Page 24 of Off Script

“That’s fine with me. A few broken bones might do you some good,” Jada threw back, but at Tristan’s calculating expression, her fire faded. He took her by surprise, grabbing her hand and stroking it lovingly.

“Oh, honey, you don’t mean that.” Tristan kissed her hand jokingly but ended his taunt in a sexy growl. “Then again, I love it when you get feisty.”

Jada yanked back her hand as if he’d burned her. In a way, he had, if her trembling palm was anything to judge by. Pleased that he’d rattled her, Tristan cockily leaned back in his chair.

“It’s settled. I’ll see you tonight at seven sharp. Be ready when I come to pick you up.”

“I will be, sweetie.” Jada mocked him, getting one more jab in before she walked away. “Don’t forget to bring your pitchfork.”

“I never leave home without it.” Tristan blew her an air kiss.

Fed up, Jada let him win this round. She turned on her heel and did her best show of storming away. He may think he had the upper hand, but she’d find a way to get back at him on their date. Scheming on various avenues of revenge, Jada belatedly realized her dramatic exit from the restaurant had extended to her stomping down the sidewalk outside. She forced herself to slow down as she reflected on what she’d gotten herself into. There was a possibility that this was going to end terribly. But despite the risks, Tristan’s agent was pretty slick to come up with the plan in the first place.

And that’s when a horrifying epiphany struck Jada.

Her agent would have something to say about this whole debacle too. Her poor drunken decision hadn’t factored in that the formidable Avery Kane would get wind of the media scandal. As a tyrannical mogul in the industry, she would not be happy to find out one of her clients was caught up in yet another scandal. Forget not being happy. She would be enraged. As if Jada’s thoughts had unleashed her from the fiery depths of hell, Jada’s phone rang.

Avery.

Bracing herself for the agent’s impending outburst, Jada reluctantly picked up. All pleasantries were lost as Avery laid into her the second she answered.

“Jada, what the hell is going on?”

“You see . . .” Jada uneasily tried to start. “Tristan and I had an argument that got caught on camera.”

“The world knows that part, Jada. What I need to hear iswhyit happened.”

“It’s not something I want to discuss over the phone. Plus, I’m not home right now, so . . .”

Avery let out an indignant huff. “Fine. I’ll be back from London tomorrow. I want you in my office first thing in the morning. Don’t you dare weasel out of coming or explaining yourself.”

“I would never do that,” Jada said, stung.

“Your past antics say otherwise—but whatever. Just be there.”

With that, the dreadful woman hung up without letting Jada defend herself.

Always wanting the last word, Avery just had to allude to Jada being pushed out ofFallen Creaturesevery chance she got. As if Avery hadn’t played a key factor in all of it. If only Jada could call the agent back and put Avery’s past antics on blast.

But Jada hated thinking back on theFallen Creaturesdebacle, back to a time when she had been so vulnerable and damn stupid. The same day Maggie found out about Daniel and Jada she’d gone to the execs. She claimed it was too awkward to work with Daniel and Jada after everything that happened. Then Daniel backtracked and took Maggie’s side to save his own skin. After professing his love for Jada in the damn parking lot, he told Maggie it was all a misunderstanding. He claimed Jada had a crush on him and he’d meant he loved her as a friend.

Jada came off as an unhinged homewrecker with people either siding with Maggie and Daniel or saying they wanted to stay neutral. Alia was the only one to stand by her, and Jada felt lucky to even have that, after hiding the relationship from her friend in the first place. Alia had been hurt but, thankfully, understood. She’d been Jada’s sole champion as she defended Jada to some of the producers. But eventually, Jada bowed to the pressure from the more unforgiving higher-ups and left. She hadn’t wanted to, but even Avery had said it was for the best and she would find something else for Jada. In reality, Avery Kane’s tactic had been about saving her son’s ass and their family name.

That part was the fiery icing on top of Jada’s hell cake. The reason why Daniel never introduced her to his family was because Avery would have been furious about Daniel dating one of her clients. Yet Jada had ignored the risk of Avery’s anger because she’d fallen so hard for Daniel. At the end of the day, the real true love was between Mommy Dearest and her rotten son. When the choice came down to Jada or Daniel, Avery’s decision had been easy. The show executives accepted Jada’s resignation without batting an eye—more like with a sigh of relief—making the wrongdoing hurt even more.

And despite Avery’s promises to find Jada something else,Love Locketwas her first semiprominent role after months of shitty auditions and two-second roles on the few network shows that would have her. While Jada enjoyed working for television, she’d always loved film more. As a kid, she’d had dreams of standing before the acting greats, holding an Academy Award for Best Actress, making cinematic history. That would never happen at the rate things were going. Remembering Ren’s anger over what had happened on set, Jada’s stomach clenched all over again. No wonder she’d agreed to this farce with Tristan. She couldn’t lose her one shot at breaking out of TV.

Even though her mind was mostly made up, Jada’s mixed emotions spurred her to make her own phone calls, one to Mikayla and the other to Alia. She insisted that the three of them meet up for a real lunch. She needed to confide in her friends if she was going to get through her showdown with Avery and this charade with Tristan. When Jada met up with them at their favorite Chinese restaurant, their reactions weren’t nearly as comforting as she’d hoped.

“You’re going to dowhat?” Alia yelped.

Her usually refined and smooth voice rose to a surprisingly shrill octave. Jada shushed her, looking around the restaurant for any eavesdroppers. The group of friends received a few curious glances, but the other patrons redirected their attention to their meals. Unlike the shocked Alia, Mikayla snickered joyfully.

“Oh, this is too much. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.You, innocent Jada Berklee, agreeing to such a farce! With a man you claim to hate!” Mikayla’s eyes glittered with devious glee. “This is going to be good.”

While Mikayla was generally an honest person—always willing to give heartfelt advice—she did have a dangerous streak that was fascinated by intrigue. The only thing that would have made her delight more palpable would be if she rubbed her hands together while cackling maniacally.

“I do hate him,” Jada reiterated. “It’s just . . . well, it seemed . . . oh hell! I don’t know. I guess a part of me, deep down, wondered what would happen if I agreed. If my career really would start to go somewhere more . . . profound. AfterFallen Creatures, it just feels like my life, my career, has been . . . cast blocked.”

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