Say It Sexy by Virna Depaul Read Free Book Online Page A

her.
    “I’m sorry. No acting experience for this acting job.”
    I threw my hands up, wanting to get the meeting moving but more than that wanting to stop Gwen from alienating Tyler and Shane before things even got started. “That about sums it up.” I leaned in Gwen’s direction and mock-whispered, “Wait, I’m the brainiac, right?”
    Her eyeballs shot mental bullets at my forehead before turning to Lyle. “And you think this is the right formula for this TV series, Mr. Steinhoff?”
    “Said our leading lady who’s never done anything but Kellogg’s commercials and one daytime soap in her life,” Tyler added. “Lucky for you—or unlucky depending on who you ask—you’re Richard Vickers’s daughter.”
    Richard Vickers’s daughter? Executive producer of Fluidity Films, the production company filming Straightlaced ? The same man with over two hundred producer and executive producer credits to his name who used to hit it out of the stratosphere every time but had suffered a major fall during the past few years thanks to number of box office flops? It had gotten to the point that being connected to a Fluidity Films project was considered somewhat of a curse. If not for Lyle’s involvement in Straightlaced , I wouldn’t even have considered joining the cast.
    I suddenly realized why Gwen would be taking this project even more seriously than the rest of us. She was under enormous pressure, not just to advance her own career, but also to help her father and Fluidity Films save face. Even as she was doing so, she’d have to face accusations, just like the one Tyler had made, that the only reason she’d even gotten the role was because her father had influenced the final casting decisions.
    My gaze shot to Gwen, and to my surprise, instead of looking uncomfortable, her eyes blazed with pride and genuine passion.
    “I am lucky to be my father’s daughter, Tyler, and if you choose to think that means I was granted special treatment, I’m not going to waste my breath trying to change your mind. On the other hand, don’t diss soap operas. At least not the one I worked on.”
    Tyler’s eyes flashed with a hint of respect just as Erica held a hand up. “I think that’s enough team bonding for today. Don’t you, Lyle?”
    “Yes, yes, of course.” Lyle removed his glasses and ran a wrinkled cleaning cloth over them. “Erica, why don’t you tell them a bit about the book and our vision for the series—food for thought before we break off for the day. Tomorrow, we’ll reconvene for part one of the read-through.”
    “I think that would be a great idea,” Erica said, sitting up a little straighter.
    I listened while Erica laid out the book’s plot and points most critical to emphasize in the show. The gist of her explanation, like most romance novel summaries, boiled down to two people in opposite walks of life who were never supposed to fall in love, but did. Surprise, surprise. Such bullshit. Everyone knew love didn’t actually work that way and if they didn’t, they should. I may have experienced my fair share of heartache at a younger age, but it taught me a lot just the same.
    After a while, she began repeating her same points, and Lyle did nothing to stop her, so I found myself tuning out and becoming far more interested in the super-composed way Gwen held herself. She still refused to look at me even though she had to feel my eyes locked on her.
    Clearly, I had gotten under her skin.
    It was only a matter of time before I got into her head too.
    I couldn’t help wondering, half wistfully and half nervously, as I watched the way she rolled the tip of her pencil in her mouth: If I wanted her there, how long would it take me to get in her bed?
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Gwen
     
    “You can do this,” I assured myself for the third time, firmly rooted in the back of my father’s Lexus again on the way back to Sun Studio. After leaving yesterday, I’d practically stumbled into my house, mustering