It was one thing to be sidelined for the sake of the show, but it was another to be sidelined for a boring and bland hero.
Hudson nodded sympathetically, his blond hair catching the light. “You should talk to the director. I doubt they’ll rewrite, but they may take your thoughts into account. You’re really killing it, though. The character feels multifaceted.”
Dev didn’t tell Hudson that he’d already given the writers’ room some notes, and they’d shot him down. Then again, the director might be more willing to consider his concerns. “Thank you.” He glanced around. Their director, Fred, was sitting under an umbrella. He looked like he was busy with the computer he held in his lap, but there was no one else currently bothering him.
“How’s everything else going here?”
Dev refocused and gave a faint smile. “Well, thank you. My niece is adjusting to school.” So well that Luna had asleepover scheduled tonight with a new friend. Dev thought it was fast, but she’d been more excited than he’d ever seen her, so he’d zipped his lips.
“And you?”
Him? He was...
Happy. Dev blinked. It had been a while since he’d been happy. Simply texting Jia was better than dates with other women. How had it only been a couple of weeks since she’d come into his life? Perhaps it was all the extracurricular time he’d spent watching her videos, but it felt longer. Like he knew her. “I’m doing great.”
Hudson clapped him on the back. “Good. Hey, listen, would you like to come over for dinner next week? My wife’s a great cook. Bring a date, if you’d like. And your niece, of course; she might like my daughter.”
Dev was touched. Hudson might be a bit conceited, but he was kind.
A date.Of course, there was only one woman he wanted to date. “I will, thank you.”
“No problem. I’ll text you the address.” He jerked his chin toward Fred. “Looks like Fred’s free. You might want to catch him now.”
Dev nodded. They said their goodbyes, and then Dev made his way over to Fred. He felt vaguely nervous, which was odd. He’d always merely had to raise an eyebrow on any set and the director had fallen over himself to help him.
These nerves were good. If he was going to be self-sufficient, he needed to actually be self-sufficient.
“Fred?”
The smaller man blinked up at him through his thick glasses. “Dev! My man. You’re killing it.”
“Thanks. Sorry for all the takes today.”
Fred waved his hand. “We got it finally, and that’s what counts.”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure.” Fred got to his feet. “Walk with me, I gotta get something from my car. Is anything wrong?”
“It’s my character.”
“What about him?”
“I feel as though he’s...” Dev hesitated, looking for the perfect English word. “One-dimensional? As a villain. All we know about him is that he’s cheating. He has no identity outside his relationship with Chase.”
Fred nodded. “Yup.”
Dev raised an eyebrow at that ready agreement.
“You’re playing the hell out of him, though.”
“I...” This was confusing. “You want him to be a one-dimensional character?”
Fred stopped and looked up at him with sympathy. “Why are we all here, Dev?”
“On this planet, you mean?”
“Nah. On this set.” Fred jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Hudson is here to score the E for his eventual EGOT. I’m here to direct a big-budget TV tearjerker of a show that’ll give me enough money that I can pick and choose future projects.” He pointed at Dev. “You’re here to make a splashy debut in Hollywood. Do you know how we all do that?”
