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Questions fly. I feel as if I’m sinking under the barrage, but then I catch Deidre LaRochelle’s eye. She sits at the table with a smile that makes her look more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her. Slowly, she raises fingers to her lips and blows me a kiss.
That’s all the encouragement I need to slip my hand back into Jack’s. “As he said,” I say, raising my voice above the din. We’re back in the spotlight. I lay my hands against Jack’s stubbly cheeks and pull him down for a kiss.
“I didn’t know they knew each other,” says Alan Rafier, baffled.
I turn to the group. “I want to thank everyone here from my heart for the opportunity to work on this amazing show. I’m sorry to compromise your trust and mess up Jack’s PR.” I face my golden-haired fiancée. “But my future is pledged to this wonderful man.”
Maureen sits back and plops her feet up on the table. “Which means? Punch up that dialog for me, G.”
Jack lifts me off the ground and spins me once before pulling me against his side. “I’m marrying this woman.”
Niks jumps to her feet to start the applause. Everyone in the room joins her or pounds on the table. Everyone except Bobby and Meg, who have their heads together in frenzied conversation.
Jack accepts some rowdy thumps on the back while I enjoy more gentle embraces.
Bobby raises his arms for quiet. The stern look on his face stabs me straight through the heart. I hate to let people down.
“Gillian, you realize I have to fire you.”
I tense everything to keep from crying. “I understand.”
He drives the knife deeper. “I took a chance on you and look where it got me.”
What do I say to public shaming? All I can do is nod my head.
“I’ve lost an incredibly promising writer’s assistant.”
One more helping of guilt, and I’m going to totally lose it in front of all these people. Jack threads an arm around my back. I feel him tense. I’ve got to get out of here before he comes to my defense and puts himself in a worse position than our “out loud” may already have done.
Bobby lifts a stack of scripts from the empty chair next to him and heaves them onto the table. They fan out down the middle like fallen dominoes. “But I’ve gained a brilliantly talented staff writer.”
My eyes fall to the cover of the top script in the pile.Chieftain’s Son Episode 113, The Partingby Gillian Bettencourt.
Jack lets out a deafeningwhoop.
Bobby is across the room in a flash, lifting me off my feet in a crushing hug. “You’re never going to make things easy for me are you, Bettencourt? It’s a damn glorious script.” He holds up a finger. “There will be notes.”
“Oh my God, Bobby. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
He moves in for another hug. “I expect free golf lessons.”
“You’ve got ‘em.”
Benj and Benny double team me. “Welcome to our clan.”
Doolin shakes Jack’s hand and kisses my cheek. “Do I have your word the O’Leary brood will be off to dual immersion Irish language school?”
I throw my arms around him. “I promise.” The O’Leary brood. I love the sound of that.
Maureen stands in front of me, arms crossed. She jerks her chin at Jack. “Why does he get to call you Gilly?”
“Please do call me Gilly.” I wipe away tears with the sleeve of my soon-to-be sister in law’s Christmas sweater.
Meg squares off with Jack. “I suppose you think this is a fairy tale.” She holds up a finger before he can answer. “My bosses at True Time will most likely bust a vein over this. Painting you as the devoted fiancée is not what they had in mind.”
Maureen elbows Jack and cups a hand around her ear. “Listen, I hear the sound of a million hearts goingsplatby the roadside.”
As Jack blushes and playfully shoves Maureen away, Meg stomps off toward her office. I hope whatever new scenario she’s painting doesn’t leave me with a black eye. Although it may be a well-deserved shiner, given the spot we’ve put her in.
