“You two could rule the world if you put your minds together. And, Vanessa, if you have to face the press today, you’ll rock it, girl. Love the shoes,” Tyler says, taking notes on all the things we need done today. “Okay, so I’ll pull five of our best assistants and have them do nothing but cover the phones today. What do you want our official response to be? And when will you be ready to make a statement to the press?”
“Our official response has to be: Captive Films has no comment.” Vanessa says.
Tyler says, “But, I thought--”
“No,” Vanessa says, still thinking it through. “For this to work, the press will have to figure it out on their own. We can’t even hint at it.” She turns to me. “Don’t you think so, Keatyn?”
“You’re the master at this,” I say. “But, yes, I think you’re right. If we’re going to pull this off, they’re going to have to figure it out on their own. Otherwise, they’ll see what it really is. Our attempt to manipulate it.”
“I feel like the Wizard of Oz,” Vanessa laughs. “All smoke and mirrors.”
“How long does it take to bail someone out of jail?” I ask. “We’ve got to get everyone on the same page. Pray Jennifer doesn’t post anything on her social media in the mean time.”
“It doesn’t take long,” Dallas says, strolling in.
“Dallas, what are you doing here? Did RiAnne have the baby already?”
“Ha. False alarm. Doctor told us it will probably be at least two more weeks. My wife is not happy. I decided to let her mother deal with her.”
“She keeps saying she wants this baby out of her,” I laugh.
“Even with the public relations disaster that is Vegas, it’s a whole lot safer here than it is at home right now,” Dallas says. “On a side note, I just spoke to Aiden. He’s wired the money, they’re out, and have taken off. Should be here in about an hour. And he gave them strict orders not to speak to the press or post anything on their social media.”
“Another reason I love him,” I say. “I want them to come directly here. As in do not pass go. Is Aiden going to meet them at the airport?”
“Yes, and I told him to bring them all here. So how bad is it?”
“Take a look,” Vanessa says, pulling him toward my desk and gesturing toward the printouts. “It’s bad.”
Dallas scratches his neck and grimaces.
“Tyler,” I say. “Will you please take all these photos into the board room and get it set up for Vanessa as command central? Then get Lisa, Barry, Dawn, and Craig from the marketing team assembled, privately fill them in on our plan, and have them start working on our list of to dos. We can trust the four of them to help get this all pulled together. But everyone else should be kept in the dark. Have them call in every favor we have to get hair, makeup, and a photographer here within the hour. We’ll also need them to pull together the guest list and get the invitations out. And, somehow, we need to cast Matthew today. Anyone have ideas on how we could do that?”
Dallas smiles and raises his hand. “Jake Worth. I golfed with him last week. He’s got offers on the table but he’s tired of playing the good guy. And he’s free now.”
“Oh, he’d be perfect! I don’t know why I didn’t think of him in the first place. I’ll call him right now. Dallas, will you stay in here while I do? I want to discuss something else with you.”
“Sure,” he says, taking a seat as Vanessa and Tyler rush off.
I grab my cell phone and press Jake’s number.
“Hey, Monroe,” he says, calling me by my fake last name from boarding school. Jake was the first boy I met when I arrived at Eastbrooke and we became fast friends. He played my love interest in our high school drama production, was Dawson’s best friend, and made his big screen debut playing my boyfriend in A Day at the Lake 2. He’s done numerous romantic comedies since then, where he always gets the girl.
“Sorry for such an early call, but I’m sitting here with Dallas and he tells me you’re looking to play the bad boy.”
“Do you have something for me?”
“We do. But due to some extenuating circumstances, we’d have to ask you to come in today, sign the contract, and be in a photo shoot. We’ll also need you available most of the week for some other stuff I can’t talk about yet.”
“Tell me about the role. Have you cast anyone else?”
“The project is called Daddy’s Angel. It’s about a young woman whose father is a minister at the local church. He believes his daughter, Angel, is still a virgin and is looking for a young man to court then marry her.”