Page 2 of Just for the Holidays
Gael leaned back, considering the information his sister had just given him. It was exciting to think about. A series about Francisco Rios, the leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement, was a dream project. The man had led an extraordinary life. He’d graduated from Harvard Law School in 1921—the first Puerto Rican to do so. While studying there he’d met Claudia Mieses, a Peruvian biochemist—and the first Latina to be accepted to Radcliffe College—who was remarkable in her own right. Gael had always thought their love story was a romance for the ages. And that Rios’s life story deserved to be told. Being a part of bringing something likethisto the big screen was more than a dream...it was the kind of opportunity that had drawn him to be an actor in the first place.
“I want it,” he said with finality, feeling a buzz of excitement he hadn’t felt in months. “Who do we talk to?” he asked. Hell, he’d probably be willing to do the part for free. But his sister frowned at his question, her expression almost reluctant. When he looked at Manolo, Gael noticed the man looked smug. Clearly, the other shoe was about to drop.
“The studio producing the series is Sambrano,” Gabi blurted out, as if trying to quiet their uncle before he could get the first word in. No wonder the older man was smiling. What felt like a ball of lead sank through Gael. The skin on his face felt hot. He shouldn’t be surprised that the mention of the Sambrano name still had this effect on him after all these years, but it did.
“Tell him who’s in charge of casting, Gabriela.” His uncle sounded a little bit too pleased with himself for that nugget to be anything other than the person Gael suspected.
Gabi fidgeted, her eyes everywhere but on Gael. “Perla Sambrano’s doing the casting.” Unsurprisingly, he felt the blood at his temples at the mere mention of his ex-girlfriend. Perla Sambrano was someone he took pains not to dwell on. “She’s working for the studios now,” Gabi added, pulling him from his thoughts. “She’s their new VP of global casting and talent acquisitions.” His sister’s tone was sharp, laced with recrimination. Perla Sambrano had been the reason for the one and only time his twin had stopped speaking to him.
“I don’t know if this is the right project,” he said, ruthlessly tamping down the pang of discomfort that flashed in his chest. He stared at his sister, expecting her to rehash old arguments. But she just stared at him, disappointment written all over her face. He knew enough not to take the bait. That conversation was over and done with. He would not apologize for making the choices that had them all sitting in a private jet heading to the ten-million-dollar mansion his money had bought.
“This is not going to work, Gabi,” he told his sister, before turning away from her withering glare. He looked at his uncle and felt a surge of irritation at the pleased little smirk on his face. He was not some damn toy for Manolo and Gabi to compete over. “These aren’t going to work, either,” Gael quickly added, gesturing to his uncle’s pile of scripts. “Let’s keep looking.” That made Manolo’s smile flag, but he wasn’t here to save anyone’s feelings. This was his career, and family or not, they worked for him.
Gabi nodded tersely. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then seemed to let it go. Gael focused on the book he’d been reading on his phone and tried very hard not to think about Perla or the project.
Dwelling on ancient history was not a habit he indulged in.
“You really don’t mind doing this?” Perla’s older sister asked. Esmeralda’s warm smile always seemed to calm her even when she could only see it through the screen of her monitor.
“Of course I don’t mind,” Perla said, honestly. She couldn’t exactly blame Esmeralda for looking a little doubtful. A year ago no one, Perla included, would’ve believed that she’d be ready for a conference call at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday two days before Christmas, but here she was.
To be fair, a lot had happened in the past twelve months. First, her half sister, Esmeralda, had taken up the helm as president of Sambrano Studios, the television empire their father, Patricio Sambrano, had built. The same television empire everyone expected to be passed to Perla and her brother—Patricio’s “legitimate” children. Instead, the Sambrano patriarch had surprised everyone by expressing his last wish was to see Esmeralda, the child he’d fathered out of wedlock, lead the billion-dollar studios into the future. In the aftermath, Perla had gained a relationship with Esmeralda after years of estrangement.
Unlike her mother and brother, Perla didn’t begrudge her sister the position. She’d never wanted that kind of responsibility. In truth, until ten months ago, when Esmeralda had reached out to her, hoping to mend their relationship, Perla thought she would never set foot in the company’s offices again. She’d even sold her shares to make sure she never had to sit in a board meeting for the rest of her life. But Esmeralda’s warmth and passion for keeping their family legacy alive had lit a fire under Perla. And now here she was, the new VP of global casting and talent acquisitions for Sambrano Studios. As her sister said, “putting to good use all that fancy schooling” their father had paid for.
“Perlita?” Her sister’s soothing voice pulled Perla out of her musings, and when she looked at the screen, she saw that Esmeralda’s fiancé and the CEO of Sambrano Studios, Rodrigo Almanzar, had joined her. They sat side by side, shoulders and arms pressed together. Completely comfortable with each other. They made quite the power couple, but their chemistry was not reserved just for the boardroom. Esmeralda and Rodrigo were the very definition ofsoul mates. You only had to see them together to know they were perfect for each other. Even when they had been at each other’s throats competing for the top spot at Sambrano, they could not stay away from each other. And although Perla would never be jealous of what her sister had, she did feel a pang of longing for that kind of connection.
“I’m ready,” Perla assured her sister.
“And after this, no more working,” Esme chastised, making Perla smile. “We’ve all been working nonstop.”
Perla would never admit it to anyone, but it felt good to finally have this, family who cared about her without making her feel like a child. Family that didn’t make her feel expendable.
Her mother, Carmelina, had always been overbearing and the worst kind of helicopter mom. She constantly made Perla feel like she was useless. But Esmeralda treated her like an adult. Like a competent, trustworthy adult capable of taking on responsibilities. And more than that, Esmeralda made Perla feel like her presence mattered, like she valued her opinion.
“Let’s get on with this meeting, then.” Perla nodded, getting herself in order. They would be doing a virtual conference call with the producer and director of an upcoming series project.
The conversation with the show producers started well, and before she knew it, it was Perla’s turn to ask some questions about casting. “Pedro, I know you have such deep connections with some of the best Latinx actors,” Perla spoke truthfully. Pedro Galvañes was a legend, and was also infamously vain, which was confirmed when he smiled widely at her compliment.
“We know who we want,” Galvañes confirmed. “Violeta has pretty much confirmed Jasmine Lin Rodriguez to play the part of Claudia Mieses.” Perla, Esmeralda and Rodrigo all nodded enthusiastically at that. The Puerto Rican actress was a rising star, especially coming out of her huge success with theCarmen in Chargeseries.
“That’s wonderful. She’s perfect for that role,” Perla said, grinning, not even trying to hold back her excitement.
“Yes, she is,” Violeta chimed in. “And we need someone who can really hold his own with her. Francisco Rios was such a presence, larger than life. We need an actor who exudes that charisma and power, but who can also play the part of romantic heartthrob. This is a romance, after all.” She winked, eliciting a smile from Perla and the other faces on the screen.
“Yes, we need a powerhouse to play Mr. Rios,” Perla agreed. She’d been reading up on Francisco Rios since Esmeralda announced Sambrano would be makingThe Liberator and His Love. The man was a legend, and they needed an actor with a lot of depth to do him justice.
“Who did you have in mind?” Rodrigo asked, not one to beat around the bush.
“We want Gael Montez,” Violeta announced, and Perla’s heart skittered in her chest like a caged bird. As if the very mention of the man aggrieved the organ he had so badly battered.
“Montez,” Esmeralda said, and Perla could hear her sister’s effort to sound neutral. One night after one too many glasses of champagne, Perla had confessed the entire sordid story about her college boyfriend and her first—only, if she was honest—love.
A story she tried extremely hard to never think about, and now it seemed she would be tasked with securing him for a role.
“He’s perfect for the part. Strapping like Rios was, and compelling on-screen,” Pedro said, before Esme could finish what she was about to say. “But we have not been able to get so much as a call back from his people. The man’s manager is a real piece of work. He flat-out refused to pass on the script to Montez.”
Over the thumping of her heart and rushing of blood between her temples, Perla was able to process the mention of Manolo Montez, Gael’s uncle and manager. She’d never liked Manolo and had always suspected he’d had a hand in how things had ended between her and Gael six years earlier. She wasn’t at all surprised to hear he was still running interference. Manolo was never shy about the intensely specific vision he had for Gael’s career. And the plan seemed to be very much about keeping Gael’s status as the family’s golden goose by encouraging him to take whatever role paid the most money.
