her again.”

  Lacey quietly studied Quinn for a moment.

  “What?” Quinn asked incredulously.

  “You don’t want to hear it.”

  “Are you psychoanalyzing me? Don’t analyze me,” Quinn said with a slow shake of her head.

  Lacey put her hands up in defense. “Okay…and I’m really not gloating. I’m just relieved Margaret took it all so well, and if my being there made a difference, then I’m very glad I could help.”

  “Good. I don’t want to fight today.” Quinn put her sunglasses on and leaned back in her chair, letting the sun hit her face. “And thank you for those nice things you said. And right back ‘atcha.”

  Lacey lifted her glass and smiled. “Here’s to the two best actors in Hollywood.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The two best actors in Hollywood had been hard at work for months, spending virtually all of their time together. It was the same thing every day. Lacey would make the coffee, fill their travel mugs and grab something to eat in the car. They’d work all day, often into the night, then fall into bed, and repeat it all over again the next day.

  It was a rigorous schedule and Lacey loved every second of it. She was starting to believe what Quinn had said about never struggling to find work again.

  “Did the coffee taste different this morning? I’m not sure I got the ratio right.” Lacey stood next to Quinn. “It’s a new blend I’m trying.”

  “I didn’t notice anything different.” Quinn adjusted the sling over her fake cast. “Has it always been your dream to be a barista, or just since you moved in with me?”

  “How about I fill your mug with coffee from the Mr. Coffee in the guesthouse tomorrow morning?”

  Quinn snorted. “I’m really not a coffee snob.”

  “Quiet on the set!”

  Lacey leaned in and whispered, “Yeah, I noticed you’re all over that canned shit at craft services.”

  “Are you fishing for coffee compliments?”

  The director cleared his throat. “Ladies.”

  “Never mind,” Quinn whispered.

  “Roll sound.”

  “Rolling.”

  “Mark!”

  “Set.”

  “And, action!”

  Selena got off the elevator in the parking garage, walking just behind Jordan. Their satchels had been replaced with a rolling briefcase. “Are we going to talk about what just happened?”

  Jordan kept walking. “Not here.”

  “Jordan!” Selena’s voice echoed through the parking garage. They both stopped and Jordan turned around.

  “Do not shout at me.”

  "He thought I was your assistant that he could just boss around. Make a copy of this, sweetheart. Fetch me that file, honey.”

  “You are my assistant. And it didn’t kill you to fetch that file. You’re still alive to tell the sorry tale.”

  “You let him disrespect me. You didn’t even tell him I’m second chair. You let him –” Selena pushed past Jordan. “Never mind. If you don’t get how insulting that was, then I certainly can’t explain it to you.”

  Jordan grabbed Selena’s hand. “Wait.” She stepped closer, keeping hold of her hand. Selena looked down at their joined hands and then met Jordan’s gaze. “If I’m not shouting to the world who my assistant really is, it’s because I don’t want to let them see…” Jordan’s eyes fell to Selena’s lips. She corrected herself and let go of Selena’s hand, taking a step back and lifting her chin. “You’re right. I set the standard, and I apologize for letting him treat you that way.”

  “If you don’t say something…”

  “I know. They think it’s fine to treat all women that way.” Jordan glanced at her feet and then met Selena’s intense gaze again. “You shouldn’t have to go through what I’ve already been through. I’ll have your back.”

  Selena nodded. “Okay. Are we off the clock?”

  Jordan looked at her watch. “As of three minutes ago.”

  “Can I take you to dinner? My treat?”

  Jordan smiled. “Having your back gets me dinner?”

  “No.” Selena shook her head. “That gets you my respect. Dinner is just…neither of us having to eat alone tonight.”

  “I’d love to. But I get to buy the bottle of wine. You can’t afford my taste.” Jordan gave her a wink as she backed away. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “Cut! That’s it for tonight, everyone. See you tomorrow.”

  Lacey handed her briefcase off to an assistant. “Any interest in sushi tonight? I found a take-out with excellent reviews.”

  “Sounds great.” Quinn grinned as she backed away. “And your coffee is stellar.”

  “I knew it! And you are a coffee snob. Just admit it.”

  Quinn shrugged. “Just another way you’ve spoiled me.”

  If you only knew all the ways I could spoil you. If there weren’t a bunch of people milling around them, Lacey would’ve said it out loud, just so she could watch Quinn turn twenty different shades of red.

  ***

  The next morning, Quinn moved close to Lacey as they set up to do a second take.

  “Ok, everybody. Back to ones!”

  As they moved back to their starting positions, Quinn whispered to Lacey. “Brock doesn’t look pleased with the script.”

  “Pissed is more
like it. But that’s no excuse to blow the scene.”

  “Right? Because he wanted a romantic arc with Selena? What is he, 12? God, he’s as bad as his character.”

  “And, Action!”

  Jordan and Selena leaned into one another and whispered while the District Attorney impatiently tapped his pen on the table. After a few seconds, he stood up. “Your Honor, could you please ask counsel to stop canoodling in the courtroom?”

  The judge looked over her reading glasses. “I believe that’s called conferring, counsel. Take your time, ladies.”

  Selena shot the DA a glare and turned back to Jordan. She gave her a final nod and Jordan stood up. “Your Honor, we’re ready to proceed when you are.”

  “Cut! Let’s move on!”

  ***

  “And, action!”

  Selena caught up to the DA in the hallway. “What the hell was that?”

  John Dent looked pleased with himself. “You tell me. I mean, since when did you and your boss get so chummy? I thought you hated her as much as I do.” He pushed the down button on the elevator.

  “Is this because I refused to go out with you?” Selena pushed the button a few more times.

  “That was before I found out you bat for the other team. I still have a tough time believing it, though it doesn’t surprise me one bit that Jordan does.”

  “She doesn’t. And what the hell is that supposed to mean, anyway?”

  John chuckled. “She hates men, or are you so enamored with her that you can’t see anything past those tight skirts?”

  “It’s just you she hates, John. And apparently, it’s you who can’t get past the tight skirts. Let me guess, you asked her out and she refused and now, every time she beats your ass in court, all you can think about is proving to her how manly you are. Because that’s what men like you think about when you’ve been outplayed, isn’t it? Showing powerful women your…”

  “Selena.” Selena turned around and found Jordan standing behind her. “While I’m dying to know what it is you think Mr. Dent wants to show me, the courthouse probably isn’t the right venue.” The elevator door opened and Jordan kept it open with her hand. “This one is all yours, Mr. Dent.”

  When the elevator doors closed, Selena lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry. That was…”

  “Don’t be.” They turned and walked toward the stairwell. “I’m so proud of you, I can barely breathe right now.”

  “Cut! That’s a wrap, ladies and gentleman. Enjoy your Christmas break.”

  Lacey took off Selena’s black glasses and walked off the set with Quinn. “I’m starving.”

  “What time is your flight?”

  “You’re going to miss me, aren’t you?”

  Quinn took off the fake cast and handed it to a wardrobe assistant. “I’ll be too busy wrangling my mother and her twin sister.”

  “Ah. Aunt Betty. And when do I get to meet Aunt Betty?”

  “Come to Aspen with me. We’d have so much fun!”

  “See?” Lacey wagged her finger at Quinn. “You will miss me.”

  Quinn kicked off Jordan’s heels and slipped into her flip-flops. “You’re so arrogant.”

  Lacey shrugged. “Maybe I just want you to say it first.”

  “Come to Aspen.”

  “I can’t. Even if I wanted to…” Lacey dropped her gaze.

  “You want to. Look at me. You want to.”

  “I can’t miss Christmas with my dad.”

  Quinn sighed. “I know. So, what time is your flight?”

  “Late – 11:35. I was just going to get a cab from here. Do you mind driving the Range Rover home?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll drive you.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Don’t make it a big deal. I’m just driving a friend to the airport. People do it all the time.”

  Lacey grinned. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

  “I didn’t say it.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  Quinn opened her trailer door, letting Lacey go in first. They stripped out of their work clothes and put on jeans. Lacey threw on a thick sweater so she’d be warm on the plane, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

  “You’re in first, right?” Quinn took her hair out of the tight bun, shook it out, and put on a baseball cap. “Domestic first is total trash, but at least you’ll be able to sleep without people sneaking selfies on the way to the bathroom.”

  “Yes, snobby pants, I’m in first.” Lacey glanced at her and smiled as she looked away. “Am I ever going to get my Yankees cap back?”

  “Buy yourself another one while you’re in New York.” Quinn adjusted it on her head. “I like this one.”

  ***

  Quinn could see the United Airlines sign up ahead. She made her way to the drop-off area a bit more slowly than she needed to.

  Lacey turned in her seat. “Promise me you’ll be careful in Aspen. No more broken bones. I can’t stomach the thought of taking care of your sorry ass again.”

  Quinn laughed. “Yeah, it’d be fun to see how they’d write in a broken leg for Jordan.”

  “Could you imagine Selena’s reaction? She’d be all, ‘Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?’ Either that or she’d just kill her boss.”

  Quinn pulled up to the curb. “Okay, get ready to jump out. You’ll have about five seconds.”

  Lacey unbuckled her seatbelt. “Speaking of broken legs.” She sat up in her seat. “This is the best goddamned send-off I’ve ever had. So touching. So caring.”

  Quinn reached over and patted her leg. “Does that help?”

  “No. Get your hand off of me.” Lacey pointed to the people in the car in front of them. “You’re like that guy. He’s patting his wife’s leg too. What a chump. He’s never gonna get laid.”

  Quinn raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Say hi to your dad for me. No. Actually, give him a hug for me.”

  “Oh, he gets a hug? Look at this guy. He’s sitting in his car while his wife –”

  “Okay, Lace. We’re here.”

  “Fine.” Lacey got out and opened the back door. She grabbed her carry-on and paused long enough to look at Quinn. “Give Margaret a hug for me.” She slammed the door before Quinn could reply.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Lacey was five minutes out. Eight if the driver continued to go the damn speed limit. Four days they’d been apart for the Christmas break. Four. Hideously. Long. Days.

  It had been a sobering experience for Lacey. She missed Quinn more than she could’ve imagined. She tried to stay in the moment with her dad, doing the things they usually did together; breakfast at his favorite diner, shopping for new shirts and ties, even though he insisted that his old ones were still fine. Browsing bookstores and vintage record stores. It was nice. But something was missing. Or, someone.

  Quinn had arrived back home from Aspen a few hours earlier. She’d texted Lacey, telling her how excited she was to exchange presents later that night. Lacey couldn’t wait to see her again.

  “It’s the big gate on the left,” She told the driver. “Just push the button and tell her it’s Lacey.”

  The driver followed the instructions and the gate opened. “Oh god,” Lacey said under her breath, a huge smile plastered on her face. Quinn was standing on the porch, looking like sex and Christmas in her red Alpine sweater, black leggings and tall, black leather boots. Like an ad for J. Crew or something. Damn.

  Lacey jumped out of the car. “Well, don’t you look cute!” She took a good long look at Quinn, grinning from ear to ear while the driver unloaded her luggage.

  Quinn waited for the driver to get back in the car before she stepped off the porch. “How was New York?”

  “How was Aspen?”

  “Don’t change the subject.” Quinn stood right in front of Lacey and took hold of the sleeve of her chunky winter sweater with two fingers. “You went shopping without me.”

  “I did lots of things without you. Hated eve
ry second of it.”

  “Yeah. Me too.” Quinn let go of the sleeve and tucked her hands in her pockets. “Sitting by the fire with my mom and my Aunt Betty going on and on about how that Lacey Matthews is doing so great on my show almost killed me.”

  Being away from you almost killed me. “I bet.” They both grinned. “So…are you going to hug me or what?”

  Quinn stepped closer. She wrapped her arms around Lacey’s waist and kissed her cheek. “Welcome home.”

  Lacey’s eyes shuttered closed as she breathed Quinn in. She smelled different. Maybe she’d bought a new perfume. She was about to mention it when her ears perked up. “Is that Christmas music?”

  Quinn picked up the suitcase and took Lacey’s hand, leading her into the house. “Since we still have presents to open, I thought I’d set the mood.”

  She’d done more than set the mood with music. Candles were lit. There was a spread of hors d’oeuvres laid out on the coffee table, along with a bottle of champagne. And caviar.

  Lacey swallowed hard. “This looks incredible. Just give me a minute to freshen up from the flight.”

  She rolled her suitcase into the guesthouse and shut the door. She stared back at the house, wondering how the hell she’d get through this night without kissing Quinn. It wasn’t fair, the extremely romantic atmosphere she’d created. And after missing her like crazy?

  Lacey was screwed.

  ***

  It wasn’t the champagne that did Lacey in. It wasn’t hearing that addictive laughter, or being hand-fed caviar on a tiny mother of pearl spoon while Quinn stared at her lips with those killer blue eyes.

  It wasn’t Quinn laying her head on Lacey’s shoulder while she sang along with Karen Carpenter. And who knew Quinn was an alto?

  It wasn’t when the Christmas music changed to regular music. But not just any regular music. A specific song that curiously made Quinn’s eyes light up, which she quickly tried to hide by grabbing the remote and fast forwarding. It didn’t matter. Lacey already knew what song it was. She giggled a little.

  None of those moments broke Lacey. She didn’t let it slip that she had to force herself not to text Quinn every five minutes while she was in New York – not even after her third glass of champagne. She could have, but she didn’t.