CHAPTER 26
Jess grabbed a coffee and a couple of pastries from the craft truck that Monday and headed to the orangery to get some work done.
There was rain forecast for the afternoon, but for now the skies were clear, and Doug had announced they would shoot the planned outdoor scenes first.
She found Lisa Greensmith sitting in her favourite corner of the orangery, hunched over a laptop, a large takeout cup beside her.
Jess started to take a detour when Lisa looked up.
“Hey there, Jess! Come and join me, I’m about ready for a break.”
Jess came over and put her coffee, pastries and laptop bag on the table. “How long have you been working?”
Lisa grimaced “I like to get an early start.”
Jess nodded. “So, how’s it all going?”
Lisa picked up her cup and leaned back in her chair. “Depends who you ask. Doug seems to think it’s going to plan. But there’s a piece in TMZ today …” She took her out phone. “Here, read it yourself.”
A moment later, Jess’s phone pinged and she opened a link to the article.
ROMCOM STARS SOURED RELATIONSHIP ON THE SET OF THEIR NEW MOVIE
TMZ can exclusively reveal that Afric Brooks – who’s currently making the romantic comedy An Irish Inheritance in the west of Ireland – has accused her co-star, Spencer Torres of ignoring the intimacy coordinator guide.
Ms Brooks made the complaint after the filming of a scene where both stars are partially dressed.
She claimed that Mr Torres cupped her breast – a move not choreographed by the intimacy co-ordinator.
According to TMZ’s source, Mr Torres strongly denied deviating from the guidelines.
The report further confirms rumours that far from being ‘good friends’, the pair dislike each other intensely.
The new movie is being made on location in Linford Castle, a five-star hotel in County Mayo.
It was also the location of Leo Dinardia and Brandi Oliver’s wedding last year – which took place just hours after it was leaked that Leo, who was due to marry Brandi’s half-sister, Chelsea Deneuve, was cheating with Brandi.
Chelsea used one of the castle’s old tunnels to escape the media.
Although Linford Castle has been scouted by Hollywood before, this is the first time a major movie has been made there.
Could it be that the infamous ‘Linford Curse’ – which has until now affected weddings at the hotel – is likely to spread to other events there in the future?
“I wouldn’t worry,” said Jess, careful not to show any reaction. “The Linford Curse is just a bit of a legend associated with the castle.”
Lisa looked curious. “I heard what you did last year. Totally badass!”
How much did she actually know? Maybe she was just hoping she’d fill in the gaps? Lisa seemed nice enough, but she managed publicity for movie stars – and Jess didn’t trust her for a moment.
“I’m pretty sure that’s all been exaggerated.” Jess opened the bag of pastries and offered it to Lisa. “Have one – I always take a couple in case I run into somebody.” Which was a total lie! She’d planned to eat both of them, but it seemed rude not to offer.
Lisa raised an eyebrow. “No, thanks, I don’t eat carbs.”
That would explain why she could practically make out her ribcage through her jacket. Great, now she definitely wouldn’t be able to eat both pastries in front of her. She broke off a small piece and nibbled at it.
“Um, I guess I should let you get on with your work.” Jess glanced around. “I’ll go sit at another table and start mine. That’s the great thing about this room – so much space!” And privacy.
“Well, it’s quiet, I guess.” Lisa looked thoughtful. “The castle is cool, but if it wasn’t here, you’d hardly know the village even exists.”
It was exactly why Jess had hoped the locals would welcome Hollywood with open arms. It was bound to attract tourists for years to come, and it baffled her that the residents’ association had successfully prevented the village being used for filming.
The media was interested though! Although, despite the rumours and speculation, it made no sense that someone was using the tunnels to break in.
Not when they could only be opened from inside the castle.
Even the camera lens cover she’d found probably only proved that one of the camera crew had been checking out the tunnels and had simply dropped it.
“… really needs a win with this,” Lisa was saying.
When Jess looked at her blankly, she arched an eyebrow.
“Spencer? He needs this one to be a success.”
“Right, so I heard,” Jess said. “His last movie –”
Lisa waved a hand. “If it was one movie, his agent and the studio wouldn’t be worried.
Look, the guy might be hot, but he’s been off the boil for a while.
There’s no chemistry with his co-stars.” She shook her head.
“You probably think you know how cut-throat this industry is, but you don’t.
So when I see stories like this being leaked to TMZ, I want to go tape Spencer and Afric’s mouths so they don’t speak unless they’re in front of the fucking camera! ”
“Right.” Jess frowned. “He’s not gay, is he?”
“I’ve never heard of him being with a guy. Plus, he’s been dating Megan Wilson for nearly a year now, and they’ve even managed long-distance. We just asked him to play down their relationship for the sake of the movie.”
Jess’s stomach rumbled loudly, and she got to her feet. “I’ll leave you to work.” Gathering up her things, she moved to a table a bit further away, tucking herself in behind some large potted plants, and hoped her hay-fever wouldn’t flare up.
She scanned her social media as she finished her pastry, searching for anything about the movie or the hotel. Any mention of the Linford Curse was perfect click-bait.
Linford Castle had started to trend, and Jess read quickly through the comments, looking for links to articles.
Most of it related to the TMZ piece, but there were a couple of posts about the curse.
Which was ridiculous, not to mention annoying.
The Linford Curse had only ever been associated with weddings, but it seemed that the media wasn’t too worried about accuracy.
With a mental shrug, she opened her laptop and signed in, determined not to overthink it.
Emily texted Jess at lunchtime to say that Dermot had asked her if she’d like to get some lunch with him at the food trucks.
Smiling, Jess replied with food and drink emojis and a love heart.
Once or twice, Jess had asked Robert if he’d like to join them when she and Emily ate lunch together or got a takeout after work, but he’d always politely declined.
She tried to suppress the feeling that he didn’t like Emily, telling herself it was more likely that he didn’t want to muscle in on their girl time.
Still, given that he was local, and worked in Linford Castle from time to time, she’d already decided to invite him to Emily’s housewarming.
She’d also decided that it was the perfect day to enjoy her lunch in the woods by the River Rathon, a short section of which flowed through the castle grounds and down into Linford Wood.
She slipped on her sunglasses and walked down the driveway and out of the castle grounds, bracing herself for the usual barrage of questions from the media camped outside. There was a mic thrust into her face.
“Jonathon White from Celebrity Hour. Are Afric Brooks’ accusations against Spencer Torres true?”
“No.” Jess tried to step around the reporter but he sidestepped into her path.
“Can you just tell me if –”
“The lady said no.”
Jess looked up to see Robert glaring at the reporter.
“Hey!” She excused herself politely and walked over to where he was standing. “Are you heading up to the hotel?”
He shook his head and took her elbow, steering her away from the reporters.
“I was passing and I saw you coming out. I figured you might get a bit of hassle.”
“Oh, thanks.” Jess smiled. “I was planning on a river walk – it’s such a gorgeous day.”
“Mind if I tag along? Unless you’d prefer to be by yourself?”
She hesitated. The truth was, she’d been looking forward to some time by herself at the river. But she didn’t want to hurt his feelings about something so unimportant. “Sure, let me grab a sandwich at Ted’s. Do you want something?”
He shook his head. “I’m not hungry, but I’ll come with you if that’s okay.”
They walked to the village where Jess headed into the store, collected a BLT roll and a small bottle of water from the fridge, and brought them up to the register.
“Hi, Ted.”
“Here’s the girleen from Dublin.”
Jess flashed him a tight smile. She’d politely reminded him of her name a couple of times but after he’d made a big fuss of apologising, he’d reverted to girleen again.
As she came back out of the shop, the sun reappeared from behind a cloud and she slipped back on her sunglasses and popped her water into her bag.
She turned to look for Robert, and noticed he’d moved a short distance away and was talking to a young, blonde woman who looked vaguely familiar.
As she walked towards them, the woman glanced up, before turning abruptly and walking away.
“Friend of yours?” Jess asked. “I’ve definitely seen her around.”
“You probably have.” Robert dropped his voice. “She’s a reporter. I think she spotted us at the hotel and followed us. I just told her I didn’t know anything.”
“You probably know a few things,” Jess teased.
“Not a thing!” he said, grinning. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
They walked to the edge of the village and followed the path that led into Linford Wood.
“I’m not sure how much sun we’re going to see,” Robert said. “The trees tend to block out a lot of light.”
Jess stopped for a moment to take a drink of water. “I don’t mind, to be honest. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to explore the wood, how big is it?”
Robert shrugged. “A couple of square miles.”
They started on the trail that led towards the river and, as the air got cooler under the trees, Jess tried to get her bearings. “Do you mind if we check something out?”