One Night with a Star (Second Chances Book 2) (12 page)

Letting out a breath, he tapped on his phone again, pulling up the number for Ben Paul. Ben was on board to direct, but he was better friends with Spence than with him. At least he answered when Simon called.

“Hello.”

“Ben, Simon Mercer.” He launched right into it without pleasantries. “Do you know if there’s some sort of problem with Second Chances? Only, I’ve just done an interview with a cocky little twerp who seems to think the show is in trouble.”

Ben let out a long breath. Not a good sign. Sounds of a city—car horns, talking, and music—filled the awkward silence.

“It might be nothing,” Ben said. “I just found out about it myself this morning.”

“What?” Simon’s stomach sank.

“Apparently, the board of trustees for that senior home where we’ve been filming is having second thoughts.”

Just like the interviewer said.

“Why? How?” Simon snapped. “Don’t they have a contract? The production company is financing a whole new building for them.”

“I don’t know,” Ben said. “Like I said, I just found out this morning. Apparently Yvonne has been on the phone with the company and the home all morning trying to sort it out.”

Which explained why Simon couldn’t get through.

“Don’t get too wound up about it yet,” Ben went on. “If this place falls through, they’ll find another. It’ll set production back by a couple of month, but the show will go on.”

“Spoken like a true thespian,” Simon said, pretending not to be upset.

“Well, the stage is my first love. TV is just my mistress,” Ben said.

There wasn’t much else to discuss. “Thanks, Ben. Good luck with your show,” Simon said, hoping Ben actually had a show going on.

“No problem.”

He ended the call. Simon sat back, forcing himself to breathe and think about the situation logically. There had to be an answer to all this. There had to be something he could do. Why would a facility that stood to gain so much by the involvement of Second Chances suddenly change its mind? It made no sense. They had to keep filming there. He was buying a house. He was building a relationship with his son. He was finally—finally—back on track with Jenny. There was no way he would just sit back and let all that fall to pieces.

As far as he was concerned, there was only one thing to do. He pushed his chair back and flipped open his wallet to pay for lunch, then tucked it and his phone in his pockets. He would have to go to Twin Pines to get to the bottom of things himself.

Chapter Eleven

Twin Pines Senior Living Center was a beautiful, early twentieth century nursing facility tucked in the Maine hills about an hour from the shore. It had been started as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients, had fallen into disrepair during the Depression, then been revitalized in the fifties as a home for the elderly. It kept up with the times—new wings and larger buildings being added throughout the eighties and into the new millennium—but the main building in the center of the campus still had its antique charm. That’s why the producers of Second Chances had fallen in love with it at first sight.

Jenny parked her car in the visitor’s lot at the bottom of a small hill, and took the steep stairs instead of the more gradual, winding ramp to the main building. It held mostly offices now, and a few signs that Hollywood had been there. The wing where most of the show’s filming had taken place was closed off and sleepy. No residents had lived there for a decade, but a few shuffled through the lobby, peeking through the tall, rectangular windows, as if hoping to see the cast and crew again.

Something about that broke Jenny’s heart. It cracked even further when a lovely old woman hovering near the door in a pink bathrobe lit up at the sight of her and said, “Are you here with the film people?” Her eyes were bright with expectation.

A bored young woman manning the front desk barely looked up as Jenny came in.

“No,” Jenny had to tell the old woman, veering off of her set path to talk to her. “I’m looking for Neil Brenner.”

The old woman tilted her head to the side for a moment in thought. “Is he that new, distinguished gentleman with the prosthetic knee?”

Jenny burst into a smile. “No, but is the new guy cute?”

“Oh yes,” the old woman told her, then laughed like a young girl.

No wonder Second Chances’ producers loved this place so much.

“Mrs. Preston, we’re not filming today.”

Jenny and the old woman, Mrs. Preston, turned together to see Simon striding across the facility’s lobby toward her. Jenny’s brow flew up.

“Oh,” Mrs. Preston sighed in disappointment. “Too bad. I love watching you people at work.”

“And we appreciate the audience,” Simon told her. He wrapped an arm around her and hugged her from the side when she reached her, kissing her forehead and making her giggle even harder.

Jenny could hardly breathe. It wasn’t an act or a show. She could feel the genuine affection for Mrs. Porter radiating from him. He was good with Daniel, he was good with the elderly. How big was that new leaf he had turned over?

“What are you doing here?” Jenny finally found her voice and asked.

“I could ask you the same question,” Simon said. “I didn’t think you knew where this place was.”

“I….” Jenny stopped. How was she supposed to explain the fact that a slip of her tongue had very possibly put the show in jeopardy, or that she was there for answers and to break up with Neil.

“Simon, what’s this I hear about the show not coming back?” Mrs. Porter saved her.

Simon’s cheerful expression dropped. He flicked a worried glance to Jenny, then let go of Mrs. Porter and faced her. “Rumors only,” he smiled with enough reassurance to make even Jenny feel better. But just for a moment. “I’m here to make sure everything continues on the way it has.”

“Oh good.” Mrs. Porter put a hand on his arm. “Because Mildred was certain it was all over, and I hate it when she has something to gloat about. She’s insufferable,” she told Jenny.

Jenny smiled in spite of herself. Some things never changed, whether you were in a classroom, an office, or a nursing home. “I’m sure everything will be fine,” she said.

A few seconds later, she wasn’t so sure.

A door opened at the other end of the lobby, and Neil stepped out, along with an attractive but severe-looking woman in her mid-thirties. Jenny had met her once before at a work function Neil had taken her to. Dr. Janice Brunswick, the home’s chief administrator. Jenny still couldn’t believe the woman had risen that high at such a young age.

“Jenny.” Neil’s expression flashed to surprise as soon as he saw her. His eyes narrowed to suspicion the second he saw Simon. “You. What are you doing here?”

Simon drew in a breath. “What’s he doing here?” he whispered to Jenny.

Hot, red shame spilled across Jenny’s face and down her back. “He’s the home’s accountant and he’s on the board.”

“He’s what?” Genuine alarm pinched Simon’s face, making his eyes seem huge. And angry.

“I feel like an idiot because I didn’t make the connection,” Jenny explained.

Simon blew out a breath. “Fu—” He glanced to Mrs. Preston, cleared his throat, and said, “Damn” instead. “This explains things.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

There wasn’t time for more. Neil marched across the lobby toward them. The previously drowsy attendant at the desk perked up.

“Neil,” Simon acknowledged him. Barely. He broke away from Jenny and Mrs. Preston to chase after Dr. Brunswick. “Jan, what’s this I’ve been hearing about Twin Pines pulling the plug on Second Chances?”

“So Mildred wasn’t making it up,” Mrs. Porter, whispered to Jenny. “Damn.”

“I don’t think anything’s decided yet,” Jenny whispered back. And it wouldn’t be if she had anything to do with it. “Excuse me.” She left Mrs. Porter with a smile and crossed the lobby to join the conversation.

“Some concerns have been raised,” Dr. Brunswick said, and if Jenny wasn’t mistaken, she shot a wary look to Neil. That could be a good sign.

“I’m sure the production company can iron out any concerns that Twin Pines might have,” Simon addressed her, blocking out Neil, with a smile.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Neil muttered.

“You were serious,” Jenny said, pressing a hand to her forehead. She wasn’t sure if she felt more stupid or angry over the part she’d played in the whole thing.

Dr. Brunswick stared at her, lips pressed together. The sharp look threw Jenny for a loop. She hardly knew the woman, but that look was a little too much like the judgmental stares she’d gotten in high school.

“Some issues were brought up,” Dr. Brunswick said, sounding done with the whole thing. “The board needs to reevaluate what’s best for Twin Pines and its residents.”

“Is there anything we can do to be part of that conversation?” Simon asked. He was doing a much better job of keeping his cool and handling things than Jenny would have been. She wanted to strangle Neil.

Dr. Brunswick shook her head, holding up a hand. “I don’t have time to deal with this now. I have a meeting with a supplier and an ethics committee inquiry this afternoon, and I haven’t had lunch yet. If you two want to duke it out on your own, go ahead.”

Her last bit was directed straight at Simon and Neil before she turned and strode off. So the woman had at least an inkling of what was behind things. That didn’t reassure Jenny at all. It really was her fault. She’d messed things up for a lot of people, Hollywood people and Twin Pines people. Hell, she’d messed it up for herself. If Simon ended up having to move away because she handled things badly with Neil….

“I’ve come to take you out to lunch,” she said, putting on her brightest smile and turning to Neil.

“What?” Neil and Simon answered simultaneously, different variations of the same surprise on their faces. Neither seemed particularly happy about the statement.

“Yeah, lunch, You know? That meal in the middle of the day?” Jenny brazened her way through. As far as she could see, the only way to get Neil to call off the dogs and set things right with Second Chances was to keep him happy.

As long as she didn’t have to keep him
too
happy.

Neil shifted, resting his weight on one hip and planting his hands at his waist. “So why did you drag Mr. Hollywood over here if you wanted to take me out to lunch? Flaunting your baby-daddy at me?”

Jenny hissed out an impatient breath. “I didn’t come with Simon. I had no idea he’d be here until I showed up.”

“She’s right.” Simon shrugged. “I didn’t expect to see her here.” Judging by the hard look in his eyes, he wasn’t entirely pleased with it either. Well, that or he wasn’t happy about the way she was trying to smooth things over with Neil.

“They didn’t come together,” Mrs. Preston added from across the room.

Jenny’s lips twitched to a grin. Apparently not all of the elderly were hard of hearing. Kudos to Mrs. Preston for wanting to keep on top of the drama at the home.

“See?” Jenny told Neil, as if that was the end of that. “I thought we might go to Windbreakers, down in Summerbury, class things up a bit.”

Neil stared at her, face pinched. “Summerbury is too far. Some of us have to work.”

“Okay, we’ll go someplace local.” It took a monumental effort to keep her smile in place. If Neil was being this big of a butt now, she had her work cut out for her getting him to change his mind.

Inwardly she winced. And here she thought she’d come to Twin Pines to break up with him. Fat chance of that now. She shifted to his side, taking his hand and squeezing it. Ugh. This must be what prostitutes felt like when they tried to convince a john they were madly in love with them. God save her from it coming down to that.

“Come on,” she said. “I’ll drive.”

Neil hesitated, glaring fire at Simon. Then he sucked in a breath and smiled as if he’d won the prize. “Ollie’s is probably open,” he said. “Your office is about the only place I can think of that doesn’t work on Columbus Day.”

As soon as he turned to head for the door, Jenny peeked over her shoulder at Simon. Simon’s face had hardened to stone. It wasn’t a good sign. She made a serious face at him and would have lifted her hand to hold it to her ear like a phone if she hadn’t thought Neil would catch her. She just hoped the message got through.

As soon as they were outside in the blustery autumn sun, Neil relaxed. “I’m glad you came to your senses,” he said as he climbed into her car. “Hanging around those Hollywood types will only cause trouble. I mean, that dick already knocked you up once. What’s he going to do next? Get you to shoot heroin?”

Jenny swallowed and clamped her jaw tight to keep from barking something back at him that would destroy any hope of fixing the Twin Pines situation. She pretended to concentrate on starting her car and pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street instead.

“At least Jan is on my side,” Neil went on. “I laid out my reasons why filming is a shitty idea, and she agrees with most of them. Of course, she’s more on the side of not liking the disruption, but secretly, I think she knows the celebrities are a bad influence on the residents too. I mean, they’re supposed to be resting in their twilight years, not getting all worked up and overexcited.”

Breathe
, Jenny told herself. The point was to change Neil’s mind, not to push him out the door of her speeding car and into traffic.

“In the end, I think I did everyone a really big favor,” Neil kept going. “Especially you.”

“Me?” She could feel her blood-pressure topping out.

“Sure. I don’t like the influence those people have over you. They’ve turned you into a real bitch, you know?”

She started to shake. If ever he had given her an opening to start the break-up conversation, that was it. She couldn’t even stand to turn and look at him. All she could do was hum in response and pray for the strength to string him along until Simon’s show was out of danger.

Ollie’s Sandwich Shop was a cute little place on the edge of the small town closest to Twin Pines. As Jenny pulled into their parking lot and cut her car engine, her phone vibrated. She had to wait until she was out of the car and Neil was off on another rant—about how Second Chances’ filming schedule messed up visiting hours for Twin Pines residents—before she could look at it.

“What was that all about?” Simon had texted her.

She had to wait another few minutes until they were inside the restaurant and Neil was at the counter ordering for both of them before typing back, “I’ll explain later. Lunch with asshole first.”

“Go find a table, babe,” Neil ordered her as he slid down the counter to wait for their food after ordering.

As much as she resented being ordered around, she was more than happy to flee to the far end of the dining room to a table near the window.

“Asshole?” Simon’s text reply came through as she was walking.

“Trying to fix a big mistake,” she typed back, one eye on Neil. “Sorry.”

“What mistake?” Simon texted.

There wasn’t time for a long text explanation now, no matter how fast she could type. Instead, she fired off. “Meet me at the 194 Beach Ave house at 3.” She had already set up an appointment to show Simon the house. The office may have been closed, but she’d set up the appointment with the house’s current owners last week, seeing it was the only time that worked for them.

“Everything okay?” Neil asked as he strode up to the table with two lunches on a tray, looking like they were the trophies of his earlier battle.

“Fine, fine,” she answered. “Everything’s peachy.”

It was a total lie, but it was necessary. Second Chances was set to begin filming in just a few weeks. This dispute over Twin Pines needed to be solved yesterday. As long as she could keep up the charade of being a perfect girlfriend to Neil, maybe everything would just go away.