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But I did. Even though most people didn’t care or preferred to be ignorant, my work was important. The rainforest depended on people like me spreading the truth and learning all they could. And because of people like me, the children in the tribes had clean water, medicine, and other supplies to keep thriving.
Acting in a stupid movie couldn’t do anything to save the world.
But Jake had the popular opinion and a fan club of supporters on his side while I had no one but my department and maybe Tess, who didn’t want to get eaten alive.
I stood and walked over to open the door, only to find it locked. I tried to unlock it, hoping to make a clean exit, but I couldn’t get it to work.
“Dammit,” I said, trying again.
Jake got up, and without a word, he unlocked the door. He stood so close I could feel his body heat against my back. Despite his proximity, he felt a million miles away.
When the door opened, I hurried out and didn’t look back.
I got to the room with the round table, and thankfully, it was empty. I closed the door and leaned against it. Then I slid to the floor and closed my eyes. When I opened them, the first thing I saw was the large picture of Jake staring back at me. That was all it took for me to break.
I covered my face and cried, but I quickly composed myself. “No. You’re not doing this. You’re not going to let yourself fall apart over him again.”
I thought of the morning after our last night together and how it had hurt.
I called his house and waited for him to answer the phone. His mother had answered. She was always tired from working two jobs as well as their farm.
“Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but is Jake there?”
“Jake’s gone, honey. He’s chasing his dreams in California. Left early this morning before the sun came up.”
The lump in my throat was so large that it practically choked me. I tried to take a deep breath, but it hurt too badly. “Could you have him call me if you hear from him?”
“I’m sorry, sweetie, but I don’t expect to hear from him again. He left us a note. Told us if you called to tell you that he hopes you find what you’re looking for.”
And that was all he wrote. He never called, and I never heard another word from him. I went on for a while, thinking that he’d come back, but that whole summer, I spent as if he had died, mourning him.
By the time school started in the fall, I was focused on college and had given up on him. I felt abandoned and wondered what my life would have been like if I had just gone with him.
Anytime I met a guy, I compared them to him. And since no one was ever as great as Jake, I didn’t give them a chance. I had spent so many lonely nights dreaming of what I’d do if I ever saw him again, and then other times, I had no hope that I would.
I carried on with my work, thinking that part of my life, the part that focused on relationships and love, had come and gone.
Jake had obviously moved on, and knowing he was living a life in California or somewhere along the way, I figured that he had met another woman. I used to wonder about her. Who she was? What she was like? Was she like me or completely opposite? Did she treat him well? Did they laugh as much as we had?
Suddenly, someone was at the door behind me. “Hello?”
“Sorry,” I said, getting to my feet. I opened the door to find Ally, Ben’s assistant, on the other side.
“There you are,” she said.
“Let me guess,” I said. “Ben wants me to pack my things because I’m fired.”
Ally shook her head. “Come on. Let’s sit down and talk.” She walked over to the round table and pulled out a chair for me before taking her own.
“Look, don’t draw it out, okay? I get it. I don’t know anything about making a movie, and I’m embarrassing myself and everyone on the cast and crew.”
“Actually, Ben just wanted me to talk to you about the plants. Turns out, the set crew double-checked and figured out that the prop shop sent the wrong flowers. He was hoping that you’d go down there with me and straighten things out.”
I couldn’t believe he was going to trust me. “Yeah, absolutely. You mean he’s not angry with me?”
“Well, he’s not happy that you interrupted the shot, no. Or that you frazzled Jake Storm. Time is money on a set, so he’s only got so much time here. From now on, you are to come to me, and I’ll relay the messages. Consider me your liaison.”
