Page 22 of Off Script

Frankly, Ren had appeared way more preoccupied with fixing the business side of things than worrying about her. However, if he wanted to meet with her, she couldn’t say no. With no alternative, Jada promised she would be there, hung up, and gave Mikayla a look of terror.

“Who’s Doug? Ren’s newest, unlucky assistant?” her cousin asked once Jada relayed the message.

“Maybe. The name sounds familiar. Either way, this can’t be good.” Although Mikayla insisted the meeting was probably to ease the tension, Jada couldn’t shake a lingering feeling of dread. Regardless, she arrived at the café promptly at noon, composing herself with nerves of steel. If Ren had decided to fire her, she didn’t want to burst into tears—or end up on her knees begging for him to take her back.

Sophie’s Café hadn’t rung a bell when Doug had first mentioned it. It wasn’t located in the hustle and bustle of downtown L.A. but on a side street that was much quieter. Stepping inside, the cool air conditioning washed over her, soothing her flushed skin. There was no one at the host station to greet her, and when she peeked into the dining area, Ren was nowhere in sight. As a waitress in a checkered green and white uniform hurried by, Jada stopped her.

“Sorry, I know you’re busy. But do you know if a Ren Kurosawa is here yet?”

“Kurosawa. You mean the two guys guzzling water?” The waitress jerked her head toward the far side of the restaurant, then rushed off.

Jada squinted in the dim lighting, searching for Ren’s lush, dark hair and tall frame among the patrons. As she glanced around, she sensed that someone was looking for her too. That tingling feeling you get on your neck. With goose bumps rising on her skin, Jada skimmed the lunch crowd once more and spotted someone she least expected to see. And dreaded. Tristan Maxwell was staring right at her. He’d opted to sport the celeb incognito look, wearing a Lakers snapback cap and designer shades. He’d lowered the shades to stare at her pointedly. Sitting at a table in the back corner, he was with a man who was definitelynotRen. Tristan nodded in her direction and said something to his companion. The older man lit up and waved her over.

Jada didn’t move because it was rapidly becoming clear she had been duped. They may have given the name Kurosawa to the hostess, but their boss would not be showing up at the damn café. Now hoodwinked into facing off with Tristan, her first instinct screamed to head for the exit. But while her feet itched to make a quick getaway, another part of her knew that fleeing the scene would be like admitting that she was intimidated by him. Refusing to feel bullied any longer, Jada relented and walked over, her body tense with apprehension. The man with Tristan jumped up and pulled out a chair in a gentlemanly gesture. Tristan didn’t move at all; instead, he kept watching her with those hawk eyes.

“Ms. Berklee. Thank you for coming. Please have a seat,” the man, a.k.a. allegedly Doug Fineman, said.

Jada took the chair but got right to the point. “What do you want, and why did you lie to me?”

“Sorry for the subterfuge. Doug Fineman, Tristan’s agent. He and I are both here to offer you our deepest apologies over what happened.”

Of course this ruse had come from the mind of a 10 percent con man. It also explained why Doug’s name had rung a rather foggy bell. She pushed through the remains of her hangover to try and recall what she knew about the agent. Her agent, Avery, had mentioned him in passing when Jada first got cast inLove Locket.She’d called him a conniving backstabber, but then again, Avery rarely had nice things to say about her competition. For his part, Doug pulled off his repentant expression fairly well, but Jada remained on edge.

“Really? You’re both sorry? Well, Mr. Fineman—”

Mr. Fineman gave a sheepish smile. “Please call me Doug.”

“Well, Doug, you must be a terrible ventriloquist, because Tristan hasn’t spoken a word to confirm anything you’ve said. I’m curious if you pull off this level of subterfuge for all your clients or if the parrot act comes as an extra charge.” On a roll, Jada’s prickliness rose as she turned on Tristan.

“You can speak, can’t you, Mr. Maxwell? You were awfully articulate the other day when you threatened me and made me out to be a gossiping liar. Your dramatics nearly lost me my job.”

“I didn’t call you a liar or threaten you.” Tristan’s indignant frown at her claim softened when Doug cleared his throat in a back-down signal.

“Fine. Jada, I’m sorry I yelled and hurt your feelings.”

“Hurt my feelings. What am I? A twelve-year-old?! Tristan, Ren mightfireme. Do you know how embarrassing it was for you to scream at me on set? The whole crew knows about it.”

“Thanks to that video, the whole world knows about it,” Tristan muttered.

“Not. Helping,” Doug hissed at him.

Jada flushed as she remembered that she wasn’t entirely innocent in this scenario. She had let Mikayla send the video. Her actions might have escalated things from a terrible, isolated incident to an epic media disaster. At Tristan’s reference to the damning evidence, Jada’s conscience jumped to the nearest conclusion.

“You think I did it?” Jada squeaked.

She was guilty, guilty, guilty as charged—but she didn’t want to own up to it. Not only would it make her a hypocrite, but more importantly, it could get Mikayla into trouble. Ultimately, her pride would have been able to withstand Tristan’s rage and judgment about her part in things. But ratting on Mikayla? There was no way Jada was giving her best friend up as an accomplice.

“It’s a likely theory,” Tristan shot back. “And makes perfect sense.”

“Don’t blame me. It was probably Erica. Payback for you getting her in trouble with Angela.”

Tristan frowned at her suggestion because it was also a likely theory. Jada suspected that by now Erica had been cut from the crew. Ren wouldn’t have the luxury of keeping her around if he wanted Angela to come back to work. Just another example of Hollywood double standards.

“No matter who’s at fault, the one thing left for us to do is move forward,” Doug interjected.

“Agreed. We’ll finish the movie in civil cooperation, and then go our separate ways.” Done with this fiasco, Jada stood up, ready to make her dramatic exit after all. Until Doug grabbed her arm, holding her captive.

“We had a more creative idea on how to solve the current situation. It would help bolster both your reputations.”

---