Touching the Billionaire - Holly Jaymes Page 0,68

She’s hoping for redheaded grandkids.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Don’t ask.”

“That bad, huh?” he said.

“Well, I don’t have a sex tape, but I’m alone just like you, big bro’.”

“Oh. I guess when I get there next week, we can drown our sorrows and then jump back into the sea.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, although my gut turned over. There was a time when going out and partying, especially with Oliver was something to look forward to. But despite everything going to hell with Madeline, I couldn’t imagine being with anyone but her. I had to hope that over time my feelings for her would dissipate, otherwise I’d be alone forever.

“I’ll be there in a few days. Thanks, Theo.”

After all he’d done for me, particularly in trying to protect me from my parents, this felt like a little thing.

“Like I said, the room is yours. I’m finishing a shoot in the next week or two and then I’ll have a little time off. I’ve got a new project in the works with my production company.”

“I think it’s great that you started your own company, Theo. I know Mom and Dad don’t understand what you do but I get it and I'm proud of you.”

Who needed my parents’ approval, when I had Oliver’s? “I’ll see you in a few days.”

We hung up the phone and I finished my drink, rising from my chair to get another one. But this time, I changed my mind and instead got a bottle of water. Oliver was right. I’d started something good. While I might have been suffering from the ultimate heartache, I had a business to run. I started this whole thing because I wanted to be in control of what I did and the projects I worked on. So it was time for me to stop pining over Madeline and start focusing on my goals and plans that didn’t include her or any other woman.

Going Home

Madeline

I arrived in California late and stayed at the nearest hotel I could find. I met with the director on the new film the following day. I wondered if there would ever come a day when I didn’t have to audition. There were plenty of actors who were offered parts on their reputation alone. Theo was one of those actors even before he started his own production company. For now, since I was starting out again, I had to jump through the same hoops as all the other starlets out here.

The director was a jovial man and was well known in the industry for producing and directing quality movies, so I was excited he was willing to consider me. Of course, I had to go through all the questions about being a child actress and how different the industry was now, but he’d apparently done his homework on me, having contacted Corrine and asking about my work. Anger bubbled up in me when he mentioned that she’d been positive about my work. I wondered if she told him that Theo had spent the whole few months of filming wooing and seducing me in an effort to get the chemistry he wanted between our characters.

I was angry at Theo for all sorts of misdeeds, but one of the newest sources was in how he’d made me second-guess my ability to act. Had our chemistry been off the charts because of what we were doing late at night in his apartment and not because I was a good actress? I resented both him and Corrine for making me lose confidence in my abilities. As a result, when I did my audition, I was a bigger bundle of nerves than when I auditioned for Theo’s movie. The character in this movie wasn’t as big a role as I had in Theo’s, but it was still important and I was eager to do it well. One of the things I really liked about this role was that as opposed to Nicolette who was a strong kick-ass woman but was on the side of good, this character was a kick-ass woman who was manipulative and conniving as she worked to get her son on the throne. I was excited to play a part that wasn’t wholesome and good like I had played before. Since I was so bitter about what happened with Theo and Corrine, I hoped that I would be able to draw on my anger and resentment to help me with the role.

I was in Los Angeles for a few days