Chapter 21 #2
His dad exited the office, camera pod filming his every move, and Jordan silently fell in step beside him. Everyone else had already left to find Lulie’s favorite grove—a winding path with frequent staged stops for guests to take pictures. They took the shortcut trail to save time.
“So, what’s the verdict?” his dad asked.
“We’re going.” His conversation with Zinnia had been private. This one was to paint the first broad strokes of a separation storyline.
“You know you don’t have to do this. Things are different now.”
“They should’ve been from the start, Dad.”
“Your mom, she—” He exhaled in a frustrated huff and stared at his camera pod. “Fuck it.”
Jordan almost did a double take. His dad grabbed his arm, swung him to a stop and into a face-off.
“There’s no excuse for what I did. Every time Zinnia looks at me, all I feel is ashamed. But don’t make her wait around for something that’s never gonna show up, Alfie.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Marrying Bea was supposed to be temporary, not something meant to last,” his dad confessed.
“You love us, but you’ve never needed us, and you kept everyone else at a distance so you could make the cleanest getaway possible when things got too hard or too messy.
Can you really blame us for assuming getting married wouldn’t be any different for you?
You weren’t supposed to care about Bea or Zinnia. ”
Disbelief rocked through Jordan from being called out on camera like that. He ripped his arm out of his dad’s grip and resumed marching down the trail. His throat was too tight to even try defending himself.
Because it was true, wasn’t it? Jordan was alone. He was…He’d always been alone and had married someone who refused to live her life that way. She helped him accept that he didn’t want to either.
The trail ended abruptly on the left side of the grove, but Jordan wasn’t ready to join his family yet. Wylie was successfully juggling three rocks and yelling for Eric to throw in a fourth one. Zinnia was cowering slightly behind Lulie but was cheering him on.
Seeing her happy made the day worth it. Her smile alone had a habit of smothering his anger until only ashes remained. He hadn’t been ready for marriage. That much was true. But he fought for it, for her, and would keep fighting. He wanted to give her nothing less than everything.
“Who I—who we thought you were, that’s who we made plans for,” his dad said, now standing with him.
“I’m not like that anymore. It’s not like that with Zinnia.”
“I can tell. I never thought I’d see the day, but I know you love her, Jordan.”
His dad had never called him that before.
Mabel had her own office on the west side of the estate. Save for a nice desk, chairs, and the computer she was working at, the room was shockingly barren. The walls weren’t even painted the usual Zaffre blue.
Jordan placed the silver clicker on her desk and invited himself to sit down. “You hate this job, don’t you?” Being estate showrunner had to pale in comparison to running wild with Sadie.
“Correction: I hate my life. You all are a small part of an indescribably hellish whole.”
He wasn’t entirely sure if she was joking. “What would make it better?”
“I’m not into affairs, polygamy, or having sister wives,” she said while still typing. “Besides, you’re barking up the wrong lesbian tree. No one would believe I’m into you. Zinnia is unfortunately my type. I fall for that sunshine bullshit every time. But you? Yikes.”
He laughed in spite of the fact that she was dead serious. Fake workplace dating used to be a frequent occurrence on the show. Wylie had the most successful run—his Teenage Dream storyline with a fresh-out-of-high-school former PA lasted an entire year. Incredibly, they were still friends.
“We’re not looking for a third. Sorry to disappoint,” he said.
“Never would’ve pegged you as the traditional type.”
“What can I say? Zinnia made an honest man out of me. We want to leave.”
Mabel pinned him with her usual shrewd, twitchy gaze. “Wait. Are you pitching a new storyline? Or is this a real conversation?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Heh. You might be ready after all.” She retrieved her phone, sent a text, and waited for the response. “Sadie says it’s my call. She’d join but is already in a meeting. Unless you want to wait?”
“I don’t even know what I’d be waiting for. What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about everything.” She sat back in her chair.
“Zaffre Hours has a very strict chain of command. We pitch overarching storylines to the network, they send us notes, then we wind everything up and let it spin. But under that approval? Behind it? Below it? Beside it? That’s where Sadie operates.
“You wouldn’t believe how excited and proud she was when you put your princely foot down about Bea and pitched Newlyweds. You tapped right into the magic of the show she created. ‘Let him cook,’ she said. ‘But watch him. Don’t let them burn.’ I’m talking about making you fireproof. Interested?”
Sadie had told him he could trust Mabel. And he trusted his sister. “I’m listening.”
“The second you volunteered as tribute, Sadie knew you’d be her ticket to bowing out with a bang.
Sadie’s Last Stand was designed to use your relationship milestones as a cover story for her motherhood ones.
We’re already working on her memoir pitch”—she nodded toward the computer—“the missing year in her life no one will ever get to see. Extra, extra, read all about how Zaffre Hours actually came to an end. Sadie’s Last Stand has an incredible number of moving parts, but you only need to concern yourself with three of them. ”
He nodded for her to continue. Should he be taking notes? He opened a blank document on his phone just in case.
“One: we have Amber, who tried her best, but can’t curate like Sadie.
Her meddling mama matchmaking fantasies got the best of her.
She’s too emotional about her kids to see the bigger picture and has a bad habit of taking everything personally.
” Mabel shrugged. “Unsurprisingly, the mall incident really fucked her up too. All the storylines have come to a screeching halt and the network’s getting antsy.
Well, antsier because you had already shot the finale plans to shit.
Which leads me to two: the network wants that fucking wedding. ”
He nearly rolled his eyes. Of course, the network was still pushing for the kind of love story that came with a glossy manufactured sheen. A fairy tale to make viewers believe in love with multiple camera angles. “Makes sense.”
“Three: we need that fucking wedding. I’ll give credit where credit is due.
You are good at this, but you’re not better than your barefoot and pregnant sister.
Even knocked up, Sadie’s ten steps ahead of everyone else.
The problem with your Newlyweds storyline is it doesn’t have a natural stopping point.
Building toward forever means it never ends.
That is the antithesis to what we need for a finale and Sadie’s Last Stand. ”
“Why would Sadie need a wedding?”
“Same reason as the network.” She uncharacteristically batted her eyelashes at him—that innocent act was almost believable.
“Everyone loves a storybook wedding. Being a guest. Fawning over pictures. Sharing the videos. Dying for an invitation and of envy. No one will think twice about every Zaffre being in the same location to celebrate. Of course, Sadie’s notable absence will be left to speculation.
She doesn’t agree, she hates you, she’s sick, she’s jealous, she wasn’t invited—and we’ll encourage all of it.
Anything and everything other than the truth. ”
He blinked as realization clicked into place. “She’ll be in labor.”
“Attaboy. I knew you had it in you.” Mabel winked at him.
“Her inducement will be scheduled for the same weekend at a private hospital. No one will know she’s two hours away, screaming her lungs out as she painfully ushers two babies into the world.
Post-wedding, security will secretly take you all to the hospital on a schedule.
Decoys in identical cars will go to the airport to board a private jet with the media in tow. ”
“Who else knows about this plan?”
She began counting with her fingers. “Sadie. Me. And now you. She needed to be sure you and Combat Barbie were willing to publicly renew your vows in a lavish ceremony, happily paid for by your parents as proof they’ve accepted her into the family.”
“Then why didn’t Sadie ask me? Why are you doing it?”
“Because she respects you. She knows how hard this season has been on Zinnia. Personally, I don’t think Sadie wants to hear you say no,” she said.
“We need this wedding, Alfie. Everybody wins. The network will be happy. Zaffre Hours gets a two-part finale to remember. Sadie gets her privacy and loving support system by her side. The babies will spend their first hours of life surrounded by family.”
Everybody wins…except Zinnia.
Jordan loved the idea, but he couldn’t ask her to do something as special as renewing their vows as a distraction. Because she would say yes. I’d still end up right here. Your family needs us. His endlessly kind and generous wife would put Sadie and the babies first.
If she was going to do it, he wanted her to be sure about their marriage—in her real life. God, a single minute didn’t go by without his heart feeling like it was covered in bruises from beating too hard for her.
“Okay,” he said thoughtfully. “I want a temporary sabbatical, effective immediately. You do that for me, and I’ll ask Zinnia to marry me again.”
“How long is temporary?”
“No filming for a month.”
“Fuck you, no.” She gingerly picked up the clicker with two fingers, tossed it in the trash, and sighed. “Fine. She has to say yes or no deal.”
“No filming for a month,” he repeated. “I’ll ask for the wedding when I’m ready, and if she says no, I’ll go along with whatever backup finale Sadie can get the network to agree with that works with her labor plans.”
She raised an eyebrow. “No questions asked? Any storyline the network wants?”
His jaw tensed, instincts screaming as he knowingly walked into a trap. “Zinnia stays out of it,” he ordered. “But yeah. Whatever.”
“Hmm.” Mabel turned back to her keyboard and began typing even faster than before. “For your sake, I sure hope she says yes.”