Page 18 of Need to Know

My mic went live, “Hi Mindy, hi Jack, good to see you both,” I said with a lively showbiz tone pitched to mirror Mindy.

Jack’s eyes sparkled as he turned on his allure. “Hello from rainy old London, it’s so great to chat with you both,” he said in that swoony British voice.

“Oh, is it raining where you are? What a shame. It’s a gorgeous day here in New York,” Mindy revealed.

“It is. I’m in New York too. I took a run in Central Park earlier when it was cool, but it got a little too hot for me to handle this afternoon,” I admitted with a grin.

“Well, talking of things that are too hot to handle, your movie, guys! I’ve seen some wonderful reviews that say what an action-packed, sexy film it is. Who wants to tell me about it?” Mindy asked excitedly.

“Jack, why don’t you take this one,” I suggested as I settled back. We’d always taken turns to do the sales pitch. Jack launched into the spiel that we’d learned by rote. Thriller, LGBTQ representation, thanks to studio for making it happen…blah, blah, blah.

“Wonderful. Now, for the viewers at home, let’s take a look at a clip,” Mindy said. The feed cut to our movie trailer, and then the producer said, “You’ve got fifty-five seconds until we’re live again,”

I saw Jack mime wiping his brow with relief. I gave him a thumbs up. I took another sip of my drink and checked the notes I had in front of me. Soon enough we were live again.

“So, you’re playing a married couple who discover that they both have secret lives the other doesn’t know about. Nate, hasn’t art recently reflected this in your real life? I understand that there’s been a little drama there.”

I knew that Mindy would take the opportunity to ask, and I was prepared. Roz and I discussed it and I had a short statement ready.

“You could say that, Mindy,” I began. “After eleven wonderful years together Erik Thorne and I have decided our relationship journey has come to an end and we’ve agreed to divorce. I wish Erik the greatest happiness on whatever road he chooses next! We’d both be grateful if the media would give us privacy to process this change,” I stated with finality.

“Awww, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Mindy said sounding genuinely taken aback, as if she hadn’t expected me to divulge the whole truth that my marriage was over.

“But, silver lining…I guess the boys of New York had better start queuing for the chance of date now you’re back on the market,” she cajoled.

I laughed, hoping it was convincing. “I’d say that’s…a little premature, Mindy. I’m far too busy to get back on the dating scene. Maybe one day, but this is not it,” I grinned. “I’m looking forward to the many exciting projects I’ve got coming up. But for now, the promotion tour for Need to Know is heading back to Europe,”

“And who wouldn’t love summer in Europe,” Mindy commented.

“Exactly, I love visiting Europe and I can’t wait to get back there to promote our movie.”

“I saw that one of your European fans recently got a little too invested in meeting you,” Mindy probed.

“Yeah, that was a very scary incident and thanks to Jack’s quick reflexes the man was subdued and no one got hurt,” I stated. I didn’t want to make the attack into a salacious gossip point.

Jack spoke up then, “I’m relieved that no one was injured too and I hope the fan gets the mental health help he needs,” Jack stated, falling into line with the narrative that the attacker was an over-zealous fan with mental health problems, and not someone who was planning to purposely injure me.

“Now, moving on, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of what everyone wants to know about ‘Need to Know’. The trailer hinted at some pretty steamy love scenes between you both, and the reviews go further, like this one from Cine-Geeks that says ‘All you need to know about the intimate scenes featuring Nate Linden and Jack Boyd is that they are fire!’ What do you say to that?”

Both Jack and I chuckled. I spoke up first, “The writer, Brett Kahn was very specific about how he wanted us to portray his characters. Their intimacy was vital to pushing the story along so I’d say we did our job!”

Jack chipped in then, “We wanted to make the intimate scenes as touching, natural and real as we could. And honestly Mindy, I’ve never had a more fun time on set,” Jack’s smile was wicked and his eyes sparkled. Heat pooled at my groin and I was so glad that it was only my head and shoulders on the screen.

“I can only imagine what fun you both had. What I want to know is, will there be a sequel, and where do I sign-up to be a fly-on-the-wall when you perform together again?” We all shared a laugh.

“So, what’s next for you Jack?” Mindy asked.

“Well, Mindy, I’m delighted to announce that I’m the new brand ambassador for an iconic British high-end suit brand–the details of which will be announced very soon in a Vogue exclusive.”

“You know, my girlfriends and I discussed this over cocktails last week, and we all agree that there’s nothing sexier than a man in a well-tailored suit!”

“Oh, I totally agree with your girlfriends,” Jack winked.

“I can’t wait to see you modelling suits, but what about acting? What’s next for you there?” Mindy flirted.

“The big news I can announced on that score is I’ll be playing Prospero in a two-month run of The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK. That means fans from all over the world can come and see me in my happy place, performing live on stage in the town where William Shakespeare lived,” Jack announced with an incorrigible boyish grin.

“How exciting to be returning to the stage! Do you prefer theatre or screen work?”