Young Adulting - Christina Benjamin Page 0,9

too. Mine is just less....animated.”

I choked on a laugh as humiliation warred with the happiness that was still there.

Colin leaned against the desk next to mine as Tommy filed in behind him, muttering a good morning and then whispering an “I love you” when I gave him his caffeine.

“Want to tell me why you’re doing a happy dance?” Colin asked. His eyes were warm and his smile friendly. Colin might not have been the hottest guy on the planet, but he was cute in that wholesome, clean-cut Iowa kind of way that made me homesick.

He was just like the guys I hung out with in high school, and having him here at the office was weirdly comforting. He was just so...nice. So of course I ended up spilling every juicy detail about the script I’d picked by a new, up-and-coming screenwriter, ending with how I’d just gotten the reply that he was on board.

The only thing I didn’t tell him—because it wasn’t relevant and was more of a confession, really…

I didn’t tell him about the fact that I’d kind of told a little white lie in my email to Leo.

Guilt nagged at me every time I thought of the title I’d written beneath my name. I hadn’t been trying to be deceitful, I’d just wanted Leo to take me seriously. Was it true that I was a junior script developer?

No. Not entirely.

Okay fine, not at all. But I would be. If I got this script and made it perfect...I would totally have that title one day. And Hollywood was all about faking it until you made it, right? Everyone knew that.

Heck, people expected you to fudge some stuff here and there.

Right?

Right.

So, I left that little detail out, but I told Colin all the rest, careful not to let my competitors overhear the details. The last thing I needed was even more hate from Taylor and her cohorts.

Colin was so happy for me he tugged me into a hug, a gesture that got some weird looks from the other interns who were settling in for the day, and an outright glare from Taylor.

Whatever. Not even Taylor could bring me down today.

“Come into my office,” Colin said when the hug ended, already leading the way down the hall. “I want to hear more about this amazing script.”

That was really all the nudging I needed. I’d been waiting nearly two weeks to gush to someone about the awesomeness that was Beyond Sunset, a coming of age story that was quiet but had so many undertones that I hadn’t stopped thinking about it since the first time I’d read it. “The hero is just so flawed, but so likeable, you know?” I said to Colin as he sank into his leather seat behind his desk. “He’s relatable.”

“A relatable hero is everything,” Colin said.

I grinned. I knew he would get it.

“We should celebrate.”

I blinked, my mind still half on the email still open on my computer. “What?”

Colin shuffled some papers and grinned up at me. “We should celebrate your success, don’t you think?”

“Um...yeah. I guess.” Excitement rippled through me all over again. Success. My first taste of success since coming to this town. I waited for him to suggest we go out for lunch or something—he and I had done that a few times already.

“I’ve got an extra ticket to the premiere of Gold City tonight.” He arched his brows. “You want to come with me?”

My mouth fell open. This could not be happening. He could not be serious. Gold City was the new Lars Landon-backed historical saga mega-hit that critics were raving about. The word Oscar was tossed around every time it was mentioned.

“Yes!” I said. “Are you kidding? I would love to.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven,” he said, already turning to his computer.

I paused in the doorway. He’d pick me up… As if he could sense my hesitation, he grinned at me over his screen. “You still don’t have a car, right?”

I shook my head, hoping he couldn’t see my embarrassment. I was the only intern who relied on LA’s horrible public transit system because renting a car, or buying one? So not part of my strict budget.

“Then I’ll give you a lift,” he said.

A lift. That sounded...better. I still hesitated, though. Colin was nice. He was great, but I wasn’t about to mix business and romance. Not when I’d come this far and worked so hard for this opportunity. “Um, Colin, this thing tonight, it’s not—”

His easy laugh cut me off.