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Damian
EXTRAtainmentInsider!
Damian Marshall... King of the Rom-Com?
In an effort to save his beleaguered career, Damian Marshall is looking to make a change. The action star and leading man is taking his talents in a new direction: the rom-com! Rumor has it Marshall is set to appear in the upcoming film,Beloved Cove, a rom-com by Tino Del Ray that has had Oscar Kane’s name attached to it for the last several months. Where former child star Kane will land if he has to give up the part to a higher-profile actor remains to be seen.
* * *
Vinand I have room service so I can continue my existential crisis in private.
“There’s always theater,” Vin says. We’re on our second bottle of champagne. Not the smartest move, but sometimes the bubbles help.
“Please. You think after all those action movies, anyone wants to see me do Shakespeare?”
“There was a Spider-Man musical,” Vin says, like it’s the perfect solution, but then he giggles and drains his glass. “But it didn’t do so well, so that’s probably not the career move you want to make.”
It feels like I’m running out of moves. The problem with Roberta’s formula is, it only ever went in one direction. All or nothing. That’s how it’s always been.
Vin passes out on the couch at some point, an empty bottle curled up against his chest. I make my way to the bed, not bothering to take my clothes off. My sleep is full of weird dreams where Jack and I are walking a red carpet, but Cedric Oberman keeps stepping in front of the photographers to ask me if I’ve seen my parents because they’re waiting for me.
I wake up late the next morning, and my head is playing host to what feels like a herd of stampeding elephants. Even my eyeballs hurt when I open them to find the bright Alaskan sun streaming through my windows.
I shower, trying to steam the champagne out of my pores. No idea where a place like this gets its water from, but I guess being one of only two guests has its perks since I never have to worry about running out of hot water. Then I call Vin.
“Hello?” He sounds like the elephants have moved down to his skull. I wasn’t the only one drinking last night.
“What time did you leave?” I say.
“A couple of hours ago. You were snoring too loud for me to stay.”
“Rude.”
“What do you want, Damian? I was planning on being unconscious until well into the afternoon.”
I pause. I don’t know what I want. “Roberta hasn’t been in touch today?”
There’s a rustling, like he’s checking his phone for new emails.
“No.” He groans. “Ball’s in your court.”
Right. The interview with Anderson. My stomach curdles at the thought.
“We should read that script,” I say. The parts I read on the boat yesterday didn’t fill me with a lot of hope, but I wasn’t even halfway through when Jack dumped his bait bucket on me. There’s always a chance it redeemed itself in the last act.
Vin groans. “Shouldn’t you be fishing or something?”
“I thought you wanted me to read that script?”
“I read it. It’s not very good.”
“Vin!”
He sighs heavily. “I mean, I get where Roberta was coming from, but I don’t think this is the one to rebrand your career on. And also, my bed is still spinning. Go hang out with your Alaskan hunk for a few hours, and we can talk about it when you get back.”
It feels a bit like I’m playing hooky as I head down to the dock. It’s later than we’ve gone out the last few days, so I’m not surprised when there’s no one around. I’ve brought the rubber rainsuit from yesterday to return, so I don’t feel like I’m doing anything wrong when I climb down the ladder onto Jack’s boat. I leave the pants and jacket in the closet they came from and close the cabin door behind me.
