Page 59 of Off Script

“I’m great. I just finished working with Ren Kurosawa onLove Locketand have a few other things brewing.”

“That’s right,” Jackie said. And Jada could have sworn the woman glanced at her hair. It was subtle enough for her to think Jada wouldn’t notice but she had.

“Anyway, it was nice running into you and good luck with your new show. My cousin and I have to go to another workshop.”

After a cordial good-bye, Jada looped her arm through Mikayla’s and steered them out of the room.

“Jesus. Thanks for not introducing me. Isn’t this whole event about networking?”

Glancing at her cousin’s braids, Jada held back a snort. “Trust me. She’s here for her own publicity, not to help people like us shatter glass ceilings.”

“Okay . . .” Mikayla said, eyeing Jada skeptically.

Jada didn’t give in to her prying look. This weekend should be about getting Mikayla excited about working in the industry, not reliving Jada’s own experiences with the racism beneath the shiny surface. Whatever slight Mikayla felt got left behind as “spa time” arrived. With the trio snuggled up in fluffy terry cloth robes, Jada stood in the spa’s lobby debating what to pursue first with her two friends.

“Look, I get that you and Roland have been bonding, but I don’t really like to be touched by strangers. I don’t care how magical their hands are.” Alia scrunched her nose and shuddered with displeasure.

“In all seriousness, Mikayla, give the dude a break. His fingers are probably cramping from working out all your supposed . . . kinks.” At Mikayla’s scathing stare, Jada hid her chuckles behind the spa’s pricing leaflet.

“What do you guys suggest then?” Mikayla asked, although she looked with longing down the hall corridor, like the majestic masseuse would come out any second.

“I heard sweating out your toxins is a great way to destress.” Stinking it up in a sweaty, claustrophobic lodge didn’t typically sound like Alia’s cup of tea, or Jada’s for that matter. However, the overworked writer was always trying to find ways to unclench. After Jada’s run-in at the panel with Jackie Fox, maybe she needed to do so as well. With two against one, Jada and Alia were able to drag Mikayla to the Blue Sierra sauna.

The sauna greeted them with its promised heat the second they stepped inside. Wood paneling and seating encircled the room, and a few women were resting against propped-up towels. Others had spread out across a few benches in their naked glory. While the sauna seemed full of patrons soaking in the heat, the trio was able to claim their own spot off to the side. Alia kept her towel wrapped modestly around her while Mikayla went the topless route. With abandon, she shrugged out of her towel and set her breasts free. At Alia’s wide eyes, Mikayla glared at her.

“Hey! This was your idea.”

“I know. I just wasn’t ready for the bazooka show, I guess.”

“They are quite impressive,” Mikayla agreed, carefree as she leaned back against the wall.

“With as many times as she’s disrobed down here, I think the twins would be confused if they weren’t unleashed,” Jada pointed out to Alia.

“At least I’ve been giving a peek to somebody,” Mikayla countered.

“Nope. I’m not going to go there.” Jada sensed where this conversation was headed.

“It’s not just her,” Alia interjected. “We both know you argued with Tristan as soon as you got here. I can’t tell which way is up with you guys. What’s going on?”

It was a good question but also something Jada couldn’t answer. She’d told herself repeatedly that she’d only gone along with this farce because of the career gains Doug had promised. And yet, even when she was a hundred miles away at a conference where she should be networking her butt off, her and Tristan’s undefined status weighed on her.

Stalling for a little more time, Jada noticed Mikayla opening a tin of candy she’d pulled from her discarded robe’s pocket. Jada leaned over to snag a piece, chewing thoughtfully before speaking up.

“What’s going on is a business arrangement. Nothing more,” Jada assured them (and herself). “This weekend is not about Tristan. It’s about us bonding and kicking ass.”

Expecting at least one of them to agree to her sisterhood appeal, she received open-mouthed shock from Mikayla instead.

“What?” Jada said as she finished swallowing the blueberry candy.

“Jada . . . that’s one of the CBD gummies from the swag bag,” Mikayla said.

“Oh Jesus Christ!” A spasm of horror overtook Jada. Technically, she knew CBD gummies were mostly harmless. But aside from misguided tipsiness here and there, Jada stayed clear of things like this when she didn’t know what kind of effect they would have on her. With her luck,Sip That Teawould somehow find out about this and twist the incident into her being a drug addict.

“Just calm down, lie back. It won’t be that bad.” Alia immediately fell into her mothering role.

While she resisted at first, Alia eventually persuaded Jada to lay her head on Alia’s lap and take some deep breaths. Mikayla attempted to lower her anxiety further by discussing the supposed benefits CBD could have. When Jada merely glared at Mikayla’s stats on the matter, the girls moved on to lighter topics. Gradually, the intoxicating steam did loosen Jada’s apprehension. The haze washed over her in waves, lulling her into a state of relaxation. She stirred out of her reverie when a melodic humming broke through her daze. The tune grew more familiar as the woman began to sing.

Her soulful lament about her quest for a “lover man” sparked Jada’s memory. She knew that voice. Shaking herself awake, Jada opened her eyes to take in the singer. Thin, with her hair stylishly coiffed, the lady before her was the spitting image of Billie Holiday. Blinking a few times, she waited for her vision to clear, thinking that maybe it would be Alia crooning over her instead.

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