His grip was firm. “And you. I should admit, I don’t watch your show, but my wife seems to enjoy it. She said you’re quite good.”
Well, damn. Thank you, Mrs. Michaels. “Thank you, or uh, thank her.”
“And you’re interested in Subversive.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I am. It’s a fantastic script, sir.”
“Thank you, I agree. What role, in particular, are you interested in? I wouldn’t have expected someone with your … current trajectory to find anything of interest in a film like this.”
“I can see why you would think that,” I agreed. “But I would also argue that roles like Parker don’t come across very often, and it’s the exact type of character that made me want to act in the first place.”
“What about him appeals to you?”
“The way I see it, his conflict doesn’t stem from having to be in control, from what I’ve researched, that’s a misnomer for d/s relationships. Instead, the conflict comes from betraying the trust built between them, which is so crucial for people in those arrangements. So he has no problem taking charge, never did, but he struggles with every decision that requires manipulating or lying to her because it goes against everything they’ve had up to this point.”
“That’s an interesting take.” His expression gave nothing away, so I could only hope I hadn’t completely misread between the lines in the script. Knowing how much this meant to Addison, if I’d missed the mark, it would be hard to convince him to give me a chance at the role.
Movement caught the corner of my eye, and I looked over to find Tiffany gesturing at me.
My pulse kicked up a notch.
I tried to scan the room for Audrey, but there were too many people, and I couldn’t get a good look behind the bar. I’d have to get closer.
“Are you looking for someone, or am I boring you?”
Shit.
Here I was with one of the leading directors in show business, and he thought that I was ignoring him.
Terry was going to kill me.
“Of course not, Mr. Michaels.” I scrambled to apologize. “Sorry, I thought I saw something. It’s not important.”
“I’m not so sure,” he said, now looking in the same direction. And was that amusement I could hear in his voice? “Someone seems to be trying very hard to get your attention.”
I followed his line of sight to where Tiffany was now motioning very tersely.
Addison chuckled, “A friend of yours?”
“More like a mutual acquaintance,” I needed to get over there before Tiffany made a scene, but I didn’t want to offend Addison by running off. Tiffany made a giving-up gesture while shaking her head and turned back to the bar. I made a decision.
Hopefully, Addison was a romantic.
“I, uh, there’s a woman. Amazing, smart, beautiful. And a friend of my acquaintance over there. She’s helping me fix a mistake I made, which it’s hopefully not too late to make up for. But unfortunately, it means I’ll have to cut our conversation short.”
He considered me, and I wondered what exactly he thought of me at that moment.
“Love is a fool’s game, and we are all fools for it.“ Addison’s lips had quirked into a smile, so I didn’t think I’d horrified the man beyond ever hiring me, but he was so hard to read it was impossible to tell.
“I wish you luck with your friend,” he added.
“Thank you again. It’s been great meeting you. I really hope we can talk again about Parker. It’s a fantastic role.”
He shook my outstretched hand, “It’s been interesting, to say the least, Mr. Ward.” Then he was off, presumably to talk to someone who wasn’t too distracted to talk to him.
It was fine. Terry would no doubt kick my ass, but at least he didn’t seem offended.
Fighting my way over to the bar, I sat. Tiffany appeared out of nowhere. “Time’s up, pretty boy. She just walked in.”
