Chapter 23 #2
“I don’t know,” Gigi said, sighing. “I love Jordan with all my heart, but I just don’t know if I could do it.”
“Think about how fun it could be,” Jordan said to Gigi.
“With you as a fish out of water on the island.” Turning her focus to the executives, she added, “Gansett is the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen.
Rugged coastline, gorgeous beaches, an adorable downtown, bars, restaurants, live music everywhere you go and year-round residents who are such incredible, interesting people.
How many reality shows are being shot in LA?
Think about how amazing it would be to do something totally different from what everyone else is doing. ”
“I like the idea,” Tom Sturgeon said. He was from the network and had been a big supporter of the show from the beginning. “Jordan is right. LA is done to death. No one is doing what she’s suggesting.”
Jordan’s heart took flight. Was she actually going to pull this off?
“We’d have to relocate the entire crew,” Matilda said hesitantly. “Most of whom will not want to be sent to a remote island for months on end.”
“I think we could go with a much smaller crew on Gansett,” Jordan said, thinking on the fly and powered by the excitement of actually making this work. “There’re fewer locations, and it could be a smaller production overall.”
Matilda appeared to give that some thought while Jordan held her breath and tried to keep the hopefulness under control. She was a long way from actually making this happen.
“I’d need to see the place and where we’d be filming,” Matilda said. “I can’t get my head around it without seeing it.”
“That’s no problem. I’d be happy to take you there and show you around so you could get a feel for the place and what we could do there.
I want to add something that you may not know.
When my identical twin sister and I were growing up, we spent our summers on Gansett Island.
It’s home to both of us. Nikki lives there full time now. ”
“Would she be willing to be on the show?” Tom asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t discussed it with her.”
“She wasn’t willing to appear when it was in LA,” Matilda reminded her.
“Yes, I know, but this might be different. She’s engaged to a man who has a big family on the island. They own a marina, hotel and the new event facility that Nikki is managing for them. Perhaps we could feature his connection to the first family of Gansett Island.”
“What does the fiancé look like?” Matilda asked.
Jordan couldn’t believe she was asking that, and her expression must have said as much.
“Don’t look at me like that. You know it matters for this kind of show.”
“He’s hot, and so is the guy I’m seeing there. He’s the chief of the island’s fire department.”
“And of course he’s the reason you want to do this.”
“He’s part of it, but it’s also the fact that I don’t want to live here anymore. LA isn’t my true home. Gansett is. It’s always been my home, and it’s where I want to be.”
Matilda leaned in, elbows on the table. “I hear what you’re saying, and I appreciate what you’ve been through the last few months. We were all horrified by what happened in Charlotte, and we’ve tried to give you the proper amount of time to heal and regroup.”
Jordan felt like there was a massive “but” coming.
“However…”
Or a “however.”
“The show is set in LA. We have a genuine hit on our hands with the current formula. If I’ve learned one thing in twenty years in this business, it’s that you don’t mess with something that’s working.”
Jordan forced herself to remain calm. “I hear you, and I appreciate all the experience you bring to our show. I’ve always appreciated you, Matilda.
You know that. But I have a really good feeling about this idea.
It feels fresh and different and exciting in a way that another season here doesn’t.
The show is about me and my life, right? ”
“Yes, of course, but—”
“My life has evolved since we started the show. I’m no longer married to Zane. Or, well, I’m in the process of getting divorced. I’m shaking things up, figuring out what’s next, meeting new people. Why shouldn’t the show evolve along with me?”
“She makes a good point,” Tom said.
If he hadn’t been old enough to be her father, she would’ve kissed him on the lips for his support during this meeting.
“All I’m asking is that you consider the possibility that different won’t be bad. It may give the show a whole new shot of adrenaline that’ll propel it forward for years to come, rather than one more season of the same old tired formula.”
Before Matilda could reply, Jordan’s phone rang. She glanced at it on the table and saw Riley’s name on the screen and had an immediate and visceral feeling of dread come over her.
“Why is he calling you?” Gigi asked.
Jordan wanted to know the same thing. “I-I’m sorry. I have to take this.” She grabbed the phone, stood and walked out of the room as she answered the call. “Riley? What’s wrong?”
“Jordan… It’s Zane. He’s here, and he… He’s in the house with Nik and your grandmother, demanding to see you. He… He has a gun, Jordan. The cops are here… It’s bad.”
The sheer terror she heard in Riley’s tone nearly brought Jordan to her knees.
“Can you get here?” Riley asked.
Gigi came out of the conference room to check on her.
“Get me a plane back to the island, Gigi. Right now. Yes, Riley, I’m on my way. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Please hurry. I don’t know. I can’t imagine. Hurry, Jordan.”
“I’m coming. Tell him I’m coming.” She ran for the elevator, banging repeatedly on the Down button as she fought off hysteria.
By the time the elevator finally arrived, Jordan was nearly to the point of a full-on meltdown.
She tried to call Nikki, but the call went right to voicemail, leading her to wonder if Nik’s phone had been turned off.
The thought of Nik turning off her phone added to Jordan’s panic, because Nikki’s phone was never off.
Gigi stepped into the elevator with Jordan, working the phone to arrange for a plane. “No, it’s an emergency. We need it right now. We’re on the way to LAX. Yes, Gansett Island, so it has to be able to land there.”
Thank God Gigi was handling the details, because Jordan could barely breathe as she leaned back against the wall of the elevator car.
Tears slid down her cheeks, but she did nothing about them.
The thought of Nik and her grandmother being held hostage by that son of a bitch…
What was he thinking? What did he hope to achieve by threatening the people she loved best?
The thought of losing one or both of them had Jordan shaking uncontrollably as she wept as quietly as she could so Gigi could hear on her call.
“That’s fine. Tell him to hurry. We’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
It would take hours to get to Gansett. Would Brendan wait that long for her, or would he do something that could never be undone before she could get there? The thought of life without either her sister or her grandmother or, God forbid, both of them, was unimaginable.
Gigi put her arm around Jordan and hustled her out of the elevator and into Gigi’s car. “Try to breathe. We’ll get you there.”
Jordan’s chest tightened as she gasped for air.
Gigi, who had grabbed Jordan’s purse from the conference room, rifled through it and found Jordan’s rescue inhaler. She held it up to Jordan’s mouth. “Breathe. Jordan!”
Jordan took hold of the inhaler and forced herself to take a hit that eased her airways even if her chest continued to ache.
Gigi answered a call from Matilda, told her they’d left due to an emergency in Jordan’s family, and no, she couldn’t say when or if Jordan would be able to finish their meeting. “Look, you heard what she wants to do. Talk it over. We’ll get back to you as soon as we’re able to.”
Jordan couldn’t bring herself to care about the show at a time like this.
Mason. She needed to talk to him. Maybe he knew something she didn’t about what was happening at Eastward Look.
Though her hands were shaking, she managed to put through the call to his cell, but the call went to his voicemail.
The sound of his voice provided immediate comfort.
“It’s me. I’m sure you’ve heard what’s going on at the house. Call me if you can. I’m on my way.”
After ending the call, she tried to keep breathing while Gigi drove them to the airport, darting in and out of traffic with reckless disregard for safety. Who cared about safety when her sister and grandmother were in grave danger?