Page 26

Kat

Kat hadn’t meant to sleep over, but when she woke up pressed between the couch cushions and Jude’s warm body, she felt no regret, even though she had a killer crick in her neck.

They’d stayed wrapped around each other until the last possible second before Jude had to go to work, unwilling to leave the warm cocoon they’d created.

Kat smiled into her coffee cup as she walked the twenty minutes uptown to her apartment, remembering the feeling of Jude’s mouth covering her skin in small, tantalizing kisses until she begged for more.

When Kat had stopped things, she’d expected Jude to be annoyed or hurt or angry.

That was how Frasier had reacted when Kat hadn’t been in the mood during their relationship.

It had always become a big song and dance of comforting and reassuring that ended up being more exhausting than the sex she’d been too tired for in the first place.

But Jude had acted like it was the most natural thing in the world to not be ready. To take their time.

Kat replayed the memory of Jude’s husky voice saying Good girl over and over in her head, feeling a little buzz between her legs each time she did.

Holy shit, last night had been hot. Had anyone ever made her vibrate in her skin like that?

And Jude hadn’t even seemed to care that she’d never slept with a woman before and had no idea what she was doing.

She’d said they would figure it out together.

Jude made Kat feel comfortable. She felt like she could actually trust Jude.

Which was rare. Working in Hollywood, Kat was used to being told she could trust people.

Older male costars who said she could always talk to them, then invited her to their hotel rooms for late-night drinks they hoped would lead to more.

Producers and directors who talked a big game about trust and accountability, then dismissed her concerns.

Stunt coordinators who told Kat to just trust them as they rigged together some extremely rickety-looking equipment.

PAs and makeup artists who told Kat they were a safe space, then ran to the director with her secrets.

The only person Kat had been able to consistently trust in her career was Jocelyn.

Kat’s smile faded as she thought about Jocelyn, who she was supposed to meet at her apartment in ten minutes.

Surely, Jocelyn had seen an early draft of the Entertainment Daily article.

So why hadn’t she stopped them from printing Jude’s full name and workplace?

She should have known it would send people scrambling to the bookstore to disrupt Jude’s life.

Kat’s phone buzzed as she nodded to the doorman of her building and headed to the elevator. A text from Jocelyn, asking where she was.

“Finally!” Jocelyn called from the sofa as Kat unlocked the door.

“Sorry, sorry,” Kat said, even though she knew from the text that Jocelyn had only beaten her by two minutes.

“We need to keep this quick. You have that theater luncheon at noon.”

Kat made a face. Any event that called itself a “luncheon” was guaranteed to be a nightmare. She still had two and a half weeks left until the audition, and she was already sick of theater events. Hollywood might be more toxic, but damn, these Broadway people loved to show off how smart they were.

Jocelyn started by running down a list of people who would be at the luncheon and who she should talk to. Kat fidgeted uncomfortably, waiting for her to mention the article so she could bring up her complaints.

“How’s it going with the acting coach?”

“Oh, fine.” Not exactly the most accurate word to describe the amount of progress they were making on deciphering the impenetrable script, but at the moment, Kat had more important bones to pick. “Why didn’t you review the Entertainment Daily piece before they printed it?”

“What?” Jocelyn frowned. “Of course I reviewed it.”

“Then why did you let them print Jude’s full name? And where she works?”

Jocelyn stared at her for a moment, her mouth pursed thoughtfully, and then she shrugged. “I didn’t even think about it. The whole point of this is to draw attention to who you’re dating.”

“I know, but—” Kat cut herself off. “What if some crazy stalker who thinks I’m the love of his life decides to show up there and kill her?”

“You’re spiraling,” Jocelyn said, her tone firm.

“People are going to bother her, though. A reporter already showed up at the store and asked her for an interview.”

“That’s a good thing,” Jocelyn said. “This is exactly the kind of attention we were hoping for from phase one. If people are going to show up at a bookstore to talk to someone you were photographed with once, then they’ll show up to see you on Broadway.

Which reminds me—I’ve arranged for you to be at Richard Gottlieb’s table today.

Maybe you could work the article into your—”

“I don’t want to mess up her life,” Kat said quietly.

“Fame comes with a price,” Jocelyn reminded her gently. It was a mantra she’d repeated to Kat often over the years. “If someone wants to date a celebrity, they have to be able to handle a little scrutiny.”

Kat didn’t respond. She knew this relationship would put Jude in the public eye—that was literally the whole point.

But when they’d discussed phase one, Kat hadn’t known how sweet Jude was.

She hadn’t known how Jude rumpled her hair back to front when she felt unsure or how she snorted when watching a ridiculous TV show or how her arms felt wrapped around Kat’s waist while they slept on the couch.

Now that she had a real person in front of her instead of just a theory, this whole plan felt so much worse.

Jocelyn sighed. “Don’t get too attached to this girl, okay? You can’t date her forever.”

Kat’s stomach started to churn.

“Anyway, as I’ve been trying to say, we need more photos,” Jocelyn said. “Explicit ones.”

“ What? ” Was Jocelyn asking her to do porn? Kat would do a lot of things to save her career, but she didn’t think she was ready for that one.

“Have you looked at the comments lately?” Jocelyn nodded toward Kat’s phone, and she opened Instagram to the Entertainment Daily photo.

The supportive comments had been overtaken by people leaping to Kat’s “defense” by saying the photos were clearly taken out of context and Katrina Kelly couldn’t possibly be queer.

Kat bit her lip as she read them. It was just as she’d expected. People thought she was faking it. She didn’t look or act queer enough.

“We need to give them the money shot,” Jocelyn said, leaning forward.

“You and the bookstore girl, locking lips on some dark street corner. But we can’t be too obvious about it or everyone will think you’re trying to play this for points.

” She paused. “I reached out to a discreet contact at Sundial. ”

Kat groaned. Sundial was a grocery store checkout tabloid, full of pregnancy scandals and cheaters caught in the act and “Celebs! They’re Just Like Us!” spreads of flustered people getting photographed coming out of drugstores. Engineering her own scandal release in Sundial was a new low.

“I know it feels beneath you,” Jocelyn said. “But everyone does this. Next time you meet up with bookstore girl, text me the location and get her outside. I’ll coordinate with Sundial. And then, boom, you lay one on her.”

Kat bit her lip again, harder this time, as the realization of what she would have to do sunk in.

Letting Jocelyn leak some photos was one thing.

But leading Jude to a specific location, pretending they were having a private moment, and then acting horrified when they were ambushed by paparazzi? That was…bad. That was really bad.

“I don’t know about this,” Kat said.

“Look, Kat,” said Jocelyn, “I know that all of this scheming and doing whatever it takes to get a role isn’t glamorous.

I know it’s the last thing you want to be doing.

You just want to act. And that’s what I want, too—for you to be able to act.

But in order for that to happen, you have to be willing to do all this icky stuff.

I wish it was different. Believe me, all I want is for you to be happy and have a good career, and if I could make that happen without putting you through all this, I would.

But this is just how the game is played, okay? ”

Kat hesitated.

“How long have I been your manager?” Jocelyn said.

“Thirteen years? I got you Spy Pigs. I got you P.R.O.M. I protected you when your parents were spending all your money. I got you through your scandal in the last season. I’ve only ever wanted what’s best for you.

And I think I’ve proven that by uprooting my whole life to come to New York to help you orchestrate your comeback.

I’ve always put you first, Kat. And have I ever led you wrong? ”

Kat twisted her hands together, trying to think as quickly as possible. Jocelyn was right—she had gone above and beyond to guide Kat’s career. She hadn’t abandoned Kat, not even when it seemed like her career was over.

Kat didn’t want to hurt Jude. But…she and Jude had been kissing anyway. They could be photographed at any point. How was this any different?

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it.”

Jocelyn smiled and patted Kat’s knee. “Good girl,” she said.

It couldn’t have felt more different from the way Jude had said it last night.