I was already comfortable with everyone in the room by the time they asked me to read from the script. They knew I had no experience, so they walked me through the process. I could tell they were on my side and truly wanted to see me catch on. I was willing to try anything they suggested, and it seemed to be working.
I experienced a mixture of elation and dread at the thought of quitting my job and leaving Memphis to star in a television show. I had to remind myself to slow down since they were just filming the pilot and weren't even sure it would get picked up.
I had been in the meeting for what must have been almost an hour when Bill said, "So, I guess it's about time we hear those pipes."
He stared at me with a smile, and I stared back, trying to figure out what he was saying.
"You mean you want me to sing?" I asked.
He smiled and nodded, and I looked around.
"Do you need music?" he asked.
"I don't guess you have a keyboard anywhere," I said.
"No, but we have a boom box in the studio if you need to sing along with something."
"I could just sing a little a cappella if that's okay. Do you have anything you'd like to hear—a certain style that Nikki would sing?"
"She's a folk singer in the script," Bill said, "but anything's fine for now just to let us get a read on your voice."
"Can you play the guitar at all?" John asked. "Nikki's music career definitely won't be front and center in the show, but it'd be great if you could at least fake it with a guitar."
"I can get by on the guitar," I said. "I know a few songs, and I can learn more."
"I think there's a guitar in the main room," Sandra said. "I saw one in there the other day with a bunch of the props."
It only took a few minutes for her to track down the guitar. It was a little out of tune, and I didn't know much about tuning it, but I did my best.
"I know Ball and Chain, Me and Bobby McGee, and Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," I said, smiling at them from behind the acoustic guitar.
All three of them asked for something different, but they ended up settling on Me and Bobby McGee. I would have been happy with any of them, but Bobby McGee was one of my favorite songs to sing. My rendition was similar to Janis Joplin's, though I tried to add a bit of sweet, all-American quality to it since those attributes were stuck in my mind. I was planning on singing only the first verse and the chorus, but all three of them seemed to be really into it, so I continued.
Sandra stared at me with an expression that said she was pleasantly surprised. John was also looking at me. He literally had his hand cupped to his ear and was staring at me like he had met his next Nikki.
Bill had his elbows on the table with his forehead propped up by his hands. He kept his face covered the whole time. I finished the song and had bent over to set the guitar into the case when I heard them start clapping. Bill's the one who started it. He stood up, clapping and shaking his head as if he had just witnessed something great.
"We're gonna have to make Nikki's career more front and center," he said, looking at John, who had also joined in the clapping (without standing up). John was enthusiastic about my playing and everything, but not like Bill. John rolled his eyes at Bill for making the comment about Nikki's music career, and I laughed and both of them.
"Get Kevin in here," Bill said. "I think he should meet her and maybe let them go over a few lines together."
Sandra took that as a cue, and she left the room.
A few minutes later, she came back in with Kevin. I could see a slight resemblance to Gray in the face, but the two men were structurally nothing alike. I wanted to tell him I knew his brother, but I kept it to myself. Seeing Kevin made me wonder where Gray was, though.
Introductions were made. Kevin seemed excited about the project and happy to meet me. They made us read a scene where Kevin's character had just come in from mowing the lawn and was breaking the news to Nikki that he had destroyed the lawn mower blade once again.
I messed up several different times in various ways, but I was quick to fix the things they told me to fix, and they seemed to like what I was doing.
I absolutely couldn't wait to see Gray.
"She can sing, too," John informed Kevin.
"She's a really talented singer," Sandra agreed. "I'm already planning on getting her another job if you guys aren't smart enough to hire her."
"Oh, we're smart enough to hire her," Bill said.
He had just taken a breath and was about to say something more when the door flew open with a bang. We all jumped and a few of us gasped as we looked in that direction.
There he was.
Gray, standing in the doorway, looking larger than life.
The sudden interruption surprised me so much that it took me a second to realize how menacing he appeared. He looked at me and then at his brother as if assessing some sort of situation.
"Did you kiss her?" Gray asked, looking straight at Kevin like he wanted to murder him.
"Relax, bro. What's your problem?"
"Gray, what's going on?" Bill asked.
Gray looked straight at Bill but pointed at Kevin in a stiff-armed agitated way. "Did he kiss her just now?" he asked. He came to stand closer to us. I could feel the agitation emanating from him, and I honestly took pleasure in knowing that he was so distraught over something that had to do with me.
"No, dude, I didn't kiss her… yet," Kevin said with a little laugh.
"Don't even think about it, Kevin, I'm serious."
"Chill, bro, relax."
"I'm not going to relax," Gray said. "Molly told me Kevin came in here to read the script with the woman who was supposed to play his love interest."
"And, here she is," Bill said with a wide-eyed expression as if to indicate Gray had just answered his own question.
"Is that who she's supposed to be playing in the show?" Gray asked. "Kevin's love interest? Is that who Nikki is?"
"Yes, Gray," John said. "They're roommates. They'll have some accidental romance, and tension will build-up all through the series."
Gray shook his head, wearing a completely serious expression. "No."
"No what?"
"Would she have to kiss my brother?"
"Not in every episode," John said.
"In the pilot, they do, though," Bill said. "Is that a problem?"
Gray grimaced at him. "Yes, it's a problem."
My heart was beating a thousand miles an hour as I took in their intense expressions.
"I'm sorry, Gray, but I don't understand why there's a problem here." Kevin looked genuinely confused.
"I know Jane," Gray said. "She's here with me. I'm the one that told her to tryout for the part."
"Well, good on you," Bill said. "Because she got it. She rocked it. We want her."
"Not if she's going to be kissing my brother, she's not," Gray said.
Kevin laughed, and then his smile faded and he began shaking his head when he saw that Gray remained serious.
"You're actually serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious," Gray said.
"Too bad," Bill said. "We already want her. I already have new ideas to get her to sing on the show. Her music's going to be a central part of the storyline."
"No it's not," John said, rolling his eyes at Bill again. He looked at me. "Don't let him razzle-dazzle you." He glanced at Gray. "But we do want her. We like her for the character of Nikki."
"Then make Nikki my girlfriend in the show if it means that much to you to keep her."
"I think maybe you have more of a problem with this than Jane does," Bill said. "She wants the part or she wouldn't be here. She's been in here the whole time reading the part of Kevin's lady, and she didn't seem to have any problems with it."
Gray looked at me.
"We didn't have to kiss or anything," I said.
I locked eyes with Gray, and we stepped closer to each other. A teeny tiny part of me wanted him to be quiet and not have a confrontation, especially because I kind of already wanted the part, but the biggest part of me loved that he was protective of me and didn't want me kissing his brother. His annoyance over the matter was the most romantic thing I had ever seen, honestly.
We gave each other a little, imperceptible grins like we didn't even care that everyone was looking at us. Kevin had no idea Gray had been talking to me or had been the one to buy my ticket to Chicago. It was for this reason that I ultimately forgave him for saying, "I'll bet you'll forget all about your worries, Gray, when you meet the woman playing Natalie."
We all turned to look at Kevin, who was staring straight at Gray.
"The girl playing your wife is a swimsuit model, dude. You're welcome."
"She's a fitness instructor," John corrected.
"I know she plays a fitness instructor on the show, John. I'm telling Gray she's a swimsuit model in real life."
My blood pressure officially went through the roof. I felt a hot wave of anger wash over me, and I imagined myself body-slamming that swimsuit model.
"I'm not joking, brother, she was in here this morning. Smoking hot. She makes Christy Brinkley look like a dog."
"I agree with Gray," I said, causing everyone to look at me.
I was a nervous wreck, but I couldn't stay silent any longer. I knew everyone was looking at me, but I stayed focused on Gray.
"I think maybe that fitness instructor could play the part of Kevin's girlfriend and I could play the part of Gray's."
Kevin laughed like he thought we were playing a joke on him, but Gray and I just continued to stare at each other.
"I would've never brought you up here if I knew they were going to be asking you to kiss my brother," Gray said. "I'm sorry if that makes me old-fashioned or whatever, but I feel like that's just out of the question."
I gave him a slow grin. "I must be old-fashioned, too, because in my mind, the swimsuit model is completely out of the question. I'd rather you just not do the show and let them find somebody else to play you."
Gray smiled and took a step closer without taking his eyes off of me. "Yeah, and if the guy on the show is supposed to be based on me, why didn't they come ask me what kind of woman I want?" Gray wore a confused expression. "I would never go for a fitness instructor in real life."
"You wouldn't?" I asked, feeling breathless.
He shook his head, staring straight at me. His dark eyes were sparkling with mischief. He liked that I didn't want him kissing that fitness instructor and that I was brave enough to speak up about it.
Everyone else just sat there and watched our exchange, and we didn't care.
"What kind of girl do you go for real-life?" I asked staring shamelessly at him.
I took a shuttering breath as he came a step closer. We are now only inches away and he unabashedly gazed down at me like he was about to show that his brother exactly why I couldn't play the role of Nikki.
"I like musicians," he said.
"You do?"
He nodded.
"I think a musician is a perfect match for you," I said.
The edge of his mouth lifted in a sideways smile that made my knees weak.
"One musician," I said breathlessly. "I was thinking you could go for one specific musician."
"I hope she's you," Gray said with a serious expression.
I smiled before widening my eyes in fake amazement. "She is me!" I said.
"Jane," he whispered.
"What?"
"Thank the good Lord in heaven you did not kiss my brother just now."
I grinned, staring straight at Gray and trying to convey to him how very much I liked him. I was so happy that he was jealous enough to come in there and do that.
"I wouldn't have," I said. "But thank goodness we figured out there's kissing in the show. That was a close call."
"Too close," he said. "I almost had to kill my own brother."
I grinned at him, and right when I did, he put a hand around my back, pulling me forward as he placed his lips on mine. It was a quick kiss, but I was flooded with relief knowing how much he cared about me.
I had forgotten that the other people were in the room for a minute, but I was brought back to the reality of that when Bill began applauding us. I glanced at him and he gave a few slow claps as he smiled at us.
"Wait, wait a second, are you serious?" Kevin asked, wearing a confused, almost disoriented smile. "Is this some kind of practical joke or something? What's going on here?"
"This is my friend, Jane," Gray said to his brother. "I told her to come up here and audition for the show because she fit the description for that girl Nikki. She flew all the way from Memphis. I would never have had her come if I knew she was trying out to play your girlfriend."
Kevin had seemed pretty easy going at first, but now he appeared to be a bit concerned. "What exactly does this mean for the show, Gray? Are you not doing it?"
Gray shrugged. "I mean, if you can work out something with switching the characters, then I guess we could still think about being a part of it… but honestly, I'm not up for having her kiss you for the camera, Kevin. That's sort of an impasse for me."
I cleared my throat and glanced at everyone in the room before my eyes again fell on Gray. "And I think maybe the swimsuit model is a no-go for me."