Page 13 of Just for December
On the Romantic Roadwas optioned for film after the book went viral online, and is slated for festive release next year.
‘Right.’ Duke nods, his nostrils flaring. ‘Well, I come across as a total bloody idiot, don’t I?’
He looks to Evie for moral support, since they’re in this together, but if his nostrils are flaring Evie’s are positively tunnel-like. She’s gone bright red.
‘Duke, you get stuff like this written about you all the time.Iam in sixteen pictures! Why does anyone need sixteen freakin’ pictures of me calling you a … a …’
Duke looks at her.
‘A what?’ he asks, genuinely curious.
‘That’s my face, all over the internet! And what’s all this about my average star rating for my books, too? Four point two isgood.They say it like I’m publishing blank pages that still manage to disappoint. A four point two isincredible.’
‘I agree.’ He nods. ‘A four point two is like … eighty-four per cent on Rotten Tomatoes? In fact, you’d be certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes for an eighty-four per cent. Not that I’m surprised.’
She blinks ‘Thanks,’ she says, and he can’t read her tone.
‘Also,’ he adds, because he can’t help himself. ‘I didn’t know you were Donald Gilbert’s daughter.’
‘I’m not.’ She rolls her eyes. ‘They got that bit wrong. Duke, what are we going to do about this? No. Wait.’ She seems to reconsider what she’s asking. ‘This isyourfault. What areyougoing to do about this?’
‘Nothing?’ he offers, and her face darkens. Duke shakes his head. ‘Evie, this is showbiz. The papers write things, and, like you’ve just pointed out, most of it is made up.’
‘But this wasn’t made up. We had a fight and somebody here caught it on camera. And who are all of these “sources”?’
‘MADE. UP,’ Duke reiterates. ‘They even gave you the wrong dad! That’s how made up it is!’ He notices tears threaten in her eyes. ‘Look,’ he says, trying to be calm. ‘I’m sorry if the story has upset you, and I can understand how intrusive it must feel. As you have already pointed out, you don’t even want to be here. In fact, I thought you were going home, so, if that’s still your plan you can be certain of the fact this won’t be repeated. At least not for you, anyway. For me, it’s part of the job.’
‘I’m not going home,’ Evie grumbles, looking at the ground.
‘Oh?’ Duke says.
‘That contract is legally binding, apparently. You’ve got me here as a hostage. A hostage who is now being photographed against her will.’
Duke considers this. He feels for her – he does! – but the machine is bigger than he is. He can’t rewrite the laws of the biz, established a century ago.
‘I’ll see if I can do anything about the contract, okay? I can’t control the paps, but if you really do want to go home, I’ll ask how we can make that happen.’
She looks at him from under her lashes then, like she hates having to acknowledge what he’s said might be a solution.
‘Don’t worry about saying thanks,’ Duke sarcastically offers, when it’s obvious she isn’t going to give any words of gratitude for his suggestion.
She scoffs at him. ‘I’ve got nothing to thank you for,’ she tells him.
Seriously, what crawled up her jacksy and died? It’s like she’s incapable of basic niceties.
‘This is your world, and you’ve dragged me into it,’ she tells him. ‘So I’m not saying thank you for you cleaning up your own mess. Just get it sorted, okay? So we can both go on with our very separate, very different lives?’
Duke sighs. This woman. He’s never met a more difficult, stubborn, obstinate human.
‘Fine,’ he says. ‘Thanks for the pep talk.’
She turns on her heel and the way she storms off makes Duke realise he’s never truly seen anyoneflouncebefore. At least not since this morning.
Duke calls his therapist, Phoebe, that night. He’s been seeing her on and off for six years now, after Jennifer Aniston told him it was imperative he get a neutral party to talk to if he was going to survive his career. It helps give him another perspective when he’s stuck in his own head. In fact, Phoebe doesn’t often say much. Mostly he talks, and she nods or makes a ‘hmm’ noise, exactly like she’s doing today.
‘So I feel like, okay, we’re in the papers. But what did she expect? This is what happens in this world. Although, actually, I suppose she did say she likes being a nobody, in the make-up trailer, when we actually had the fight. So … maybe I do have some culpability here. Hmm. Well. I can own that, you know? I can own my culpability. It’s just not a good look for any of us, now it’s out there. It makes the movie look bad, and God … Ben and J.Lo proved that the last thing you want to be known for is your personal life over The Work. Urgh. I can’t believe I just saidThe Work.I know it’s not minimum wage on a factory line, but it does matter to me. I think. I’m kind of interested in how Evie avoids any sort of public scrutiny at all. I might even be a bit jealous. That’s a horrible feeling. Jealousy. And I suppose I feel a bit rejected by her, which is obviously my trigger. She just isn’t impressed by me, and after everything with my mum, you know, all I want is her attention, her approval, and it’s just this stupid …compulsionthat I have, that everyone has to like me. I want to control the situation so that I am liked, which is actually kind of the opposite of being a good person, isn’t it? Not that I’m looking for evidence that I’m abadperson, I know we’ve been through that. But in terms of my behaviour matching up to my best self … what do you think? Am I doing okay?’
He waits for Phoebe to speak.
