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"Oh, beautiful girl," he had purred, pulling her to him for another kiss.
They had spent the next week getting acquainted with each other in ways August said he had only dreamed of, and Jill enjoyed it all very much. He was fully present and that alone was different from anything else she’d ever experienced. He wasn’t trying to catch sight of himself in the mirror or looking at his watch. He didn’t even wear a watch, and he never took his eyes off of her.
He had driven her to meetings with Roland and sat in while they planned and had gone with her to a handful of auditions and meetings. One of the casting directors she met had asked if he was her PA. The one thing they hadn’t done was talk about Kline.
Now, today, his face was clouded by the name, but Jill couldn’t stop herself saying, "But there's nothing going on! For heaven's sake, he picked her over me, didn't he?!Why's she miffed at me? I haven't even heard a peep out of him since New York."
"You could ask her about it, Jill. You've been friendly for ages. Wasn't thereany indication that she might be upset before?"
"We didn't talk about it before," Jill sulked, crossing her arms."She asked about my past with him, and I didn't say anything. If they had something, I didn't want to butt in." She groaned and leaned her head on the back of the chair."I'm moving to Nebraska.I'm changing my name, moving to Nebraska and growing--what do they grow there?I'll have a cow farm or something."
"I couldn't live in Nebraska," August said, getting up from his table to walk over and kiss her. "And neither could you. Talk to her, darling. Find out what the problem is."
"No. I've called her twice. She can call me if it's important to her.If not, who cares?"
"You do."
"Oh, go sew something!" She snarled playfully.
He laughed and went back to his work. Jill watched him for a few minutes before going in to the kitchen to make some tea. A knock on the door called her back into the living room and she opened to find Roland on the doorstep. "Hello, beautiful. How are you this evening?"
"Roland!Come in.I'm well thanks. How are you?"
"Wonderful, and I have great news!"
She walked him to the kitchen and settled him in with a scotch and soda, then sat down with him. "What's the news?"
"We signed a leading man for Devil's Party, and it assures you box office gold."
"Oh? Oh! I was so sad about Theo. He’s a doll. Who did they get? Did they get Timothee?"
"Better."
"Better?"
"We got Kline Scott."
Jill blanched, then blinked, then stammered. "K-Kline? They signed Kline?"
He nodded, pulling a thick padded envelope from his case. "The press is eating it up. They love the two of you together."
Jill took the envelope and opened it to slide a stack of magazines and clippings onto the counter. Cover stories and bylines about her and Kline, their past, present, and probable future typed up in black and white and four-color gloss. "What is all of this?"
"The first round of publicity. We're already stirring interest and we haven't even gone into preproduction yet."
"Stirring interest in what, Roland?"
"In you and Kline.You're the new uber couple. Now we just have to get the two of you out there a little more."
"No, we aren't. He's dating Rhiannon and I'm -- August! August! You need to come out here!" She turned back to Roland and fretted, "August isn't going to like this. We're talking about moving in together. I can't pretend to be dating Kline."
"You want to retire in five years? This is your ticket, Jill," Roland said, seriously. "Whether you and Kline are really together off camera or not, you are darlings of the press. You play this close and carefully and you'll have everything you want."
August came in, wiping glitter from his fingers. "What's the matter?" he asked, seeing Jill's face.
"August." Roland grinned.
"Roland. What's wrong, Jill?"
