Penny's warning surprises me."Watch out for Ford?" I ask. "He's a bit full of himself, but I felt bad sending him off after he bought me lunch."Penny pulls her makeup kit forward. "He's also made it his personal goal to bang every female extra that walks across this set.""And he thinks he's God's gift to acting," says one of her assistants, adding another eyeroll to the party. "He gets a part in one movie and now he expects the world to be fawning at his feet.""I was hoping he was just being friendly," I say. "I guess I still have a lot to learn about what goes on behind the scenes here, huh?"Penny wipes something on my knee. It stings, but I try not to squirm."Honey, you can do whatever you want," she says. "You want to sleep with him? Sleep with him. I'm just warning you to use some protection. That man is a walking STD. Which reminds me - Phoenix, get this girl her underwear."My face burns as the faux-hawked young man who did my hair earlier grabs a plastic bag and car
The way the whole tent bursts into laughter, I know I'm missing something."Who's Nadia?" I ask."Nadia Sweet. Orlando's latest fling." Phoenix tucks a loose strand of hair into my ponytail."She's a supermodel. They met when he was at a film festival in Milan," Penny tells me. "I don't know why she's here in Atlanta - maybe she's shooting a campaign or something."Phoenix jumps back in. "She's stopped by our set three times in the last week. And they left together on Friday. I saw them when I was packing up.""Apparently he's okay with bringing his girlfriends to set, just not finding them there," Jade adds.Any confidence boost I got from Orlando's attention to me is quickly deflating. I should have known he'd have a girlfriend already - or at least someone to warm his bed at night, an outlet for all the tension he builds up on set every day. I have no idea what Nadia looks like, but I guarantee she's much hotter than me. There's no way he'd look twice at an extra when he has a
"What'd you do, go back to school when I wasn't looking?" my brother asks me. "I hate to say it, Maggie, but taking on even more student loans is probably not the best idea right now."I look up from the huge book in my lap. I can only imagine what Justin is thinking - there he is, just home from his respectable, grown-up job, still in his suit and tie, and the first thing he sees is me spread out on his couch, flipping through a huge book with the TV on in the background. And wearing leggings that definitely don't pass the bend-over test. Chadwick, his cat, is curled up on my stomach, purring."Shouldn't you be sending out more resumes or something?" he says."I sent out sixteen today," I tell him patiently. I also called and emailed the woman who was supposed to interview me but - no surprise - she hasn't returned any of my messages. My brother of all people knows how hard I've been working to find a job - he's not the sort of guy who would let me stay with him otherwise - but he'
Cursing, I throw myself out of bed and run over to my closet. I grab my pencil skirt and blouse - they told me to wear professional clothes again - and pull them on as I run to the bathroom. At least I know my hair and makeup will be taken care of on set, and as much as I hate to skip brushing my teeth, I have mints in my purse. I quickly pee - while running a brush throw my hair at the same time - then bolt back out, grab my purse, and literally sprint out to my car.Today's scenes will be shot at a different building. It's closer to Justin's apartment than the last one, but it's still a good fifteen-minute drive. Fortunately, it's early enough that Atlanta's morning rush hour hasn't started in force - another half hour and I'd have been completely screwed.As it is, I roll into the office building's parking lot a good twenty minutes late. The sun has crept up over the horizon, turning the sky a dozen shades of orange, but here beneath all the buildings and trees everything is still
I straighten. The elevator suddenly feels charged with energy, and that feeling only intensifies when Orlando's eyes meet mine for the briefest of moments. He gives us a nod before leaning casually against the wall of the elevator.Ford coughs as the doors close again. I glance up at him, and he offers a smile as if to imply we have some sort of shared secret between us. This guy really doesn't let up, does he?As the elevator begins to move, Ford leans a little closer to me, even though we're already much closer than two people in an elevator need to be."If you have any questions about anything today," he says in a low voice, "feel free to ask me. I want to make sure you feel comfortable.""She's free to ask anyone." Orlando makes no effort to keep his voice soft, and I jump. "Including me. Or Karen. That's why we're here, after all. And I would hope any of my actors feel comfortable enough raising their questions and concerns with me."The energy in this tiny, enclosed space is
As For walks away, my attention is drawn back to Orlando, who pulls my eye the minute he strides into the room. He commands everyone else's attention, too, simply by his presence, and the crew seems to be working a little faster, somehow managing to appear even more focused on their tasks than they were a moment ago.Orlando's gaze sweeps through the room, across the cameras and crew, over the actors already seated, past Ford walking briskly to his chair at the head of the table. He's not smiling, but he seems satisfied with what he sees in the room. When he spots me, he starts in my direction, but he's only gone a few steps before a hand pulls at my elbow."You're in the way," Karen tells me. "Get behind the cameras until your entrance." She tugs me aside as Orlando strides past. His eyes flick in my direction, and I swear I see a glimmer of merriment there. Just a glimmer, and then he's back to looking as serious as before.I don't know why people think he never laughs, I think as
Orlando asks Ford again, "Do I make myself clear?"Ford swallows, the blood draining from his face. "Perfectly." He doesn't sound as sure as he usually does, but his voice is mostly steady."Good," Orlando responds. "I won't tolerate a bad attitude on my set. Not from you or from anyone." His tone makes it clear that the conversation is over, and he turns and strides back to his chair without waiting for a response from Ford. When he reaches his seat, he gestures toward the makeup assistant. "Powder his nose. Then we're going to run it all again."The tension in the room doesn't automatically disappear at those words, but it least everyone collectively begins breathing again.I remain pressed against the wall, trying to stay as out of the way as possible. Something just happened here. Something important. It started in the elevator - or maybe before that, when I wasn't here - but Orlando has tried to end it, one way or the other.It's a relief to everyone in the room, I suspect, w
I'm so determined to escape Ford that I'm not paying attention to where I'm going. Only a dozen steps into the building lobby, I run smack into another person so hard that I literally almost bounce off him. If it weren't for the pair of strong hands that grab me, I'd be flat on my ass on the ground."Easy, there," Orlando says, his hands steadying me. "What are you running from so fast?"I look up into his wild, ever-intriguing eyes."It's nothing," I say quickly. "Just the rain." I notice suddenly that I grabbed his shirt as I was trying to regain my balance, and I'm still clinging to him like some sort of lovesick hussy. I unclasp my fingers, but the way he's gripping me still leaves me pressed against his body.He glances over my shoulder, back the way I've come. He frowns, and something that looks like anger flickers in his eyes. His fingers tighten on my upper arms.I glance over my shoulder just in time to see Ford turn and walk the other way. His white-toothed smile is gone