Kerri had just settled into the red velvet seat on set when her assistant, Dana, bent below one of the six lightings, hopped over a thick black wire, dodged and mumbled an apology to the cameraman, and hurried over to her.
Kerri arched her brow as Dana's red hair that was tied up in a messy bun bobbed around in her haste to get over. "What is it?"
Dana handed the phone to her, her brandy-colored eyes swimming with apprehension. "I think you should look at this before the interview."
Kerri skimmed through the article, and the muscles along her jaws twitched. "Thanks." She handed the phone back to Dana, and Dana hurried off the set after straightening her light gray T-shirt.
Glaring down at her bright red heels, Kerri inhaled deeply through her nose.
"Is everything all right?" Marissa Bates's apple-red lips curled as she sat on one of the two empty red seats on the other side of the white squarish coffee table. The tight curls in Marissa's brownish copper shoulder-length hair brought out the vivacious spark in her otherwise dull blue eyes.
Kerri nodded with a polite smile of her own.
"I'm so glad you're here," Marissa said as she gave her black jacket that she had worn over her royal-blue shirt a tug and dusted off a white speck on her shoulder before looking over at a man who had just walked onto the set.
The man in a light gray suit and short blond hair stood in front of the cream-colored wall with the show's lapis blue title on it.
"Glenn," Marissa waved him over, "Kerri, this is my co-host, Glenn."
Glenn gave Kerri a firm handshake and stretched the over-taunt skin on his face into a small smile before taking the last remaining seat.
"All right, all set." The guy from the production crew looked over at them, then at the cameraman. "Ready, in ten, nine ..." The man counted down to four and signaled the last three numbers with his hand.
Kerri closed her eyes. Back straight, shoulders squared and relaxed. Her mother's voice in her head helped her run through a mental checklist of her posture. Kerri didn't have to make any adjustments; she rarely ever did. But her mother's voice always surfaced whenever cameras were around.
"We have a treat for our viewers today. The first interview since her hiatus. We have America's sweetheart, Kerri Adams, with us." Marissa turned to her. "Welcome to our show, Kerri. I'm very excited to have you here."
"Thank you." She smiled and nodded at Marissa. "I'm excited to be here."
"I love your new movie," Marissa said. "What a sweet story."
"Was the script written just for you?" Glenn asked.
Kerri chuckled. "No. The casting director called me after he saw the script." She answered all the questions Marissa and Glenn had about the movie. With over ten movies under her belt, Kerri was more than prepared for the usual questions regarding her movie.
Glenn leaned forward. "Did you get along with your co-star?"
She nodded. "We got along very well. Taylor took very good care of me." Here goes.
"What a shame he couldn't be here," Marissa said. "I love seeing the two of you together; you guys have such great chemistry."
"Thanks, but we're not dating or seeing each other. We're good friends. That's all."
Marissa laughed. "So you've seen the magazine covers."
How could she not? And even if she had missed the magazine covers, the paparazzi swarming Taylor and her had no problem pushing cameras in front of their faces.
"The rumor mill has been going wild," Marissa said.
"And that's all they are—rumors."
"I have to admit. I was hoping there was some truth to it. I'm such a fan, and after what you've been through with Nick Evans ..."
Kerri forced a smile. "Taylor and I are just good friends."
"Well, speaking of Nick." Glenn leaned back on his chair. "I heard you had an eventful Sunday."
Kerri cast a knowing smile over to Dana. She thanked God for Dana, her third assistant since her return to work. "I did. A fan somehow infiltrated the church, pretending to be a server, and got too close for my comfort."
"Oh? I thought Nick was jealous and got into a fight with the server. He has gotten into several fights due to jealousy."
"That was years ago. We were younger and ... less wise," she said and continued before Glenn could ask another question or make another statement. "And as I said, the guy isn't our church's server. Even our church has come forward to say that. You should get your facts checked before accusing anyone." She smiled sweetly at Glenn.
"I'm not trying to accuse Nick. I'm merely stating what someone wrote."
"Well, the person wrote nonsense that isn't worth reading." She maintained her friendly demeanor. "If Nick hadn't been there, if he hadn't pulled the guy away from me, I don't know what could've happened." She added a shudder for effect.
"I'm glad you're safe," Glenn said, and Marissa nodded. "But something bad always happens to you whenever he's around you, doesn't it?"
Kerri inhaled slowly through her nose. "My mistakes were my own. They had nothing to do with him."
Glenn shook his head. "All that partying and drinking. Not to mention the drugs. You don't do any of that anymore. Once he was out of your life, everything calmed down."
"I chose to take every drop of alcohol; I chose to go to all the parties, but I never took drugs."
"But he did."
She sighed. "Right, but he never—not once—tried getting me to take cocaine with him." Her entanglement with the drug was her own choice, too.
"You're still very protective of him. I hope you're not still in love with him. He isn't good for you."
Kerri looked down at the glass of water on the coffee table in front of her. She entertained the thought of picking up the glass and splashing the water into Glenn's face.
"Glenn," Marissa said and looked at Glenn. "Be nice."
Kerri picked up the glass, took a sip of water, and returned it to the table. "It's all right." She looked right at Glenn. "I'm still protective of Nick because he's my friend. Before we were a couple, we were good friends. He has always been blamed for all of my mistakes, which isn't fair to him."
She turned to face a camera and paused for a moment, waiting for the producers to switch the focus of the screen onto the camera she was looking at. "I want to officially apologize for all the mistakes I've made. I'm sorry I wasn't a better example. I'm sorry if I disappointed my fans, but none of that was Nick's fault. I take full responsibility for my actions."
"Even for the car accident?"
Her eyes almost narrowed into a glare. But by God's grace, she managed to stop herself. "Absolutely," she said as sweetly as possible. If she were to lose her cool now, it would somehow be Nick's fault again.
Marissa nodded, and her bright smile returned. "I think it is clear that Nick cares about you as well."
"Yes—"
"Anyway," Marissa continued, interrupting Glenn. "Do you have any other movies lined up?"
She would make sure to tell Dana to accept all of Marissa's interviews in the future, sans Glenn, of course. "Yes, but everything is still hush-hush now."
"Are you talking about the new action-thriller?"
Kerri laughed. "Maybe."
"I can't quite imagine you doing action."
"I've been training." She had been hitting the gym three times a week, and she was surprisingly good with a gun. "I'm really excited about that role. It's something I've never done before."
"Are you hoping to shake off the label of America's sweetheart? I know sometimes actresses get tired of the labels placed on them."
"I don't mind being called America's sweetheart," she said. "Taking the role was more of a challenge to myself. I actually went in there to discuss another role, but ..." She paused and widened her grin. "Sometimes things just turn out differently."
"Well, I can't wait to see it."
"I can't wait to do it."
"Will we be getting a new album from you as well?" Glenn asked. "You have had two bestselling albums. Any intention to make it three?"
Could she pretend she hadn't heard him? She could always blame her foul mood on the six-inch heels that had given her blisters fifteen minutes into wearing them, right? But she wasn't willing to endure an hour of her mom's lecturing for Glenn.
"Well," Marissa added before Kerri could reply. "I heard Chloe Brooks just got back from her honeymoon. She wrote the bestselling song for your last album; maybe she'll write another for you."
"Anything is possible, I suppose."
After the interview, Kerri walked back to the car with Dana. "Thanks for giving me the heads-up."
"That's my job."
"Thanks for being good at it, then." Her mom had found out that her previous assistant was selling information about her to the media, and her first assistant wouldn't do anything unless asked.
"I've always wanted to work with you."
Kerri looked over at Dana. "Dana, I'm not Miss America's Sweetheart. I get grumpy when I'm hungry. I lose my temper when simple things aren't done right."
"I don't expect you to be perfect. I just wanted to work for someone who would respect me as a human being."
"What makes you think I'll do that?"
"Because you've already done so." Dana glanced over at her. "You really don't remember me, do you?"
"I don't know why, but I've always found that sentence to be rather scary."
Dana grinned. "We've met before."
"I'm sorry, but I don't remember."
"I was working for Denise Brown."
"Oh, she can be tough to work with." Kerri hadn't worked with Denise, but she had seen how Denise treated the people around her. Denise was a diva, and she behaved like one. Kerri once saw Denise pouring a bottle of mineral water on her assistant's head because the water was too warm from having sat in the car for too long. "You're not the assistant—"
"I was."
"I'm sorry. I know you had a tough time with her."
"And you were so kind. You told her to stop it, then took me to the bathroom and helped me dry off. You even got your then assistant to bring me a set of clothes."
"I'm sorry I didn't remember you."
"When I thanked you, you said it was just the decent thing to do," Dana said. "Anyway, it was a long time ago. When I found out that you were back and were looking for an assistant, I immediately applied."
"I promise I'll respect you as a fellow human being on one condition: be honest with me." Dana had been competent, but honesty ... that was a whole different matter.
Dana pursed her lips.
"What is it?"
"Your mom told me to keep it from you."
"You're working for me, not my mom." In fact, her mom was working for her as well. Her mom was her manager, and Kerri trusted her, but her mom would always be her mother first and manager second.
"Nick's manager called."
"Roland?" Kerri smiled as she thought about those times when Nick used to joke around, saying Roland looked more like a star than he was. Roland always wore either a suit or a shirt wherever he went, even to the weekend barbecue her dad had organized.
Dana nodded.
"For what?"
"He's hoping you'll do a joint interview with Nick. That way, everyone can leave the incident behind, and both of you can start afresh," Dana said.
Which incident? The car accident or the new story created on Sunday?
"That was what he said," Dana continued. "But it is clearly more for Nick than you. You have no problem with moving on."
Not true. "I'll do it." An interview wouldn't solve her problem, but it could help Nick.
"Your mom has already rejected it."
"I'll talk to her later. And don't worry, I'll tell her that I threatened to fire you." She looked out of the window. "I need to go somewhere tonight. Can you arrange a rental car for me by five?"
"Of course."
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