Hollywood Flirt - Alexa Aston Page 0,14

his early efforts, figuring he’d learned and grown as an actor since those experiences. She wanted to see the last four or five movies he’d been in. She found the titles and opened a new browser. She called up each title and read plot summaries of his most recent. Now that she knew what each one was about and a little about the characters he’d portrayed, she would zip through and select a few scenes to watch to get a sampling of his range—and see if he had talent.

Over the next two hours, Sydney’s admiration for Dash DeLauria grew. He was a natural on camera, with the charm and ease of a young Matthew McConaughey. Each time, he got better and better. He also was generous enough to open up to the other actors he shared scenes with, even letting them steal the limelight at times for the good of the story. In her opinion, very few actors did that.

Especially ones as appealing as Dash.

Since she knew what he was capable of, she’d read the No Regrets script.

Ninety minutes later, she couldn’t see anyone else in the part of Paul Hannigan. The story would challenge Dash in every way. He would have to strip down not only physically but emotionally. He’d need to show a vulnerability and sensitivity while convincing audiences that his character could change.

Exhausted, Sydney pushed the script aside. She was still on east coast time, which meant it was three in the morning for her. She didn’t have the energy to turn off the lights as she closed her eyes.

As she did, a small part of her hoped she’d dream about Dash DeLauria.

◆◆◆

Sydney blinked. She frowned. She managed to keep her eyes open despite the harsh overhead light shining above her.

She looked around and remembered the craziness of yesterday. She’d quit her job in Boston. Left her apartment. Boarded a flight for California. Asked to go to work for her father. And had landed a job as his new storyboard artist. It didn’t happen much faster than that.

She stumbled out of bed without checking the time. She was a person who, once awake, couldn’t go back to sleep. What she needed was a hot shower and even hotter coffee. The shower got her blood flowing. She dressed quickly and put on minimal makeup. She reached automatically for her glasses and then realized they weren’t on the counter. The fact that she would no longer hide behind her oversized frames scared her a bit. She wasn’t the teenager who’d left this house a dozen years ago. She wasn’t Sydney 2.0, her invention to distance herself from The Wild Child reputation.

She supposed she was creating Sydney 3.0 now. Like an iPhone, continually trying to improve. She chuckled. Maybe she should go by Siri Revere.

She went downstairs and flipped on the coffeemaker. While it warmed up, she tossed two slices of bread into the toaster and found the peanut butter. Soon, she had hazelnut coffee and breakfast in front of her.

Her father pattered into the kitchen and pulled out a mug. He selected a pod and inserted it in the coffeemaker.

“What did you think of the script?”

“I think it’s terrific,” she replied. “A great action plot with the kidnapping. The political intrigue adds depth and complications. The character arc for Paul Hannigan will be tough to pull off, though.”

He added a splash of cream to his coffee and stirred before bringing the mug to the table and sitting down. “Do you think Dash has the talent to do it?”

Sydney nodded. “I pulled up a few scenes from different movies he’s been in. He’s still raw in some ways, but with the right direction? He could definitely be Paul.”

“You mean under my expert direction?” her father teased.

“Exactly. How did you find this property?”

“Sandy Sanderson interned under me several years ago. He wound up directing the Rhett Corrigan vehicle last year.”

“That film was a big change for Rhett,” Sydney noted. “He’d been a straight action star for so long.”

“He blew everyone away in that role,” her dad said. “Sandy got a lot of great stuff out of Rhett when no one would’ve believed him capable of it. I’d heard Rhett’s agent dropped him when he tried to get out of the action genre that he’d been boxed into.” Monty blew on the liquid and took a sip. “It sure as hell didn’t hurt that Rhett’s wife and best friend wrote the script with him in mind. With two people who love you