Touching the Billionaire - Holly Jaymes Page 0,2
couldn’t seem to take my eyes off the woman as she entered the conference room.
I met her at the door, extending my hand. “Maddie? I’m Theo.”
Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. She put her hand in mine. It was small but strong when she shook my hand.
“I know who you are, Theo. And please call me Madeline.”
There was something in her eyes that suggested her comment wasn’t a request. I held her hand a little bit too long just to see what she’d do.
She looked down at my hand and then at me, arching a brow. Amused, I let her hand go.
Corrine shoved me aside. “Madeline, thanks for coming in. You know the drill. We’ll do the meet-up scene like we did with Rich-”
“No. I want to do the closet scene,” I said, still unable to take my eyes off of her. She had the color of hazel eyes that veered toward gray. They were stunning with her red tresses.
Jon groaned. “Come on, Theo, not the closet-”
“That’s the best one for what I need to be sure this will work.”
For the first time, Maddie’s façade of confidence broke. She looked from me to Jon and Corrine. “So this is another audition?”
“It’s a test,” Jon said in a soft voice like he was trying to reassure her.
“But if I don’t do well with Theo like I did with Rich, I’m out?” Her gaze returned to me. She let out a breath. “Yes, I know the drill. Fine, the closet scene.”
I grinned. I loved it when I won. It was a perk of being a big star, even though it made me an asshole when I lorded it over people. In this case, with my future on the line, I was okay with being an asshole.
Off Script
Madeline
I was no stranger to show business, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous about attempting a comeback. I knew that as a child actor, I was sheltered from some aspects of the business, and at the same time, I learned at an early age that the TV and movie industry was filled with jerks and opportunists. As an adult, I felt better prepared to deal with that now. At the same time, I knew my status as a former child star hindered me just as much, if not more in getting work, than if I was a complete newbie. My agent had to fight hard to even get me an audition for the role of Nicolette Vane. People still thought of me as the freckle-faced awkward kid I’d played on TV. But I understood the part of Nicolette and demanded to be seen. I walked in dressed like Nicolette and inhabited her persona through the entire audition. That got me a reading with Rich Kipling, which went well. I realized he wasn’t really acting during our test, as afterward on the elevator down, he attempted to grope me. I wasn’t happy that he was injured and couldn’t play the part of Jack Cole, but I wasn’t crying either, especially when I learned that Theo Wolfe was taking over the role.
Theo had acting chops, but sometimes it seemed like he was trying too hard. Like he had something to prove, when in fact, he had all the right instincts. At least based on all the movies I’d seen him in over the last couple of years. Sure, the women loved him because mother nature bestowed him with perfect eyes, hair, smile and pecs. His ass wasn’t bad either. Perhaps that was why he tried so hard. Maybe he felt like his pretty-boy looks detracted from his talent. Women experienced that all the time; dismissed as just a pretty face.
I had just returned to New York after leaving nearly fifteen years ago. During those fifteen years, I lived a quiet, normal life with my grandparents and older sister, away from the limelight and from my bickering, too-busy-to-parent parents. Through high school and college, I was determined to keep that normal life. My sister went to law school, and I thought I might do the same, but pre-law classes bored me to death. I gravitated to drama classes, of course, but always considered them electives. I finally decided to go into education and teach drama and English, which I did for a couple of years back home in Woodstock, New York. But once my sister moved to Manhattan and I’d come visit her to see a Broadway show, I found I missed acting. So I quit my