Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,202

audition you had today, you’re looking in the wrong place. I go on auditions all the time. It’s a full time job that doesn’t pay. Tonight is one of the few nights I have off from my other job at the restaurant and I really don’t want to spend it listening to you whine.”

“I didn’t mean to whine…” I began, stunned by her harsh tone and frankly, a little embarrassed. Since I’d moved into our tiny apartment I rarely saw Ava Marie. She left in the morning for auditions and usually went straight to her job waiting tables on Third Street Promenade.

“Talk to me when you’ve been on seventeen auditions in one week and turned down for every single one. And that happens for weeks on end. I’ve had to audition through stress fractions and tendonitis. My body is in constant pain and my ego is always being smacked down a peg. I’ve been told I’m too fat, that my neck is too short, my torso too long for my legs. On top of it all, I’m dead broke. And I never complain about it.”

“Ava Marie, I’m sorry,” I said. “I was just…venting.”

“Vent to someone back home,” she said, standing up. She looked at me and let out a deep sigh. Her voice softened as she said, “I’m not trying to be mean. It’s for your own good. You can’t let what people say out here say get you down. You’ll never survive.”

My stomach felt heavy. I was totally regretting my dinner choice which, let’s be honest, was a pity party for one.

My phone rang, and unfamiliar number on the screen. I picked it up and answered, hoping it wasn’t Kait looking to get all the gruesome details.

“Hello?”

“Is this Sophie Adams?” a deep and somewhat familiar voice asked.

My heart stopped at the mention of my undercover name. “Yes.”

“This is Leo Armstrong. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

I cleared my throat, which had suddenly become dry. “No. Not at all.”

“I’d like to talk to you about the audition today,” he said. His voice was clipped, formal. “If you’re not too busy, I’d appreciate your coming by my condo.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Sure. I can stop by tomorrow…”

“Tonight would be better. If you’re not too busy.”

I looked at the half-eaten bag of chips. My big plans for the night. My stomach was dropping as if I’d just stepped in an elevator that plummeted twenty stories.

“No, it’s fine. I mean, yeah. I’ll come by.”

“Ready for the address?”

When I hung up the phone, Ava Marie said, “You okay? Who was it?”

“Oh, um, a guy from the audition,” I said.

“You got a callback?” she said, and I could see the jealousy on her face, that one audition would go so well.

“No, it was…some other guy. He invited me to his place to run lines.” The quick-thinking lie sounded pretty good, I thought.

But Ava Marie looked at me like I was simple child—one she felt sorry for. “Oh, Sophie. Sweet, innocent Sophie. I don’t know what goes on in Maine, but when a boy calls to invite you to his house to run lines, he probably means something more like running his tongue in lines all over your body.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I know.” Even though I had totally not thought of that. I couldn’t think straight, frankly. Leo Armstrong just called me. Leo Armstrong just invited me over to his condo. Holy shit. I didn’t know whether to be excited that I hadn’t blown the audition, or a nervous wreck knowing that the undercover story was moving forward despite my efforts. “I’m not that dumb.”

“You sure about that?” she said.

“Damn, Ava Marie,” I said, offended.

“Sorry,” she said, with a shrug. “I just want to make sure you get it.”

“I get it,” I said with a little extra force. I was in it now. I was playing a role for a breakthrough article. I had to steel myself against the nerves. I looked down at myself. “What am I going to wear?” I couldn’t wear the same dress as this afternoon. This was my second chance to make a good impression on him. I’d totally blown it in the audition so I had to make sure I dazzled him tonight. I headed to my microscopic bedroom to see if anything would do.

I found a red stretchy dress still in a box in my floor. I’d bought it to wear on a date with Paul, my ex-boyfriend. We had planned to drive down to Portland for dinner