Ring of Truth (A Silver Script Novel Book 1) (14 page)

“Cut! That was perfect. Remember that for the other commercials. Brooke and Liam, you’re up.”

Jake and Erin stared in each other’s eyes for a second before he let go of her, and they left the stage and sat next to their stuff. Erin was still trying to compose herself when Debra sat next to her and studied her for a moment.

“You had me scared there for a minute. You two were so perfect last week, and today it was just sort of blah until that last one. I’m counting on you. Don’t disappoint me.” Debra stood and walked away.

Erin took a drink of water, and sat back to watch the other couple. They were pretty good. The chemistry wasn’t quite there, but it was okay. Erin thought back to how it felt when Jake put the ring on her finger. She’d wanted it more than anything. But it couldn’t happen. Not now. Not when his parents knew the truth of what had happened.

One of the assistants brought Erin a copy of the next commercial they’d be shooting. This time they’d have speaking parts, so she went over to sit by Jake.

“Hey, want to practice?” she whispered.

Jake looked through the script and nodded. “They don’t give you a lot of time for these commercials, do they?”

“A few of these were last minute, so no. Sorry.” Erin waited for the commercial to be finished before she turned to face him. “Okay, ready?”

“Sure. Okay …” Jake cleared his throat. “Hey, honey. Are the kids in bed?”

Erin nodded. “Yes, finally. It’s always so hard to get them to sleep on Christmas Eve.”

“They’re so excited for Santa to come tomorrow.” Jake laughed.

“The tree looks so beautiful with all the presents underneath it. Did you make sure we didn’t miss any?” Erin asked.

“Well, let’s see,” Jake pretended to count the gifts. “Wait, a minute. There’s an extra one.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s this one. It has your name on it.”

Erin gasped. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

The rest of the commercial was the voice over and action, so they ran through the script a couple more times before it was time to go to wardrobe. Erin put on a pair of pajamas and a robe. The makeup artists combed through her hair and touched up her makeup.

Erin went out to the set where they’d set up a couch and decorations around the tree. She was told where to sit and handed a mug she had to pretend to drink from. Jake came out soon after in pajamas. The gray shirt was tight across his chest and accented his muscles. He was also handed a mug and soon they were shooting the commercial.

As they said their lines, they settled in front of the tree. Jake pulled out a small rectangular box and handed it Erin. She opened it and gasped at the beautiful necklace inside. It was a heart that was encrusted with diamonds along one edge.

Jake took the necklace from the box and put it on Erin’s neck. His fingers tickled her neck and sent tingles through her. She turned and cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him. It was just a short, simple kiss, but the feeling behind it left her breathless.

“Cut! That was great. We’ll run it again from a few different angles.”

Erin moved back into position, and took the necklace off so they could put it back in the box, then picked up her mug.

By the time they’d run through the commercial a few times, Erin had decided that shooting this commercial was going to be the death of her if they didn’t get done soon. Working with Jake played with her emotions, and made it really hard to stay away from him. She had to keep reminding herself that everyone was standing around watching her—including her boss.

“That’s a wrap for these two. Let’s get the others on set. Erin and Jake, head to wardrobe. The  scripts for the next commercial are in there.” The director leaned back in his chair.

Jake caught up to Erin as they walked into the other room. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just overwhelmed. I’ll be fine.” Erin couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Her emotions were too raw still.

“You’re doing a great job. Your expressions look so authentic.” He smiled and walked over to the rack of suits.

Erin was sure he meant that as a compliment, but it felt like a slap to her face. The emotions looked authentic, because they were. She’d fallen hard, and couldn’t do anything about it. She put on the nice outfit and looked through the notes. It was easy enough to go through. She could do this with a smile, and without Jake having to touch her for this commercial, she could handle this one. She hoped.

When Brooke and Liam came into get changed, Erin went back out to the set. She was surprised to see half the crew leaving with equipment.

“We’re done?” she asked Debra.

“No, they’re getting ready to shoot the last commercial outside with artificial snow. The wind died down just in time. Otherwise, you could have been filming in a blizzard instead of a simple snowstorm.” She laughed.

“That’s good. It was pretty nasty out there. How did the other two do?” Erin looked over the notes Debra had taken.

“They did great. It’ll be tough to decide which commercials to go with, but each of you bring something different to the set.”

Erin had to agree. It took more time, but this gave them a few more options if they were able to get the extra TV spots.

“We’re ready for you.” The assistant’s voice made Erin jump. She led Erin over and had three children stand up. “This is Avery, Morgan, and Michael. They’ll be your kids for this commercial.”

Erin bent down to their eye level. “Hi, I’m so glad to meet you. Are you excited?”

Avery nodded, but the other two just stared at her.

Jake knelt down by them. “We’re going to play a game. See this coin? I’m going to make it disappear.” He moved his hands around and then held them out to show they were empty. “Where’d it go?”

The children giggled while they tried to find it.

“Oh, I think I see it. Erin, come here.” He reached up and pulled the coin from behind her ear. “There it is.”

“Do it again!” Morgan yelled, and the others cheered and jumped up and down.

“Okay, but first we’re going to do this commercial. Let’s sit here and pretend to open presents.”

Erin watched him play with the kids, and her heart melted. He was a natural when it came to making them laugh. She sat down in her spot and held out a present to Michael.

When the director yelled “action,” they started pulling the lids off the boxes. Each one had a small gift inside.

Jake moved closer to Erin and handed her a small box. Inside was a diamond bracelet. She grinned as Jake put it on her wrist and then kissed her.

“Cut!”

The kids giggled at Jake and Erin as they stopped playing with their toys and put them back in the boxes for the next take.  

They shot the commercial a few more times from different angles, and then did a few with just Erin and Jake, and then again with just the three kids. Once they were done, the kids tackled Jake.

“Do the trick again!”

“Okay, okay.” He reached over and pulled a coin from Avery’s and Michael’s ears, and then stopped. “Hey, Morgan? What is that?”  

“What?”

Jake slowly pulled the bracelet that had been on Erin’s wrist from behind Morgan’s ear. “You have expensive taste.” He stood and helped Erin up. “Great job you guys. We have to go get ready.”

Erin and Jake walked back into wardrobe for the last commercial. She was surprised at how late it had gotten already. It was nearing evening. Shooting three commercials in a row would do that.

She vaguely listened as she was directed to put on a gorgeous evening gown. Her mind was already going through what needed to be done for the ads tomorrow. She slipped the gown on and inspected it in the mirror to make sure it looked right. They’d managed to find a perfect fit, and the glittery black material hugged her body just right.

As Erin sat getting her hair done, she caught a glimpse of Jake in a tailored suit. He laughed at something one of the assistants said, and it made her heart pound wildly. She wished the whole dating mess had never happened so she could drool over him without large amounts of guilt piled on. She still hadn’t told her parents, and if it had gone badly, for Jake, she knew things would be worse with her parents.

Once Erin was ready, she followed the crew out to the street. They had blocked the wind as much as possible and a box of snow was ready to go. While it wasn’t Christmas yet, the chill to air made it easy to believe. Now they just needed to make the audience believe that as well. She shivered and pulled her shawl closer.

“Oh, here. Take this.” Jake put his jacket over Erin’s shoulders, and kept his arm around her. “It really cooled off, didn’t it?”

“Yes it did. I thought I’d blow away this morning.” Erin noticed how tense Jake was, and how his hands were shoved in his pocket. “Oh, now you’re freezing. Here take it back.”  She tried to pull of the jacket, but Jake stopped her.

“No, keep it. I’ll put it back on for the commercial. Why they don’t have you in a coat is beyond me.” He walked away and talked to a few people before bringing back a thick, fur-lined coat. “Here you go. This looks more appropriate for winter anyway.”

Erin handed him back his jacket and put on the coat. “Oh, this is much better. Thank you.”

“Okay, you four come here.” The director waited for Jake, Erin, and the other two actors. “You’re going to walk along the street and laugh at each other’s jokes. As you get closer to the camera, the men will pull out the box, slip the ring on the girl’s finger, and then hug. Short and simple. We’ll have Mr. Smith doing the voiceover part so you know the timing.”

“Got it.” Jake and Erin took their spots and waited for their cue while Liam and Brooke stood to the side and waited for their turn.

***

Erin was grateful to be back in her own warm clothes after being outside for the shoot. She walked out of the dressing room to talk to Jake, but he was nowhere to be found. She couldn’t help the crushing disappointment that washed over her.

Debra hurried over to her. “That was fantastic. I think Mr. Smith is thrilled with how today turned out. So go home, rest up, and we’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sounds great. I have a few ideas after today. I’ll send them over to you.”

“Later. For now, you go home and rest. It was a long day, and you need to relax your brain. Watch a movie, read a book, whatever. Just take some downtime. You did a great job with this project, and I need you rested for the next campaign. I’ll have options sent to you by morning.”

“Thank you.” Erin forced a smile as she left. She trudged outside and flagged down a taxi to take her home. It was too bad it wasn’t the same driver who had made her laugh before. She could have used it right then.

Once she got to the apartment she ran upstairs and bolted the door. Determined not to feel sorry for herself, Erin buried herself in the ads for the upcoming project. She’d be going from jewelry to cars. Both were huge sellers at Christmas, but that’s about the only thing they had in common. Nate had managed to score the TV commercials for the cars, while Erin would be doing the magazine and newspaper ads.

Erin’s phone rang with Carissa’s ringtone. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Are you busy right now?” Carissa’s voice was partially drowned out by noises in the background.

Erin stopped doodling on the page in front of her. “I’m working, but it’s nothing that can’t wait. You okay?”

“Fine. I’ll be up in a sec.” Carissa hung up, and Erin set her phone done. This wasn’t the first time Carissa had suddenly shown up.

When Erin heard the knock at the door, she got up to answer it. She opened it and was nearly plowed over by a very excited Carissa.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” Erin shut the door, and pulled Carissa to the couch.

Carissa pulled out a piece of paper and squealed. “Look!”

Erin took the paper from her and read through it. Silver Script Ad Agency was hiring her back on as Erin’s partner. She squealed and leaned over to hug Carissa.

“Debra didn’t tell me she was hiring you back. Last I heard was that her hands were tied. Are you accepting the job?” Erin would have to thank Debra as soon as Carissa left. They were about to hit their busy time, and she’d need help.

“I told her to keep it a secret. I wanted to tell you myself. She’s giving me the small office next to yours. Apparently the cuts to the staff were done prematurely, and there’s been an influx in projects. I did tell Debra that I’d need to work from home sometimes because of my doctor’s appointments.” She paused. “Are you okay with that?”

Erin nodded. “You already told me that’s what you preferred, and I don’t mind.”

Carissa cheered one more time before putting the contract in her purse. “So … how was the commercial shoot?”

“It was great. I’m exhausted, and I’m glad tomorrow is just a photo shoot.” Erin picked up the notebook she’d been working on. “Here’s what we’re doing next. Any ideas?”

“Wait. Are those tears? Why are there tears?” Carissa took the book, but stared at Erin through narrowed eyes. “What’s going on?”

Erin knew there was no way she’d get out of spilling her guts. “Jake told his parents about us yesterday. Today he barely spoke to me even though we had to do the commercials together. And I thought everything was perfect after that, but when I turned to talk to him, he was gone. Without even saying good-bye.”