Young Adulting

by Christina Benjamin

  I quickly checked the time and began sweating for another reason. What if she’d changed her mind? Or worse, she’d shown up, taken one look at me and decided that I wasn’t good enough to play Heath?

  Just as I was about to ask if we could take a short break so I could rush to check my emails again, I heard a loud bang in the back of the studio followed by raised voices as an alarm began to wail. The director called cut and I tented my hand over my eyes against the set lights to see what all the commotion was about.

  I spotted a flash of blonde hair between two security guards and leapt into action.

  “I’m sorry, miss, you can’t be here,” one of the guards was saying.

  “Isabelle!” I called.

  The security team instantly stopped trying to hustle the humiliated blonde out of the emergency door she’d come in through. And when I saw the disgrace on Isabelle’s face I quickened my pace, sprinting to the back of the studio.

  “Hey,” I said, breathlessly when I reached her side. “You really know how to make an entrance.”

  Her cheeks glowed crimson and I did my best to tamp down how adorably attractive I found her embarrassment.

  “It’s okay, guys,” I said. “Miss Ellis is with me.”

  “Sorry,” Isabelle whispered as I offered her my arm, whisking her away from the stares of the crew while the security team tried to silence the alarm.

  “Don’t worry about it. Happens all the time.”

  “Does it?”

  I laughed. “No. That’s a first for me and I practically grew up on this set. I didn’t even know we had an emergency exit door.”

  She winced but recovered quickly as she dropped her hand from my arm and straightened her cute little blazer. Well, it was a generic blazer that didn’t quite fit, but she looked cute in it all the same. “Uncovering hidden gems is apparently my specialty,” she replied.

  “So I’ve heard.”

  She arched a delicate eyebrow in my direction.

  “Leo speaks very highly of you,” I said, hoping to get off on the right foot.

  “Oh. Well, he speaks highly of you as well.”

  “Or else you wouldn’t be here?” I asked, my tone still light and teasing.

  “Listen, about the premiere—”

  “Please,” I interrupted. “You have nothing to apologize for. That night…” I sighed, rubbing my hand over my face to chase away the unpleasant memories. “Let’s just say it wasn’t my finest moment. I’m hoping…well, I’m hoping we can start over.”

  She smiled and my heart did a cannonball into my stomach.

  What the heck was that about?

  “I’d like that,” she said. “But only if you agree to erase my grand entrance from your memory too.”

  I laughed. “Done.” But then I remembered something. “Why did you feel so inclined to come through the emergency exit? Didn’t you get the pass I left for you?”

  She shook her head. “There was no pass and I didn’t know how to get in touch with you. I didn’t want you to tell Leo I stood you up so I just started trying doors.”

  Right at that moment, Shari walked over to us carrying my lunch, which I wouldn’t need since I had a lunch meeting scheduled with Isabelle today. I refrained from rolling my eyes.

  “Shari, did you get that pass for Miss Ellis I asked you for?”

  “Oh, yes. I have it right here,” she said, smiling up at me as she set my juice down and pulled a lot pass from her purse.

  I sighed. “Thank you, Shari, but it isn’t doing Miss Ellis much good in your purse.”

  Shari frowned. “Oh, did you want me to leave it at the gate for her?”

  “This is Miss Ellis,” I replied gesturing to the blonde standing next to me.

  “Oh, hi,” Shari said, completely missing my point.

  “Never mind,” I muttered, taking the pass with as much grace as I could manage. I swear, if the girl wasn’t the daughter of someone my father owed a favor to, she would be on the first bus back to whatever oblivious slice of the world she’d come from. But I bit my tongue.

  I had a feeling Isabelle wouldn’t appreciate me giving Shari any attitude, even if the woman was to blame for her charging through an emergency exit.

  Isabelle thinks you’re a diva, I reminded myself. Today is about changing her mind.

  Finally, the ear-splitting alarm was silenced, and the director called us back to run a few more pickups before lunch. I turned to Isabelle. “Are you okay hanging here for a bit while I finish up?”

  “Sure,” she replied, looking more than a bit impressed as she took in the set.

  “Great.” I offered her my arm again and led her over to where the on-call cast was gathered. “Here. You can have my chair.”

  Elena looked up from her phone, blinking with visible shock as she watched Isabelle tentatively let go of my arm to take a seat in my set chair.

  “Isabelle, this is Elena Rhodes,” I said, making introductions. “Elena, this is Isabelle Ellis.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you,” Isabelle said.

  Elena’s full lips morphed into a fake smile as she looked Isabelle up and down, already sizing her up as the competition. “A pleasure, I’m sure,” she finally said, a hint of annoyance in her voice, and maybe a little jealousy.

  So Elena was human after all.

  The petty side of me was happy to let her think the beautiful blonde intern was more than just a business associate. And who knew? Maybe if I played my cards right, she could be.

  Again, I reminded myself to cool it. You’re impressing her with your acting prowess today, Henry. Nothing else.

  But even so, if Elena got a taste of her own medicine in the process, I wasn’t going to be too bothered by that. Not after the way she’d dumped me—twice.

  I didn’t owe her an explanation.

  But I did owe myself something—a shot at scoring a role in Beyond Sunset.

  The fact that I was basically auditioning for a role that I’d created and written for myself felt mildly ridiculous, but then again...it felt right. I didn’t want to star in this role unless I could do it justice. I would earn my spot as the lead just like I’d earned Isabelle’s respect with the script.

  I squared my shoulders and gave Isabelle a wink before I took my spot in front of the spotlights, ready to give my all to a role an eggplant could play.

  Get ready, America. Max Harding is about to make you swoon like never before.

  Chapter Eight

  Izzy

  I stared down at the salad the waiter set in front of me and tried not to freak out. To be fair, salads didn’t normally make me panic, but right now I was more nervous than I could ever remember being in my entire life and the thought of spinach stuck in my teeth was more than I could bear.

  Henry’s gaze was on me and my insides were taking a roller coaster ride without me. My skin felt hot and cold all at once. I was clammy and dizzy and…either I was starstruck or coming down with the flu.

  I took a sip of my ice water and tried to calm down. This was absurd. I hadn’t been all that intimidated when I’d headed over to the soundstage an hour ago, but that was before…

  Before the lights and the action and the excitement and before...Henry.

  That was before I’d seen Henry act.

  Sure, I’d watched him on the television screen, but this was different. I’d seen him transform. He’d morphed into a totally different person right in front of my eyes.

  As I sat across from Hollywood’s leading heartthrob I finally got what all the fuss was about. Up close and personal like this, Henry Landon was something to behold—mind you he was much more likeable when he wasn’t belittling me. And when he turned his million-dollar smile in my direction like he was right now, I got a little lightheaded. I was more nervous now than on my first day at Polarizing Pictures, and that was saying something.

  “So?” Henry said as he reached for the club soda the waiter had just refilled. “What do you think?”

 
I think you’re amazing.

  I swallowed down the fangirl response that threatened to slip out on a breathless gush and took a stab at being professional. “What do I think about what?”

  Ugh. Apparently my version of being professional meant playing dumb. Get a grip, Ellis.

  His eyes glinted with laughter at my expense. “Did I pass?”

  He nodded in the general direction of the soundstage as if there was any doubt that we were talking about his acting.

  I cleared my throat and tried again. “You were very...good.”

  His lips quirked up in a smirk that made my hands slip on the glass I was holding and I only just managed to set it down without dropping it on the tiles of the restaurant’s outdoor patio.

  Henry’s mere presence in this fancy establishment was enough to cause a scene—I was keenly aware of all the eyes on us and the whispers that had followed in our wake, even if Henry seemed oblivious—I didn’t need to break any glasses to garner even more questioning looks.

  I could practically hear what the group of botoxed cougars were saying at the table next to us. What is Henry Landon doing with her?

  “I was good, huh?” He outright grinned as he leaned over the table. “That’s high praise coming from you.”

  I blinked in surprise. “What does that mean?”

  He pulled back a bit and his gaze dropped down to his food—a healthy-looking dish loaded with quinoa and vegetables. “Nothing, just…” He toyed with it as he spoke. “Leo says you have great taste when it comes to the film world, but that you’re…” He glanced up at me and his smirk was filled with mischief. “Discriminating.”

  I let out a choked laugh, some of my nerves dissipating at the reminder of Leo and one of our inside jokes. Leo was friends with this guy, which meant that even with all his talent—Henry Landon was a mere mortal. The reminder made it easier to breathe and my growling stomach had me reaching for my fork, spinach be damned. “Discriminating, huh?” I said with a laugh. “That’s a nice way of putting it. He told me I was a snob.”

  Henry grinned and those dimples—holy geez, he ought to issue a warning before he flashed those suckers on an unsuspecting victim.

  I froze mid-chew to gawk at him.

  Fallon had always called him a hottie, but that word did not do him justice. It was a laughable understatement, like calling a Victoria’s Secret model ‘cute.’

  If he noticed my gaping, he pretended like he didn’t, acting all easy and natural which only made me more aware of my own awkwardness. “Yeah, well, discriminating or snobby, I still value your opinion. And besides…” He glanced up at me from beneath stupidly long lashes. “After our first meeting, I know you have no qualms about being straightforward with your criticisms.”

  I froze again, this time with my fork hovering in mid-air. “I thought we agreed that night never happened.”

  He sank back in his seat as he regarded me. “You’re right. My bad.”

  I gave a little huff of laughter because his smirk was totally unapologetic. Cocky jerk.

  Except even in my thoughts I couldn’t quite summon up any real irritation about his egotistical attitude since he’d been nothing but polite and gracious ever since I’d arrived on his set and caused a commotion with that dumb emergency door.

  I shoved the thought away to dwell on later. There would be plenty of time for beet-red blushes and burning humiliation later when I relived every second of this day for Fallon’s benefit.

  She’d made me swear up and down that I would skip no details when I gave her the lowdown of my meeting with Henry.

  Even now I was filing away details that I knew only she would care about. What kind of meal he’d ordered—something healthy that I couldn't pronounce, whether he’d said thank you to the waiter—he had, and whether he preferred still or sparkling. Only Fallon and his other hardcore fans would care that sparkling was his water of choice.

  The French menu was how I’d ended up with a salad right now. I’d been too nervous that I’d pronounce something wrong and have Henry and the cougars next to us laughing at my faux pas.

  Would he have? I wondered now as I took another bite. Maybe. Maybe not.

  He met my gaze evenly as I eyed him. The jury was still out on this one. He might not have been the entitled jerk I’d originally thought, but I wasn’t ready to nominate him for sainthood anytime soon either.

  He held his hands up in mock defense after my silent stare. “No more mentions of our first meeting, I promise.”

  “Fine.” I arched a brow, a smug smile of my own starting to tug at my lips. “But that wasn’t our first meeting.” I promptly stuck a cherry tomato in my mouth and tried not to laugh at his wide-eyed look of surprise.

  “It wasn’t?”

  I shook my head.

  He narrowed his eyes as he took in my obvious delight at having one-upped him. “It was. It had to have been. There’s no way I would forget meeting you.”

  I ducked my head, feigning an unusual amount of interest in the croutons atop my greens. Something about the look in his eyes as he’d said it had warmth spreading through my chest.

  Gah! I hoped I wasn’t blushing. He hadn’t meant it like that.

  “Tell me when we met,” he demanded, leaning forward again so he was resting on his elbows.

  I shook my head and laughed at his boyish excitement. “Nope. If you don’t remember I’m not telling you.”

  As if I needed to add another humiliating run-in to his mental tally of embarrassing Izzy moments.

  “Come on, Isabelle,” he said, a hint of a whine in his voice that made me laugh even harder.

  I shook my head. “Nope. And please, call me Izzy.”

  “Okay, Izzy.” He narrowed his eyes, but he was flashing those lethal dimples with his grin. “I’ll get it out of you eventually.”

  “You could try,” I said in a sing-song tone that made him laugh.

  He tilted his head to the side, his eyes dancing with laughter and mischief and something...wicked. “Izzy Ellis, are you flirting with me?”

  I choked on a sesame seed and sputtered. “W-what? No. No, I’m not—” I gulped down a sip of the water he’d handed me.

  “Relax,” he said, leaning back again. “I was joking.”

  I glared at him as I took another swallow. He was enjoying this way too much.

  He spread his hands out wide. “I mean, it would be fine with me if you were.”

  “I wasn’t!”

  “Okay.” His tone was too mild. It made me want to growl or stomp my foot like a child.

  Crap. He wasn’t supposed to get to me like this. I was a professional, dang it.

  “You wouldn’t be the first,” he continued. “A lot of women I work with end up falling for me. It can’t be helped.”

  He was teasing. I knew he was teasing. And yet I felt an inexplicable surge of irritation as I thought of Elena—the freakin’ golden goddess of television who’d looked at me like I was a cockroach when I’d sat next to her on the set.

  “Leo mentioned you were...confident,” I said in a dry tone.

  Arrogant had been the word Leo used and I had a feeling Henry knew it judging by his smirk.

  “He did, huh?” He leaned forward. “Did he also mention that I was persistent when I wanted something?”

  I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t swallow. His gaze was fixed on me and his eyes were intense. Did he mean...was he saying…?

  “I want the role of Heath,” he said.

  I exhaled. Oh. Right. Of course that was what he’d meant.

  “I want the part and I think I could do it justice,” he said.

  There was no teasing in his eyes now, nothing ironic or smug about the way he was talking. Asking. Almost...pleading.

  Holy crap, Henry Landon didn’t just want this part. He wanted me to want him for this part.

  The enormity of that—the awesome responsibility that I’d taken on by pitching this script and working with Leo…

  I was
beyond humbled.

  “This film is going to be amazing,” he said. “I love the script and the changes you've made. It keeps getting better and better. I believe in this film, Izzy, and I want to be a part of it.”

  I cleared my throat. “You have a lot of faith in Leo.”

  “I have a lot of faith in the script.” He stabbed a carrot, his gaze on mine. “And I have a lot of faith in you.”

  My breath hitched in my throat as his words slammed into me like a freight train. Well, that was…intense.

  “So?” He met my gaze head-on, his eyes as serious as I’d ever seen them. “What do you think?”

  I had to swallow and lick my lips to get words out of my throat which felt too tight with emotion. “I think...I think…” I took a deep breath and blurted out the truth. “I think you’d be amazing in the role of Heath O'Brien.”

  His answering grin was dazzling. White teeth. Dimples. But it was the sheer joy in his eyes that sent my heart racing and the butterflies in my belly rioting.

  “You won’t regret it,” he said.

  I smiled back at him, ready to tell him that I knew he’d do great, but he didn’t give me the chance.

  “I hope you know this means we’ll be spending a lot of time together from here on out.” He leaned forward, his whole body practically buzzing with excitement. “You and I have a lot of work to do.”

  Chapter Nine

  Henry

  Still on cloud nine from my meeting with Izzy last week, I decided today was the day. Not only was I going to tell her that I was Leo at our meeting, but I was finally going to talk to my father about Beyond Sunset.

  I’d proved I could land the role and find a studio on my own. My pride was cemented enough that I should be able to discuss my future plans with him like any other professional in the industry. And what better time than our obligatory father-son brunch?

  Normally, I loathed the forced conversations I suffered through over the ridiculously overpriced menu at my father’s favorite exclusive restaurant in West Hollywood, but for once, I was looking forward to it.