“Can’t hurt.” Making for the elevator, I glance at the key, second floor. I blow out a nervous breath as the elevator ascends, then as the doors slide open, I step out and see Aidan Court.
He’s walking out of an office at the end of the corridor. One of the doors closest to him opens and a smiling girl with short fair hair steps out.
“Hey, sweet cheeks.”
“Don’t harass your director, Josie,” Aidan replies with a laugh.
“How about I do you and you do me, so we can call it even.”
He’s still walking and laughing. “Rehearsals starts in half an hour.” He sees me lingering by the elevator and his smile fades as those beautiful blue eyes lock onto my face.
My stomach tightens, and suddenly, it’s no longer easy to breathe.
He’s a jackass.
He’s a jackass.
He said you belong on Disney junior, remember?
“Don’t be late,” he says, still looking at me.
“I don’t plan to be,” I shoot back.
His stride slows and one eyebrow goes up, then he disappears down the narrow stairs a few feet from where I’m standing.
The girl, Josie waves at me as I head down the corridor. I wave back, before finding my room and unlocking it. It’s tiny and clean, with a window that looks out into an alley. There’s a garment rack, a brightly lit dressing mirror with a vanity, a cushioned chair and in one corner, a soft looking sofa. It’s perfect.
There’s a knock on my door, and a moment later, Josie opens it.
“Hi.” She grins. “I’m Josie.”
I return her smile. “Liz.”
“I know.” She looks around. “Nice room. I’m playing one of the students, small speaking part. Understudied Tamsin Richards too.” She grimaces. “Total diva. She couldn’t believe that Aidan didn’t give a fuck that she was Hollywood, or that he didn’t want to fuck her.”
The last thing I need to hear is who Aidan Court chooses or chooses not to have sex with. I already know more than I want to about his taste for lunchtime rendezvous with women whose numbers he doesn’t bother to take.
“That can’t be why she left?” The official story is there was a scheduling conflict.
Josie shrugs, but her eyes are shining with amusement. “I don’t know. Maybe it was moving from the rehearsal space to the actual theater. These tiny rooms probably don’t compare to the luxurious trailers she’s used to. But maybe…it was Aidan not wanting to fuck her. The director should give his star anything she wants, you know. Support her, allow her to be vulnerable with him in private so she can be vulnerable to him on stage, give her everything he’s packing as often as she needs it…”
We both laugh. “Well, he doesn’t need to bother with all that with me.”
“He won’t. Aidan doesn’t sleep with his actresses. Our loss.” She sighs, then brightens. “I can’t wait for you to meet everyone. We have a dressing room upstairs. It’s a big one, can’t miss it. The doors always open. We call it the dorm, because we’re playing students. Come on up after the reading, then you can explain to us why you stole this part from right under our noses.”
Yikes! “I…um.” I’m stammering.
She bursts into laughter. “I’m kidding. You don’t need to explain anything. Aidan wasn’t going to offer the part to any of us anyway, or he’d have stood up to your dad. You don’t need to apologize. Jeez. You’re gonna have decades of people crediting your father’s position for your success. Never apologize and never explain or you’ll be doing it for the rest of your life.”
“I…Okay.”
She grins again. “See you downstairs.”
Later, I make my way down to the stage. I have a week to catch up on rehearsals before we move on to tech. It will be a lot of work, but I’m not scared. On the stage, there’s a new backdrop and a few more installations to house the scener
y for the play. Aidan is seated alone on one side, while across the aisle, the cast members are scattered over a few rows.
I stop myself from looking in Aidan’s direction and take an empty seat next to Arthur Bain. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aidan rise to his feet. There’s something beautiful about the way he moves, lithe and easy. He heads to the front and when he’s just below the stage, he turns back to face us. His arms are crossed over his chest, and he looks like he’s deep in thought.