Winter's Role, page 15
“Your headache finally ease up?” Theresa asked as Jessie finally turned her attention back to her.
“Yeah, I think it was just being on that damn plane for so long.” She went into the living room and sat down on the couch and Theresa followed her.
“So? How was your first real vacation in what, seven years?” Theresa asked, flopping into her favorite chair and looking at her.
“It was the best time I’ve ever had in my life,” Jessie answered quietly.
Something in her friends’ voice prompted her to ask, “Did something happen in Greece, Jess? You haven’t seemed like yourself. Both of you had a faraway look in your eyes earlier. I thought maybe…”
Jessie shook her head. “No. Nothing happened. I just wish…” she sighed. Wishing was stupid and a waste of energy and she knew it. Still…she swallowed. “I just miss her already. Stupid, huh?”
Theresa shook her head, smiling at her. “It’s not stupid. You love her and you want to be with her. That’s all. I imagine that two weeks in one of the most beautiful, romantic places on earth didn’t help any?”
“I had the best time, T. You can’t even begin to imagine…” she trailed off, letting the thought hang.
“Did she like the necklace?” Theresa asked, referring to Stephanie’s birthday present.
“She loved it,” Jessie said, smiling shyly, remembering that evening like it had been yesterday.
“I knew she would. It’s beautiful.” Jessie had shown her the necklace right before she’d left. Theresa couldn’t believe how beautiful it was, and had been surprised at how shy Jessie seemed, showing it to her. For some reason, Jessie had been afraid that Stephanie wouldn’t like it. Theresa had assured her at the time that Steph would love the necklace. She was glad to hear that she’d been correct.
Just then, Jessie stifled a yawn and Theresa stood up. “Why don’t you go on to bed? You’re exhausted, and Steph’s leaving tomorrow.”
“I know.” Jessie stood up too and gave her another hug. “Thanks T, for coming to pick us up. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sleep in, Jess. Spend as much time as you can together. We don’t have to be at the airport until six,” Theresa said, hugging her back.
Jessie didn’t say anything else, just nodded, and left the room. When she got to the guest room, she opened the door quietly, to keep from disturbing Stephanie. Shutting the door behind her, she went into the bathroom and got ready for bed quickly. Returning to the bedroom and stripping down to nothing, she slid in next to Steph and snuggled close, spooning her from behind.
* * * *
By the time she returned to LA, Stephanie was totally, completely relaxed. The stress of coming out and introducing Jessie to the world seemed to have faded into the background, as yet another celebrity ‘scandal’ rocked Hollywood. It seemed as if the media might finally have decided to let her go back to living her life while she’d been in Greece. The feeling didn’t last long, however. On Wednesday, Joanie came to the set to visit her during a break from filming.
“Stephanie, I wanted to talk to you,” the woman said, sitting down next to her. “I’d like to take you out for lunch, if you don’t mind?”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Joanie, this can’t be good, if you’re offering to take me to lunch.”
“Well…I did say I needed to talk to you about something,” she said, relaxing back into her seat. “I’ll just wait here until you’re ready. It’s only another half hour or so.”
It was actually another hour and a half before Stephanie was ready to go, but Joanie didn’t seem to mind the extra time. They hopped in her car and she drove them to a small coffeehouse near the studio. When they arrived, they were seated right away and the waitress took their order immediately.
As the waitress came back with their drinks, a Fiji Water for Stephanie and a Double Mocha Latte for Joanie, she said, “Well, tell me everything. How was Greece?”
“Greece was gorgeous and relaxing,” Stephanie answered, taking a drink of her water and smiling broadly.
“Are you sure you’re talking about Greece, and not Jessie?” Joanie asked, arching a brow. “I mean, that’s not much of a description. Surely it was more than just gorgeous and relaxing?”
Stephanie nodded, still smiling. “It was. We shopped, we hiked, we swam…it was absolutely fantastic. I can’t remember ever having a better vacation. And, as an added bonus, I didn’t have to endure any harassing phone calls.”
“You got no calls because you left your cellphone turned off,” Joanie said, getting frustrated. Stephanie was being purposely obtuse about the trip, and it was irritating. Rolling her eyes, she said, “Steph…Come on, you had your birthday while you were on vacation, did you two do anything special? I need some details.”
“Jessie took me out for dinner. And, just a reminder; you told me to turn my phone off and enjoy myself.”
“All right, you’re right. I did tell you to keep your phone off. So, did she get you a birthday present, or did she just take you for dinner? And, while we’re on the subject, was it dinner in a tavern, or a real dinner?” Joanie asked, adding the finger quotes in the air for emphasis.
“Actually, it was a really romantic dinner, and she did get me a gift,” Stephanie said, blushing slightly, remembering that night.
“Well, are you going to tell me what she gave you, or do I need to guess?” Noticing the blush that had come over Stephanie’s cheeks, she gasped suddenly, half teasing, “She didn’t propose to you, did she?” The truth of the matter was...she wouldn’t be surprised if Jessie had done just that.
Stephanie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “God no, she didn’t propose. She did, however, give me the most beautiful diamond necklace I’ve ever seen.” She leaned over and showed it to the woman, whose eyes widened in appreciation.
“Oh! Stephanie, that’s beautiful. Jessie has great taste,” Joanie said, genuinely impressed.
“She does,” Stephanie agreed. “She told me that this is her promise to me that we’d be together all the time, soon.”
“How’s she planning to do that? I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but it doesn’t seem to me like she’s been doing much to find a way to move out here with you,” Joanie pointed out.
“She hasn’t told me anything, but I have a feeling she’s working on something. When I brought it up, she said when things come together, we’ll know.”
“Well, that’s kind of mysterious.” Joanie took another drink of her latte before saying, “Steph, I know you think I overstepped my bounds before…but are you sure you don’t want me to check her out a little deeper? I could hire a private detective?”
“Joanie! No! Absolutely not,” Stephanie said, surprised at the offer. “Jessie’s not doing anything to hurt me, for crying out loud!”
Joanie held her hands up in front of her face. “All right, all right. I’m sorry. It just seems kind of odd, is all. I mean, she won’t tell you what she’s planning.”
“Maybe she wants to surprise me. I told you, I trust her. Let’s just leave it at that.” She sighed. “She’s done everything you’ve asked…why can’t you just trust her too?”
“Because I’ve had things happen to my clients before, Stephanie. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”
“She’s not going to hurt me.” She took another drink of her water.
“She’s hurting you every day by not agreeing to move out here with you. You did ask her to move in with you, didn’t you?” She eyed the actress dubiously.
“Of course, I did. But that’s not what I mean, and you know it. Besides, do you really want her to give up her job…her career…to move in with me and have me supporting her?” She knew that was exactly what the other woman didn’t want. “Jessie doesn’t want to be a burden to me, Joanie. She does have obligations to other people, too. She can’t just quit her job today and come out here. And, I’m not going to pressure her into it, either.”
Joanie sighed and held up her hands to signal that she was giving in. “All right, all right, I give up. You’re right. I don’t want you supporting her. And I most certainly don’t want that in the papers, magazines, or on the internet.”
Stephanie shook her head, slightly irritated. “So…you said you needed to talk to me?”
She nodded. “I do. It’s about your plans for this weekend.” She already knew how the other woman was going to react to her news, and it wasn’t going to be good.
Stephanie clenched her jaw. “Joanie…” she said in warning.
“I know what you’re going to say, but this is business,” Joanie said, trying to keep her from getting upset.
“You always say that,” Stephanie said, sliding past slightly, to really, irritated. It seemed like every time she made plans, Joanie came along and made her change them. “You know this is my weekend to see Jessie.”
“I know and I’m sorry.” She was sorry, too. She may not completely trust Jessie, but she didn’t want to hurt Stephanie, either.
“So, what is it this time?” Stephanie asked resignedly. Sometimes she hated her job.
“It’s an art show opening featuring Bradley Santoka.”
Stephanie groaned. She disliked art shows. She always found them to be boring. And the people attending them were boring, too. Boring and pretentious. “Why do you need me to do this, Joanie?”
“It’s a personal favor. For the gallery owner,” Joanie explained. “He’s a huge fan and he loves your movies. And…Bradley likes your work, too.”
Stephanie sighed and closed her eyes, counting to ten. ‘Think Zen thoughts, think Zen thoughts,’ she repeated to herself, before finally opening her eyes. “All right…I’ll do it. But after this, I’d appreciate it if you’d check with me ahead of time.”
“I’ll do what I can, Steph. But you know how this works. You pay me to get you recognition, and this…is recognition,” the woman said, finishing up her latte. “Look, if it will make you feel better, call Jessie and ask her to come here for the weekend. I don’t care if she shows up with you.”
“She can’t do that. She has a gig this weekend,” Stephanie said, shaking her head. She’d actually been looking forward to seeing Jessie perform and hanging out with their friends, this weekend.
“Well, maybe some other time, then,” Joanie said, paying for their lunch. She attempted to change the subject, asking Stephanie more about her trip to Greece as they got back in her car and headed back to the studio. Stephanie, however, was fuming about the change in plan and barely answered her questions.
By the time she returned to the set, Stephanie’s mood had darkened considerably. Three more hours, and she was finally done. It was a good thing, too…Since she’d returned from lunch, her concentration had been off. She was forgetting her lines and missing her marks, which was, in turn, irritating the director. After work, she drove to the gym. She really wasn’t in the mood to work out, but she hoped it would burn off some of her irritation. Two and a half hours later, she’d managed to survive Yoga and Kickboxing. In the locker room, she took a quick shower, changed clothes and headed home. She waited until they had both eaten dinner before calling Jessie to give her the bad news.
When Jessie’s voice came over the phone on the second ring, Stephanie felt her mood lighten a bit. Then, thinking about the news she had to give her, she immediately became depressed. Attempting to muster up some happiness, she said, “Hi gorgeous. I missed you today.”
“I missed you, too. You’re calling earlier than usual though, something up?”
Stephanie cringed and scrunched her eyes shut. “Well…actually, I do need to tell you something.”
Jessie pursed her lips and cursed to herself. “You’re not going to be able to come this weekend, are you?”
“Jess…I’m so sorry,” Stephanie began apologizing immediately. “Joanie just told me today. She scheduled an art show opening for me this weekend. She’s friends with the owner, and he asked her if I could be there. Apparently he’s a big fan…”
“Yeah, I get it,” Jessie said, unable to hide her disappointment.
“Baby, you know I’d rather be there with you. I’ve asked her to check with me from now on,” Stephanie said. She was more than a little disappointed herself. In fact, she was pissed off. But, Joanie had been correct when she’d reminded her that Stephanie paid her to do just this sort of thing.
Jessie closed her eyes and bit her lip. She felt like crying. She missed Steph so much. It was crazy, really. They’d just spent two weeks together, and she felt like they’d been apart forever. It wasn’t Steph’s fault though, and she knew it. It was her job. She couldn’t just blow off things that would give her good publicity…especially after all the stories that surfaced after she came out. Her career needed this, even if Steph didn’t want to admit it.
Blowing out a breath, she tried to act like an adult. Inside, little Jessie was kicking and screaming and holding her breath, wanting things to be different. “Steph, I understand…it’s your job. I don’t like it, but I understand. We’ll just…I don’t know…”
“Maybe we could try for next weekend?” Stephanie offered hopefully.
“The band’s playing out of town,” Jessie responded flatly. “I’d cancel in a heartbeat, but it’s a huge festival and we’re the featured act.”
“Well, you definitely can’t do that. The rest of the band would kill you.”
“Yeah, they wouldn’t be very happy with me,” Jessie agreed. “So…” she sighed. “Why don’t we talk about something else? I’ve missed you.”
* * * *
Theresa walked into the office Thursday morning and noticed Jessie’s bad mood right away. “Jess? Something wrong?”
“Huh? Oh…Sorry, T. I’m just…distracted,” Jessie answered, rooting through a pile of papers on her desk. “Where the Hell’s that pen? Oh, here it is…” she mumbled to herself, oblivious to the way Theresa was looking at her.
“Okay, what’s wrong, Jess? You’re never this distracted and irritated unless you’ve had a bad night.” She looked at her more closely. “Did you and Stephanie get into an argument?”
“No,” Jessie answered, shaking her head. “Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know. You just usually aren’t in such a crappy mood for any other reason,” she answered, tucking her purse into a desk drawer and sitting down at her desk. Turning to look at Jessie, she asked, “So…if you didn’t have an argument with Steph, what happened?”
Jessie blew out a breath and gave up on the pile of papers. She wasn’t getting anywhere with them, anyway. Instead, she simply answered, “Steph called last night. Something’s come up and she can’t make it this weekend.”
“Oh, I’m really sorry,” Theresa said, sympathizing. “Did she tell you what it was?”
“Some art show…the gallery owner asked Joanie if she could get Steph there. Apparently he’s a big fan of hers and wants to impress the artist,” Jessie said, only a small hint of bitterness in her voice.
“Well…it is kind of her job, isn’t it? You two have been lucky so far. I mean, this was bound to happen sooner or later,” Theresa said carefully, not wanting to piss Jessie off. Her mood was already hanging on the edge of irritated and severely pissed. And a severely pissed off Jessie Drake made for one really bad day at work.
Jessie looked at her, biting the inside of her cheek. She knew Theresa was trying to help, and what she said was true. One of them cancelling on the other was bound to happen once in a while. It was the nature of their jobs, after all. Still, she had to really work to bite back a sarcastic remark. “I know that, T. I was just really looking forward to…” she trailed off, realizing how whiny she sounded.
Theresa didn’t say anything for a minute, watching Jessie carefully. They had been friends since they were ten years old. In all that time, Jessie had never, ever, fallen so hard for anyone. She also knew that if Stephanie wasn’t an actress…if she lived here in Ohio, and they’d met…Jessie would have already asked her to marry her. At the very least, they’d be living together. There was no doubt in her mind about that. So, taking a deep breath, she got up and walked over to Jessie’s desk. Sitting down on one corner, she looked Jessie right in the eye. “What do you want to do, Jess? Right now…what are your instincts telling you to do?”
Jessie didn’t even hesitate. “Fly to LA to be with her this weekend.”
Theresa shrugged. “Then do it. Your gig’s been moved to tomorrow night. You can fly out after the show and get there late Friday.”
Jessie shook her head. “I don’t want her to think I don’t trust her by just showing up unannounced.”
Theresa rolled her eyes. “Jessie, I swear to all that’s holy…Stephanie would never think that. For crying out loud, go to her.” Before she could say anything else or Jessie could reply, the phone rang. Getting up, she went back to her desk and started on her own pile of paperwork. Sighing, she opened up her Diet Coke. It was going to be one extremely long day.
Chapter 13
It was Six o’clock Saturday evening, and Stephanie had just finished getting dressed, when there was a knock on her front door. Going downstairs to answer it, she found herself not in the least bit happy to find Joanie on her doorstep. She’d been expecting her…she just wasn’t happy to see her right now. After all, it was Joanie, who had forced her to change her plans and cancel on Jessie this weekend. To say the very least, she was unhappy.
“Stephanie, you look wonderful, dear,” Joanie said as the actress let her in. Dressed in a pair of dark gray dress slacks and a black fitted blouse, Stephanie was wearing the necklace Jessie had given her for her birthday and the earrings she’d bought for the movie premiere.
“Let me grab my purse and I’m ready to go,” Stephanie said, ignoring the compliment.
Joanie sighed. Stephanie was obviously still upset about cancelling her weekend trip, and she wasn’t likely to forgive her any time soon. It was going to be a long night. Taking a deep breath, she waited while Stephanie grabbed her purse and set the alarm. Then she led the way out to her car. The trip to the art gallery was tense, to say the least. Stephanie steadfastly refused to engage in any sort of conversation, so Joanie spent the time filling her in on what she knew about the artist, Bradley Santoka. By the time they arrived, Stephanie’s mood hadn’t improved, but she managed to plaster a smile on her face as she exited the car.
