The Director (Hollywood Nights) by Cara North Read Free Book Online

Harvey test. She was auditioning for him to prove she was
ready to audition for anything he could book for her. Shay smiled at the
waitress and said, “I’ll have a cup of tea please.”
                The woman walked away and Harvey
said, “Good choice. I’m glad you stopped ordering water. You don’t like
coffee?”
                “I do,” Shay said confidently. “But
ordering coffee in a coffee shop won’t plant a little seed of difference.
Ordering tea might make someone remember I ordered tea when they ordered
coffee.”
                “Interesting,” Alex looked at his
cell phone.
                “I think I am a good fit for the
part.”
                “Desperation,” Alex said and then
made a tisking sound while waiving his finger.
                She took a deep breath. He was
right. He knew what they were there for. He ordered something to drink and was
sitting down. That meant she had some time to get to business. There is an
entire courting process people have to go through when they are in her position.
There are a ton of desperate people aiming to get face time with anyone who
might have a moment to hear them. The challenge was to get them to listen.
                He asked, “What is the difference
between listening and hearing?”
                “Anyone can hear me talk. I can hear
everything going on in this coffee shop, but I am not listening. My attention
is on this conversation. And your attention was on the phone when I said that,
so you couldn’t listen to me when I mentioned it.” She tried not to sigh
audibly. In all the years her parents had carted her off to auditions and to
casting calls they never invested any time or money into the business aspect of
Hollywood. They thought she looked good so she should naturally be successful.
There was a considerable amount of work to be done behind the scenes.
                He was pleased with her answer. “I
already set up the appointment. You read for them tomorrow. I also believe this
would be a good role for you. More importantly, my father is out of town and
cannot talk me out of it. He doesn’t like the brothers, says they have just as
many hits as they have disasters.”
                “I’ve never known them to have a bad
movie,” Shay said as the drinks arrived.
                Alex made a grunting noise then
sipped his coffee. He sat the cup down and said, “Well, my dear that is because
those don’t make it to production. They are brilliant. No one is arguing there.
When they are on the same page it works well. When they get their heads butting
it is disastrous.”
                “Don’t they know if they agree or
disagree before getting to the set?” Shay didn’t understand.
                “No,” Alex said with a laugh. “They
direct it together. Until the directions don’t match up, they have no idea they
are not aiming for the same goal. It’s tragic really. Fortunately, they know
rather quickly if it will work or not. It’s why they like working with the same
people.”
                She nodded. “I was excited to see I
got a few lines in the second of the series.”
                “They like you over there. It’s a
good thing. If this doesn’t work out with Sleepers, in a few years I know a
director who will be free and willing to work with you. He has to finish up
these movies with Jonas, but he has already told me he wouldn’t mind working
with you again,” Alex said as his phone began to buzz. He looked down at it and
said, “Okay, kid. I gotta go. My Aunt is pissed at me for missing a wedding.”
    “It’s that time of year,” Shay
commiserated.
    He nodded, “I’ll send you the
details on the meeting time and place. Work on your lines. This is a good
choice of outfit. Wear it there. You’re doing good, Shay.”
                It was the small