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doing that to her. She broke through all the barriers to just…her. “So things have been a little all over the place. Not so great, actually.”
    Molly leaned back on her hands patiently as if she had all the time in the world. “Okay, tell me.”
    And she would because that’s what she did with Molly. “The short version of a long story is that I feel a little, what’s the word…lost? God, that sounds so cliché that I can’t believe I just said it. Erase the word lost from this conversation. I guess I just don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” She raised her hands in helpless wonder and let them drop, then sat quietly for a moment thinking how to best explain. “I work day and night because that’s what it takes. Shooting schedules, contracts, location scouting, talent management, and long hours on set. But I’m not shy about putting in the time. I’ve ascended the studio ladder ahead of schedule, which should feel great, but it doesn’t and I don’t know why. I should be reveling.”
    “So revel. What’s stopping you?”
    She shook her head. “It feels hollow. I have friends that I tolerate, and women…well, let’s just say the revolving door’s had quite a workout, and you know what? I’m too old for that. What exactly is my purpose in life? Because it’s all wearing a little thin.”
    Molly grinned in amusement and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re twenty-seven.”
    “What?”
    “You’re only twenty-seven years old.”
    “Exactly. And what do I have to show for it?”
    Molly laughed. “A pretty impressive résumé to start with.”
    “Yeah, well, the studio has placed me on a temporary leave of absence. Did I forget to mention that particularly flattering part?”
    “Okay. Wow. What prompted that?”
    Jordan hesitated, not sure she wanted to share what had been a tragically weak moment for her. “They might have taken issue with the fact that I poured a pitcher of ice water over a high profile actor’s head in front of an entire working set.”
    Molly covered her mouth, though the smile was hard to hide. “Jordan, you didn’t. You can’t do things like that.” But she was now laughing, which only made Jordan laugh too.
    “Listen, that guy had it coming. He’d been hitting on me since day one of the shoot, and no matter what I did or said, politely I might add, he wasn’t getting the message. It was time he learned to keep his damn hands to himself.”
    “And you thought the ice water would—”
    “Make it a bit more clear. Trust me, it did.”
    Molly shook her head, trying to regain composure. “You could have gone to movie jail.”
    “I still might.”
    “Will this hurt your career long-term?”
    Jordan considered this. “Maybe. I don’t know. It’ll definitely be hot gossip for a few weeks.” She stood, strolled to the suicidal shutter, and turned back. “If I apologize profusely and fall on my sword, that kind of thing, I should be able to get back in the studio’s good graces. I would just have to, you know, find the motivation to actually do that and I’ll be honest, it’s eluding me in this moment.”
    Molly shook her head in amazement. “Only you, Jordan, only you.”
    “I’m a work in progress. This is not news to me.”
    “And thus, you’re here. To regain your bearings, to steady the ship—”
    “To spend time with the people who are important to me,” she said seriously and inclined her head to Molly as an example of that. “Whom I never should have stayed away from for so long.” She hesitated before pressing forward because it was a delicate subject matter for both of them. “When her plane went down…I didn’t know how to be here anymore. Nothing felt right.” Molly nodded solemnly, her eyes a little haunted at the topic shift. “I think it was a way to cope with losing my sister, but in hindsight, it was so incredibly selfish of me that I can’t stand myself for it. I mean, my parents, you.”
    Molly got up and moved