CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THREE – SWIFT INTERVENTION

Before Jasmine could even formulate a response to defuse the situation, a new voice piped up from behind her. "Wait, so are you and Gordon like...together together?" Miss Plastique's sugary drawl dripped with sudden intrigue. "I did NOT see that one coming, girlfriend! Spill all the deets." Jasmine clenched her jaw, willing herself not to lose her cool here. This was exactly the sort of over-the-top, cringe-worthy scenario she had signed up for after all. Mustering a tight smile, she adopted her best airy tv persona. "Well now, inquiring minds want to know! But a lady must keep some things private...even if her nutty costars want to shout it from the rooftops." Her last word was punctuated by a thunderous crash and discordant clang, as if someone had hurled an entire pan's worth of pots directly at a marble countertop. Accompanied by a strangled cry of "For the cause, Gordon!" Jasmine flinched instinctively at the ruckus, blind panic suddenly gripping her chest. The crashes and ba