The Girl Most Likely To

Chapter Twenty-Three

March 10

7:28 a.m.

Danny: good morning. I’m having avocado toast for breakfast

Rachel: so millennial of you

Danny: this the kind of riveting update you asked for

Rachel: keep them coming

Danny: a good motto to live by

11 a.m.

Rachel: omg I just figured out what you meant

Danny: you’re still slow

Rachel: what do you mean, still?

Danny: do you remember the first day we met?

1:29 p.m.

Rachel: in the AOL chatroom, SuperxSaiyan85?

Rachel: or at the internet café?

Danny: no. at school, before the internet café.

Danny: it was my first day. we got paired up for tutoring

Danny: you don’t remember, do you?

Rachel: i do! you were the new kid.

Rachel: mrs chang reminded you not to skateboard at school

Danny: your eyebrow arched like, “this fool?”

Rachel: and I was right

Danny: I was afraid of you

Rachel: that’s because I made you do your homework

Danny: I thought you were pretty

Rachel: this is some revisionist history

Rachel: I had thick glasses and I didn’t wear makeup

Danny: you had me with your natural beauty

Rachel: I don’t think so

Rachel: fine. thank you

Rachel: omg omg OMG

Rachel: Keanu Reeves is on the red carpet

Danny: remember. he’s a person like you and me

Rachel: that’s a lie and you know it

Danny: what’s he promoting? Do you know what he’s gonna be in?

Danny: rach?

Rachel: trying real hard not to make a joke right now

Rachel: brb he’s walking closer!!!

1:50 p.m.

Danny: Rach?

Danny: you there?

3:19 p.m.

Rachel: we made eye contact and I couldn’t even say hello

Rachel: I forgot my own name

Rachel: my life will never be the same

Danny: Dang, calm down

Rachel: if you don’t hear from me, it’s because Keanu and I ran away together to start a new life

Danny: let me know where you’ll be registered

Danny attached a picture. It was a notepad, sitting on top of the desk in his home office. I’d passed by it a few times during my short stay at his house. On the top page, Danny had drawn a heart with the words “Keanu + Rachel”

inside, something my younger self had doodled before. Now a new picture had appeared. He’d modified the drawing, crossing out Keanu’s name and replacing it with his own. This innocent scribble of our names together had me cheesing so hard. What was going on? This felt so easy. Too easy.

“Rachel!”

I stowed my phone away in my purse. Nat was coming off the stage from a panel with the rest of the cast. “Did I sound okay? Some journalist asked me about some alleged on-set drama with Beyond the Dark. I tried to redirect the questions back to the movie we’re actually promoting. I didn’t come off like a bitch, did I? Or am I going to see headlines tomorrow that I ‘snapped back’ at someone?”

“I don’t think so,”

I replied, though I had no idea what she was talking about. I was engrossed with texting Danny and must’ve missed that part of her interview. Nat’s interviews had always gone fine, so I had a hunch this one went well too. I unscrewed the cap of a water bottle for her. “It’s fine. If the journalist was an asshole, then they probably deserved it.”

“‘Probably?’”

she repeated after a loud chug. “Were you even listening?”

I put my hand on her shoulder, guiding her out of the auditorium. We had to get back to the hotel for hair and makeup. The Illustrious Five screening was in a few hours. “That’s not the point,”

I said, trying to cover my own ass. “We’ve gone over this. Follow the script your publicist sent you. The rumors are fake news. You’re sad about the cancellation, but holding out hope that another network will pick it up. Pretty standard stuff, Nat.”

Nat said her goodbyes to her castmates and waited until they dispersed before confiding, “The cancellation is hitting me hard, Rach. Being a series regular made me soft. It was supposed to be my big break.”

“Uh, Nat. Your movie is about to premiere at South by Southwest. I think you’ve broken.”

We stepped out of the side of the building and waited for our ride.

“You know nothing’s a guarantee in this business. What if this is it?”

Here was Nat, asking the same question I’d struggled to answer for myself. Danny was onto something. It was easier to look at someone else’s problems than my own. My response to Nat was immediate. “You have a pile of scripts waiting for you at home. People want you in their films. In lead parts,”

I added. “The show might’ve put you on the map, but this film is going to make you a bona-fide movie star. Trust me.”

Nat shrugged this off. “I still have to audition. What if people forget about me?”

“Impossible. There’s so much buzz around The Illustrious Five.”

Whenever Nat walked through a crowd, I heard more people talk about the movie than Beyond the Dark. If she couldn’t feel the hype, then I had to really gas her up. “No one’s going to forget you, Nat. Not when they see your ass in that dress.”

Nat filled her chest with a deep, meditating breath. “Yes. More of that.”

“You want me to keep telling you you’re hot?”

Nat nodded. I could do that. It wasn’t that hard. “You’re going to walk out there tonight and make people fall on their knees. You will make someone question their sexuality tonight.”

That was enough to revitalize Nat. She squeezed my hand hard. “Thanks, Rach. I needed that. If I say something stupid on the red carpet, come save me, okay?”

“I will. I’ll pretend like I’m your handler and drag you away. I’ll wear all black and put on my sunglasses, like I’m your bodyguard.”

I posed like I was The Rock. “No one will wanna mess with this.”

It was great to hear Nat’s laugh, but was it that funny? “You don’t think I can be your bodyguard?”

Nat easily pushed me aside when our car pulled up to the curb. “Don’t quit your day job.”

Point taken.

Nat’s spirits stayed up, amplified by her sleek hair and makeup as she changed into her evening look. Her sexy red mini dress was dotted with jewels that sparkled under the camera flashes. The outfit’s best accessory was her patent leather boots, which told everyone that she didn’t come tonight to play. Nat was a standout against the yellow step and repeat.

I held on to Nat’s purse and stood off to the side, outside of the camera’s frame, while Nat was interviewed by various news outlets. She was such a pro, delivering fresh answers to the same questions over and over again. If this movie didn’t win her more fans, then these interviews should.

“Excuse me, but I think you’re in the wrong place.”

Gloria Miller’s chain-smoking asphalt voice caught me before I felt her hand on my arm.

“Gloria! Hello!”

I didn’t dare try to hug her. She wasn’t the touchy-feely type, and I never knew if she was trying the latest diet fad, which usually left her cranky. “It’s me, Rachel Dang.”

“I know who you are, Rachel. I may be an old broad, but I never forget a face.”

I thought that only applied to Gloria’s deep Rolodex, not former interns. She could pluck out a weathered card and remember every detail of the person—how they met, who they were related to, and most importantly, if they had money. I wouldn’t be surprised if she still used her Rolodex. Gloria was a visionary as a producer, but the lady wasn’t tech-savvy. Last I heard, she still faxed contracts. Regardless, I was honored that she remembered me.

“I also saw your picture in TMZ,”

Gloria added.

Ah. That was it. I knew it was too good to be true.

“I almost didn’t believe my eyes,”

she said, following me out the side as I shadowed Nat. “What are you doing, pushing paps away? You trying to get in front of the camera now?”

“No,”

I said. “I’m not hot enough to make up for my poor acting skills.”

Gloria’s laugh sounded like an engine turning over. “It’s funny because it’s true. Listen,”

she said, speaking louder. She was competing with the shouting photographers. “I always thought you were better behind the scenes. You had great instincts when we went over scripts, and you know your way around the biz now. Have you ever thought about doing something more creative?”

I hadn’t. As much as I loved being on a set, I was never inclined to pick up a camera or write a script. Creating something out of thin air was a foreign concept to me, and getting it made was a different beast. The very nature of fighting for every project, not knowing what was next, had scared me when I was just starting out. But what did I know? The younger version of me had no idea how to take a chance.

I wasn’t that person anymore, was I? Getting laid off was like waking up from a disorienting dream and not being sure yet what was real or not. It made me wonder if my life had flown by or if I wasn’t paying attention to it as I was living it. This whole time since being laid off I’d thought I had to start my next chapter from scratch, but it wasn’t possible. No matter what I did, even if I wanted to leave my career behind and do something completely out of left field, nothing could take away everything that had led me here. I’d been looking at my work in the industry as a burden, a waste of time, when I should’ve been looking at it as an asset. I had options. If there was ever a time to pivot into a new role, this was it.

“I’m considering it,”

I replied. Gloria was a busy woman, but if she was willing to impart some words of wisdom, I’d take them. “If you have time, I’d love to meet up for coffee when we’re back in LA.”

“Set it up with my assistant. And then you can tell me how I can get your friend Natalie Huang attached to one of my films. Her agent is a pain in the ass.”

I kept my mouth shut, but I didn’t disagree. From the few brief interactions I’d had with Nat’s agent, Joel, I’d found him to be a smooth talker. A little too smooth, if you asked me. But now that her career was on the rise, Joel approached new projects more strategically with Nat. From what I had gathered in their recent email correspondence, a significant number of scripts coming her way were similar to her character on Beyond the Dark, and neither of them wanted Nat to be typecast.

“Not sure how I can help,”

I said. “I’m just her friend.”

“A friend who could tell her to read the script I sent.”

Oh. I’d never considered myself someone with any leverage, especially with someone like Gloria Miller. She must really want Nat if she was going to try to go through me.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I wasn’t going to make any promises. Gloria was a little old-school and rough around the edges, but she knew where to find the money for her projects. Meaning, her projects had a stronger likelihood of getting made. That was a plus in my book.

Nat finally got to the end of the red carpet and waved as she stepped out of the spotlight. “That was intense,”

she said as her smile dropped. “If I have to answer one more question about trading my skintight catsuit for the disguises in this movie, I’ll lose it. Do you have something to drink? I’m parched.”

“Nat!”

I said quickly, before she let her guard too far down. I hoped the extra cheer in my voice was enough of a warning. I stepped back so she could see we had company as we inched closer to the theater. “Have you ever met Gloria Miller? I used to be her intern, way back in the day.”

“Oh my—”

Nat’s hand shot out to shake Gloria’s. “You’re an icon!”

“Tell that to your agent,”

Gloria shot back, meaning every word. The woman didn’t kid around. She threw me a wink, the signal that she was going to take over the conversation from here on out. I walked ahead of them, creating a path in the slow-moving crowd to let them talk. I couldn’t hear everything since the theater was full of chatty patrons waiting for the film to start, but from the snippets I did hear, it sounded like Gloria was pitching a fun action-adventure about a modern-day battle for some fabled hidden treasure.

By the time we arrived at the row reserved for the cast, Nat and Gloria were exchanging their “have your people call my people”

pleasantries. Over Nat’s shoulder, Gloria gave me one more wink, which I took as a good sign.

“Next time, can you give me a warning before you introduce me to Gloria freaking Miller?”

Nat whispered as we climbed over a few people to get to our seats. “The rumors are true. She’s a tough lady.”

“I didn’t have time! She ambushed me.”

An announcement came over the speakers for everyone to get to their seats. The screening was starting soon. I dug into my tote bag filled with all the things to keep Nat happy and gave her a pack of gummy bears. “But was it good? It sounded like it went well.”

Nat’s eyes lit up like sparklers on the Fourth of July. “Rach. I can’t believe Gloria even thought of me for this part. She says she sees me playing the desperate broke sister who tries to secretly swipe the treasure before the rest of the family finds out.”

“You’d be playing the villain?”

“It’s more complex than that, but it’s different than anything I’ve done before. I can’t wait to read the script.”

Nat couldn’t contain her excitement. “It’d be nice to dive into a character that didn’t require so much makeup and costumes.”

I nudged her with my elbow. “See? What cancellation?”

Nat elbowed me back. This time she didn’t wrinkle her nose at me for saying the c-word. Maybe her superstitious tendencies kept her from broaching the topic, but Nat’s smile remained bright when the lights faded on the audience as the movie began.

I could only imagine how surreal it must be to watch yourself on-screen, but Nat was beaming. The audience, a mix of critics and festivalgoers, loved The Illustrious Five. People cheered and laughed at the right moments. After the credits rolled, the applause lasted a full minute. If I were to guess, I’d bet the reviews would call the movie “whip-smart”

or “the slickest heist movie since Ocean’s 8.”

It was that good.

Nat had to believe the hype now. People were surrounding her at the after-party to snag a selfie. I let the clout-chasers have at her and snuck off to the bar to check my phone.

10:33 p.m.

Danny: how’s the movie?

He’d sent it an hour ago. Was it too late to text back?

11:45 p.m.

Rachel: so fun!

I regretted the exclamation point. It was loud at the party, and it translated somehow into shouting in my text. My insecurity washed away as soon as Danny replied.

Danny: what are you doing now?

Rachel: drinking a Break-In Bellini

Danny: what does that taste like

I took a sip. Break-ins tasted like peach, apparently.

Rachel: better than a Pilfer Pilsner

Gotta hand it to the publicity team. They were really sticking to the theme.

Rachel: how are you up right now? Isn’t it a school night

Danny: i was dreaming about you and then you texted me

I refused to dignify that corny line and ignored it. Good thing he couldn’t see the stupid smile on my face.

Rachel: go to sleep. i’ll talk to you tomorrow

Danny: can’t wait to see you again

There was that flutter in my chest again.

Rachel: it hasn’t been that long

Danny: still

Rachel: wish you were here

“Can I have my purse?”

Nat was pulling at the top of her dress so she didn’t land in the tabloids with an “oops”

censoring her chest.

“You escaped your adoring fans?”

“Oh please,”

she said, taking her stuff from my hands. “Are you texting Danny?”

“How do you know?”

“Let me see,”

she said, tapping her lip. “You’re at a party and instead of scoping out all the hot people, your eyes are glued to your phone with a big smile on your face.”

“Stop it.”

“I bet if Keanu Reeves walked in right now, you wouldn’t have known because you’re texting your lover.”

“Shut up.”

God, why was I blushing over this stupid teasing? “It’s not that bad.”

“Sure.”

She swatted me with her purse. “Get out of here. Go home.”

“Like, to the hotel?”

I checked the time. “The party just started.”

“Go home,”

Nat repeated. “I’m not going to stand in the way of love by making you stay. Go, before I have to fire you.”

“I already quit,”

I reminded her.

“Then get out of here, quitter,”

she said, stealing my drink. “Go back to your love-ah.”

“I need you to stop calling him my lover.”

“Isn’t that what he is?”

When I didn’t answer right away, Nat added, “Don’t you want him to be?”

“Yes, but when I left, I told him I needed time to think, and he said okay. That’s it.”

Our relationship status was yet to be determined.

“What?”

Nat replied in mock horror. “You have a man who listens to you? How dare he?”

“I’m not complaining about it.”

It was one of the things I loved most about Danny. “I don’t know. Isn’t going back to see him the opposite of taking things slow? I’m supposed to be using this time to reflect and grow. I don’t want to send mixed signals. And it’s not like he’s going out of his way for me. We’re just texting.”

“Rachel.”

Nat placed both hands on my shoulders. “You were the one who ended things last time. Shouldn’t you say something that would give him more confidence than a ‘let’s wait and see’? If you want to be with him, then tell him, dummy.”

“It isn’t that easy,”

I shouted. Did the music have to be so loud?

“Isn’t it? If he liked you after the reunion, then I don’t think he’s looking for perfection.”

Danny had seen me at my worst, hadn’t he? What was I doing, standing around at this party where no one knew I existed? When there was one man—one good man—waiting for me to get my head out of my ass?

“I have to go,”

I said. Nat shooed me out, but I couldn’t leave without giving her a tight hug. “Thank you.”

“Break a leg!”

she shouted, but I was halfway gone. I beelined out of the party and ran out to the curb. Tasks piled into my brain. There was so much to do. Call a ride. Pack my things. Book a flight. I had a man to catch.