Page 69 of All That Glitters
“Hey, V,” he said. “Is Debbie ready?”
Veronica did a double-take. “She’s out with Matt.”
“No,” Jeff said, his brow furrowing. “He’s supposed to have her tomorrow night. Tonight’s my night. He knew that.” He pulled out his phone and opened its calendar app. “See. It’s even on my calendar.”
Veronica, who had already decided this was way better than any TV show, popped a chip in her mouth.
“Sorry, Jeff,” she said. “They left about an hour ago. And I’m going to kill Debbie for making me listen to his lecture about 401k’s while she got ready.”
Jeff’s expression darkened with something resembling competitive anger. “Do you know where they went?”
“I think he said something about Luke’s Diner over on Mission,” Veronica replied, popping another chip in her mouth.
Jeff snorted. “Figures. He’s probably calculating the tip down to the tenth decimal point already.”
Veronica looked amused. “If you hurry, you can probably catch them before Debbie falls asleep.”
“I will. Thanks V.”
He hurried off. Veronica broke into a sly grin as she closed the door. ‘Operation Make Tony Jealous’ had just developed an unexpected subplot.
The creative hurricane had been raging for over an hour. Empty beer bottles now stood watch next to half-eaten cartons of curry. Napkins were covered in scribbled diagrams and character notes. Tony paced back and forth, acting out a potential scene, while Carrie typed furiously into her laptop, trying to keep up.
“Okay, so what if the first time they meet,” Tony said, gesticulating wildly, “he’s not impressed by her looks. He’s impressed because she beats him at a game of high-stakes poker. She cleans him out. And that’s what hooks him.”
“I love it,” Carrie said without looking up from her screen. “He’s not attracted to the ‘honey trap,’ he’s attracted to her mind. Writing it down.”
“And then for the big action set-piece, we need a massive explosion,” Tony continued, getting swept up in the moment.“But, you know, a safe one. Not one that accidentally sends the lead actress chasing the entire crew with a baseball bat.”
“Ugh,” Carrie groaned, leaning back and running her hands through her hair. “Don’t remind me. It took an hour to wash the soot out of my hair.”
“You think those guys are still running?” he said with a light chuckle.
“If they’re smart, they are,” she said, unable to hide the amusement in her eyes. Even she had to admit, it was funny. “And they’ll have chocolates and flowers waiting for me on set when I arrive. And that mouse will be gone.”
Ding.
The sound of a notification from Tony’s phone broke the moment. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the screen. Debbie had posted something on her Instagram and tagged him. He tapped the link, and the page pulled up. The laughter was suddenly gone from his eyes, replaced by confusion and something that looked a lot like hurt.
Carrie’s good humor faded as she watched him. She was an expert at reading subtle expressions — it came with the job — and the shift in him was seismic. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s… nothing,” he said, trying to force a smile as he shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Where were we? Explosions…”
“No. Hold on,” Carrie said gently, closing her laptop. “What was that? You looked like someone just told you your puppy got run over.”
He hesitated, then pulled the phone out again, a look of resignation on his face. He handed it to her. The screen showed an Instagram photo. A really cute brunette was posing with someone who had to be an accountant; he was right out of central casting, complete with glasses, a suit, and a tie. The girl was smiling, and the guy looked like he’d been caughtcompletely by surprise. The account belonged to someone named Debbie, and she’d tagged Tony in the photo.
“Who’s Debbie?” Carrie asked, her tone neutral as she handed the phone back.
“She’s a friend of mine from Phoenix. We grew up together, and now she lives in San Diego too.”
“Just a friend?” Carrie said, leaning back against the sofa, an amused, knowing look in her eyes. This was the classic, unbelievable lie of every guy or girl in love with their best friend. “Let me guess. You two have a million inside jokes, you can finish each other’s sentences, and you’re pretty sure no guy is ever good enough for her.”
Tony stared at her, dumbfounded. “How’d you know?”
“Because it’s a classic friends to lovers trope. Boy and girl grow up together. Puberty comes along. One or both of them develop romantic feelings for the other, but have no idea how to get out of the friend-zone.”
“You think she has romantic feelings for me?” he asked.
