“I mean, they named my character Whitney and his Chad. Can that moviebeany more white?”
Lacey laughed and replied, “Yeah, I noticed that. It was still good, though.”
“Was it? Tell me what you really think.”
Lacey nodded and said, “I only went to see it because River and I were having a date night. I thought the writing was a little stale and overdone, and the actor playing Chad was pretty forgettable. You were good in it. Honestly, if you weren’t, I might have just walked out.”
Cameron laughed wildly and said, “Yes! Thank you.”
“Sorry?”
“You just told me the truth; didn’t you?”
“You asked me to.”
“And you did. You didn’t try to bullshit me or anything. I really appreciate that.”
“I was worried you might not like me very much after I said all that.”
“No, it’s great. Really. Thanks.”
“Why did you do it if you didn’t like it?” Lacey asked.
“Deal with the studio. I had one more movie to do for them, and this fell into my lap. It was easy enough, shot in two months and mostly on a soundstage, and now, I’m done; obligation over.”
“That’s how it works, huh?”
“Sometimes, yeah,” Cameron said. “Hey, I think this is one of those tables that you can change out with, like, a ping-pong table and air hockey. Want to help me find the door that opens to the extra supplies and stuff and see if I’m right? Play air hockey with me and don’t let me win?”
“Sure,” she said with a little laugh, but her laugh stopped when one of the camera guys practically fell down the staircase, as if he’d just remembered that he wasn’t supposed to let them have even a moment alone off camera.
“I think it’s probably in–” Cameron stopped when she saw that he was there, too, and something in her changed.
She turned less open and less playful all at once, and that hurt Lacey a little, so she decided to step into action and take over.
“Loser buys the first drink?” she teased and walked over to what looked to be a closet door.
“The drinks are free here,” Cameron replied with a little of her playfulness returning as she laughed. “But you’re on.”
CHAPTER 12
River
“So, there’s more stuff in the kitchen, obviously,” Jessie told her. “I was going to tell all four of you the plan at once. Oh, well. We received your dietary restrictions, but not the list of things you liked, so I wanted to make sure I told you that there’s more in the kitchen if you don’t like anything here. I have a chef arriving shortly to make dinner. You and Lacey said you weren’t vegetarians, so he’s making a steak dish, I think, but I told him to have chicken and fish on hand just in case.”
“We’re not really all that picky. We tend to eat take-out a lot,” River replied.
“Great,” Jessie said. “Well, grab whatever you need here. I’m going to check on a few things and make sure our chef didn’t get stuck in traffic, like you two did. Are you okay for a few minutes on your own?”
“I’m good,” she replied, wondering why Jessie seemed so worried about her wandering around on her own.
Maybe they’d gotten themselves caught up in some weird celebrity TV show experience or a psychological experiment where they were tested in different ways throughout the weekend, and the raffle for a charity had all been a ruse, or maybe River had been watching too many true crime documentaries lately. She picked up a piece of cheese and ateit, not paying attention to the type she’d grabbed, and promptly coughed.
“Jalapeño cheddar,” a voice said.
River turned, still coughing, and was met with an outstretched hand holding a bottle of water.
“I saw it before. Can’t handle spice?”
