“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Dash grins. “I’d plant one on you if your boyfriend wasn’t lurking over there.”
I laugh. “I’m happy to help,” I tell him. “I love being a part of all this.”
“Good, because I’ve got some ideas for next week’s scenes…” Dash launches into a rapid-fire brainstorming session that sends me scrambling for a notebook and pen. I add my own suggestions, and by the time I’ve jotted down all our ideas for revamping the final scenes of the movie, it’s been half an hour.
“I’ve told Kira to take you off production duties,” Dash adds, finally running out of steam. “From now on, you’re officially my script assistant.”
I feel a surge of pride. “I really appreciate the chance,” I tell him. “I know this is a big deal.”
Dash waves away my gratitude. “Trust me, love. You’re the one doing me a favor. Most of the guys you get for last-minute changes charge an arm and a leg.”
“Does this mean I should get a bump in salary?” I ask with a cheeky grin.
Dash laughs. “Love, I’m practically doing this for free myself. But next time, I promise, I’ll see you right.”
I hug myself, excited. He could just be blowing me off, but even the fact he’s casually talking about a next time makes me think that maybe my writing dreams could be real. Imagine…being the one to help create the movies I see up on screen. It’s an incredible goal, but this is my very first step.
I go look for Blake to tell him the good news, but when I find him getting powder applied in the makeup trailer, his whole energy has changed. He slumps in the chair, staring at the script, and doesn’t even hear me come in.
“Blake?” I ask, worried. “What did your agent have to say? Is everything OK?”
Blake lifts his gaze to meet mine. He slowly shakes his head. “It’s what I was afraid of. That movie I was in talks for, with the director Jacques Carrere? It’s all gone bust. He’s looking at other actors now, his people say he doesn’t even want to meet with me.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” My heart falls. I know how much this means to him; every time he mentioned this potential role, his whole face would light up. Now, I can see his disappointment.
I go to him and pull up a chair nearby. “Are you sure there’s nothing you can do? You were going to go audition, right?”
Blake sighs. “He’s meeting actors now in New York. Josh tried to get me in, but he’s leaving tonight, so even if I could get a slot…”
He looks so downcast, I can’t stand it.
“You have to go!”
Blake looks puzzled.
“I mean it,” I insist. The idea takes shape. “Go to New York today and see him before he leaves. Just show up at his hotel room, he’ll have to talk to you then!”
Blake gets up and pulls on his shirt for the scene. “I can’t. It’s not how you do things—”
“Screw how you normally do things!” I say forcefully. “Don’t you see? You’re letting all these other people stand between you and what you want. Your agent, his people… You used to do this all the time, remember? When you were just starting out. You’d show up at auditions you’d never even been invited too and talk your way in. So what’s changed?”
Blake pauses, and I can see the conflict in his eyes. “It’s different now. I need to be a professional.”
“You can be as professional as you want once you get the job!” I argue. “Once you get in a room with this Jacques guy, he’ll see how perfect you are,” I promise him. “You just need to take the risk and make it happen!”
The spark returns to Blake’s expression. “Dash could move my scenes to tomorrow,” he says slowly. “If I drove straight to the city right now and caught a flight, I could be there before Jacques leaves—” He stops, looking stricken. “But what about your birthday? I had everything planned!”
He’s right. I feel a brief wave of disappointment, but I push it aside. “My birthday can wait.” I grab both his hands. “This is important to you, which means it’s important to me too. I want you to get this job!”
Blake slowly smiles. “Sometimes I think you believe in me more than I believe in myself,” he says quietly.
“Well, we’ll work on that later.” I laugh. “Right now, we need to get Dash to change the schedule. And book your flight, and hotel, and figure out what you’re going to wear—”
Blake cuts me off with a kiss. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” he swears. “I’ll catch a flight home as soon as I’ve seen him. I’ll be back by tonight, and then we can celebrate together.”
“Just go out there, and show that guy what you’re made of,” I tell him, touched that he even cares about missing my birthday dinner when the role of a lifetime is up for grabs. “Nobody puts baby in a corner.”
He laughs, then his smile fades a little. “I could be making a huge mistake,” he points out. “Being unprofessional, like I can’t take a hint. And what if he still doesn’t want to work with me?”
“Then at least you tried,” I tell him. “That’s all you can do.”
21.
Blake leaves for the airport right away. We spend the rest of the day on set filming a scene with Lila and her character’s best friend, and when we wrap, I head over to the beach house to meet Tegan.
I laugh. “I’m happy to help,” I tell him. “I love being a part of all this.”
“Good, because I’ve got some ideas for next week’s scenes…” Dash launches into a rapid-fire brainstorming session that sends me scrambling for a notebook and pen. I add my own suggestions, and by the time I’ve jotted down all our ideas for revamping the final scenes of the movie, it’s been half an hour.
“I’ve told Kira to take you off production duties,” Dash adds, finally running out of steam. “From now on, you’re officially my script assistant.”
I feel a surge of pride. “I really appreciate the chance,” I tell him. “I know this is a big deal.”
Dash waves away my gratitude. “Trust me, love. You’re the one doing me a favor. Most of the guys you get for last-minute changes charge an arm and a leg.”
“Does this mean I should get a bump in salary?” I ask with a cheeky grin.
Dash laughs. “Love, I’m practically doing this for free myself. But next time, I promise, I’ll see you right.”
I hug myself, excited. He could just be blowing me off, but even the fact he’s casually talking about a next time makes me think that maybe my writing dreams could be real. Imagine…being the one to help create the movies I see up on screen. It’s an incredible goal, but this is my very first step.
I go look for Blake to tell him the good news, but when I find him getting powder applied in the makeup trailer, his whole energy has changed. He slumps in the chair, staring at the script, and doesn’t even hear me come in.
“Blake?” I ask, worried. “What did your agent have to say? Is everything OK?”
Blake lifts his gaze to meet mine. He slowly shakes his head. “It’s what I was afraid of. That movie I was in talks for, with the director Jacques Carrere? It’s all gone bust. He’s looking at other actors now, his people say he doesn’t even want to meet with me.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” My heart falls. I know how much this means to him; every time he mentioned this potential role, his whole face would light up. Now, I can see his disappointment.
I go to him and pull up a chair nearby. “Are you sure there’s nothing you can do? You were going to go audition, right?”
Blake sighs. “He’s meeting actors now in New York. Josh tried to get me in, but he’s leaving tonight, so even if I could get a slot…”
He looks so downcast, I can’t stand it.
“You have to go!”
Blake looks puzzled.
“I mean it,” I insist. The idea takes shape. “Go to New York today and see him before he leaves. Just show up at his hotel room, he’ll have to talk to you then!”
Blake gets up and pulls on his shirt for the scene. “I can’t. It’s not how you do things—”
“Screw how you normally do things!” I say forcefully. “Don’t you see? You’re letting all these other people stand between you and what you want. Your agent, his people… You used to do this all the time, remember? When you were just starting out. You’d show up at auditions you’d never even been invited too and talk your way in. So what’s changed?”
Blake pauses, and I can see the conflict in his eyes. “It’s different now. I need to be a professional.”
“You can be as professional as you want once you get the job!” I argue. “Once you get in a room with this Jacques guy, he’ll see how perfect you are,” I promise him. “You just need to take the risk and make it happen!”
The spark returns to Blake’s expression. “Dash could move my scenes to tomorrow,” he says slowly. “If I drove straight to the city right now and caught a flight, I could be there before Jacques leaves—” He stops, looking stricken. “But what about your birthday? I had everything planned!”
He’s right. I feel a brief wave of disappointment, but I push it aside. “My birthday can wait.” I grab both his hands. “This is important to you, which means it’s important to me too. I want you to get this job!”
Blake slowly smiles. “Sometimes I think you believe in me more than I believe in myself,” he says quietly.
“Well, we’ll work on that later.” I laugh. “Right now, we need to get Dash to change the schedule. And book your flight, and hotel, and figure out what you’re going to wear—”
Blake cuts me off with a kiss. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” he swears. “I’ll catch a flight home as soon as I’ve seen him. I’ll be back by tonight, and then we can celebrate together.”
“Just go out there, and show that guy what you’re made of,” I tell him, touched that he even cares about missing my birthday dinner when the role of a lifetime is up for grabs. “Nobody puts baby in a corner.”
He laughs, then his smile fades a little. “I could be making a huge mistake,” he points out. “Being unprofessional, like I can’t take a hint. And what if he still doesn’t want to work with me?”
“Then at least you tried,” I tell him. “That’s all you can do.”
21.
Blake leaves for the airport right away. We spend the rest of the day on set filming a scene with Lila and her character’s best friend, and when we wrap, I head over to the beach house to meet Tegan.
