TAMING HOLLYWOOD'S BADDEST BO- Max Monroe Page 0,83
front of his desk.
“Take a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”
I do as he says and watch him walk around to the other side of his desk and sit down in a large leather chair with a high back.
“So, I hear you’ve been off the grid for quite some time.”
“I have.” I offer one curt nod. “Eight years, to be exact.”
“Eight years?” His brow rises. “That’s a long time to be away from Hollywood.”
“It is, but I needed to do it.”
He smirks. “You were certainly finding yourself in a bit of trouble prior to your departure.”
“A little?” I laugh. “More like, a lot. I was building quite the reputation for being the bad boy of Hollywood.”
“Building a reputation?” A chuckle escapes his throat, but then his eyes turn serious. “You had achieved that reputation and left us standing there with our dicks in our hands when you decided to walk off the set of Hallowed Ground and never come back.”
Internally, I cringe. I knew this was going to come up in this meeting. I even prepared myself for him to bring it up, but that still doesn’t make it any easier to face.
Even though I was merely a commodity to the studio, to this man sitting across from me, it doesn’t make what I did okay.
“I’m sorry for that,” I say, genuine apology in my voice. “I was in a really bad place, and it was what I had to do to survive.”
William just nods and stares back at me, his eyes searching mine. For what, I’m not sure.
“We could’ve lost a lot of money with that move,” he states. “A lot of fucking money.”
“I can imagine.”
“But luckily, Carey Matthews stepped in last minute and saved our asses.”
Carey Matthews is another actor, one I’ve never met but heard a lot of good things about back in the day.
“I’m relieved to hear that,” I say. “My intention wasn’t to fuck you guys over, and I’m incredibly sorry for my actions back then. I know I wasn’t the easiest to work with.”
“You were just about impossible,” he retorts with a little smirk. “Incredibly fucking talented, but a real prick most of the time.”
“Yeah. All true.” I nod and laugh. “But that’s not the case now,” I say. “I’m older now. I’m grounded. And I know what I want.”
“And what is it you want?”
“Espionage.”
His brow rises. “That’s one hell of a script.”
I nod. “It is.”
“And how did it get in your hands?”
“I might’ve been out of the game for a while now, but I still have a few connections in Hollywood.”
More like, a beautiful, crazy woman tracked me down and, instead of just trying to talk me into making a comeback, she ended up changing my entire life’s course by making me fall in love with her.
But he doesn’t need to know the details of what—who—truly brought me here.
“I see.” He runs his fingers across his smooth chin. “So, what you’re telling me is that you’re here because you want to play the part of Finn Slate?”
“Yes, that screenplay, that role, is so good, it brought me all the way back to a city I swore I’d never return to.”
I’m bullshitting a little since the main reason I’m back is Billie, but that’s okay. Bullshit is practically Hollywood’s love language.
“You have that much faith in it?”
“I do.” Two words. Zero hesitation.
William takes a moment to let my words sink in, his eyes meeting mine, but his gaze somewhere off in the distance. Surely, he’s weighing out his options, thinking through every possible scenario. He’s trying to decide if I’m genuine or full of shit. If I’m another flight risk or his next big commodity.
“And you think you can live up to Serena Koontz’s expectations?” His question doesn’t alter my path. Fear of expectations wasn’t what made me leave this town. I can live up to expectations. Back then, though, I just couldn’t handle letting other people live my life for me.
I was just a kid when I’d gotten my big break, and by the time I was old enough to make my decisions, the damage had already been done. The only way to repair it was to distance myself from everything and everyone and start from scratch.
“I know I can.”
“And what about mine?” he asks. “Do you think you can live up to my expectations?”
“What are your expectations?”
“No bullshit,” he says. “You do your fucking job, and you finish this movie.”
“I can handle those. And I hope you’re not going to give Serena’s team a