Page 90 of Off Script

“Then I have one question for you, Jada. Why the fuck are you still here? You’re acting superior, but you’re only in this for your career. The sex must be good for you, too, or else it wouldn’t have gone on this long. Get off your high horse, because you’re using me too.”

“You’re right, Tristan. I have been using you. For longer than you know.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning the Tea Twins were elated when I gave them the inside scoop—or should I say, behind the scenes video—about us.”

Boom. It was done. Everything they ever could have had was dead.

She knew this immediately from Tristan’s look of betrayal.

“It was you? This whole time, through everything, it was you?”

“Just the first leak, but yes. I’m the traitor you’ve been looking for,” Jada said as coldly as she could manage, hoping the tears brimming in her eyes weren’t too obvious.

Tristan closed his own, probably trying to hide whatever he was feeling. For an excruciatingly long moment he was silent, his jaw working angrily as he held back whatever he wanted to say. Probably to call her a bitch, tell her that he hated her, that she was a terrible human being. What he said, in the end, was far worse.

“I never want to see you again.” His icy stare bored into her soul, finding it lacking. Disgusting even. After that heart-shattering admission, Tristan headed for the door, then turned back. “Oh, and don’t you dare accept the role from Logan. You only got that gig because of me, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you keep it.”

Jada started to argue, but her words fell on deaf ears as Tristan slammed the door on his way out. Sitting back down on the bed, she looked around. She was alone, heartbroken, and jobless once again. Only this time, she couldn’t blame Daniel. She couldn’t even blame Tristan. This one was on her. She’d gotten herself into this lovelorn mess, and there would be no knight in shining armor to fix everything she’d wrecked.

From now on, she’d have to save herself.

29

Back in California, Jada’s first order of business was to unload on Mikayla and Alia. As she suspected, her friends’ mouths dropped in horrified shock at her tale. The Daniel and Angela debacle, her guilty confession, Tristan’s vow to kick her off the film. The whole scenario garnered the appropriate expletives, gasps, and sympathetic groans.

“But—but youcan’tturn down this role, Jada. It’s a game changer,” Alia insisted.

“Alia, you damn workaholic! Fuck that! Her heart is broken.” Mikayla cuddled up to Jada in a comforting hug. However, the only embrace she wanted was the one she’d never get again.

“You both make good points.” Jada bridged the gap. “But two things are clear. Getting over Tristan will be hard but it’s a must. Giving up on my career again isn’t.”

“There’s my girl!” Alia hooted.

“I’m not letting a man dictate what I do with my career ever again.” Jada nodded.

“That’s all well and good, and I fully support you, but . . . what if Tristan issues an ultimatum and Logan chooses him over you?” Mikayla asked hesitantly.

“That’s a risk I’ll have to take. I’ll just hope that someone bets on me for a change, because I’m sure as hell going to bet on myself.”

Jada’s words weren’t faux courage either. On the long plane ride home, she’d had a lot of time to mull over her pain and make this decision. While true love was hard to find, scoring awesome acting jobs was even harder. Despite how enraged Tristan would be, she had no intention of abandoning the film. She might have been in the wrong for releasing the video, but she wasn’t going to run away in shame. This time she’d face the consequences head-on and prove that she deserved her place in that movie.

Ironically enough, her time with Tristan had been what clarified her resolve. Fighting with him, standing up to him, and loving him had made her stronger. She’d rediscovered her backbone and she wouldn’t let anyone break it.

So with her head held high, Jada arrived at Avery Kane’s office the next day to fill out the contract. Technically, she could have e-signed the document, but Avery insisted she wanted to talk to Jada about the role in person. In response to Avery’s grating request, Jada blew by the receptionist and gave a brisk knock on the agent’s door. Avery glared at her in distaste.

“You couldn’t wait five minutes until I called you in?”

Knowing Avery only made people wait as a power move, Jada smiled at her brightly. “What can I say? I’m just so eager to meet with you today.”

Avery raised a skeptical brow but motioned Jada in anyway. As she dug around for the paperwork, she prattled on about Jada’s manners and work ethic.

“Now, Mr. Wentworth seems pretty excited to take you on for this, but let me tell you, this isn’t your run of the mill straight to the bargain bin film. This is no made for TV two-bit gig. This is the big time, do you understand?” Avery said as she whipped out the paperwork.

Jada nodded, remaining silent as she mulled over the legalese. Her lawyer had already given the contract a once-over but Jada took a moment to review things anyway. As she perused, Avery continued to admonish her.

“And since thisisthe big time, you can’t mess up. You can’t pull a hysterical breakdown on this set like you did in New York and onLove Locket.”

---