Page 100 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

I’ve written a dozen speech texts to Jenna this week but erased them all before pushing send. I’m trying to give her space while also trying to figure out what I want.

It shouldn’t be this hard to know what you want.

I park my Jeep in an open spot on the street in LA and hop out of the car, pulling my hat down over my face and sunglasses.

I’m meeting Dallas for lunch to discuss the next steps in my career. I have a side role in a movie set to begin filming this fall, and when you combine that with my small appearance in season two, The Stolen Princess, it’s enough to keep me busy for the next few months.

This meeting is to talk about what comes after that. With my recent uprising in likability and popularity—thanks to Jenna—the movie roles are pouring in. And not just roles, big roles being offered to me over big names in Hollywood. Everyone is clamoring for a piece of Cody Banner. I’ve never been this in-demand before. I should be ecstatic about my change in circumstances, but I can’t even seem to fake a smile about it.

My career is at an all-time high while my personal life is in shambles.

I’ve always been the guy who walks away from a relationship and doesn’t look back. But everything is different with Jenna. She walked away from me. She said she didn’t want to talk to me. And I’m scared that she’s just going to be another person in my life who’s going to leave me for good because I don’t bring any value to them. I want to add value. I want to add to her life in a way that no one else can. I just need help. I need someone to show me how to get over all my fears.

I walk inside the restaurant and immediately spot Dallas. He lifts his finger, signaling to me.

“Sorry I’m late. I was watching…” My words drift once I realize that admitting to my favorite pastime, watching Jenna and me together in The Promised Prince, is embarrassing. “I was watching boxing.” Yeah, that sounds manly, not like a lovesick, sappy fool.

“Boxing? In the middle of the day?”

“Yeah, reruns from the fight.” I have no clue when the last big match was. “The one a couple of months ago. Crazy stuff. I got lost in it.”

“Who won?”

Is Dallas seriously a fan?

“The guy.” I roll my fingers over and over. “You know, the guy that always wins.”

“Terence Crawford?”

Are you kidding me? Dallas really is a fan.

“Yep.” I point at him. “That’s the one.”

“You know, he has twenty-nine knockouts.”

More importantly, why does Dallas know that stat off the top of his head?

“Yeah. But we didn’t come here to talk about that. Let’s get to your news.” I take a sip of the water in front of me.

“First things first, I made a few phone calls, and I have a meeting set up with a top divorce attorney in LA that’s been trying to do some work for kids caught in custody battles. She’s excited to talk with you and discuss some options and ways you can help those kids out.”

“That’s great, right?”

“Yeah, if that’s what you want to do, then she’ll have the contacts to help you get started.”

“Thank you. That’s perfect. I’ve been wondering about that.”

“Next, we have a lot of movie roles to wade through. What did you think about the thriller script I sent you?”

I shake my head.

“What about the script for the action movie where you’re the villain who—”

“No.” I shake my head again.

“You usually like playing the villain.”

“I don’t know. I’m just not feeling it right now. What about the one with the kid?”

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