Orla.
“You had better rethink your actions, Sylvia!” the moon-eyed figure forced through the trembles that not only overrode his lips but every single fiber in his being. Bent over the dining table, he had the sharp tip of a butter spreader suspended over his pupil by ME.
No way in hell could I have called the shots against someone three times brawny than I was, but my men had the room surrounded, all pointing their pistols at him. So, I was barely holding him down with my petite weight. Would never have guessed the tables would flip this way considering how the air around here was all cozy until a few moments ago with us dining as allies.
His loss though. He’d been In this line of business long enough to tell there were no true allies.
“A piece of advice. Learn to tell the difference between a ‘woman’ and your downfall.” The dipshit always belittled and demeaned the female sexes, calling them ‘weaker vessels.’ He would learn to read and understand the Bible better in his next life.
Angling the nook of my arm, I raised the knife in a stance showing readiness to plunge the tip through and then …
“Cut!” hailed abruptly through the air followed by a round of applause erupting on set.
I and Marcus, the ‘betrayed’ smiled at each other while I lent him a hand to pull him up.
“Good job,” he said, giving me a man-like handshake. “It’d be my delight to have you on set with me.” He was the main actor and the one I’d be working closely with if I got the role.
I stared down at our interlocked hands and chuckled lightly. He was a free-spirited person, making it just impossible to pick any offense with the casual gesture even though we were only meeting for the first time. There were usually lines people would originally not cross with strangers but judging from his attitude, I think those lines were inexistent in his books.
“The pleasure is all mine,” I answered instead, making sure he noticed the awkward and long stare I gave our hands. In response, he smiled half.
The other guys had already begun to disperse and I mumbled thank you words to any who crossed my path.
It was the audition and all the aspiring female leads were asked to act out roles from multiple scenes, following the script. It was a special kind and we’d been on it for hours, going through different phases. Currently, the last phase had just been wrapped up with me now approaching the lot, beaming with a satisfied smile. Was able to pull off every assignment successfully as Mateo advised.
“Well done,” Mateo mouthed to me when my eyes sought his, walking up to the assistant director who happened to be an acquaintance of Mateo. I knew I already had an edge over the others, just wanted to make sure the margin between my abilities and connections was thin enough to be negligible.
“How’d I do?” I asked when I crossed the distance between us. He had been pretty friendly when Mateo introduced us earlier and urged us to drop the honorifics between us, saying he and Mateo had come a long way.
“The round of applause showed it all, Orla. It’ll be a pleasure working with you.”
“Thank you,” I responded with a civil smile and a slight bow.
Turning my back to him and now strolling toward Mateo standing alone at a corner, “You did great!” … “I love your acting,” … “Would be a pleasure walking with you,” flew to me from all angles. All I could do was tip my head lower, gluing a smile to my face.
“It seems everyone is impressed with me,” I said to Mateo on getting to him.
“I told you, Orie. What you have is pure talent no one would be able to turn down,” he hailed.
“And the other girls? How’d they do?” Ticking my forefinger in, I lined it around the collar of my shirt as it was getting stuffy in there. Next, I flapped my hands to my face as a hand fan.
“The audition’s over. You can take off the jacket now.
“Oh.” I giggled, realizing it was the costume – a leather jacket – that had been absorbing all the air around me.
“Let me help you with that,” he offered while I struggled to take it off. Then I turned my back to him, and the jacket slid down my hands a few seconds later.
“How did the other girls do?” I asked, my curiosity becoming a thing. Wanted to know just how well they seemed in the eyes of others.
“You have your back to them. Far away though,” he said and I couldn’t help the gratifying smile that barged into my features.
“I don’t see Kaia anywhere,” I noted, flitting my eyes amongst the various faces swarming all around me.
“I’ve got an engagement with the Director later on,” he said, forcing a squeeze between my brows. Sounded like he was intentionally dodging my question.
Turning around to him, I asked, “And Kaia?” with shot-up brows and pouted lips. My gut kept telling me he could explain her absence. Because this was one audition no one would ever choose to miss.
“She could be anywhere, Orie. Now, let’s talk about you.”
Narrowing my eyes briefly, I broke free from his gaze, reverting my studying eyes to the crowd.
“The director is being a hard nut to crack,” he continued.
“Is that why he isn’t here today?”
“I know where he is, not to worry,” he said breezily like it was absolutely ‘normal’ to actually know where he was. Swinging my eyes up to him, he smiled knowingly. Waylyn was at it again. “I think Sebastian has a hand in this. Probably secured Kaia a spot or sum’n so the audition doesn’t matter much.”
“So what are we going to do?”
Swinging his head over his shoulder to me, a willy smirk curved his lips and just like that, he said a thousand words without having to talk.
My mouth fell open before my bulging cheeks pulled the corners into a knowing smile, a tinge of quirkiness no different from his lacing my features.
“I’m guessing Waylyn is sitting behind the computer right about now,” I pointed.
“That’s basically where he lives.”
“So when are we leaving?”
“Soon.”
“And how will you get him to meet with you?”
Sliding his phone into his view, holding it up, he said, “When the time comes, he’ll have no choice.”