Chapter 7
Willa
I’d known all we had to do was bring up a moral conundrum to light a fire under Doug, which was why I brought up the age limit first.
“Fifteen is too young,” Doug insisted. “I’m not shooting down the hopes and dreams of someone who isn’t old enough to live them yet.”
Alan shrugged. “They’ll have parents with them. They’ll be fine.”
A vein about popped out of Doug’s head. “Their parents are half the problem. They drive them into this and cause all sorts of drama when the kid fails.”
I winced. Drama was the wrong argument to take with Alan. He loved drama, the messier the better.
Justin leaned forward and tucked his hand under his chin. “Doug has a point. It’s hard to be a child star.” His eyes turned to me and it was like Flynn Ryder was trying to smolder me into submission or something. I turned away and faced Alan.
“A true triple threat needs years of training, Alan. You know there isn’t a fifteen-year-old ready for what we’ll throw them into. Make it eighteen. We’ll distinguish ourselves as a show not looking for raw talent, but ready talent.”
Alan glanced at one of the writers and scribbling commenced. I knew my one-liner was being copied down for future use.
Victoria tapped the table. “I agree. Eighteen. No cling-ons allowed, including parents.”
Alan stared at each of us in turn. “Seventeen it is. Moving on. Acting, singing, dancing. Which one do you think the audience will want to see first? Which one do you judges want to see first?”
I didn’t have a strong opinion on the matter, so I kept my mouth shut while Justin went on and on about the importance of swagger, and hip hop, and stage presence. It wasn’t that anything he said was wrong, it was just more about being heard than answering the question.
Alan finally cut him off. “Save it for the soundbite interviews, Justin. Which one first, singing, dancing, or acting?”
Justin sat back and sighed. “Throw the options in a bowl and make the contestants pick it out. You’ll get their genuine excitement or disappointment, depending on which one they were hoping for.”
Everyone was quiet as the genius of his answer fully hit. I glanced at Alan, and he gave a small nod. Maybe Justin would be useful after all.
“Have you hired a director yet?” I asked. When I’d questioned Alan privately, he’d put me off, and as I expected, his eyes narrowed, knowing I’d put him in a position where he had to answer.
His fingers drummed over the hard shiny case of his laptop. “It’s in process. I want the best, but we’re negotiating. Whoever it is will be here on day one, I promise.”
That was as good an answer as I was going to get, so I let it go.
We went over music choices, guest stars, and a million other details. I had feared Doug would check out at some point, but when Justin had thrown that brilliant idea on the table like it was nothing, Doug sat up straighter and seemed to take it as a personal challenge.
The catering company brought in sushi, the afternoon droned on, and when we finally finished, I headed to my SUV with the start of a migraine. This was my dream, wasn’t it? I had never been afraid of hard work, but I’d also never been so afraid of failing. This had to work.
Doug
Something was wrong with my feet, because they dragged me over to Willa’s SUV as she was leaving. I was still irritated with her, but I also missed talking to her with no one else around, when I could be me, and she could be as much of herself as she showed anyone.
“Willa.”
She took her hand off the door handle and turned around, leaning against the door. I liked her better in the jeans and t-shirt she’d changed into than the white mini-skirt getup. She was more approachable, less uptight.
“What’s up?” she asked.
I shrugged, not even sure what my plan was here. “You leaving for Christmas?”
She slowly nodded. “Yep. My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon.”
“Where’s home?”
“Oklahoma.” She fidgeted. “My family knows I was let go from Strength Warriors but I haven’t told them about Triple Threat.”
