Hollywood Flirt - Alexa Aston Page 0,20

a new script that she was really excited about and that she was shopping for a director. Then Leo revealed that Monty Revere had agreed to sign on.

That’s all it took for Dash to contact Monty and make his pitch last night.

He took a calming breath. He believed he could do whatever the script called for. If Rhett Corrigan could move from action hero to dramatic leading man—and clinch an Oscar while doing so—hell, so could Dash DeLauria. Maybe not the Oscar part but he could be so much more than what he’d already shown on screen if given the chance.

Dash wanted to prove that to himself—and for some reason he couldn’t explain, he wanted to show Sydney Revere, as well.

CHAPTER 6

Sydney put her pencil down and stretched her arms high in victory. “Finished!” she cried, an immense sense of satisfaction rolling through her.

She’d spent the last six days buried in work. After she’d found several good templates online, she’d downloaded copies of different grids, using multiple ones for various scenes. She preferred sketching by hand rather than using her laptop. Both she and Birch had always dabbled in art. She liked using charcoals and a sketch pad, while he enjoyed watercolors and mixed media.

Sydney wondered what her brother might have done with his life as an adult. His interests had been so varied, from skateboarding to art to his fascination with numbers. She wished Birch could be here now and that they could work together as they used to on their father’s sets. They’d both been gophers and did whatever was asked by either the cast or crew. Birch wound up spending more and more time with the cameramen his last two years. Sydney thought he might have gone into cinematography.

She reached for the burner phone. At least that’s how she thought of it. She’d bought it and a prescribed number of minutes after she left Ramon’s salon last week. She didn’t like being without a phone. She’d left hers on the plane. Soaked it in the sink and then threw it into the restroom trash bin as soon as the fasten seatbelt sign went off. She’d flushed the battery, hoping now that she’d left Boston, she’d be untraceable.

Sydney wished she knew how Wake had accessed her number each time. How he found out she quit her Boston legal firm only hours after she’d turned in her notice. It had to be someone in the office that he’d paid to keep an eye on her and report back anything unusual. She hated that a person she’d worked with had spied on her.

If it proved to be Rick from her car service, which she doubted, the driver only knew that he dropped Sydney at the airport. Wake wouldn’t know what airline she took or what flight she got on.

At least she hoped not.

She’d never sensed anyone following her but, then again, if that person were good at his job, she’d have no idea he was around, much less stalking her every move. Maybe it had been her building’s superintendent. Stu always seemed a little shady to her. She could see him being the type of person that would accept a payoff to track her comings and goings and not think twice about whether or not his actions invaded her privacy.

Sydney decided to text Cassie and let her know she’d completed the massive project. They’d met every morning since they’d been in Malibu and walked several miles. It surprised her how much they had in common despite their different backgrounds. While Sydney’s had been one of privilege, Cassie had grown up in a blue collar home in Texas and followed her dreams by coming to California. Though she’d never become the actress she thought she would, Cassie found a good man and a talent for screenwriting and created new dreams for herself.

Sydney hoped she could do the same.

Her phone rang. Relief swept through her as she recognized the number and answered.

“Hi, Cassie. Guess what? I just finished the last scene. The whole screenplay is now storyboarded.”

“That’s great news, Sydney. I’d love to see everything you’ve come up with.”

“I’m driving back into town tomorrow. I told Dad I’d be home early afternoon, whether I was done or not, because of the auditions starting up on Thursday. You’re welcome to ride back with me. You could look everything over in the car.”

“You’re on. I need to get back anyway because Monty also wants me to sit in for the major roles being cast.