The Bedroom Blog

I Just Met My Boss's Secret Boyfriend

Chloe discovers why Clarke wasn't so into Nicole's movie.

By Alessandra Torre

"You girls done with your chat?"

Hannah muttered an apology and darted into the light. I stood, cornered and chilly in the shade, and crossed my arms. He may have won an Oscar, he may be one ofPeople's sexiest men alive, but right now, Joey Plazen was just another entitled rich guy getting in my way. "Is chatting not allowed?"

"Not when you're on the clock." His frown enhanced his dimple, a dimple I once had stuck to the inside of my locker. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at him. Since when was my employment his concern?

"Then I guess we should get to work." I smiled brightly and turned sideways to squeeze past, my movements a teensy bit exaggerated in an attempt to make clear my difficulty in getting past his large frame. He stepped back quickly, and spun around, stalking off without a word, in the general direction of the meeting, the loss of him taking along with it the scent of his soap.

Diva. I killed a few minutes fishing for a pretend something in my purse. Once enough distance was present, I followed suit, glancing at my watch as I moved.

I arrived to the meeting late. Of course.

I tried to slip into the back of the meeting room, but no one budged to accommodate my scrawny ass.  The room was packed — stuffy and hot despite the freezing temperatures outside. I ended up half in the hall, half inside the doorway, my hand gripping the door fame just so I could crane my neck over a crew of Teamsters. 

Someone was in front, talking, an unfamiliar voice droning on about call times. I found Hannah a few heads before me, and raised my eyebrows in greeting. She gave me a small smile, apparently forgiving me for my sharp words earlier. Thank god. I needed every friendly face I could find on this set. "Who's that?" I mouthed, pointing a finger forward, over the crowd. They should have given the guy a box to stand on or something.

"Romansky" she mouthed.

Duh. I should have figured. But, with all the hushed drama around this guy, I expected his arrival to come paired with glittery spotlights or a marching band. Hannah turned back to the front, her clipboard up, pen moving, and I bit my bottom lip. Crap. Clipboard. Paper. Pen. All items that were sitting back in Nicole's trailer. All items a good assistant would have, especially for a meeting like this. I heard the director rattle off a list of meetings and times, and I whipped out my phone and tried to type, tried to save at least one appointment. I heard a low chuckle from my left and turned to find Joey Plazen shaking his head at me. I felt the itchy crawl of embarrassment heat my cheeks. He tapped on a shoulder and the seas parted, crew members crawling over themselves to clear a path, his steps moving easily down the room, toward an empty chair that looked like it was sitting there just for him.

My eyes were already rolling when, through the parted bodies, the hole beginning to close, I saw the man at the front of the room, someone I had not seen since one fateful afternoon back in New York: Nicole's hipster boyfriend.