Hollywood & Vine (33 page)

Aubrey tugged at the bra and frowned. “This isn’t tight enough. My tits should be spilling out, not swallowed up in fabric.”

Josie eyed Aubrey’s chest and the massive amount of cleavage already showing. “I’m not sure if I can, um, make your tits spill out any more without exposing you.”

“I’m not concerned with modesty. It’s not like Anders won’t see my tits once he removes the bra anyway. But I want to tease him. Get him good and worked up before the scene.” She winked at Josie, a sly smile on her face as she adjusted the bra.

Josie swallowed, trying to wet her dry throat. “Okay, I can put a few stitches in the sides to make the cups fit a little more snug. Was that all?”

Pleased with Josie’s response, Aubrey smiled. “Not exactly. You see,” she whispered, leaning closer to Josie. “I’m sure you’ve read that Anders and I are dating.” Josie nodded when Aubrey paused. “Well, we like to play this game. He loves to get me all worked up. I think seeing how much he can turn me on is his favorite thing to do. Anyway, it’s my turn for a change.” Aubrey fingered the side of her panties and tugged the material away from her body before letting it snap back into place. “I want these a size smaller.”

The color drained from Josie’s face as she listened to Aubrey talk about her relationship with Anders. She wondered if Aubrey was really that delusional or if Anders was a better actor than she’d ever imagined.

Aubrey snapped her fingers in front of Josie’s face, annoyed she didn’t have her undivided attention. “Hello?”

Josie straightened her back and shoved her shaking hands in her pockets. When she spoke, the bite in her voice was unmistakable. “If I make them any smaller, there will be no barrier between you and Mr. Ellis.”

“Exactly.” Aubrey grinned. “I’ll have them sent over to you. I’ll need them back no later than Wednesday.”

Josie’s jaw ticked. “I’ll have to see if I can fit these alterations into my schedule. I do have other responsibilities. Anyway, you won’t need them until Friday.”

“I’m aware when the scene is, but with all the issues Anders’ has with your department, I want the garments back by Wednesday to make sure they’re correct.”

Josie smirked and felt her shoulders relax a little. If Aubrey knew the real reason Anders demanded that Josie be present in his trailer every day, it would wipe that smile right off her face. “No problem, Ms. Nash. I’ll make sure you look as trashy as possible.” With that she turned and sauntered out of the room, just barely refraining from flipping Aubrey off.

As soon as Josie was in the hall, her bravado crumbled. She leaned against the wall and pulled in a deep breath. Anders had to end this game with Aubrey. There were only a few weeks left of filming, but how far past that did the executives want them to date? Until the movie released? That could be another eight to ten months. No way was that an option.

That night, as Josie and Anders ate dinner, she tried to shake the feeling of unease hanging in the air. Her conversation with Aubrey continued to play on repeat in her head. She wondered what Anders had done to make Aubrey believe their relationship was real and if pretending to love her in front of one camera and pretending to date her in front of another had caused lines to blur.

“What are you thinking about so hard over there?” Anders had long since pushed his plate away and had spent the last several moments watching Josie’s facial expressions.

“I’m just…I’m curious about your job. Well, not acting in general, but how
you
do it.”

Anders shoulders relaxed and a small smile tugged at the side of his mouth. Questions about his job were easy. “Come on, let’s go into the living room and get comfortable.”

Once they settled on the couch, she tried to be more specific. “When you’re in character, how much is still you? Is it hard to turn that off when you’re not on the set?”

“Um…” He scratched his head and tried to think of the best way to respond. “When I’m playing a character, well, it’s like
―
okay, say I’m playing the part of a murderer or a psychopath. Obviously, I don’t think the same things or feel the same way as the persona I’m portraying, but I can’t let my personal feelings affect how I move or speak. I have to become that person. So I guess, when I’m in character, I’m not really there. It’s like flipping a switch.”

“How do you do it, though? How can you disassociate from yourself?”

Anders shrugged then leaned back against the arm of the chair. The tone of her voice was different, almost desperate. When he answered her, hesitation was clear in his voice. “Practice. Self-preservation.”

“Self-preservation?”

“Yeah. Look at it this way. When you get upset or angry at me, for example”
―
he added with a wink, causing a small smile to lift the corner of Josie’s mouth
―
“you have to deal with those emotions, reconcile how you’re feeling. Now imagine carrying that burden for people who aren’t you, who don’t even exist.” Anders tapped his fingers on the back of the couch as he tried to figure out how to explain it in a way Josie could relate to.

“It’s like reading great script. It sucks you in, makes you nervous, excited, or angry for the characters.” When Josie nodded, he continued. “Those feelings are even more intense when you become that person. When you have to project their feelings and react as they would. Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to carry around the emotions of a character after filming is over? Like the feelings of a man who loses the love of his life or a killer who murdered in cold blood. It’s debilitating. When I first started acting, I wasn’t able to separate the two. I’d have these bizarre dreams and feel anxious or angry for no reason. It wasn’t until later I realized I was in the head of my characters, still living their lives. I had to learn to separate myself or else hire a full-time therapist.”

“Wow. I’ve never thought about it that way. That’s intense.”

“It can be.”

Josie was quiet for a second. She thought about how Anders’ and Aubrey’s characters fall in love. She remembered how Aubrey smiled and laughed when she talked about Anders. Aubrey seemed more like her character than a woman in a fake relationship for publicity. Josie couldn’t help but wonder if Aubrey was confused because Anders acted more like his character when he was around her, both on and off the set.

“So you never channel a character you’ve played to deal with real-life situations?”

“Real-life situations?”

“Yeah. For example, when you’re dealing with Aubrey.”

Anders’ brows shot up at the sudden mention of Aubrey. “Say what?”

“Aubrey. When you two are out and pretending to be a couple, do you sometimes fall into the personality of your character to make it easier?”

“I’m not sure what you’re asking.” He was lying, of course. He knew where the conversation was heading. They’d broached the real reason she’d asked about his job.

Josie saw right through him. “You know what I’m asking, Anders. Who are you with Aubrey when the cameras aren’t rolling?”

“I’m…I’m not anybody. I just
―
why are you asking me this?” Anders’ frustration was clear. There was no way he could answer without pissing her off.

“Because I want to know if it’s your character who has Aubrey convinced there’s more between you than a fake relationship or if you’re so much of a player that you can convince her without having to pretend at all?” Josie tried to keep her voice even and not let her own frustrations show, but the more she talked, the more worked up she became.

“You need to calm down and tell me what the fuck this is about. I don’t want her. How can I be any clearer?” His muscles tightened when he thought about the time he’d spent with Aubrey during auditions. Even though that was before he’d met Josie, he knew he should tell her, put all his cards on the table. But fear kept the words sealed inside him. She would leave him if she knew. The thought terrified him in ways he refused to admit.

Josie huffed out a disbelieving laugh. “End it. Be done with this entire fiasco.”

“Josie, I can’t
―
”

“You can!”

Anders snapped his jaw shut and pulled in a deep breath. “Filming is almost over.”

“What does that mean? Is it over then? No more fake relationship or bullshit dates?”

Anders’ body stiffened the moment Josie mentioned dates. During all the time they spent together over the weekend, he failed to tell her about his upcoming date with Aubrey. He wondered if that was the real root of her ire. If she didn’t know already, he’d have to tell her now. When he spoke again his voice was clipped, defensive. If there was one thing about Anders that was consistent, it was his ability to make a bad situation worse. “I don’t know, Josie. What brought this on? Did something happen?”

Josie groaned in frustration. “She happened. God, how can you stand to be around her?”

“Why are you pissed at me for something Aubrey did? I haven’t done anything.” She’d have reason enough to be pissed at him later. He wasn’t going to be her punching bag because of someone else.

“I’m pissed at you because if you weren’t so damn paranoid, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.” She realized she was acting irrational, but jealousy made people say and do stupid things.

“Really, Ivy? We’re going to fight about this again?” Anders stood and moved to sit on the edge of the coffee table. Grabbing Josie’s legs, he tugged until they faced each other, her legs boxed inside his. “Did you see her today? What happened?”

“Yes, I saw her today. She’s requested I make some alterations to her clothes for the scene with you on Friday.” Josie lifted her brow and waited for understanding to cross Anders’ features. It didn’t take long.

“Ah, fuck.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“What does she want you to do?” Anders rubbed his hands over the tops of Josie’s legs. He wasn’t the least bit happy Aubrey had cornered Josie about Friday, but considering what she could have told Josie, it was the lesser of two evils.

“Make her look like a slut. She wants as little fabric between you two as possible. Apparently, she wants her turn as the aggressor in your fun little game of cat and mouse.” Josie didn’t bother to keep the sneer off her face or the sarcasm out of her voice.

“Whoa. What game?” Anders could feel their conversation creeping on the edge of a full-blown fight.

Josie recounted her conversation with Aubrey. Anders listened patiently, and even though he wanted to interrupt her a million times to defend himself, he needed to let her get it all out.

“Come here.” He pulled her hands over the top of his thighs and leaned forward. “Listen to me. I told you I’m not perfect. I’m going to fuck up. But I also told you I want to be with you. Just you. You…” Anders blew out a harsh breath and squeezed his eyes shut. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. About himself, about how she made him feel, but it was like there was something blocking the words from escaping. His mind and heart were trapped in a steel vault with the door welded shut, set in place to protect him from ever getting hurt again. “Can’t you see that you mean something different to me?”

“Different from who? From what?”

Anders lifted his hands to her jaw and tilted her face until she was looking at him. “Everyone. Everything.”

Josie’s eyes fell shut and her shoulders slumped. “I just want this to be over. I want her out of our lives.”

Anders nodded and swallowed hard. It was now or never. “I’ll talk to Nathan. Let him deal with Clarence and see what can be done, okay?”

“You’ll do that? Tell them you want out?”

“For you? Yeah, I will. But in the meantime…” Anders pulled in a deep breath and let the words fly out of his mouth in a rush. “I have another date with Aubrey. Nathan told me about it last Friday. I wasn’t trying to keep it from you, but to be honest, when I saw you, the last thing I wanted to do was talk about Aubrey.”

“No, Anders. Are you serious?”

“It’s not like last time. There’s this new club opening and Clarence reserved us a table. What if…what if I call Owen? Invite him and a couple of other people. Make it more of a group thing, so it’s not just me and her.”

“I don’t know. Do you think inviting Owen is the best idea?” Josie might not have wanted Anders and Aubrey out alone, but the thought of Owen tagging along didn’t make her feel any better.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. I promise. Trust me.”

T
he next day, Josie tried to keep busy. She submitted invoices and replied to emails, menial tasks that did little to steer her attention away from the small plastic garment bag containing Aubrey’s lingerie.

With a resigned sigh, she grabbed the bag and pulled it open. The soft, colorful material fluttered through the air and landed in a pile on top of her desk. She looped her finger around the strap of the bra and lifted it into the air, her face twisting with annoyance. There was nothing in the world she wanted to do less than help Aubrey seduce her boyfriend.

Alone at her cubicle for the remainder of the afternoon, she turned up her music, tuned out the world, and focused on getting through the alterations. When it was time to go home, there was no question where she was heading. She wanted to be at her own house, surrounded by her own things, and if she was being honest, she wanted to mope.