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    “Why the sudden urge to travel?” Gabri asked right off.

    Jessica gave her the same exnation she’d used with her parents.

    But Gabri wasn’t buying it. “You? Prenatal syndrome? It doesn’t look like it. And it’s not your first pregnancy, anyway.”

    It had to be said–Gabri really knew her best friend.

    “It’s just to prevent it. And who says only I can get it?” Jessica said, hinting at something.

    Gabri caught on fast. “Brian’s got prenatal syndrome? Heh, that’s too funny. Never thought he’d end up with that.”

    Even though Gabri knew Brian and Madeline’s thing was just a misunderstanding, and he was treating Jessica well now, Gabri still didn’t like him. She never missed a chance to take a dig at him. After all, he’d ionce /ibroken Jessica’s heart.

    “Stopughing. It’s not funny. If he’s got it, he needs help. I can’t just ignore it,” Jessica said.

    If Jessica’d been able to harden her heart, she never would’ve moved back in.

    Gabri sighed, “Jessi, you’re just too soft. If it were me, I wouldn’t bother with him.”

    Gabri thought, ‘All jerks deserve to be left alone.’

    Jessica stayed quiet.

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    Gabri was just venting. She’d still help when it mattered. “If you’re set on helping him, a trip might do you both good. It’ll let you rx. As for the how and where, I actually have a coboration offer you might want to check out.”

    “What kind of coboration?” Jessica raised an eyebrow.

    Gabri exined, “It’s a couples‘ travel show called Love on the Road. Their director contacted me the other day, asking if you and Brian would join. They wanted me to pass it along. If you hadn’t mentioned the trip, I was gonna turn it down for you

    tomorrow.”

    Offers like this hadn’t stoppeding since Jessica and Brian blew up online.

    Since Jessica didn’t have a Twitter ount, most directors and producers reached out to Gabri, who was half in the entertainment industry, to pass along their coboration requests.

    Gabri mentioned a few to Jessica at first, but after getting turned down every time, she started rejecting them outright.

    “Now that I think about it, it’s a good thing I didn’t turn it down yet. Anyway, you haven’t picked a travel spot, so why not just join this show? They’ll handle all the travel bns /band destinations.

    “Plus, there will be other guests and the crew with you. If anythinges up, someone can help out.” The more Gabri talked, the more she thought it was a great idea.

    Jessica thought so too. “That does sound good. Can you tell the director I’m in?”

    But Gabri didn’t agree right baway/b, “I’ll send you the director’s contactter. You talk to him yourself. Ask about the show details too, just in case something doesn’t work. It’d be awkward to back out after agreeing”

    12:55 Tue, 2 Sept A

    Jessica nodded. “Good thinking. Oh, and is this show new?”

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    Gabri thought for a second. “I don’t think so. I remember seeing something about it before, but I can’t recall. I’ll look it upter.”

    “No need, I’ll do it. Just send me the contact info.” Jessica didn’t want to keep asking favors from Gabri.

    “Whatever works.” Gabri didn’t argue. She hung up, opened WhatsApp, and forwarded the contact of the director who’d reached out to her earlier.

    Jessica added a note with her name and reason for contacting and sent the friend request. While waiting, she opened her browser

    to search for info on Love on the Road.

    Hardly had the page loaded when her request was epted.

    Jessica got a message: [Ms. Grant, hello. This is Raymond Scott, executive director of Love on the Road. So d you’re considering our show.]

    Raymond, still at the office working overtime, nearly burst with excitement, holding his phone. He’d been thrilled when he saw Jessica’s friend request.

    Love on the Road was his first time leading a show. He’d hoped it would make his name, but after the first season aired, the response hadn’t been great.

    Neither the buzz nor the profits met the station’s initial expectations. With the station short on money, they weren’t nning to

    make a second season.

    But Raymond still wanted to try again. He pulled every string he could to finally convince the higher–ups to let him make a second season. But the higher–ups made their stance clear–if the second season didn’t work out, the project would definitely get axed.

    To give the second season some buzz and save the show, Raymond wanted to invite Brian and Jessica, the hottest couple right now. He went through all sorts of connections to reach Gabri, asking her to pass along the invitation. There had been no word

    for a while.

    He’d even braced himself for rejection, never expecting this sudden turn–Jessica had actually agreed to join the show.

    With Brian and Jessica’s current poprity, once they confirmed they were joining, the show would basically be saved. There would be no shortage of viewers after that.

    Raymond was over the moon,

    Desperate to keep Jessica on board, he answered every question she had and agreed to all her requests.

    Raymond: [Ms. Grant, rest assured. Our show is mainly about traveling. We’ll have some game segments, but they’re not mandatory and super easy. It’s all about filming while having fun. We won’t let you get tired.]

    Raymond: (Oh, and we’ve got a professional doctor with the crew to make sure all guests stay healthy.1

    Jessica read Raymond’s reply and was pretty satisfied. In that case, send me the address. I’lle sign the contract tomorrow.]

    Raymond didn’t hesitate to reply: (We can’t have you going out of your way, Ms. Grant. I’ll bring the contract to you. If there’s anything in the terms you’re not happy with, we can fix it right then and there.]

    [Mr. Scott, you’re too kind. Raymond’s enthusiasm was a bit much for Jessica. She sent over her address and ended the chat.

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    12:55 Tue, 2 Sept A

    Once she’d sorted things out with the production team, Jessica went to tell Brian about it.

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    “I’m nning to go on Love on the Road. We’ll film while we have fun, and we won’t have ito /iworry about travel routes or medical stuff. It will be easier. What do you think?”

    “Of course, that’s fine. But if we’re doing a variety show, there will probably be other guests with us, right?” Brian didn’t know much about variety shows, but he figured they wouldn’t only invite him and Jessica.

    Jessica nodded. “Besides us, there will be three other couples this season. Mr. Scott didn’t say who exactly, just that they’re nning to get four real couples from inside and outside the industry–some who’ve gone public, some married, and some

    divorced.”

    Brian frowned. “Haven’t they finalized the lineup yet? Are there a lot of celebrities joining?”

    Jessica shook her head. “Notpletely finalized. There will definitely be celebrities. The production team needs the buzz. Why are you asking?”

    Brian didn’t hesitate. “Obviously to find out who’s going to be there beforehand. What if we run into someone with a bad temper who picks on you?”

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