Take Two (The Jilted Bride #1)(8)

Sometimes, the questions would intrigue me, but most of the time I just sat there with a fake smile on my face, acting as if I hadn’t heard the questions a thousand times before.

“The price you pay,” I slid out of my clothes and hopped in the Jacuzzi.

Joan coughed to announce her presence and hung my suit on the back of the bathroom door.

She was always so put together, so neat. Every outfit she wore perfectly complemented her olive skin tone and jet black hair. Today she was wearing a tailored gray suit with a silk purple blouse.

“Sir, we’ll need to leave here in about three hours for your interview. You’ll also need to sign a few posters in the car.”

“Where’s the interview again?”

“It’s at Daniel. Chef Bruel is preparing your favorite.”

“Great. And the reviews?”

“All press up until nine this morning regarding you and Miss Ross’ engagement is in this blue folder,” she held up two folders. “And all local reviews for Summer Nights are in the yellow folder.”

“Could you read me one of the reviews?”

She nodded and sat on the counter. “Matt Sterling’s latest contribution to the realm of film is so horrid and appalling that I can only think of six words of criticism for him: Please. Give. Up. Your. Career. Now.

“Alas, I can’t submit such a short synopsis so I shall bore you with the details: Matt Sterling plays Sam, a down on his luck photographer, struggling to make it big in Hollywood. One day, while shooting “the light reflecting off the coast,” he runs into Mariah Stone (Natalie Portman), a medical recruiting manager who never takes a break.

“Although Portman’s character isn’t into “any guy with less than an M.B.A.,” Sam is desperate to pursue her because “she’s unlike anyone [he’s] ever met before.”

“If by saying that he meant someone who has the capacity to read, then Mr. Sterling probably has this dilemma in real life as well. Hopefully one day he’ll hire someone in his entourage who is capable of knowing a dud script when they see it.

“I digress. Halfway into the film, Mr. Sterling flashes his claim to fame, his set of perfectly oiled abs—a mere foreshadowing of what’s to come: He takes his shirt off while walking down the street. He takes it off while shooting “difficult angles.” And yes, he takes it off when he first wakes up in the morning. In fact, the best actor in this film is his T-shirt. Even it knows that the key to escaping mediocrity is getting away from Matt Sterling.

“Someone who isn’t so lucky? Natalie Portman. Her character has the daunting duty of falling in love with him.

“If you must see Summer Nights, see it when it finds its way into a $1 Red Box rental machine and not a second before.”

“Let me guess. Melody Carter?” I sighed.

“Yes sir.”

I hated Melody Carter. She was the worst type of movie critic—the type that interwove my personal life into her “professional” reviews, the type that found a way to get under my skin every single time. Although she was extremely rude and crass, the movie-going people of New York City took her drivel very seriously.

I’d once wondered what she looked like. I googled her but only her work appeared, no pictures, no Facebook.

She’s probably hideous…and fat. That’s it! She’s fat and ugly and she just wants everyone to be as miserable as she is! I ought to pay her a visit and put her in her place!

“Get me a meeting with Melody Carter please,” I sat up.

“Sir, it’s well known that Miss Carter hardly meets with anyone in the industry. She doesn’t even attend premieres or advanced screenings.”

So she IS fat and ugly!

“Well, could you at least get me the address to her office?”

Chapter 5

Melody

I hugged my parents before turning away and walking into Memphis International. I knew they wanted me to stay another week, but I needed to get back to work.

I rolled my eyes when the desk agent said “Have a safe flight Mrs. Scofield,” but I didn’t correct her. Instead, I typed a note into my phone: “Get Melody Carter put back on license and credit cards. Make sure marriage license is annulled.”

This time I was wearing matching shoes, cheap Old Navy flip flops, and I was proud of myself for being slightly more functional. I didn’t bother staying up to listen to the flight attendant’s safety speech or watching any other passengers.

I drifted into a deep sleep and didn’t awake until the flight attendant let me know that I was once again, the last passenger on the plane.

I took my time walking around La Guardia airport, stopping inside of several news shops, buying books I had no interest in reading. I sat down at McDonalds, forcing myself to eat a box of chicken nuggets, making myself do something that didn’t remind me of Sean.

“Miss Carter! Miss Carter! Over here!” I heard Sophie’s voice as I walked past baggage claim. I looked over my shoulder and saw her long brown curls bouncing as she jumped up and down.

“Sophie?” I tried to sound polite. “What are you doing here?”

“Mr. Maxwell told me to get the town car to take you home when you landed.”

I don’t have a home to go to…

“I need to go by the office first.”