Chapter 3
THREE
“ROLL CAMERAS. SOUND READY?” THE assistant director checked that his crew was in place. “And action!”
It was after midnight, and Gemma was working in Central Park. The night temperatures were still cool, but the added wind had made for a chilling scene when a group of kids spotted a lifeless body in the dark corner of the park, uncovering a new murder case for the NYPD’s detective squad.
Gemma was in the middle of filming a scene when her phone vibrated in her back pocket. It was usually on silent, given that they used their own phones as props in the show, but she must have forgotten to put it on Do Not Disturb. Who would even be calling her so late?
The consecutive beat distracted her again.
A jolt of panic shot through Gemma—had something happened to her parents back in Pennsylvania?
That fear was always lurking beneath the surface, a constant companion in her life.
Her dad hadn’t been deployed in years, but the war had never really left him.
Post-traumatic stress lingered, and working on the military base kept him close to both danger and triggers.
He’d served his country for all of Gemma’s life, and even now, long after he had come home, the quiet hum of worry never stopped.
Her thoughts got the best of her, causing her to forget the next line, but thankfully, her co-star drew out their scripted pause to give her some time. Once the vibration stopped, Gemma quickly remembered her rehearsed words and returned to the matter at hand.
When the director yelled “Cut,” Gemma quickly ran off the set and checked her phone just as it began ringing again.
Relieved to see that it wasn’t her mom, she answered. “Eve, is everything okay?”
“Gemma! I’m sorry for all the calls. I know you’re working, but I needed to catch you tonight.”
Weird, Gemma thought to herself.
“What’s up?”
“You got a call-back!” Eve yelled into her ear.
Gemma’s mind was playing catch-up. The distractions all around her were leaving no room to recall what Eve was referring to.
“But I haven’t auditioned for anything recently.”
“I just got a call from the casting producer on Forbidden Love. Gemma, you’re getting a second chance.”
“Wait, seriously?” Gemma was confused. None of this was making any sense. “I thought that I didn’t get the part.”
“They had chosen another actress at first because she had more movie credits, but they always felt that you were a better fit for the part. Now, the woman had to withdraw, and I heard that it was not by choice.” Eve lowered her voice as if she was letting Gemma in on a secret she wasn’t supposed to share.
“Listen to this—during a recent interview, she got asked if she’d ever been interested in dating women, you know, since she has played so many queer women in films. And she gasped.
Like, actually recoiled, as if the question itself had been offensive.
Her literal words were ‘No, of course not, I don’t believe in that lifestyle.
’ Needless to say, it didn’t go over well with the producers. ”
“Holy shit.” Gemma couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She couldn’t decide whether to be mad about the homophobic comment or ecstatic that the other woman’s ignorance was about to land Gemma her biggest role yet.
“That worked out well for me.” Gemma let out a small laugh.
“Gemma, this could be huge for you! They just need to make sure that you and the other lead actress have good chemistry. If it goes well, the part’s yours.
Which is why I needed to catch you tonight.
They want you to be there at eleven tomorrow morning.
I’m sorry I couldn’t push it back, given your overnight schedule, but the other actress is flying in for it, and she only has a small window before she leaves.
So, they wouldn’t budge on the time. Do you think you can swing this? ”
“I’ll make it work.” Gemma was trying to contain her excitement, attempting not to draw attention from her coworkers nearby. “Nothing a shower and a few cups of coffee won’t be able to fix.” She would nail this chemistry read. This could actually be her chance. She couldn’t wait to tell Hayley.
“Great! I’ll text you all the info. Call me after. And I know you don’t need it, but good luck.”
“Reset, we’re going again!” Gemma heard her director shout to the cast as she ended the call.
Gemma got back into place to reshoot the scene, but even as the cold midnight dew soaked through her clothes, it was hard to control her happiness.
She was going to get another chance to land her first role in a movie—a lesbian one at that.
But she had to make it through work tonight first. Getting herself presentable without sleep would be a problem for later.
The many all-nighters she had in college studying for finals had readily prepared her for times like this.
A WHOLE WORKDAY LATER, OR work night in Gemma’s case, and she was finally wrapped. It was eight in the morning, the sun just beginning to warm the day, so she still had three hours to get home and prepare for the chemistry read.
When Gemma made it back to her apartment, she decided that she had just enough time to get a little bit of rest. She went straight to her couch, knowing that if she got into her bed, she would end up taking more than a power nap.
Setting the alarm to wake her up in an hour, Gemma placed her phone on silent and closed her eyes.
A knock at the door ripped Gemma from her sleep. She felt way too rested for only a quick snooze. She leaned over to where her cell phone sat on the coffee table and tapped the dark screen to check the time.
“Shit!” Gemma threw the fluffy blanket from her body as she jumped up, noticing that she had set the alarm for nine p.m. instead of nine a.m.
Gemma sprinted into her bathroom, grabbed her toothpaste and toothbrush from where they were perched on the natural quartz vanity, and jumped into the shower. To save time, she cleaned her teeth and body under the freezing cold water without waiting for it to warm.
A second, louder knock on her apartment door sounded from the direction of the living room.
Gemma had completely forgotten that someone was on the other side as the horror of being late had overtaken her.
She stepped out of the shower, soaking wet, soap still lingering on her body, wrapped a towel around her chest, and walked fast toward the noise.
Checking through the peephole before ripping the door open, Gemma found Hayley pristine as always in her black suit, ready to take on the day. At least that made one of them.
“Sorry, I didn’t have my key on me, but I figured you’d still be awake from work.” Hayley walked in, slowly taking in Gemma’s state of panic. “What’s happening?”
“Fuck, Hay. I overslept. I have a chemistry read for that movie I told you about in less than an hour.”
“What? I thought you didn’t get the part?”
Gemma ran over to the coffee machine and scooped way too many dark grinds into the filter. “I didn’t, but Eve called me last night and said that the original lead has dropped out, so they want me to come in and test with the other actress to see if we’d be a good fit.”
“Oh my God, Gem, that’s amazing!” Hayley moved to where Gemma stood leaning against the marble countertop, drumming her fingers as she waited for the coffee to brew. She placed both hands on her friend’s shoulders to steady her. “Okay, take a breath. It’s fine. We got this. Where is it?”
Gemma took a long inhale before a slow exhale. “Midtown. 54th and 7th at eleven.”
Hayley checked the time on Gemma’s stovetop. It was ten-twenty. “Easy. It’s only twenty minutes away. Your hair still looks good from work, so just go throw on a little makeup, and get changed. I’ll make your coffee to go, and you’ll be there with time to spare.”
Gemma wrapped her arms tightly around her best friend and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Thank you. You’re a lifesaver.”
Exactly seventeen minutes later, Gemma was jumping into a taxi and heading to her audition. She sat stiffly in the back of the yellow cab, her fingers curled tight around a warm UPenn travel mug as the city blurred past the window.
In her rush, she had almost forgotten to be nervous.
But now, as she caught her breath on the black vinyl backseat, the weight of the moment began to hit her.
She’d spent the last six years buried in NYPD Intelligence.
The job paid well enough, sure, but it had started to feel like a slow suffocation, each day a repetition of the last and every episode a reminder of all the opportunities she was missing out on.
Now, with the chemistry read just blocks away, the possibility of escape pressed against her ribs like a second heartbeat.
If she landed this role, she would finally be able to break free from Derek and from the demands of network television.
Maybe she would even have time to date again.
She made it to the address that Eve had texted to her with three minutes to spare. Pausing at the main entrance of the building, she took a sip of the strong caffeine, smoothed out her shirt, and headed inside.
When Gemma reached the third floor, an assistant was waiting by the elevator.
“We’re ready for you, Miss Quinn. Here’s the scene you’ll be reading today.” She handed Gemma a piece of paper before turning on her heel to head down the hallway.
As Gemma followed, she looked down and scanned the words on the page, trying to prepare for the scene that she’d be reading in a matter of minutes. She realized that they had arrived in the audition room when Gemma heard voices greet her, causing her head to lift in the direction of the noise.
Her entire body froze.