“Vivian, keeping the new golden girl all to yourself?” a man with glorious long, gray hair and less glorious bolo tie asked.
The woman at his side looked at Bryn with a predatory smile. Before Bryn could find something to say in response to the strange greeting, Vivian was moving. With all the subtlety of a landmine, she turned on her heel. Bryn almost expected Vivian to punch him in the face, but instead she slipped in next to Bryn.
No, not next to her, slightly in front of her, like she might shield Bryn with her body. Shield her from what, Bryn didn’t know. But Vivian’s body language changed drastically. Like she was trying to appear larger and scare off a bear.
“Adorable attempt to infantilize from a grandpa dressed like a?—”
“Seraphina Wilcox,” the woman said as she extended her hand toward Bryn. “Although you probably know me better as Arabella Nightingale fromAll My Days.”
Bryn shook her hand while offering her best equivocal response to a woman she’d never seen before in her life. “So nice to meet you in person.”
“Richard Weiss,” the man said next, presenting his hand. When Bryn took it, he tugged her in close and growled in an ambiguous Eastern European accent, “Good evening, Ms. Garbo.”
It was obvious Richard was spouting a line from something, but Bryn didn’t recognize it. Couldn’t engage in whatever call and response he was hoping for.
Richard straightened, a disbelieving smile on his face. “Brock Steel. The original boss-hole who started the billionaire romance craze?”
“Netflix bought the adaptation rights,” Seraphina added.
“I told them I wouldn’t be doing the Chris Pratt shred diet,” he said with a laugh and hand on his belly. “They could go ahead and cast that Australian blonde the girls—ladies—are going nuts over.” His smile was blinding white. “I’ve had my time in the sun.”
Vivian cocked her head to the side and Bryn felt Vivian’s tension in her own body. “Was that before or after Harrison James re-recorded the audiobooks?”
Seraphina stepped in closer like she was ready to yank Bryn away. “Bryn, is this your first conference?”
“Yeah, it is,” she replied, unsure of what the heck had Vivian so on edge. “First nomination too.”
“That’s quite the achievement for someone so green,” Seraphina said in a way that made Bryn shift. That made her expect a serpentine tongue flicking out to taste the air. “Who’s your coach?”
Bryn opened her mouth to answer, but Vivian cut her off. “You were at the Emmy’s when she was in grade school.” Vivian finished her drink while Bryn still had most of hers.
“Zora Carter,” Bryn answered because all she wanted was to put Vivian at ease. To show her that she wasn’t intimidated. “She’s great. I’ll DM you her contact info.”
Vivian shot her a look, but what was Bryn going to do? Lie? It didn’t take anything away from her for other voice actors to book Zora. It’s not like coaching was exclusive.
“That’d be great. I’d love that.” She grinned. “Actually, are you busy now? What I’d really love is to pick your brain about Siren. Can we go down to the lobby? I’ll get us something better than these watery...”
A nearby group quieted, and Bryn was sure they were listening. Listening without watching.
Seraphina’s mouth kept moving, but Bryn couldn’t hear a word she was saying. All the heat rushed out of her body and the air around her turned arctic. All she could hear was the pounding in her ears while everyone distorted into funhouse mirror shapes.
“What’s Siren?” Vivian’s warped voice invaded Bryn’s stunned brain. The word Siren tumbling from Vivian’s lips was ash in Bryn’s mouth.
“There’s no need to be coy; you’re among friends.” Richard laughed.
Vivian scoffed when she crossed her arms. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on.” Seraphina’s hand on Bryn’s forearm was searing. “We’re not prudes, doll. I’ve been told my voice is very sultry,” she said, doing an exaggerated version of Vivian’s natural speaking voice. “I’ve been thinking Siren might be a fun little side project. I know I’m no Kelly Craves”—she winked, and Bryn’s skin crawled—“but maybe we can do a collab. I can’t think of a better way to debut?—”
“What the hell is Siren?” Vivian reached for the phone in her bag. “And who is Kelly Craves?”
The sound of Bryn’s alter ego’s name on Vivian’s lips made Bryn stop breathing in the very worst way. She might have told Vivian about her work at another time. She wasn’t ashamed of it, but she wasn’t stupid, either. Anything that focused on female pleasure was always the subject of ridicule.
“You really don’t know?” Seraphina gave Vivian a pitying look. “It’s all over Reddit.” She turned back to Bryn. “I know you won’t want to publicly confirm or deny, but the internet sleuths put everything together. Your secret is safe with me. I just want to pick your brain for some tips.” Her grin triggered a wave of nausea so intense, Bryn almost couldn’t hold back.
“And I just want to know if people will really pay that much money to hear someone else get off. If I’m doing it every day, I might as well get paid for it.” His laugh was cold and revolting.
“The reception here is deplorable.” Vivian pulled down her screen as if to refresh it again, and Bryn broke. Even if she’d missed what Richard said, Vivian was about to find Siren and Kelly.
