“And that brings us down to the only one who qualifies, Gerald Anderson,” pronounces Jose, our director, emphasizing the ‘only-one’ part.

     It takes me a while to process such a name because I remember permanently erasing that name from my vocabulary and boy did that take a while! And when it does process in my mind, it horrifies me how his name and pretty much everything else about him all come back to me so damn easily. I know that it’s a small world for us, celebrities, but his name was never spoken to me directly but now... Oh, boy. Gerald Anderson! I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say.

     “Ah, Gerald Anderson. The Great Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu,” Mrs. Malou, our executive producer, sighs in agreement and awe.

     I look around the table and I see everyone else sigh in delight as if they were love-struck. “Why can’t we do it with someone else?” I plead to Mrs. Malou and Jose. I look over to my handler, Portia, for some backing up but she just frowns at me.

     “Look, Kim.” Jose stands up and raises his fists in the air. “Look at the big picture. You and Gerald in a movie. It’s gonna be the best comeback yet for Kimerald.”

     “What?!" I slam my hands on the table, palms down. Working with Gerald is the last thing that I need. "A comeback for Kimerald? It’s only been two years since we were broken up. That hasn’t been long enough for me to grow up as an actress!”

     Jose sighs and shakes his head at me. “Obviously, you’re not looking at the big picture!”

     “The big picture?!” I laugh nervously. “The big picture is a jumbled mess because it’s never gonna work out.” Now, I'm shaking. I reach for the paper that held the list of different names of leading men that we could cast. I scan it, looking for Gerald’s name. “Gerald’s name isn’t even on here! Let’s do someone else. What about... Sam? Sam Milby? He’s perfect for the role.”

     “Still not looking at the big picture, Kim! You’re already doing a teleserye with Sam so no Sam Milby. And I could easily put Gerald’s name on the list and who are we kidding? We all know that genuine, effortless and unmistakable magic only comes from adding Gerald and Kim together. Right? Right?!” Jose gestures to everyone around the table and to my horror, they all nod. The room fills up with cheery chatter. “And why are you so against this idea? What’s wrong with Gerald?”

     Everyone quiets down because Jose’s got a point. What is wrong with Gerald? And I think, nothing at all because it’s me who’s got something wrong. I say what I come up with which has a tinge of truth in it, “The fans, there’s not much Kimerald fans out there anymore.”

     Mrs. Malou speaks up, “Oh, Kim. There’s tons of them out there, waiting for you and Gerald. Trust me. They’re just dormant for now because what’s the use of being active if Kimerald is also dormant? And what better way to trigger them active than having a very much awaited reunion in the big screen? This is great! This is great. I like it, Jose. Good job. It’s gonna be explosive, Kim! Come on!”

     “Kim, we’re just waiting for you,” pleads Jose. “Everything is ready. The script is ready. Crew’s hired. The casting is almost finished. We just need a few more characters and the leading man! If only you’d let us do this then maybe we can start story-cons, workshops, promotions and publicity!”

     For now, my argument is invalid but I’m not going to back down. “I’ll think about it.”

     “Okay, think about it. What time is it? 5:53? This meeting’s over. Think about it, Kim. Please. Everyone make sure that you’re scheduled for next week’s meeting.”

***

     “Don’t tell me you’re still not over him,” Portia says as we drive to my next taping with Sam for our teleserye, picking up Haidi along the way.

     “What are you talking about?” I ask.

     “Please, Kim." Her forehead creases. "Don’t act as if you don’t know what I’m talking about because we both know what exactly I’m talking about or should I say, who exactly?”

     “Portia, I’m tired.” I’m lying on the couch in my Ford E150 with my eyes closed and my back turned to Portia.

     “You really want me to say his name?”

     “Portia, I said I’m tired,” I say calmly, keeping my eyes closed and trying to maintain the peace that Portia is trying to ruin so badly.

     “You are totally not over Gerald Randolph Opsima Anderson Jr.”

     My eyes flutter open and in a split second, emotions surge through me too quickly that I couldn't decipher what they were. I don’t reply to Portia.

     “Kim?”

     I still don’t reply.

     “Oh my God. You really are still not over him,” she states out loud with a real edge of astonishment and sympathy. "That's why you don't wanna work with him."

     The air around us falls silent as she declares what I feared the most. I take a deep breath. “Oh, Portia. It’s been two years. I’m definitely over him. I’m into Sam, now, remember?”

     “Oh, yeah,” she replies as if she didn’t believe me. “You are into Sam, the Rebound guy.”

     Now, I turn to face her. “I’m not that heartless, Portia. I do like Sam. I genuinely do.”

     “Whatever you say, Kim, whatever you say,” she tells me, raising her hands in defeat. “So did he ask you to be his girlfriend yet?”

     “No, we’re taking things slow. We haven’t even gone out on dates yet since the public can’t know.”

     “Well, what’s wrong with the public knowing that you’re happily in-love with him?”

     “I don’t know,” I shrug. “It’s just that, you know, there hasn’t been anyone after the break up with Gerald and I don’t know how people will react.”

     “C’mon, it’s gonna be fine. It’s been two years after that traumatic break-up with Gerald. I think it’s time for you to fall in love again without letting anything keep you from falling. Just fall full-on, the natural way, and it’s gonna be fine because you deserve to be happy.”

     I’m touched by what she said. “Really, Portia? You think so?”

     “Heck yeah, I do.”

     I sit up as the car stops right outside the lobby of the ABS-CBN station and I can see Haidi waiting for us.

     The car door slides open. “Well, see you later.” Portia hugs me goodbye and halfway out, she says, “Consider what Jose suggested. Gerald’s not gonna be so bad.” Then she winks at me.

     Haidi buckles herself in as the car starts moving again. “Gerald's not gonna be so bad? What was she talking about?”

    “Jose wants Gerald to be the lead of the movie.”

    “No way!” she utters in total shock.

     “I tried to block every way but trust me, there’s a way.”

     “Oh, Kim. This is good news! You and Gerald back together again. It must be fate and destiny taking control. This is so romantic. I knew that you’d end up back in each other’s arms again!” She’s practically bouncing up and down out of excitement.

    “It’s not good news, Haidi. And I’m over him.”

     “You are?”

     “Yes! Jeez. I’m so over him. Why do people keep thinking that I’m not over him?” I pause. “Don’t answer that.”

     “Okay, so you’re over him.” I can see that she’s taken aback. “Then what’s so bad with working with him again?”

     “Because,” I reply.

     “Because what?”

     “Because.”

     “Er, okay. So you’re sure you don’t want to get back with him?”

     “Yes, I’m most definitely sure.”

     “Then work with Gerald. This is just work. Pure professionalism. Nothing personal. Show them that you’re professional. You’re professional, right?”

     “You know what? You’re right, Haidi. I am professional,” I reply. Nothing personal.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I just started this story so I'm not sure if I should continue. The plot is reflexive. It's not definite, neither is the title since plot isn't detailed yet although I got ideas. Please tell me your comments, if i should continue or not.