Chapter Five
Jack: I met the celebrity. He’s too tall.
Jilly: How?
THIS WAS IT.
Krista Irvine smoothed her hands down the sides of her red dress and took a deep breath as she spotted Guy de la Rocq standing near the champagne fountain in the center of Hotel Aehrenthal’s opulent ballroom.
The entire space screamed old money and European elegance, and being here felt like stepping into the kind of world she’d always dreamed of belonging to but had never quite managed to access.
Until now.
She’d been in Hollywood for seven years, watching younger and prettier girls get the parts she wanted while she kept telling herself that persistence was the only thing separating successful actresses from the ones who gave up and moved back home.
Preyer was her big break, acting-wise.
But she wanted— needed— more.
And the key to it was Guy de la Rocq, who was easily the most devastating man she’d ever seen in person, all chiseled features and tailored clothes, with the kind of confidence that came from knowing you held Hollywood ( and a third of the global female population) in the palm of your hand.
You've got this, girl!
Tonight was exclusive to the cast and production staff behind Preyer, which was the first film Guy had executive produced with his friend Valerian Rossfield. Tonight was her best chance to have a private moment with the billionaire celebrity, and she needed to make the most out of it.
Success! Manifest it! Success!
Krista was halfway across the ballroom when she noticed someone else approaching Guy from the opposite direction.
Shit .
Krista quickened her pace, but the other man in a dark suit reached Guy first, and she was forced to hover nearby, pretending to examine the floral arrangements.
“Hello, Mr. de la Rocq. I wanted to introduce myself."
The man’s voice was flat. No warmth, no enthusiasm. Krista glanced over and took in his appearance: medium height, dark hair, wire-rimmed glasses.
Nerd, Krista thought right away, and with more than a little surprise. Like, who was this guy? Was he even supposed to be—
"I’m Jack, the most important consultant for this film.”
“Nice to meet you, Jack.”
Krista just had to hand it to Guy. No wonder he won an Oscar. It took serious acting chops to say those words with a straight face.
“It’s a small world," the other guy went on. "We have a mutual friend in darling Poppy—”
Darling...Poppy? As in Poppy, the wife of Guy's billionaire friend? Could this dumb nerd be talking about that Poppy? How was this man still alive?
The same thought was also running in Guy's head. How could this idiot not realize that Valerian wouldn't take kindly to having any other man call his own wife 'darling' ? Since he was in no mood to stick around to witness the bloodbath, it was definitely time to leave—
“—who’s also friends with my darling Jilly.”
But when he heard that name which he didn't expect to hear, and especially not from another man—
“Jilly, you say?”
Guy decided to stay a while longer, but only because it was expected of him, being the executive producer and all that.
“Yes, exactly. Like the nursery rhyme, only no one really calls her Jill. It's always been Jack and Jilly. We get teased together a lot in college because of it.”
"Jack and Jilly, huh?"
Krista knew she was running out of time to make her move, but she was just so caught up by the unexpected drama playing out between the two men. And honestly...was that other man an idiot? Didn't he notice how ominously soft Guy's tone was?
“Yes," the nerd called Jack— aka the world's densest person alive—confirmed with a nod. "Jilly was the cheerleader captain. I was studying economics. We’ve maintained our professional and personal relationship since graduation.”
Krista decided it was time to insert herself into the conversation. "Hi!" She not-so-casually squeezed herself between the two. "Am I interrupting?" Seeing that Jack the Idiot was actually about to say yes, she hurriedly added, “I’m Krista Irvine. I play Detective Morrison in the film.”
"Jack Morrison. Banking consultant.”
“Oh, what a coincidence," Krista gushed. "Same last name. Are you from around here originally?”
“No.”
The single word hung in the air. Most people would have elaborated, asked about her background, or at least shown some basic social courtesy. Jack simply waited.
“Jack was just telling me about his... friend,” Guy said, and there was something dangerous in his voice that made Krista’s pulse quicken.
“Do you want to know more about Jilly?"
"Only because she's a friend of Poppy's."
Jack nodded understandingly. "Poppy is married to a billionaire. It's reasonable to suspect her friends of being potential gold-diggers."
Krista choked at how smoothly the accusation was delivered, but Jack the Idiot didn't even notice. How stupid could one get?
"But my Jilly's different."
Guy's teeth gnashed at how the other man casually claimed possession towards Jillian.
"She's competent and smart. People even call her the Nancy Drew of Wall Street. I like her a lot.”
"And does she feel the same way about you?
Krista was starting to have a bad feeling about this. Why was Guy acting... oh, shit. Was Guy de la Rocq interested in this...this Jilly, whoever she was?
“Of course.”
“She sounds like quite a catch,” Guy said.
"Does she?" Krista felt desperate to redirect the conversation away from her faceless rival. "Don't you think someone who's called the Nancy Reagan of Jump Street—"
Guy started to cough, Jack the Idiot looked at her like she'd grown a pair of antennae from the back of her head, and shit!
Why were they looking at her like she had said something stupid?
Shit, shit, shit!
Any ordinary hot-blooded male would be more than satisfied with Krista being pretty, but no, these two wanted more. These two were so selfish and mean, and...and so, so unfair for wanting Krista to be clever, too. Like, how self-centered could you get?
Jack slowly shook his head. "I'm glad my Jilly's not like you."
"Is she?" Guy asked. "Yours?"
"Of course." Jack looked at him in surprise. "It doesn't matter if we don't see or talk to each other a lot. Jilly and I are endgame."