Finding Forever Read Online Free Page A

he wasn’t laying it on too thick.
    “I wasn’t sure about you at first,” Reece said. “I’m not generally too impressed by actors who start out in soap operas. Then there was that story in the tabloids a few months back...”
    Jake never liked his start in soaps being dissed. After all, everyone had to start somewhere, and he thought he’d learned some valuable things about the business. And his first role on Passions introduced him to Jordan. The mention of the tabloids concerned him more, though. “That was unfortunate,” he acknowledged. “But as I’m sure you’re aware, there are two sides to every story.”
    The Exposer ran Macy’s side, and Jake didn’t doubt she’d been paid handsomely for it. If Reece wanted to hear his, Jake would tell it, but he much preferred to concentrate on work.
    “Indeed.” Reece waved a hand. “I’m not concerned. I talked to enough people who speak very highly of you, and even if they didn’t, I still might have taken a gamble on you because you nailed that screen test.” His voice grew more animated. “I mean, nailed it. You are Lance, man.”
    “I... wow.” Jake wasn’t accustomed to such ebullient praise, especially from award-winning directors. He tried to regain some sense of composure. “As soon as I saw the script, I knew I wanted the part. I like complex characters and complex plots.”
    “And you don’t mind that some people might see Lance as a bad guy?”
    “No.” Jake shook his head. He knew the character walked a fine line between noble and corrupt. Jake saw that as part of the appeal. “I like the challenge. I’ve waited a long time for a chance like this.”
    “I figured you’d say that, so I didn’t think you’d mind the changes to the first scene.”
    “The gunshots, you mean?” As soon as he’d looked at the revised script, Jake knew what had changed. Three shots instead of one. His character would be firing more shots across the Mexico border, aimed at the young man suspected of smuggling drugs, setting up doubt as to whether Lance acted to protect the U.S. border, or if he opened fire with intent to kill.
    ***
    Now that Trey Lozano’s trial and sentencing were done, Jordan found herself with a little more down time in her schedule. It was nice to be able to take a real lunch hour rather than simply wolfing down a container of yogurt at her desk while she caught up on emails. Since they weren’t courtroom adversaries at the moment, she could also ask Beth to join her. Thankfully, her friend accepted the invitation.
    “Have you heard about the new movie that’s filming in town?” Jordan asked as they sat down at their favorite Mexican restaurant.
    “Yeah, vaguely. What’s it called again?”
    “ Border Cowboys ,” Jordan said. “I guess ‘cowboy’ is the term for the drug smugglers.” She figured she was an expert on the movie by now, since she’d read everything she could find about it online the night before.
    “That’s right. Aaron’s excited. He’s a fan of the director.” Beth dipped a tortilla chip in green tomatillo salsa. “I think it sounds a little too dark and gritty for me, and my job takes me as close to the drug violence as I care to be.”
    Jordan considered that as she took a bite out of her taco. It wouldn’t normally be her type of movie, either, but now she found herself very curious. Or maybe she was just curious about the guy in it. “I know one of the actors,” she said. “Former client, actually.” It was impossible to ignore the irony that when she’d been in law school in Grande Valley, she couldn’t wait to get back to California to make her mark in the entertainment industry. Instead of representing top Hollywood stars, though, her clients were more along the lines of what she used to call C-minus list. Now here she was, back in Grande Valley, and along comes Jake, ready to hit the big time. “He showed up in my office yesterday.”
    “After all these years, your former