to smell the roses and appreciating the little things. Lauren missed the lighthearted portions of Evelyn’s reading. Carly’s Ashley was real, raw, and identifiable. But Evelyn brought an edge to Mandy that kept her from feeling relatable. While it wasn’t at all Lauren’s job to worry about those kinds of things, she loved the play so much that she’d taken a silent interest. She thought about how she would have delivered those lines, identifying moments of comedy for Mandy that were entirely missed or glossed over in the read. Luckily, she had a feeling Ethan would be working on eliminating some of Evelyn’s bite in the coming weeks. He’d been furiously scribbling notes as they’d read, stealing glances at the two of them. The six other members of the cast had tracks in which they would play all the other roles in the show. Some would take on as many as seven different characters before the journey was done. This was going to be a ride.
On their first official break, Carly stopped by Lauren’s chair. “You’re Lauren, right? From the voicemail.”
Lauren stood and offered her hand. “Yes, I’ll be the PSM for the production. Nice to officially meet you.” She was caught off guard by the vibrancy of blue in Carly’s wide Disney princess–like eyes once they were up close for the first time.
“Likewise.” Carly quirked an eyebrow. “PSM? Sorry, you may have to help me out with the theater lingo. I’m still stuck in camera speak. I have very little experience with stage work.” She closed her eyes. “That’s not even true. I have zero experience.”
Aha. She was that green when it came to live theater. “Not a problem. Stands for production stage manager. Think of me as head stage manager, and Trip is my number two.” She pointed at Trip, who poured himself a cup of coffee. “I’ll be organizing and helping Ethan implement a rehearsal strategy. I’ll also be in charge of maintaining the show once he moves on after rehearsal. I also do a myriad of other things. For example, if you ever need help with your lines, let me know. We can set up a session.”
“You have a lot going on.”
“I do, but I’m no stranger to the job.”
Carly pointed at her and smiled, exposing how her whole face lit up when she did. “Above all other stage managers. Got it. Anyway, sorry for that late entrance. I’ll try and be better.” She held up a finger. “Scratch that. I will be.”
Lauren liked those words a lot, because they were not off to a great start. At the same time, she wasn’t sure Carly understood the importance. “Well, that’s good to hear. I know Ethan is thrilled to have you on board.”
Carly nodded. “I’m grateful to be here. Trust me. I needed this.” Lauren took a moment because Carly’s beauty had not been exaggerated. She could see why Hollywood put up with her wilder ways for so long. Not to mention the fact that she was also crazy talented. A one-two punch that couldn’t be argued. “You okay?” Carly asked.
“Me?” Lauren shook herself out of it, embarrassed and attempting to recover. “Very much so. Yeah. Why?”
“You seemed to lose your focus.”
“Oh no. Just always thinking two steps ahead. Another part of being a stage manager.” It was the lamest answer, but she couldn’t very well tell Carly that she was stunned silent by how pretty she was. Not really the message she wanted to send in the moment to a colleague in her workplace.
“Anything I can do to help?” Carly also had a really nice tan going that made her skin look incredibly smooth. Likely very soft. Okay, what the hell was she doing? Lauren didn’t recognize herself or her own ridiculous behavior. She never crushed. And she still wasn’t, damn it. That’s not what this was.
“No. We only have seven minutes left on that break.”
“Good call.” She touched Lauren on the wrist as she passed, which caught Lauren off guard. She stared at Carly’s hand, briefly on her arm. “I’ll let you enjoy it then. Really nice to meet you.” Then Carly Daniel and what was left of her irresponsible iced coffee glided through the room, speaking with the other members of the cast, laughing with them, and remaining a palpable presence.
She was a force, that was for sure. Lauren just hadn’t yet categorized what kind: good, evil, or somewhere in between. Regardless, the temperature in the space had changed noticeably when Carly arrived,