He glared at her. “Is that how someone gets past your frigid exterior? Offer you some fame?”
Addie opened her mouth to reply, but someone called out, “Places!” and Addie had to slip back into character. In the show they were in the city where Philip was to introduce her to several of his friends as potential suitors, and her character was secretly there to meet a witness to a crime she’d been investigating.
The screenwriters had changed the nature of the crime twice already because the higher-ups hadn’t loved the original version. Not sexy enough. Not controversial enough. This part was still the same, though. Addie would be meeting a witness—one who would be set up as a potential love interest, although that wasn’t in the book.
With the cameras rolling, Philip walked through the city streets quickly enough that Addie had to cling to his arm. That part was in the script. The revulsion she felt at touching him was, too, but Addie didn’t have to struggle to portray that particular emotion. Neither did she have to pretend as her character looked at him and declared, “I would gladly fake a swoon and topple you into the way of oncoming carriage wheels.”
“Try it, Adelaine. You make a mistake in forcing me to be your enemy,” Philip, as Cousin Colin, said in a dark tone. It felt incredibly honest as he looked at her and declared, “I could ruin you and sleep like an innocent babe the same night.”
The flicker of fear in Addie’s heart was far too real. He wasn’t bad at acting, but he wasn’tthisgood. The threat was real. Regardless of what else happened, Addie made a note to herself that her costar was an enemy she could not dismiss lightly.
“Cut.”
Addie relaxed slightly as things were reset and cameras moved. This was a job, one she’d worked toward, and she wasn’t going tolet any man—any person at all—ruin her joy. She’d keep alert, but that was common sense anyhow.
“Attention whore,” he muttered as he stopped at her side.
His smiles were still constant, but they felt laced with threats now.Do I tell Marcela? My manager? Toni?Addie wasn’t sure of protocol when one’s costar was a jackass. He wasn’t saying things that she couldn’t also read on socials, but it felt different when he was on set—and in the same hotel with her.
By the time Addie returned to the hotel, she was ready to scream. The entire day had been peppered with Philip’s whispered and muttered jabs. It was as if he wanted her to make mistakes. Addie kicked off her shoes and slipped into a pair of hotel slippers.
A glance at her socials made her wonder whether Philip was behind them or just parroting them. Sure, there were a lot of romantic ones, but there were others accusing Addie of being a “desperate dyke” and suggesting that it was suspicious that someone with no credits was cast in such a major role when other experienced actors were interested in it. A few even suggested that she’d blackmailed the publishers—as if they were involved in casting.
Even though Addie knew better, she worried and debated if she should say something to Toni. For now, she took a few screenshots and emailed Marcela with a note asking, “Do we need to make a statement about how casting works? Maybe a sort of behind-the-scenes from book to screen?”
Room service was at least thirty minutes away from arriving, so she left the stress of strangers castigating her, Toni, the studio, the publisher, and probably their parents, too. People could be so vicious.Not all of them.There were still plenty of people who said lovely things. Sometimes hate sounded louder than kindness, though.
Instead of letting it add to her anxiety, Addie checked her email—smiling when she saw the message.
From:History Toni
To:Addie
I liked waking up to breakfast with you when you were here. Oscar Wilde misses you.
Kaelee stopped by the office. She spent several minutes telling me how fabulous you were. She’s not wrong. I saw the second teaser from the show. You are even more fabulous than I could hope. If this show succeeds, it’s because of you.
Toni
Briefly she replied:
From:Adelaine
To:History Toni
Just Oscar Wilde? I miss you. Should I be longing for the cat to cuddle instead of you?
And I think the source material is why the show exists, or did I misunderstand that detail? Maybe some of the credit goes to the talent of the author.
Addie
Not five minutes later, Toni emailed again.
From:History Toni
To:Addie
Fine. The cat has good taste. I miss you too. I don’t cuddle though. I simply hold you after your bones are sufficientlymelted. It’s part of the package. I wish I could’ve held you the other night after our video chat.
