Page 45 of Beneath the Fame

I wasalreadyaccepted by everybody who mattered.

And yet…the way Alec’s parents embraced me had been relieving.

Albeit a tiny bit scary.

It was clear he’d told them about me.

And telling his parents about me added a layer ofseriousnessto our connection that made me a little nervous. Not because his feelings were misplaced—not even that they weren’t mutual, because I was inheavy“like” with this man so far. In a way I couldn’t recall ever being.

Ever.

Withanyone.

That was the scary part.

These types of relationship waters were, for me, thus far unnavigated.

And nobody was handing out maps.

Getting called back to set interrupted my conversation with Elodie, but that was okay—it was probably good to get my mind off relationship stuff so I could focus anyway. We only had three episodes left to film—including the one we were working on—and the pressure to perform to the highest standard was higher than ever.

Getting this right meant the potential for great opportunities foreverybody.

This was important to all of us.

Today, I was working with a lot of different people—the episode was a bit chaotic. Shannon had gone missing when she was supposed to be with Kami, so I was basically racing around town to everybody’s jobs or hangouts, trying to hunt her down.

Notably, I had ahugeblow-up scene with Alec, which was choreographed in a way that he—his character—got a little violent with me.

Jude

(pushes away from the table, stalks to where Kami is standing.)

What the fuck do you mean Shannon is missing?! She’s supposed to be with you right now!

Kami

(rolls eyes.)

Really? I had no idea.

Jude

This ain’t the time for you to be getting smart with me.

Kami

Agreed, which is why I didn’t come here for that. I came to see if she was here, or if she’d talked to you today.

Jude

No, which your ass should already know. She’s ten years old, Kami. Not some damn teenager. You telling me you can’t keep up with her? I’m sure the courts will be interested to know.

Kami

Because that’s all you care about here, right? Winning? I’m trying to find our niece, and you’re more worried about taking your chance to fuck me over. Typical.

Jude

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