Page 9 of Off Script

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The next few days onLove Locketwere a whirlwind. Jada loved the role of Lana and spending time in the world of the film. But tension lingered beneath the surface of the production. Ren remained nice toward her, but she understood where Mikayla was coming from. The man hated any type of mediocrity and ruled with an iron fist. The real problem was that Tristan and Angela were in this bizarre dance of either trading barbs or ignoring each other—not the best combination for two romantic leads. They managed to be professionals when the cameras were actually rolling, and Jada could see how the rumor mill churned. There was a simmering attraction between them in spite of the underlying resentment from what Jada assumed was the breakup conversation she’d overheard.

Jada suspected Tristan simply had chemistry with everyone. Even when she was talking to him in passing she couldn’t ignore his magnetic charm. But no matter how Tristan tried to pull her in, she refused to engage in any flirtation with him. She’d been fooled once before by one man’s debonair act. The last thing she needed was a new on-set drama with Daniel 2.0.

Her time onLove Locketwas entertaining, but Jada breathed a sigh of relief when she had her first day off. Normally, she’d spend that time enjoying the outdoors or doing yoga, but her plans for this Thursday evening were vastly different as Alia’s show,Unbound, was premiering tonight. Already in season three, the show had a substantial following. The supernatural drama followed paranormal investigators Zane and Killian as they fell in love with each other while tracking down magical murderers. The show had received critical acclaim for its diversity and LGBTQIA+ representation.

Since she’d always been overly ambitious, these achievements alone weren’t good enough for Alia. In spite of her upper-class upbringing, Alia had always worked her ass off, from clawing her way up from being a PA in Georgia’s developing film industry to landing her writing position onFallen Creatures.Now running her own show, Alia kept pushing the boundaries—and sometimes her own sanity—to keep the series a success. Her latest initiative involved doing a reaction video to the season premiere. She’d invited Jada, Mikayla, and various team members and actors from theUnboundcrew to join in. Alia’s apartment could have accommodated the partygoers, but the lead actor, Damien, had offered up his place instead. He played one of the main cops and exiled jinn, Zane, and adored Alia for giving him such a layered role.

As six o’clock rolled around, Alia vigorously knocked on Jada and Mikayla’s front door. With her cousin caught up in perfecting her makeup, Jada let an anxious Alia inside. Well, anxious by Alia’s standards. Raised as a southern debutante, from a line of Georgia’s oldest and richest Black families, Alia had been trained to exude poise in any circumstance. Unlike the majority of the population, she never actually broke out in a sweat or hyperventilated when she was nervous. You had to know her pretty well to notice the telltale signs: the clench of her jaw or fidgeting fingers. Tonight, Alia was attempting to cover up her nervous ticks by letting out a long breath and clutching her purse more tightly than necessary. To any outside observer, the successful beauty still looked like a perfectly polished southern belle, with her brown skin gleaming, her red dress breathtaking, and her hair flawlessly styled. Seeing that Jada was the only one to greet her, Alia’s eyes narrowed knowingly.

“Makeup?” she asked.

“Yep.”

Alia let out a sigh before striding off to Mikayla’s part of the suite. “Mikayla Davis, put the bronzer down and step away from the mirror!”

Jada snickered as she heard a faint protest from Mikayla, but she knew who would win this round. Making excellent time, Alia soon dragged a sulking Mikayla out of the bathroom and ushered them out the door.

“What can you tell us about this season? Does Zane find his mom? Which guest star dies first?” Mikayla pestered Alia with questions on the ride to Damien’s house.

Her interrogation might have been annoying to anyone else, but it was strategic. Asking Alia about all the twists and turns for the upcoming episodes would temporarily distract her from freaking out over the premiere party, especially once Jada and Mikayla started theorizing in the hopes of teasing out spoilers.

“I bet you Killian and Zane break upagain,” Jada argued.

“Of course! They’ve both got so much baggage. But I want to know what happened to The Slasher.”

Alia stayed tight lipped despite the temptation they threw at her. Jada and Mikayla were still in the dark about what would happen onUnboundwhen they arrived at Damien’s gorgeous estate. The chic landscaping and paved driveway provided an inviting air that led them up to the front door. As they were let in by one of the other guests, they saw an interior that was in stark contrast to the outside. Damien had transformed his downstairs area into anUnboundfan’s haven.

Memorabilia from the show—posters with the catchphrases “Release the Killer Fairies!” and fan illustrations of the show’s “ships”—lined the walls. The themed food table held an eclectic range to quench anybody’s appetite, from fruit punch done up like a vampire’s bloody cocktail to a tiered cake in the shape of the Supernatural Crimes headquarters. Pop hits played from the speakers. The catchy music invited the attendees to jam out before the main attraction started. On a technical level, things were also on par, with rented lighting equipment and several cameras to catch the group’s reactions from different angles. On top of that, a reporter fromEntertainment Hollywoodcirculated around the room, interviewing various cast members.

Spotting Damien in the center of the room, Alia waved and headed over to gush over what he had put together. Of course, Alia had had some say in the setup, but the end result was worthy of in-person praise. Jada and Mikayla left her to it and tackled the food table. As Mikayla cut them a chocolate corner piece of the cops’ office, the other main actor of the series, Calvin, approached them.

“Hey, now, I use that room to take down the big bads,” he teased them.

“Tonight consider the big bad my stomach,” Mikayla responded as she plopped the cake on her plate.

“How are you doing, Calvin? Excited for the premiere?” Jada asked.

“Yes! I’m ready for you all to see Killian’s transformation this season.”

“Meaning?” Mikayla’s attention got diverted from the dessert. “You can’t leave us hanging with a response like that.”

Calvin gave an enigmatic shrug, poured himself a vampire cocktail, and abandoned them. Clearly, he had been sworn to Alia’s no-spoiler secrecy as well. As Jada shook her head at his departure, Mikayla nudged her.

“You should talk to the reporter too.” Mikayla pointed out the journalist chatting with Damien and Alia.

“No . . . tonight’s not about me.”

“Maybe not, but we’re supposed to be Alia’s hype women.”

“Fine. I guess I can do a shout-out on Twitter. How’s that?” Jada relented. She didn’t have a million followers, but her fan base did enjoy hearing from her on social media. This kind of event was perfect internet fodder. After she made sure her mouth was icing-free, Jada let Mikayla record her with her smartphone. Putting on her best influencer persona, Jada waved at the camera.

“Hi, everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I just wanted to mention that I’m celebrating the season premiere ofUnboundwith their awesome showrunner, Alia, and the amazing crew.” Mikayla panned the camera to take in the crowd, pausing to do a dramatic zoom on some of the actors’ faces.

“We’ll be reacting to the show. You should definitely get in on the action and catch tonight’s episode.”

“Perfect!” Mikayla confirmed as they cut the video feed.

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