love. Lauren’s entire body went instantly warm, and she had to steady herself or her knees would give out. What was abundantly clear was that they kissed really well together, the perfect amount of give and take. Lauren’s limbs felt like Jell-O when she pulled her lips from Carly’s. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled. Just another day at work, right? She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t for the life of her remember her next line. That’s because she was supposed to be reading from the script. “Oh, um, one moment,” she said, flipping the page, her cheeks on fire with embarrassment.
Before the scene could continue, Ethan’s voice cut them off. “I think we can stop there. I’m going to chat with Wilks about the future of the production. I want to thank you both for such a committed rehearsal.” Ethan didn’t dwell or stick around for chitchat. He left notes for Trip about the breakdown for the following day and was out of there.
“You did great,” Carly said quietly in Lauren’s ear. She kissed her cheek quickly and gave her some space. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Lauren nodded, still in a haze of what the hell was happening. She turned to Trip, who sat behind the table, arms folded with a big old grin on his face.
“Little Lala,” he said. “Who knew?”
She stalked back to the table, disconcerted, excited, and turned the hell on.
Chapter Six
Lauren sat in one of her favorite spots in all of The McAllister, the long hallway off the grand lobby. At the end stood Wilks’s office, but along the way were framed photographs of some of the most noteworthy shows put on by the theater. The faces of Broadway legends dotted the walls, just a sampling of the many great actors who’d performed at The McAllister, the theater Lauren now inhabited on a daily basis. She carried such reverence for the place and sometimes had to pinch herself to remember that she acCtually worked here. Oh, and down the hallway a little way, they’d even added a framed shot of one of their most recent shows. Yep, that was Gyllenhaal she saw in a serious moment from a new play that had been very well received.
“Ready for you, Lauren,” Wilks said, opening the door. He did a little ballerina twirl as she passed in attempt to lighten the mood.
She chucked. “Nice one.”
“I’ll spare you my twerk.”
“And now I’m sad.”
It wasn’t very often that they met in his office. Their working relationship had always been more informal, with him crashing her space as they quickly hashed out daily details like scheduling, budget, or interpersonal matters. The more official meeting in his rarely visited office intimidated Lauren, which was downright ridiculous. This was Wilks! Her Wilks. That reminder didn’t calm her churning stomach, though the twirl had helped.
Once inside, Lauren took a seat. As he walked around to his side of the desk, she nervously grabbed the Rubik’s Cube in front of her. “Mastered this one yet?” she asked. He grabbed the cube, worked the whole thing in under a minute, and tossed it back to her. She whistled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“What do you think I do all day in here?”
Just another testament to Wilks’s ability to deliver. She sat up straighter, because this felt like she’d been called to the principal’s office.
“Well, here’s the crazy thing.” He sat back in his fancy leather chair. “Ethan wants to make a change in his cast.”
“Okay. What kind of change?” It wasn’t a real question. She already knew where this was headed. Hell, it had kept her up all night. What Ethan was angling for was unprecedented. Fear struck first and it landed hard. She was an imposter. For some reason, they seemed to think she was this amazing actress, when in all honesty, she wasn’t. She hadn’t booked a decent job in all the years she tried. Then, the fear danced away and swapped places with a twinge of excitement that twisted, turned, and vibrated pleasantly. She ordered the dueling emotions to stand the hell down, and take twenty. Given it was her job to remain calm at all times, she luckily had the ability to mask the cascade of emotions in front of Wilks. Yep, that was her, completely not in control.
“I don’t know if this is going to shock you or not. It shocked me.”
She nodded but said nothing, probably because she was holding her breath.