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She explained her five-year plan to him quickly, him nodding as he'd heard it before, then she went into Roland's plan to get her there. August was stunned and shook his head."That's never going to work."
"Already is," Roland grinned, he pushed four magazines over to August. "We've already planted articles in these, and we've got more ready to go. The interest is building, and Clara’s already had brands reaching out for partnerships. This is the shortcut to your plan.”
August frowned as he read over the article in US magazine, then slid it across the table to Jill. "I think I've found the problem you and Rhi might be having," he said, pointing to the page. He turned to Roland, "You can't expect this ruse to carry them through the production of the film. She and I are attending the Oscars together next week and we're practically living together. No one's going to believe that they're a couple."
Roland chuckled, "No, August. No one is going to believe you are a couple. The press wrote you off as gay years ago. They'll see her as your beard or best friend. She's the Grace to your Will, but not your lover."
August narrowed his eyes sharply. "Kline has a girlfriend, as well. If he and Jill are never seen out together, how do you expect to convince the public that they're anything but old friends?"
"It's called a photo op. I'm already arranging them," Roland said, turning to Jill, who was skimming through the article. "That's one of the reasons I came over. You and Kline need to share a little time on the carpet at the Oscars and then at the parties afterwards. The more facetime, the better. I know he’s got plans to take his civilian, but no one’s going to care about seeing her. I thought maybe August could–”
“No,” August said firmly.
Jill's mouth rounded into a little ‘o’, and she shook her head. "Roland—"
"I'm not asking you to nail him in front of the cameras.I’m not asking you to marry him, or even go home with him. But you are friends, right?Say hello. Give him a hug. Share a glass of champagne at an after party. Just be near one another. August can be there, too. No one will think anything of it. The camera sees what it wants to see, and what it wants to see is you and Kline.”
She looked doubtful. "Have you talked to Kline about all of this?"
“Yes, and he's fine with it. He understands how important it is, just as I know you do," Roland said. "Right?"
Jill glanced to August, who shrugged."It's a photo op.I'll be right there.You're my beard," he added with dull impishness, "I can't get too far."
"I guess," Jill said slowly. "But Rhiannon--"
"Kline will explain it all to her.I'm sure he already has."
She sighed, then nodded. "Alright, but just for the photo op," she said, seriously to Roland. "Don't push this too hard, okay? Kline and I–just don’t push this too hard."
"Me, push?" He held up his hands innocently and they all laughed. "All right. I'm off then.What are you wearing to the show?Something that will get attention?"
"Absolutely," she nodded. "August made it."
"Oh, then it's sure to be a stunner," he said, sliding from the seat and gathering his things. He leaned to kiss Jill's cheek and gave a nod to August. "I'll see you there. Five years,” he said, holding up his fingers. “Give me five years and I’ll give you the rest of your life. Three and a half if we play our cards right.”
They said goodbye and watched him leave before August turned back to look across the counter at Jill. "You're sure you want to do things this way?"
She looked at the stack on the table and frowned, pushing it away. She was not going to read that. "I don't see that I've got much choice now.We did talk about this before New York. I did tell Roland I was game, and I was then. Now, it’s different. Still, if I go forward and say all those things are a hoax, how much worse do I look? I'm trapped. Are you going to be okay with it?" Her brow creased with worry. "There are going to be scenes in that movie that are--fairly full on."
August smiled. "I'll just make sure I'm on the set. Constantly."
She laughed, "You really want to watch that?"
"No. I just want to make sure he stops when he's supposed to," August said, dryly. "And I want to remind him that I'm the one you're coming home with."
Jill crossed the floor and slid up next to him with a warm kiss. "I'll make it abundantly clear."
"Mm. Good. Do that again."
She smiled and slipped her arms around his neck, kissing him with more heat. There was a niggling doubt about what she'd just agreed to, but for the moment, she forced it away with the feeling of August's hands sliding along her hips.
CHAPTERFOUR
Kline Scott
Kline’s calendar was packed. He had missed the SAG awards for a three-day Lone Star promo junket across Canada and had come home to prep for the Oscars. No, he wasn’t nominated this year. Yes, he was only presenting. But the closest anyone else from Knock had come to getting an invitation to that show was when one of the recurring extras had been a seat-filler one year. Just getting onto the stage to present was a massive win.
Knight was still doing well after its December release and Lone Star was getting buzzy after some important screener reviews had come out. For all intents and purposes, Kline was on top of the world. His job for the next nine months was to convince the Academy that he deserved a nomination for his work, then he would be working to convince them that he deserved to win. That meant showing up and showing out at every opportunity.
