For Fake and For Real

25. Lucy's New Costar

After Tim left her house, Lucy spent most of the afternoon on the floor of her bedroom going through the Bradford family pictures she had liberated the night before. She felt like she was getting another special glimpse into the man she loves, which made her treasure the experience. Until Lucy's phone buzzed.

She checked the notification to find a text from Jackson.

Jackson: She's making it too easy

Lucy was unaware who "she" could be referring to until a second message appeared that was a link to a TMZ article, which she read:

QUEEN OF DRAGONS FIRED OFF AT A WAITER

"Game of Dragons" star Ashley McGrady yelled at a waiter at Caruso's restaurant in Santa Monica. McGrady channeled her "Game of Dragons" character, the Queen of Dragons, when she rudely shouted in the middle of her dinner at a member of the wait staff who had apparently poured her the wrong brand of vodka into her Cosmopolitan. Her boyfriend and "Impossible Operation 5: Never Over" costar, Tim Bradford, was not among the group of 4 dining with McGrady, and none of her friends have been identified in the footage.
This is not the first time McGrady has made a public scene. Two years ago, she had a verbal altercation with a bouncer at a club that would not grant her entrance. It seems her temper has not simmered down since that incident.
See below for the video of McGrady's very fiery and very public display.

Lucy almost dropped her phone and smiled WIDE. Maybe she shouldn't be so happy to see Tim's fake girlfriend get exposed publicly, but it was a little satisfying...she's only human after all!

••••••••••

After scrolling obsessively through the #Chenford and #Brady ship war tweets for 5 days, Lucy went to the Sparks Studios office for her first table read. In the elevator on the way to the conference room, she took one last glance at the hashtags to find that most people thought Ashley is a terrible person and Tim should be with Lucy instead. The ship war was becoming a bit of a guilty pleasure for her again, especially since she seemed to be winning while Ashley was painfully losing.

Glued to her phone, she ran into the strong body of someone who was also looking at their phone. "I'm sorry," Lucy apologized before looking up. It only took a second to recognize the man standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," he replied.

Whatever words she wanted to say died in her throat, because she was STARSTRUCK.

"I'm a little embarrassed. I'm a big fan of yours," he smiled.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, you played my favorite character in 'Pretty Little Vampires', and I saw you in 'Galactic Wars'. You were a total badass."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and felt GIDDY. "Well, I'm a big fan of yours. I was OBSESSED with 'Vampire Cop'."

"Crazy we both played vampires on TV shows at the same time, and yet this is the first time we've ever met."

"So crazy," she agreed.

"It really is great to meet you, Lucy...can I call you Lucy?"

"Sure, and it's nice to meet you, too..."

"Please can call me Brendon."

"Well, Brendon, what brings you here?"

"Table read down the hall."

"Me too...wait, are you in 'The Finest'?"

"Yup!"

"So am I! I think we're costars!" She smiled. Working with THE Brendon Acres was a dream come true for teenage Lucy.