The Reunion by Kayla Olson(68)
She hands it over, and I begin to read.
Ones to Watch: Ransom Joel Team Neck-Deep as Offers Pour In
By Gregor Ives // Senior Editor, Books & Film, West Coast Daily
On the heels of today’s breaking news regarding former teen heartthrob Ransom Joel—he’s finally taken his on-screen romance with Girl on the Verge costar Liv Latimer off-screen—we hear his agent’s phone has been ringing off the hook all afternoon.
Joel has stayed firmly in the public eye ever since the show that put him there went off the air nearly fourteen years ago. While his acting skills are undeniably solid, ask any teen with hearts in their eyes—or their parents, for the record—what comes to mind when they hear the name Ransom Joel, and the answer is almost always: It doesn’t matter what he’s in, I’ll watch it.
This current era of Ransom Joel has been one long string of blockbusters after another. We’ve watched him transform from lovable boy next door (surrounded by literal kittens/photo credit: ASPCA) to one of the hottest tickets in Hollywood. From his first foray into action, playing alongside Lara Starling as her reluctant boy-next-door hero, to his most recent stretch of record-breaking espionage thrillers (in which he stars as titular character Hunter Drew), to a wide variety of one-off hits in which he’s faced off against—and subsequently defeated—threats such as zombies, velociraptors, and a hacker who single-handedly wreaked havoc on the world economy via an intricately coded cyberplague, it’s safe to say Ransom Joel has his pick of films.
Rumor has it, though, that Joel isn’t entirely content: he’s looking to diversify his already robust résumé and break out in a more serious way—with some potentially Oscar-worthy roles, if we had to guess. Linking himself publicly to indie sweetheart Liv Latimer is a strategic step in the right direction, if so, and it sounds like today’s news has had the intended effect: we hear it’s caught the attention of none other than Jonathan Cast, who’s currently on set in Iceland filming his latest, which will no doubt be a serious contender for awards across the board once it eventually debuts.
In the meantime, catch both Joel and Latimer in the upcoming Girl on the Verge reunion special, which will be released exclusively on the Fanline platform at the end of next month. More to come on Ransom Joel’s next project as the situation develops.
20
I stare at the phone.
I’m a strategic step in the right direction—it sounds like a line straight out of a publicist’s mouth. And after watching Ransom’s publicist in action on set earlier, it isn’t hard to imagine this line coming from her, specifically.
The words swim in my head, not to mention the insinuation: that Ransom’s motives in hooking up with me had less to do with his actual feelings for me and everything to do with changing the trajectory of his own career.
I want to believe the best in him.
I want to believe he had nothing to do with this article, or the one that blasted our news to the world—just like he swore he had nothing to do with the article that tore us apart in our final season, everything his girlfriend spilled to the press.
I want to believe it’s real this time. That even though I was wrong in the past whenever I thought there might be something between us, that this time is different.
He’s a good actor, though. And things aren’t adding up.
There are only so many places they could have heard “rumors” of Ransom being unsatisfied with his massive commercial success, and I sure didn’t spill about it. No one would look at his résumé and think, Oh, there’s a guy who’s lacking for opportunity! I know all too well, though, that there are secret sides to success—that we don’t talk about the darker parts of being in the public eye because we’re expected to be grateful for all of it, even when it’s painful. I know for a fact that Ransom is unsatisfied. I heard it straight from his lips, right before he kissed me.
My own publicist suggested we use Ransom as a publicity stunt, so of course it makes sense that his would do the same. It’s hard to imagine Ransom being so calculating on his own—but even if it wasn’t his idea, I have to consider the possibility that he agreed to let it happen. If all he wants is to ride my success to places he hasn’t been able to go on his own, it definitely seems to be working. Even Jonathan Cast has reached out from a remote set in Iceland, according to that article.
I feel a little sick at how readily I offered to go out on a limb for him with Vienna; I left her a voice mail last night on the ride home from Ransom’s house.
“I have to be missing something,” I say numbly. “This can’t be what it looks like. It can’t.” I know Ransom. I know him, he wouldn’t do this—any of it.
“I hope there’s a good explanation,” Bre says, and my head snaps up. I’d forgotten for a minute that I wasn’t alone, thinking out loud. “For everything.”
There has to be.
I’m itching to text him, and itching to see if he’s texted me, but my phone is still locked away in my safe, upstairs in the back corner of my bedroom’s closet. Surely by now there’ll be something.
“Back in a minute,” I call over my shoulder as I rush upstairs. “Feel free to make some tea, or coffee, or… anything.”