think I’m going to have sex with him on the day I get out of the hospital after I’ve already told him that I’m not going to have sex with him to begin with?”
Cal shrugged. “He’s not thinking with his big head. He’s thinking with his little head.” She needlessly pointed to her crotch.
How did she counteract Ari tonight? With backup. “Maybe you can drop me off and just stay.” Maybe Ari would consider Cal for the part and leave her alone altogether. Julie’s mouth dropped open wide. That was it!
“What?” Cal asked. Her eyes narrowed at the obvious excitement on Julie’s face.
“I’ve got it! I can’t do the movie, but you can!”
The air in the room changed instantly. Cal sat forward in her seat, her head tilted to the side. “What? What are you saying?” She slipped her iPad into her bag.
“I’m saying that Ari’s going to tell me he can’t wait for me to shoot the film and you’ll be there and I’ll say, ‘You should talk to Carrie Ann. She’d be great for the role.’”
“You’d do that for me?” Cal asked, her tone full of shock and awe.
“Of course! There’s no reason not to. If I can’t have it, at least my best friend should get a shot at it. I mean, it’s up to him, of course, but he’s not going to tell you to your face that he won’t even give you a chance. He’ll be afraid he’s hurting his chances of getting me in the sack. He’ll agree to talk to you, maybe even screen-test you. You’ll be ready and blow him out of the water! It’ll be great!”
Julie still felt guilty for the Nowhere to Hide debacle. She’d been originally slated to do the role, but the script had changed at the last minute and she hadn’t liked the direction. Cal had auditioned, and because Julie had turned it down, Cal had booked the movie. It had been a disaster. Cal never blamed her for the fallout, but Julie had blamed herself. Yes, she’d told Cal her concerns over the new script and explained why she didn’t want to do the project, but Cal hadn’t cared. She’d thought the movie was going to be giant. It had been a giant flop. That single movie had shaped Cal’s career, and Julie had gone on to shoot one of the biggest blockbuster hits of that year.
Life worked in mysterious ways.
Still, Ari’s script was wonderful and Julie had wanted the part from the beginning. Her meetings with Ari were part of the process and she knew he was meeting with other A-list actresses in town. She understood the business. If sleeping with Ari sealed the part for her, then she just wouldn’t do the movie. She didn’t need the work that bad. If one of the other actresses Ari met with wanted the part bad enough to let little Ari under the sheets, then so be it. She couldn’t control it.
Ari had assured her the script wouldn’t change, and this movie had so much heart and emotion wrapped in a sexy package it was bound to get the critics’ attention. It was just what Cal needed to jump-start her career.
“It’s settled. You stay for dinner and before the night is out, you’ll be in the running for Meltdown. If Ari thinks he can invite himself over at the drop of the hat, he’s going to get a surprise of his own. You.”
Cal shot off her chair like a rocket, and only at the very last second did she slow down to envelope Julie in a close hug. “You are the bestest friend a girl could ask for.”
Julie rolled her eyes. “I know. I rock.”
Cal laughed and squeezed her too tight.
Pain zipped up and down her arm and exploded across her chest. “Ouch!” Julie said around a laugh.
Grinning, Cal pulled back. “Sorry. My bad.”
The doctor rounded the corner and Julie saw her day brightening up by the minute.
Chapter Six
Six weeks later
Troy opened the limo door for Ari as he scanned the neighborhood. It seemed as if a million cars crowded the narrow road in the small canyon. The sun had already set behind the hilltop and a cool breeze whispered through the trees. Giant stilt houses sat smashed together on the mountainside. No one could’ve paid him to live on a hill in Los Angeles. One good earthquake and any one of these stilt homes could go falling down in a matter of seconds. He’d pass.