Denise was nervous, she was about to meet the head of production at New Line Cinema to pitch her ideas and showcase several scripts she'd written for school. Chris had asked why her series wasn't part of the collation of materials she was taking to the meeting. He thought it would've made for a good television series, or even a movie trilogy. He'd read the original script, the one she'd kept in a private folder on her MacBook. He had faith in it. There was potential there and he didn't understand why she argued against pitching it. He told her, "fan fiction or not, it's a great love story." She admitted that it was but she still didn't think anyone would want to turn a fan girl's fantasy into something for the big screens.

Denise hugged her laptop bag to her chest and nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek as Chris pulled into the parking lot of the studio's headquarters. He turned to her. She was so nervous, so deeply lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice his car had stopped. All she could hear were the voices in her head. They were all very mean, with their "it's not going to happen" and "you are going to get rejected" and "they probably won't even see you." Her right hand reached for her right earlobe and fiddled with her earring, her left reached for her clover necklace and fiddled with the pendant. These were things she did when she was nervous, it was as though she thought they were capable of distracting her from her thoughts.

"Hey," Chris reached over the gearbox and curled his fingers over Denise's wrists, distancing her hands from her jewelry. "I know you're nervous but you gotta breathe." He forced her gaze onto him, acting out breathing movements so she could follow suit. "Okay," one hand released one of her wrists to caress her face, "you are going to be fine. Geoff and I talked, you've got a ten o'clock with him and he's very excited to meet you. All you need to do is walk in there and dazzle him with your talents."

"Dazzle," she swallowed with a nod. "I can do dazzle."

"I know you can." He smiled, giving her cheek a quick brush with his thumb before returning both hands to his lap. "Now I've got a meeting myself, so I'll be back to pick you up. Geoff said he's giving you an hour, so hopefully my side ends by eleven. If I'm not here when you get out, just text me and hang out at Starbucks for a little bit." She nodded. It would've come as a surprise to Chris if she'd processed all he was telling her, it was clear she was simply trying to focus on her breathing. "You are going to do amazing, baby." He leaned forward and smacked a loud kiss on the side of her head, successfully drawing a smile from her. "Now go," he chuckled, reaching over her to open her door. "Get out of my car."

"Excuse me?" She simultaneously scoffed and chuckled at the same time. "Is that really how a gentleman talks to his lady?" She asked as she got out, closing the door behind her. "I should really call Lisa so she can give his smart-ass a good whooping," she mumbled to herself, smiling.

Chris wound down the window as Denise walked around to his side, "no, but I know if I don't kick you out- you're not going to get out." He rested his elbow on the window's ledge, eyes darting to his watch to remind her it was almost ten. "Hop along, little bunny. Hollywood awaits," he beckoned his head to the entrance behind her. She turned and stared at the entrance, feet unable to move despite how strongly her brain was urging them to. "You're going to nail it, Nise," Chris assured her.

"As hard as you nailed me last night?" Denise heard herself murmur the joke under her breath. Chris laughed, but she couldn't find it in herself to. She did, however, manage a smile at the sound of his alluring laughter. "Okay," she huffed, glancing back at him. "I'm going to go in, wish me luck."

"Luck is for the talentless," he winked and her smile widened. "Power couple!" He called out as she walked away from his car, making her chuckle. She held up a hand and waved at him without turning around. "Power couple indeed," Chris grinned when he saw her disappear behind the doors, then drove off to his own meeting.

• • • • • • • •

The scene inside immediately overwhelmed Denise. Everyone was moving at a pace she knew she'd have trouble keeping up with if she had been lucky enough to get an internship there. It was at that point that she realized how fortunate she was to have Chris. There were going to be negative repercussions, she'd submitted herself to that fact. But she had to know there was going to be hell to pay whether or not she used the help he offered, the industry she was pursuing was not going to be a smooth ride. This was Hollywood, people got in the business not only by their talent but the names they had in their back pocket. It was going to be a hard climb no matter the equipment she was distributed, if she could have a safety line, or a partner to help her along the way- why couldn't she utilize that prerogative?

Clutching her bag strap tightly, and taking a deep breath, Denise attempted to exude confidence as she approached the front desk. "Excuse me," she politely tried to capture the busy receptionist attention. "Sorry," Denise winced at the look of annoyance she was hit with. The name plate sitting on the desk informed Denise the lady she was speaking with was named Rebecca, though she doubt addressing her by name was going to get her to look less annoyed by her presence. "I'm here to see Geoffrey Davis, I believe I have a ten o'clock appointment."

"Name?" Rebecca quizzed in an incredibly bored tone as she turned her attention to her computer.

"Denise Hogan," Denise introduced herself. And upon disclosing her name, it was like the room slowed. Suddenly everyone simply stopped what they were doing so they could redirect their eyes onto her. Denise swallowed as the whispers began and the dirty looks came. Suddenly Denise remembered why she fought so hard against Chris' help, suddenly she knew exactly what she'd been so afraid of.

"Denise Hogan, you said?" Rebecca made no effort to hide her smug smirk when she repeated Denise's name. "You have a ten o'clock," she darted her gleaming gaze to her computer, "or should I say- had a ten o'clock." Her gaze returned to Denise as Denise's eyes narrowed slightly, though if she was being honest with herself- she'd expected it. "I'm afraid we've had to cancel your appointment. Mr. Davis isn't in at the moment, he's currently in New York hearing a pitch from an actual screenwriter." Denise suppressed her urge to scoff by pressing her lips together. "Sorry, sweetie." The fakest smile Denise had seen in her life was plastered onto Rebecca's face as she also faked her condolences.

Denise's fists clenched. "I'm guessing there is no chance to reschedule my meeting?" Denise remained her professional composure, she smiled politely and spoke calmly. She'd anticipated what she was currently experiencing, she'd prepared herself so she neither cried nor had a fit. She was just going to suck it up and leave like she'd promised herself she would when it happened. 'When' not 'if' because she was realistic, unlike Chris.

"I'm sure Mr. Davis will meet with you when you have what we're looking for, and not a fiancé with an astounding level of pull to mooch off." Rebecca's eyes weren't even on Denise when she shaded her, she had returned her focus to whatever she'd been working on on her computer. Denise bit her tongue, agreeing it was in hers, and Chris' best interest to take the higher road. The phone rang and Rebecca picked up, waving Denise off with a hand when she realized she was still standing there. "New Line Cinema, Rebecca speaking. How may I be of assistance? The exit's right behind you," she whispered to Denise, pointing at the door.

"Thank you for your time." Denise forced a smile then turned for the exit. She heard the whispers as she walked past those who had nothing better to do, it was as though the knife Rebecca had twisted into her heart wasn't enough. She felt like she was walking through a minefield; each step, another blow, sending shattered pieces of her heart and soul sky high.

"Like Geoffrey Davis was really going to waste his time meeting with her, what a joke."

"Did she really think that just because she's engaged to Chris, she's entitled to a meeting?"

"He really downgraded from Jenny Slate, should've settled with her when he had the chance."

"Yeah, instead he settled with a child. Not to mention, a complete nobody. I don't know why he'd-"

Denise escaped before the end of that sentence caught her ear. It wasn't her first time being exposed to the cruelty of the public's judgement, but that didn't mean it was any easier for her. Being with Chris was going to be a constant uphill battle, she'd come to terms with that fact even before she started dating him. Because even as his friend, the paparazzi and fans pounced on her with any and every chance they had. They criticized and ridiculed her, micromanaging and analyzing her every move. Headlines were written over the stupidest things, it was like they were rooting for the relationship to fall apart. She couldn't even squint at the sun while walking with him because then she'd look upset with him and their relationship would be 'on the rocks!'

As annoyed as she was with everything, she couldn't issue blame. She and Chris were two completely different people from two completely different worlds. The gap in their social status and age, it was questionable. She was twenty-one and a nobody, whereas Chris was thirty-eight and a world famous movie star. If she wasn't the twenty-one year old nobody engaged to Chris, she would've found the relationship puzzling too. From the outside, no one could understand their relationship. But she didn't care about the outside, she was on the inside with Chris. Her feelings were always going to be hurt hearing such vile comments, Chris' too. But they knew why they were together, why they were in-love, what mattered in their relationship- they didn't care what others thought of it.

Denise had an hour to kill now. It was an hour for her to get her story straight so she could tell Chris what happened in a way that wouldn't make him angry at everyone at New Line Cinema. She was confident she was going to have to lie for that to happen, but they'd both agreed they'd be honest about things so she was caught in a bit of a sticky situation. She sighed and crossed the street so she could sit at Starbucks, have a drink to soothe herself, and work on her story.