Gael stared at her hand. That mockery was swirling through his eyes once more.
After a beat, he took her bandaged hand in a firm but gentle hold. ‘Gael Aguilar. My accolades are too numerous to name, but suffice it to say I’m in a position to make your dreams come true.’
Ice drenched her. She snatched her hand from his as words from earlier in the day, albeit without the sleazy overtones, fell into her lap.
His expression turned brooding. ‘Something wrong?’
‘Yes. You presume to know what my dreams are when you don’t know me from a stranger in the street.’
‘You just stated that you are unemployed. My response only pertains to an attempt to reverse that. Unless you wish to remain in a state of unemployment?’
She swallowed the bile of distaste the reminder of the day’s earlier events had elicited and attempted to remain calm. ‘I’m sorry. You mentioned before that you’d seen some of my audition this afternoon. I didn’t notice you there, I must admit. Did you...did you see all of it?’ She fervently prayed that he hadn’t witnessed the sleazy exchange with the casting director immediately following the audition.
‘I saw enough to make up my mind. Enough to make me return to find you.’
She lifted her glass and took a sip of her drink, her mind frantically ticking over. If he’d seen enough of her performance to make him hunt her down, then did she dare think he’d only seen the acting part, not the unsavoury denouement?
‘You have a part you want me to play?’ she queried, making sure to bleed her voice of hope.
It was that vulnerable hope that the casting director had exploited this afternoon, to make that demand of her. She planned not to let this man even close to the feverish hope burning in her heart.
‘I have a part I potentially want you to play,’ he amended. ‘Subject to a few stipulations. And the usual auditions, of course.’
‘Stipulations?’
He nodded, the light bouncing off his jet-black wavy hair. ‘Very rigorous stipulations.’
‘Such as?’
‘We will discuss them later. Right now the broader questions concern your availability and your commitment to a long-term film project.’
Her heart skipped a beat, despite her promise to herself not to let hope take over. ‘What’s the role and how long are we talking about?’
‘Female lead in a psychosexual thriller. Three to four months, travelling all over the world.’
Excitement fizzed through her blood. ‘I’ll need to read the script.’
‘You’ll be given a full synopsis to familiarise yourself with the story. But first you need to tell me whether you’re free.’
About to say yes, she stopped when her mind veered to her mother. Despite the fierce ambition burning in her heart, the thought of leaving her mother on her own for four months made her heart lurch. But at the same time she knew this was what her mother wanted for her.
Goldie just hoped that pride in her daughter would make Gloria stick to the straight and narrow.
She returned her attention to Gael’s face and experienced a slight chill at his expression. ‘I’m sure I can work something out.’
One side of his mouth ticked with a hard twitch. ‘Time to put your cards on the table, Goldie. Are you married?’ he asked in a clipped voice.
She frowned. ‘What? No.’
‘Do you have a lover or a partner who will be displeased at your long absence from home?’
‘I...no.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘That hesitation doesn’t fill me with confidence. I prefer not to start any association with lies.’
Affront stiffened her jaw. ‘I’m not lying. The person I’m concerned about is my mother. I still live at home. With her. And she’s...’
‘She’s what?’