Announcer: Welcome to Entertainment World Now. Tonight, Ashlee Woolcott is live in our Paris studio, reporting on the hottest news in entertainment…right now!

Ashlee Woolcott: It is 3AM Monday morning here in Paris, France. As I told you last time, EWN planned to provide exclusive coverage of the first leg of Trent Foster’s European concert tour which kicked off in Berlin, Germany this past Tuesday.

(Footage of Trent performing in the Mercedes-Benz Arena before a sell-out crowd)

Trent’s three sold-out concerts in Berlin were an indisputable success. But the real headline story behind Trent’s whirlwind week on the continent is his traveling companion on this trip.

(Footage of Evie and Trent filming segments of the music video for “California Dreamin’)

This is Evie Rivers, shooting scenes from Trent’s soon-to-be released music video off his new album, displaying the natural assets that have made her a sensation on social media even before actually performing in front of a camera. She and Trent met when she was cast as the female lead opposite him in the proposed GlobalNet series, Newport. Production on that series will have to wait until the current SAG-AFTRA strike is settled.

(Footage of Trent presenting an award to Bambi Bunson at The World Media Awards Show, Bambi making her pointed remarks, and Evie bolting from her seat in response)

Our viewers may remember an incident that occurred at The World Media Awards just last month. Evie was seen rushing out of the event when Bambi Bunson, Trent’s erstwhile paramour, publicly admonished Evie, sitting in the audience as Trent’s plus-one for the awards show. Well, if this past week is any indication, their relationship has not only been repaired but may have entered a very serious phase.

So, the question we will try to answer tonight is Who is Evie Rivers and What does the future hold for her relationship with Trent Foster?

Evie and Trent arrived in Paris on Friday evening, giving them three full days to enjoy The City of Love before Trent’s first concert at Paris La Défense Arena on Tuesday. Within an hour of landing at Charles De Gaulle Airport and checking into the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Trent took Evie shopping after-hours at the prestigious Louis Vuitton store on Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

Properly outfitted for their romantic weekend in Paris, Evie explored the sights and ambiance of the city with Trent over the next 48 hours. Not only did our cameras capture glimpses of their wanderings but we at Entertainment World Now must thank a source close to Trent and Evie for some very candid, personal footage.

Room service breakfast on the terrace of their hotel room, with a view of the Eiffel Tower behind them, started their day on Saturday. They strolled through the medieval courtyards and pretty streets of Le Marais, stopping to peruse the fresh produce in the Marche des Enfants Rouge, France’s oldest covered food market. The winding streets and slate roofs of Montmartre, the Parisian village of the past, the city of the Belle Epoque, and its squares and cafes was the next destination for our pair of lovers. After lunch at a charming bistro in the district, they visited The Louvre, where Trent showed off his knowledge of art history to an attentive Evie.

A stroll through the Tuileries Garden, a stone’s throw from The Louvre, with a stop in Ladurée Bakery to pick up a bag of their famous macaroons, made them reverse course to one of Paris’ few remaining covered arcades, the Passage des Princes. In one of the toy shops there, Trent tried to interest Evie in a giant teddy bear. Ultimately, Trent had to be satisfied with a cute selfie taken by the store manager (who breathlessly told him that she had tickets to his first concert on Tuesday).

Saturday afternoon drew to a close as Trent and Evie made a pilgrimage to Père Lachaise Cemetery to pay their respects to American rock music icon Jim Morrison of The Doors who is buried there. While there, several American tourists recognized Trent and asked him for autographs and selfies. Trent made sure to include Evie in every shot.

After sunset, Trent and Evie decided to take in the beauty of The Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars at night when The City of Light earns its surnom. The spectacle obviously moved our pair of lovers as this candid kiss with the Tower looming in the background testifies to.

But the clearest evidence that Trent and Evie are seriously in love happened on Sunday morning when they took a road trip to Giverny, a village just an hour’s drive from Paris, to visit the famous Impressionist painter Claude Monet’s house and gardens. There, overlooking the water lilies in Monet’s water garden, captured so beautifully in his masterpiece work, “The Water Lily Pond,” they kissed deeply and languorously.

But who is Evie Rivers? What is her story? To get answers to these questions, our cameras caught up with several people who play integral roles in her life, including her sister, her agent, the man who will be directing her in her first screen appearance, her boss, and, perhaps, her future in-laws.

(Debbie is sitting behind her desk in the Sisters Sportswear office)

Off-camera voice: Looking forward to having a celebrity as a brother-in-law?

Debbie: What are you talking about?

Off-camera voice: Your sister and Trent. Have they set a date yet?

Debbie (angrily): Look, I’m telling you. There’s nothing to these rumors. She’s just shooting a music video with him. It’s a job. With the strike, who knows when she’ll be able to work as an actor again. I’m her sister. Believe me, I’d know if they were seriously involved.

Off-camera voice: What we’ve seen in Berlin, it looks like they’re pretty hot and heavy—

Debbie: Well, there you go. She’s a great little actress.

Ashlee Woolcott (voice-over): Juan Moskowitz, her agent at CAA, discovered her in a dog park in Los Angeles.

(Juan Moskowitz, getting off the phone in his office, before sitting back down behind his desk)

Off-camera voice: Are you concerned that marrying Trent Foster will hurt her career?

Juan (laughing): Well, her sister Debbie says she once admitted to wanting to bear Trent’s babies but, seriously, Evie’s a dedicated artist. Acting is everything to her. I mean, it’s a little sexist to say marriage will derail her career but no one wonders if Trent’s career will be affected by marriage.

Off-camera voice: Yes, but what if she does get pregnant right away? How would the producers of Newport deal with that possibility?

Juan (forming a triangle with his hands): They’d write it into the show. (laughs) After all, it’s a primetime soap opera, isn’t it? No, but really, Evie has no plans of starting a family anytime soon.

Off-camera voice: Doesn’t Trent have any say in that?

Juan (looking serious): Hell no.

Ashlee Woolcott (voice-over): Oscar winning director Danny Dantley believes Evie Rivers is the Next Big Thing in Hollywood and is justly proud to be the one who gave her that first big break.

(Danny is sitting in front of an editing console, ostensibly working on the final cut of Trent’s music video)

Off-camera voice: You first saw her surfing on Newport Beach?

Danny: Yes! A natural mermaid with gamine grace and beauty. I know talent when I see it.

Off-camera voice: But she’d never acted before. From what little we know about her; it seems she was a baseball player. With an MBA. No indication that she ever thought about acting—

Danny: There’s such a thing as a late bloomer. To be a great actor, one needs real life experience to call upon—

Off-camera voice: So, what job did you have before you went into filmmaking?

Danny: I was a hairdresser.

Off-camera voice: Really?

Danny: You can learn a lot about life cutting people’s hair.

Off-camera voice: Like what it’s like to actually have hair?

Danny: Bald jokes are so jejune.

Ashlee Woolcott (voice-over): Chuck Connors is the Executive Vice President of Sisters Sportswear, where Evie works as the Director of Marketing. Rumor has it that he had a brief workplace dalliance with Evie. Logic leads one to believe he might be a little bitter about Evie’s involvement with mega-star Trent Foster.

(Chuck is carrying his surfboard, having just gotten out of his car in the parking lot behind Newport Beach)

Off-camera voice (breathing heavily as he tries to keep up with the fast-walking Chuck): Do you plan to attend the wedding?

Chuck: What wedding?

Off-camera voice: Trent and Evie’s wedding.

Chuck (stopping to address the interviewer): You don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s not getting married. She’s not even dating the guy—”

Off-camera voice: They look like a couple in love, for sure. Here… (his arm appears in frame, holding a Nikon DSLR, the screen facing Chuck) this is them in Berlin.

Chuck (waving the camera away): They hired her to be in a music video. It just happens to be a Trent Foster video. Nothing more, nothing less.

Off-camera voice: Are you bitter? Angry? Resigned?

Chuck: All of that. But not about Evie and Trent. I AM resigned. From Sisters Sportswear. There’s your scoop, bro. Surf’s up! Later!

(Camera follows Chuck as he runs into the ocean, flops onto his board, and begins paddling out to catch a wave)

Ashlee Woolcott (voice-over): We came across Conrad and Eloise Foster, Trent’s parents, on Sunday afternoon, strolling on a stretch of beach near their Pacific Palisades home. They were kind enough to speak to us on the record.

(Conrad and Eloise standing on the beach, smiling affably)

Eloise: She’s a honey of a girl. And Conrad and I are just beside ourselves over the prospect of having Evie join Team Foster. Aren’t we, dear?

Conrad: Oh, yes, dear. The boy finally got it right this time.

Off-camera voice: Has Trent proposed yet?

Eloise: Not officially. But it’s a fait accompli. They’re so much in love!

Off-camera voice: Will the wedding be held in California or New Jersey where her family is?

Eloise: That’s not an issue. She’s a Californian now. And forever! Right, Conrad?

Conrad: Yes, dear.

Off-camera voice: Fall wedding? Winter?

Eloise: Well, Trent’s tour takes a break in October. A Fall wedding would be perfect! And a grandchild in the Spring—

Off-camera voice: Evie’s pregnant?

Eloise: Did I just say that? Oh, Conrad, how could you let me let that slip?

Conrad: What? Evie’s pregnant? No one told me.

Eloise: No one told me either. But Evie’s got that special glow about her. Definitely, she’s got a bun in the oven!

Off-camera voice: You know this will be broadcast worldwide tonight.

Eloise: Oh my! I should have taken these clunky glasses off.

Ashlee Woolcott (at news desk): So, there you have it. An October wedding. A baby in The Spring. What more reliable source can you have than Mrs. Foster?

(Theme music rises in the background)

Until next week, this is Ashlee Woolcott, in Paris, signing off for Entertainment World Now. Good night and good luck.

Monday morning. Paris, France. Trent Foster's suite. I padded out into the common room between the two bedrooms. No Trent. He was still sawing wood. We had stayed up until past 2 in the morning, sipping Amaro and whispering terms of endearment, kissing to be clever. The agreement we had signed in blood (or so it seemed) was that I would stay in Paris long enough to attend the special one-off concert at Le Club Reynard Monday evening for a by-invitation-only audience of French record label execs and guests. Immediately after the final chord of the final encore, Trent would accompany me to the airport to catch a 10PM flight back to Los Angeles.

After déjeuner at Chez Alain Miam Miam, a trendy sandwich stand we had discovered while checking out the fresh produce at the Marche des Enfants Rouge in Le Marais, Trent and I would go our separate ways until he returned to our hotel at 6:30PM to pick me and my baggage up and go to his concert at Le Club Reynard. Trent’s road manager had secured some rehearsal space for the band in the 9th arrondissement. For my part, I planned to do some window shopping along the Champs Elysees all the way to the Arc du Triomphe and back. Not to buy, just looking. I’m starting to really appreciate nice clothes. It doesn’t hurt that someone else is footing the bill. Someone with deep pockets like Trent.

Tired, thirsty, and hungry, I found myself at mid-afternoon bypassing some notable eateries like Café George V, Café Joyeux Champs-Élysées, and Azur Café to seat myself in a Starbucks. I ordered a Strawberry Waffle Cone Frappuccino and a Blueberry muffin.

I mused on the absurdity of traveling almost 6,000 miles just to enjoy a coffee and a muffin at Starbucks. Did I just laugh like a madwoman? I looked around the shop to see if anyone had noticed. Before I returned my gaze to the muffin in front of me, I caught a glance to my right of someone who looked awfully familiar.

It couldn’t be. What would she be doing sitting in a Starbucks halfway around the world from home? We locked eyes. She seemed to have the same vague feeling of familiarity with me. She got up and walked toward me, carrying her coffee and croissant with her.

“Joanne Knowles? Funny meeting you here of all places.”

“What? In Paris?”

“No. In a Starbucks!”

We laughed. She sat down at my table, putting her food down.

“No sign of Ashlee Woolcott or her camera crew,” she said, scanning the room.

“Is she profiling you and Alastair?”

“No, silly, you.” Her confused expression turned quickly to acknowledgement. “You haven’t caught the latest episode of Entertainment World Now, have you?”

“I’ve been busy the last two days.” I smiled.

“Yes, Ms. Woolcott made that abundantly clear in her dispatch from a studio just a few blocks from here.”

“What do you mean?”

“So, does Trent know?”

“Know? Know what?”

“It’s alright, Evie. Joey Petry told me.”

“I thought doctors kept information about their patients confidential—”

“Besides the fact that we’re both transwomen, Joey and I are very close. She’s almost like a daughter to me. And she’s a good friend of my stepson, Eliot Bradshaw, the basketball player. Who, in turn, is close friends with your boss, Chuck Connors…”

“Does Alastair know?”

“No. And I won’t tell him. I suspect you’ll want to tell him yourself. When you’re ready.”

“I don’t see the need. With the strike unsettled, it’ll be next year before we start shooting the series…if GlobalNet doesn’t scrub it entirely before then. Hopefully I’ll have had my procedure done by then.”

“By the time your wedding to Trent takes place, I’m sure your little secret will be out—”

“Wedding? I’m not getting married. A girl spends a weekend with a good-looking rock star in Paris and a crazy rumor like that starts?”

“It’s not a rumor, according to Ashlee Woolcott’s reportage. Trent’s mother is on record saying there’s an October wedding after Trent’s tour takes a break.”

“It’s not true. Not true at all! It’s a set-up! Trent set me up! He made me miss my plane in Berlin on purpose. The Kirschwasser! He got me drunk!”

Joanne lowered her voice to nearly a whisper, leaning forward. “He raped you?”

“No! Well, I don’t think so. No, he left my clothes on and just spooned me in bed. His bed. He…he doesn’t know. You know?”

“You’re in deep do do, girl.”

“My plane home leaves at 10PM tonight. I hope I never see that self-obsessed jerk again after today. Forget about acting! I’ve got a real job anyway…”

“Spurning Trent like that would be a disaster. He could ruin you. The public would definitely be on his side. And he’d go for the kill shot if he found out about you being trans. No, just play it cool. Let him go on thinking he’s bamboozled you. Alastair has a lot of pull in the business, and he’s dealt with some sticky situations in his time. He’ll make Trent understand the ramifications of the situation. Don’t panic, Evie.”

“But then Alastair will know—”

“He’ll be fine with it. You know, he’s kind of got a soft spot for transwomen. He married one…” She smiled broadly and reached across the table to stroke my hand.

“Is Alastair here in Paris?”

“Yes. Even with the strike, there’s pre-production stuff to work on. GlobalNet has two projects planned with Canal Plus. We’re here for a couple of weeks so he can tie up some loose ends.” She looked toward the table she had been sitting at before walking over to me. “You just missed Alastair by five minutes. That’s his half-eaten double chocolate brownie. He’s halfway to the Canal Plus offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux as we speak.”

“Oh, thank Alastair for me, Joanne! My life is such a mess right now. I need all the help I can get. You’re a doll! Alastair’s a doll!” I reached across and gave Joanne an ecstatic double cheek kiss. The traditional French “la bise.” Except I did it two or three more times…for emphasis.

“I have to get going myself. Alastair’s parents are back at our little temporary pied-à-terre in the 7th arrondissement. We’re treating them to a performance of “Don Giovanni” at the Palais Garnier tonight.”

“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything by him. I’m not into current pop music. More of a classic rock fan myself.”

For an intimate private concert, exclusively attended by invitation-only guests, Le Club Reynard was packed to the gills with wall-to-wall music industry suspects from French and European companies. True to its avowed purpose, the congregation was already bouncing to tracks from Trent’s soon-to-be-released album, Fostering Another Delusion, when we found our way backstage. The show was about to begin in 15 minutes as Trent introduced me to the band members and the rest of his crew. Some of them shook my hand while congratulating us on our impending nuptials. I grimaced while Trent patted my back and grinned like a fiend. Trent’s road manager Felix escorted me out to the crowded dance floor, acting as my bodyguard amidst the sea of bodies screaming Trent’s name. The room erupted in chanting and applause as the band emerged onstage.

Toward the end of his 45-minute set, Trent interrupted the flow to point to me in the crowd. The lighting master tried to pinpoint me with a spotlight which flickered across my face. Trent made some obscure remark about me that nevertheless met with applause from the audience. Then he performed a full-band version of the song he’d sung to me the morning after in his Berlin hotel suite.

I received a text on my phone as Trent began the guitar coda to the song. Looking down on the illuminated screen, I opened it and read:

The first 15 minutes of our ride to Charles De Gaulle Airport passed in uneasy silence between Trent and me. He looked confused by my demeanor. I kept my face turned to the view of Paris streets whizzing by beyond the car window.

“Something wrong, babe?”

“Tired.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane. I sense you want to say something.”

“It’ll keep until you come off your tour in October.”

“Sounds ominous.” He turned in his seat to face me directly. “This week with you is the best time I’ve ever had. I don’t know how I’ll manage without you for the next few weeks. Maybe we can re-connect in Rome at the end of September. You can stay with me for the last leg of the tour.”

“Just before the wedding?”

“Yeah…I mean, what? That’s just my mom talking shit. I think sometimes she’s getting early-stage Alzheimer’s—”

“That’s a very nasty thing to say about your own mother.”

“I was joking, Evie.” We turned away in opposite directions and remained silent for the rest of the ride to the airport.

I felt glad and somewhat comforted that Chuck would be there at the other end of this transcontinental flight. I wondered what personal news he had to tell me.