Page 30 of Role Play

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jane

I was distracted enoughon the way home that I'd missed the parking lot entrance to the apartment. Russell kept warning me not to read anything into the contract not arriving to his office on time. 'Maybe the courier got hit by a car,' he'd said enthusiastically before realizing how bad it sounded. He had put a call in to the casting director while I sat there in his office trying not to crumble into a million pieces. But when he didn't hear back, Russell told me I should just go home so I could go on my celebration date with Aidan. He insisted everything was fine and that they had probably just not gotten the final copy back from the lawyers. And so I left his office with no signed contract, which meant, technically, I didn't have the part yet.

I found a parking spot and trudged through the building to the side elevator. It was going to be hard to enjoy a celebratory dinner. I hoped Aidan wouldn't mind putting it off until I had a signed contract. He would no doubt tease me about being superstitious.

I stepped into the elevator. My phone rang as the doors slid shut. It was Russell.

"Hi, did you get it? I knew it would come the second I left your office."

The pause that followed made me want to throw up my lunch. "Russ?"

"Jane." It was all I needed to hear. The tone of his voice said it all.

I pressed my arm against my stomach and leaned against the elevator wall for support.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. In the last minute, Katrina Blake decided she wanted the part after all. That bitch. I will never watch another one of her movies. Jane? Are you all right? Shit, you're not driving are you?"

"No," I sniffled. "I'm in the elevator having a nice little meltdown. I knew it was all too good to be true."

"You got so close, Jane. It'll happen again soon. You'll see. And anyhow, you still have that big hunky boyfriend with the magnificent hugging arms."

Russell always worked so hard to help me through the rejections, but this one was major. This was an equally big blow for him. His success was directly related to mine.

The doors to the elevator opened. My feet felt heavy as I stepped into the hallway.

"I'll call you later, Janey. Drink some wine and go hop in bed with that incredible man. He'll make it all better."

I sniffled and was hardly able to speak. I muttered good-bye and hung up.

It took me forever to get the key in the lock with my unsteady hands and blurry eyes. I could hear voices coming from Aidan's apartment. Female voices and lots of feminine laughter. It seemed they were getting closer to the door.

I quickly slipped inside my apartment, not wanting to see anyone in my moment of despair. I closed the door and pressed my ear against it to listen to the voices in the hallway.

"Bye, handsome, we'll see you later. Thanks for the tequila," a woman said with a laugh.

"Wait, Bonnie"—Aidan's deep voice rumbled in the hallway—"You forgot your shoes."

A round of giggles followed, and small feet plodded down the hallway back toward Aidan's apartment.

The anguish from the last few moments was now compounded by the unexpected scene in the hallway. I felt as if I was made of stone as I moved toward the couch and collapsed down onto it. A few seconds later, loud footsteps sounded outside my door.

"Jane?" Aidan called through the door. "Are you there, Jane?"

I stayed perfectly still, not making a sound, until I heard him walk away. Then I curled up into a ball on the couch and cried.

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