Chapter 41 Coming This Fall...
Many people turned out for Emily’s open house. Her downtown art studio sparkled with new paint, and several works of art were displayed throughout. People mingled, going in and out of the three different rooms and enjoying glasses of champagne.
Emily was a little surprised that her brother showed up rather than staying at home as was his custom most of the time. She was even more surprised to see him talking at length to her student Katie.
Katie came over to her later, saying, “Your brother is hot, like a skinny Italian Gucci model.”
“I’m surprised he stays skinny considering how much junk food he eats,” Emily said.
“He actually gave me his number,” Katie announced, “Would it be weird if I called him?”
“No,” Emily said, “though I warn you, he is weird, so some weirdness is inevitable.”
It seemed a budding teenage romance was about to unfold. Her friend Pam arrived with Mike, who was now her fiancé. Emily took them on a tour of the displays.
“This is Katie’s work. Isn’t it amazing?”
“It looks like a lot of giant bugs,” Mike said, looking mildly terrified.
“It’s not, really,” Emily assured him, “The painting is abstract.”
When she had some time alone with Pam they were able to talk more about their private lives.
“So, is your fake boyfriend coming tonight?” Pam asked, nudging her, “Or is he really real now?”
“He’s real,” Emily said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the whole truth before. It was... complicated.”
“Yeah, I can see that. At least it got Josh off your case.”
“Knock on wood.” It was true, she had not seen or heard from Josh at all. The court date for the protection order was coming up soon, and she would probably have to see him then, but it was such a relief not to be stalked anymore. Most days, she didn’t keep a wary eye out like she used to.
Byron showed up a little later as he had his first counseling session that day. He looked a bit tired, but he caught everyone’s eye in his fashionable white silk shirt.
“You did it! How was it?” Emily said, greeting him with a quick kiss.
“A lot of talking,” he said, but he looked pretty content, “I’m supposed to be able to control my feelings.”
“So are you going to stick with Dr. Williams?” she asked.
“Yeah, he seems all right.”
“Cool. Let me show you the art...”
Later that evening, Emily was exhausted from talking to so many people. The studio had made a promising debut, and many potential students took her contact info. She stayed at Byron’s place, too tired to celebrate with anything more than an evening of TV watching.
She was bringing some yogurt from the kitchen when Byron jumped up from the couch and threw the TV remote across the room, uttering a profanity.
“What’s happening?” Emily cried as Rupert stood up and gave a low whine.
“It’s my ex!” Byron pointed at the screen, wearing the same expression as if he had seen a worm there.
“Coming this fall,” the announcer of a film trailer said, “from Papyrus Pictures... She was a woman who escaped the shackles of civilization... only to be bound by the chains of love.”
The images showed a woman traveling in a tropical rain forest and meeting some kind of adventurous hero type.
“Nova Summers stars in...” the announcer said dramatically, “The Jaguar.”
“Do you really have to throw stuff?” Emily interjected, “You’re scaring Rupert. You’re scaring me.”
“Sorry,” Byron said, “I just don’t want to see her face on every screen from now on. It makes me so angry!”
“I know it’s hard,” Emily replied, “Think about what Dr. Williams said.” Suddenly, she grew a little alarmed. “Do you still have feelings for Nova Summers?”
“Only negative ones,” he said, sitting back down and taking a breath. “Soon I’ll get over this whole thing. I’m going to do something about it.”
“It takes time to process those feelings,” Emily cautioned, “I don’t know how you think you can magically get over them, but don’t do anything crazy, okay?”
“Oh, I won’t.” He sounded a little ominous. “I will just get my revenge on her, and then I’ll feel much better. I’ve been holding back, but no more. I need to do this.”
“What are you going to do?” Emily asked, feeling suddenly nervous.
“Destroy all the studios in Hollywood if I have to,” he said complacently, “I’ll start by firing every single person who works for Papyrus Pictures. She thought she could become a star... Well, we’ll see how she does when every single producer who hires her goes bankrupt.”
Emily was not sure what he described was within his power to accomplish, but the the fact that he seemed dedicated to this plan and believed in its reality made her concerned.
“That’s not really what I had in mind,” Emily said. “If you take revenge, it shows that you still have feelings about her.”
“But soon I won’t,” he retorted, cheerfully confident.
“How do you not see it?” she cried, “You’re being like... a Josh!”
“I’m being like a Josh? I don’t think so,” he argued, “I don’t want to force her to get back together with me.”
“Well, it’s just as bad because you’re haunting her, ruining her career.”
“Yes, after she nearly drove me insane,” he said stubbornly.
“Look, I don’t know what happened between you two, but can you promise me you won’t do anything like ruining a whole studio just to get back at your ex?”
“I’ll think about it,” he said grimly.
