Once we got back to work, he was his businesslike self again. I’d enjoyed spending time with him and getting to know him better. Misaki was indeed a happy accident.
◊◊◊
At dinnertime, they said I could leave. I told Misaki I was sure it was because I was now Mr. Otsuki’s favorite.
I sent a text to Dad to tell him I would be home for dinner.
When I got there, I found Tyler in the kitchen, cooking. I stepped up behind her and kissed her on the neck.
“What are you making?” I asked.
“I thought we needed a chicken curry. There’s a place in New York that Adrienne loves, and this is her favorite dish from there.”
“Ahh, that’s so romantic,” I said as I batted my eyes.
“I bet you’re just as bad.”
“Yeah. I can’t wait for Brook to get here. I miss her like crazy, and it drives me up the wall.”
“I spent some time with her when we stayed at one of her parents’ little houses. She might be too good for you,” Tyler said.
“Don’t I know it, but I’ve got her fooled. She thinks she’s the lucky one.”
“Someday, she’ll figure it out. I wish I’d had what you have when I was in high school. I was shunned because I was the different one, the smart girl who liked girls,” Tyler shared.
“How did you and Adrienne meet?” I asked.
Adrienne walked in.
“She was at a party, and the girl she was seeing ran off with some guy. I rescued her,” Adrienne said.
I looked at Tyler.
“She really did. I got drunk, and she held my hair all night. I woke up at her place because I was too drunk to tell her where I lived. When I finally came to in the morning, I had the mother of all hangovers. My head hurt so much that I didn’t even recognize her.
“We got to talking, and she made me laugh even though I was falling apart inside. She took me home, and I didn’t see her for six months,” Tyler said.
“I had gigs all over the place and wasn’t in New York. When I got back, I looked her up,” Adrienne said.
“When I opened the door, I saw it was her and tried to slam it in her face. Why would
“We moved in together a month later,” Adrienne shared.
Dad joined us, and we had an enjoyable meal. Tyler’s curry was excellent.
◊◊◊
After dinner, I called Brook, and we talked until it was time for her to go to bed. We reaffirmed our love and that we missed each other. I would have to say that was the best part of my day.
◊◊◊ Thursday December 8
The J-drama filming schedule had evolved to where we worked Sunday through Wednesday plus half a day on Thursday. This gave the production people two and a half days to make sure they had everything they needed for that week’s episode. It also gave the cast some much-needed time off.
For me, that meant I would work on Halle’s movie. When we arrived on set, I sent Lexi to find out what I was doing today and walked to Halle’s trailer. I thought I would surprise her, so I just walked in. Halle had her headphones on and was dancing around in nothing but her underwear. I got my phone out and filmed her for a minute before she noticed me.
“David!” she shrieked and lunged for the phone.
I held it up over her head so she couldn’t get it. She stomped her foot.
“You’d better delete that.”
“No, I don’t think so. I always want to remember the carefree girl comfortable enough to dance around in her underwear. I bet if we posted this on the web, we could make good money.”
Halle grabbed me by my balls.
“Not so full of yourself now, are you?”
“Deleting,” I assured her.
I just hoped it had backed up a copy to the cloud. That might be my video Christmas card this year.
“Jerk,” she huffed, then walked back to her bedroom to put some clothes on.
“Mom was happy when she got your email about the songs,” she called out. “She said she would get someone to help you prepare for the show.”
Halle came out dressed for her next scene.
“I’m a little nervous. I’m worried I’ll mess up.”
“It’s just acting. You’ll do fine,” Halle assured me.
I didn’t know what to say to that. In the shower, I thought I rocked. Other people who heard me sing weren’t as impressed. I still couldn’t believe that I’d survived singing in
That reminded me. Mom had seen the first ad for the movie on TV. It was scheduled to come out in a couple of weeks. I’d set aside time off from the J-drama to do a quick publicity tour right before it was released. Now that I thought about it, I also realized I should probably remind Brook that she should buy a dress for the premiere. I didn’t want her to kill me when I said something at the last minute.
“Did you ever sort out your PA?”
“For now. We’ll see, though,” I said, and then changed the subject back to the songs. “Your mom put names next to the songs. One of them was Priyanka Amarnath. Who is that?”
