Sign On The Dotted Line

Chapter 35

Claire

I sat still in my seat trying to feign calmness as I watched Jonathon take in the information we just told him.

He blew out a breath, "when I said we should consider publicity stunts to promote the movie, this was not when I had in mind."

"I know, and I'm so sorry," I pleaded, "I know how hard you and everyone involved making the movie worked and I hate that I'm putting all of that in jeopardy."

I hung my head, knowing that this stunt has tainted my image and marked me as unprofessional and hard to work within the Industry.

"It's more than putting us in jeopardy, this movie is the first major project for a lot of the crew, if it doesn't do well it'll reflect on their resume and make it harder for them to land other projects."

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat, "I-I know.."

Beth spoke up from beside me, "can you not do that?"

Both Jonathon and I looked at her surprised. "Babe," I whispered.

"No," she frowned at me, "don't 'babe' me." She turned her attention back to Jonathon, "I'll admit, the contract should've never happened. But Claire was in a tough spot and I was tight on money so it seemed like a win-win for everyone. No one anticipated for us to fall for each other, it just happened."

I held her hand to try to get her to calm down because I  could feel the anger radiating from her.

"She came here to give you a head's up instead of blindsiding you. Yes, what we did was unethical and we'll take responsibility for our actions. But making Claire feel bad about the futures of everyone that worked on this movie isn't fair. She's got enough pressure on her and you're not helping by adding to it."

I kept my attention on Beth because I was in awe of her. She said everything I wish I had the backbone to say but because I didn't want to come off as difficult to work with, I kept my mouth shut. I was a little terrified to look at Jonathon but I chanced it anyway.

It was hard to gauge what he was feeling because he had a neutral expression on his face. But he relaxed his shoulders, "you're right." He directed his attention to me, "I'm sorry, Claire. I know you came to talk to me as a friend and I should've done the same instead of talking to you as a colleague."

He folded his hands and rested his elbows on the table, "I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea what to do."

I could see the worry in his eyes, "if you need me to not go to press interviews or cast interviews I understand."

He sighed, "let's see how the public will take the news first before we make any decisions." The corners of his lips lifted into a smile, "but I am really happy that you guys are back together," he raised an eyebrow at us, "for real this time, right?"

Beth laughed and held up my hand to her lips and kissed it lightly, "for real."

Jonathon shrugged his shoulders, "then I guess we'll have to let the chips fall where they may." He held up a finger, "but I call dibs on making your relationship into a movie. After this meeting, I'm calling every major screenwriter to get this off the ground."

I let out a breath of relief with a laugh, "deal."

Beth

Claire and I walked hand in hand on set, dodging the bodies of hair and makeup, extras, and personal assistants. Everyone was so busy that they didn't even bat an eye at us which was comforting seeing as we probably won't get the same treatment once everything comes out. The meeting with Jonathon went better than I thought it would even after I yelled at him.