What the hell is going on? Since I came to this town, weird shit's been happening to me.
Star mentally collected himself, pressing down on whatever was happening, and focused on what he could control. He had an excellent opportunity before him, and he couldn't let things fall apart at this moment.
“Very good. Here.” Ahket handed Star a new script. “I'll give you a few minutes to look this over.”
The other man didn't wait for Star to respond and walked over to the group sitting at the table. Star looked at the script in his hand; it was a completely different title,My One-Night Stand.
Well, that's interesting.
* * *
“Anubis, what are you thinking?”asked Bianca Smith, the casting director he'd worked with before on a few projects.
“Following a hunch,” he said, looking over his shoulder to the little one sitting off in the corner, going over the script Anubis had handed him.
Anubis wanted to kick himself in the ass for not finding the kid before the audition; then, he might not have had to sit through so many forgettable actors that had walked into the room before Star. Just like the other actors, they read from the same script, but Star was the only one that chose the character's inner monologue to present and seemed to capture the character's essence, but it felt like his time ended too quickly. And Anubis wanted to see him do more.
Vivienne was correct; the kid was good but would need coaching. Before the audition, he didn't get the chance to look at the kid's file or social media. He got pulled into a call with Sobek, then his manager, but he was glad that he didn't, since he got to see the little one's raw talent up close and personal.
A diamond in the rough.
He wasn't only thinking of the kid's acting skills. Anubis was an experienced dominant and could spot a submissive right away, and the little one's unspoken need and desire were calling out to him. He'd thought the kid was a beauty from afar, but close up, he was fucking exquisite. Anubis wanted to see that gorgeous face flushed with ecstasy and stained with tears from crying and begging to be punished for being a naughty boy.
He recalled the tingling he felt when the little one called him sir. It might have been a sign of respect, but Anubis wanted to hear him chanting it repeatedly until it became an offering of prayer. The dom in him needed it, and the god he was desired it. Anubis's eyes traveled up and down the little one's body, stopping at his pert ass encased in the light blue jeans. He appreciated what he saw, but with the thought of reddening his beautiful skin with his cat-o-nine whip, his mouth went as dry as the Red Land desert.
Anubis wasn't sure what captivated him about Star Rueng. The kid had been in his thoughts on and off since the first time he saw him in the restaurant. But one thing was for certain; he wanted him. Yet, wanting him posed a problem if he hired the kid, because Anubis had a rule. He never mixed business with pleasure, even if they had a banging body like Star. Sleeping with anyone on his crew could pose problems for his project, but he also could not discount an actor just because he was attracted to them.
“What do you think when you look at the kid?” he asked Bianca.
Bianca tapped her cherry-red acrylic nails on the table, staring at Star.
Without Bianca noticing, Anubis placed a barrier around them so no one heard what they were saying.
“He's good-looking; he captured Ryota but not fully.”
Anubis furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”
“Ryota is a serious, cold, calculating character and knows what he wants. This kid seems to be looking for something but hasn't found it yet. He can't play this character.”
“I hear a but in your voice.”
“With enough time to gain some experience, he could be the perfect actor for Ryota. Is that what you're thinking?”
Anubis sighed. “Pretty much, but let's see how he does with the read-through. Let's do a marker on this as well. I want to be able to review it with all the other actors.”
“All right.”
He removed the barrier and got Star's attention. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, sir.”
Anubis got that same sweet feeling as before, even though Star's tone carried more confidence than before.
“Okay, I gave you enough time to review the first two pages, so let's go with their first meeting in the bar.”
The scene was relatively simple: two people hooking up in a bar. But as always, things ended up changing in the end. Anubis brought two chairs over and motioned for Star to sit down.
“Do you need this?” Star asked, holding up the script as he sat in the chair.
