Secret (Peters Junction Series Book 1)

by Nicola Sinclair

  Chapter Four

  April’s hand covered her mouth at the memory of Lachlan’s kiss. Even the recollection conjured a ripple of electricity though her body. The kiss had been brief. Almost as soon as their lips connected, he was pulling away, but the small, seductive smile on his face promised much more to come.

  Their breakfast had been relaxed, but all too quickly Lachlan was gone. April spent the next few hours trying not to think about him and to concentrate on her meeting with the production executives. Her efforts were futile, because just knowing that she would see him there was distracting. Still, determined not to let herself be taken advantage of, she breathed deeply to calm her nerves and when her taxi pulled up outside the firm a few moments later, she was ready to face them.

  She looked up at the skyscraper, the sheer size was daunting but Landslide Productions only had their offices on the 10th floor. Karen had explained that these offices were the Australian Headquarters for Landslide Productions and were primarily tasked with handling logistics and the casting of local talent when filming took place in Australia. Apparently she was supposed to be flattered that Senior Executive Producer Gavin Montgomery had even agreed to hold these meetings in Australia instead of at the Los Angeles offices, but she couldn’t care less. April had no intentions of leaving Australia and if they wanted her story that much, it was only right that they should come to her.

  “Yes?” The receptionist greeted her with bored indifference and looked her over as if questioning whether April had mistakenly gotten off on the wrong floor and was actually after the Country Women’s Association Headquarters two floors down.

  “Hi, I’m A.D. Pope, I have a meeting with—”

  “Right this way, Ms. Pope.” The woman instantly brightened and put her best foot forward and it amused April that she would be considered important enough for the staff to have been briefed on how to treat her.

  April was shown into a large conference room and offered a selection of beverages, most of which she realised were just water bottled in different ways. She requested a soft drink despite the obvious disapproval of the woman, and was then left alone while she waited for the others.

  Karen, her agent, was the first to enter wearing a no nonsense black business suit, her grey streaked, black hair pulled securely into a bun at the base of her neck. Tall and slim with an elegance that hadn’t been tempered by age, the woman represented everything April aspired to be when she reached that age.

  “Hi,” she said as she sat down after performing the beverage ritual with the receptionist. “You all set?”

  April smiled nervously. Despite having met in person only two days before, the women had shared a close relationship over telephone and email for the past decade and April was relieved her friend was here to support her.

  “How’s Adriana?” she asked.

  “She’s not good. They’ve been monitoring her all morning and so far there’s been no change, but they’re not sure how long she can last before they have to go in for a caesarean. I’ve been at the hospital all day and I’ll go back as soon as this meeting’s over.”

  “Ah Karen, you should have called! We could have rescheduled. It’s not as if you planned for your daughter to have pregnancy complications.”

  Karen reached out and gripped her hand. “It’s okay April. I needed a breather anyway and these people came all the way from the US to see you. I am going to have to withdraw my invitation for you to come to dinner tomorrow though. I don’t think we’ll be up to it and I’ll probably be at the hospital anyway.”

  “It’s okay.” April smiled her reassurance. “Don’t worry about me. You just take care of your family.”

  A moment later, the door opened and a small group of people filed in. Apart from Abigale, who had been assigned the task of babysitting April throughout her stay—picking her up at the airport and escorting her around town—there were four other people who walked into the room. April was introduced to Gavin Montgomery and Michael McCauley, the director who had first shown an interest in her work. The other two men were merely introduced as contract lawyers, neither deemed important enough to have their names mentioned.

  “Afternoon ladies. Great night last night.” Abigale breezed over, her long glossy blond hair hanging perfectly down her back, her makeup applied to perfection. She sat on April’s other side. “I take it you made it back to your hotel okay?”

  A flush crept up April’s neck as she remembered her walk home with Lachlan and waking up with him this morning.

  “Oh my!” Abigale said as she scrutinised Aprils face. “So much for being shy and innocent.”

  Karen raised an eyebrow, opened her mouth to comment but was interrupted by Gavin.

  “Good afternoon ladies, welcome to Landslide Productions.” Despite his grey hair, small stature and protruding belly, his confidence and booming voice commanded the room and instantly drew everyone’s attention. His entire focus was on April and although he’d included Karen in his greeting, it was apparent that he viewed her in much the same light as he viewed his contract lawyers, only of periphery importance. “Before we begin, I would like to invite another interested party to these discussions if that’s all right.” Without giving her the chance to object, he gestured towards the door and Lachlan and another man were shown in. The sight of him sent a fresh wave of nerves though her body and it took all her effort to school her expression into one of guarded confusion.

  “April Pope,” Gavin continued, beaming at her, “I’m sure you recognise Lachlan Kennedy. He is our primary candidate to play the Green Man.”

  Briefly she closed her eyes to summon her composure before turning to face him. Lachlan cleared his throat. “Uh, this is Anthony Black, my agent.”

  She acknowledged Anthony, tossing him a quick smile before returning her attention to Lachlan. Pushing her chair back, she stood up and went to him, walking slowly around him, appraising him from every angle. He had swapped his jeans and silk shirt for a business suit with a crisp, white cotton shirt. She was pleased to see he had forgone the tie and instead had a couple of buttons popped open at the neck, exposing the little hollow of his throat. Despite trying to be objective, trying to picture him as the Green Man, all she could think about was how her body had fit perfectly up against his that morning, how his lips had brushed hers. She stopped in front of him, struggling to pull herself together before raising her eyes to meet his. Although he kept a straight face, there was a twinkle in his eye and April hoped no one else could tell how unhinged she felt being near him.

  “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Kennedy, have you read the books?” Her voice was matter of fact, devoid of emotion. She felt a flicker of pride over her control.

  Lachlan cleared his throat. “Yes, every one. Although I’ll admit I thought A.D. Pope was a ma—”

  “And you think you’re suitable to play the Green Man?” She cut him off deliberately, hoping he would see the apology in her eyes.

  “Yes.” He didn’t say anything more, a small frown creasing his brow. She shut her eyes again briefly, gathering her strength before quickly shooting him another apologetic look and turning around to face Gavin.

  “I think Mr. Kennedy would be suitable for the role of the Green Man, but I won’t agree until I’ve seen him reading for the part. He’s what I pictured as far as physical characteristics go and I think he’s a good actor in general, but in future Gavin I would appreciate it if you consulted with me on all the major casting decisions. That is one area of the contract that is not negotiable.” April paused for breath, straightening her back as if the mere action would give her more backbone. “Well, that and final approval of the script. I feel I have been clear on both of these issues from the start.”

  Silence. All eyes in the room were focused on her, and April wished the floor would open up and swallow her.

  “Of course,” Gavin finally said, “I apologise for not consulting you first. Discussions like these usually take place in my office in LA, so
when Michael and I heard Lachlan was interested, and knowing he was exactly who we had in mind for the role, we took the opportunity to open discussions with him while we were here and bring him in on these proceedings.”

  April allowed herself to be mollified, although his subtle admonishment for not having agreed to meet them in Los Angeles didn’t go unnoticed. The rest of the meeting went without a hitch and although she didn’t sign the contract due to a few minor alterations that needed to be made, they did schedule a final meeting for Friday morning.

  “Well April, I hope you enjoy the rest of your week in Sydney,” Gavin said at the end of the meeting. “Please make sure you take in the sights, do some shopping. If you need anything, Abigale is available anytime you like.” He walked out with his entourage in tow, either ignoring or not noticing the affronted look on Abigale’s face as she, Lachlan and Anthony remained in the room with Karen and April.

  “Ms. Pope,” Lachlan began.

  “April, please.” She smiled tentatively and he returned the gesture.

  “I’m sorry you weren’t consulted about my presence at the meeting, I hope my being here didn’t cause too many problems.” Although his tone was sincere, his eyes were full of mischief.

  April shrugged, fighting the urge to chuckle. “I’ll admit I wasn’t pleased about not being consulted before you were approached for the role, but I meant what I said before, you are suitable for the part. Maybe we could get together and discuss the role some more while I’m in town?”

  “Sounds great.” Finally, Lachlan allowed himself to grin and April basked in the glow of his approval.

  “April,” Anthony began, inserting himself into the conversation and handing her his card, “feel free to call me if you have any questions about casting.”

  “Thank you.”

  Anthony turned to Lachlan then. “You need a date for the ball on Friday. Why don’t you take April?”

  “Oh, yes.” Abigale was practically jumping out of her skin beside April, clutching her arm so tight it hurt. April turned to Lachlan, suspicion rising up within her, but by the shocked look on his face, she didn’t think he’d put Anthony up to the suggestion.

  “Uh, it could be fun.” He hedged, looking at her hopefully.

  When the silence stretched to the point where the others were beginning to look confused by her refusal to answer, she summoned the first argument she’d offered Lachlan the night before.

  “I didn’t bring anything to wear.” She shot an accusing glance at Lachlan, her eyes pleading with him to drop this.

  “No problem,” Abigale burst out, anticipation written all over her face. “We’ll go shopping. Gavin did give permission and I have access to the expense account, and I am supposed to ensure you have a good time.”

  “Here.” Lachlan reached into his pocket and withdrew a business card, handing it to her. “I just happened to be speaking to my friend David earlier. We had plans to get together tomorrow morning but I had to cancel, so as far as I know he’s free, tell him I sent you.” Although his smile was casual, the mischief was back in his eyes.

  “David Anderson!” squealed Abigale as she scrutinised the card over April’s shoulder. “He’ll be perfect. Call him now.” She thrust her phone into April’s hands, barely able to contain her excitement.

  Feeling ambushed, April stood taller, as if that could help boost her courage, but before she could speak Lachlan quickly jumped in.

  “Anthony and I have been briefed about keeping the identity of A.D. Pope secret and we’ve both signed confidentiality clauses, so if that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. You wouldn’t be going as A.D. Pope anyway. You’d be going as April. Just April.”

  Damn it! He’d just ruined her last remaining argument and he knew it. “And how long exactly do you think it would take for a determined journalist to connect ‘just April’ with the fact that you’re after the lead in the Green Man movies? All it would take is for one photograph of the two of us to be published in Australia and someone will identify me.”

  “So we’ll avoid the cameras.” He made it sound so easy.

  “Go on April,” Karen put in from beside her and her heart sank. She’d hoped her friend would defend her. Karen, of all people, knew the extent to which April went to keep her identity secret. Even if she didn’t understand her reasons, Karen had never questioned them. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you deserve to have a bit of fun.”

  “Please?” Lachlan asked again, only this time the look in his eye was less confident, more vulnerable and uncertain. April caved. She couldn’t help herself, he looked so adorable when he lost his confidence.

  “Fine, I’ll go.” And surprisingly, she realised she was looking forward to it.

  “Call David Anderson,” Abigale insisted, as if April accepting had been a forgone conclusion all along. She gestured impatiently to her phone, still in April’s hand.

  With a resigned sigh, April turned the phone over and punched in the number on the card. She walked away from the others when it began ringing.

  “Hello.” The voice on the other end was deep and gravelly, not at all what she would have expected from a fashion designer.

  “Uh, yes, hello,” she began nervously. “My name is April...”

  “April! Lachlan said you might call. I’m a bit busy now but if you can come in tomorrow at ten, I’ll have you all set for Friday.”

  “Uh, okay. Thanks.”

  “No problem. Do you have the address?”

  April looked at the card in her hand. “Yes.”

  “Great. Listen I gotta go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay, I—”

  “Oh and April…”

  “Yes?”

  “It’ll probably take hours so clear your day.” Then he was gone. It was the craziest phone call she’d ever experienced. It left her disoriented and off balance, as if a whirlwind had blown through and she was standing in the debris.

  Turning, she walked back over to the others, unable to stop herself from frowning at Lachlan. David had been expecting her call. Lachlan had set this up even before she’d agreed to go with him.

  “All set?” he asked.

  “Tomorrow at ten.”

  “Great. Well I’m off. I’ll call you later to make arrangements for Friday and to catch up about the movie.” With a brief wave, he and Anthony left the room.

  Abigale rounded on her the moment the door shut behind them. “You’ve been in town a couple of days and already you’re going to the Medical Research Institute Ball, only the largest fundraiser of the year! Everyone, who’s anyone, will be there. And you’re going with Lachlan Kennedy! He hasn’t taken anyone to one of these things since he broke up with Samantha. I don’t think he’s dated anyone since he broke up with Samantha.”

  “So this is a big deal then?” April’s heart sank. How could she possibly expect to avoid the cameras all night?

  “A big deal?” Abigale squealed. “Of course it’s a big deal!”

  Although she spent the next ten minutes making small talk with the two women and trying to summon some excitement at the idea of the ball, she couldn’t help the feeling of dread that sat at the pit of her stomach.

  Karen arranged to meet again on Friday morning for the signing of the contract and Abigale promised to call to arrange a shopping trip for Thursday to finalise her outfit for the ball. Then both women left her to make her own way back to the hotel. She was grateful they did, because she needed time to think.