“Sofreaking smooth,” she moaned, way too into this than she should’ve been. “Now hum to them.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“You know, hum. Close your eyes and hum. Then lightly blow on my balls.”
That awkward moment when you discovered that one of your idols was a freaking psychopath. But alas, I needed a job, and if that meant humming to two balls, then by all means, I was going to hum my heart out.
I shut my eyes, and right as I was about to push my lips together to hum out a tune, chuckling erupted in the room. I opened my eyes and raised an eyebrow as Sarah, her hair designer, and her makeup artist all stood there, laughing at me.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, just a joke. We don’t hum at the stones. That would be silly. I just wanted to see how far you’d be willing to go with my crazy requests.”
I breathed out a breath of air. “Oh, well, OK.” Obviously, I’d go as far as blowing on her balls. That was the level of desperate I was sitting at.
“I think we are going to have fun working together,” Sarah remarked, taking the stones from my hands. “And it’s clear that you have a lot of dedication, so I think we’ll get along just fine. Have a seat, and I’ll give you the list of tasks that Lane typed up for you.”
“I’m sorry, are we not... interviewing for the position?”
“Interviewing? Oh no, honey, you’ve already been hired.” She cocked an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, I thought I made that clear. It wasn’t much of a question that you’d be hired, since your name was given to us by one of my favorite people.”
“I’m sorry, given to you?”
“Yes. You came with the highest referral. I really trust you, seeing as how Landon spoke so highly of you.”
My stomach dropped. “Did you say Landon?”
“Yes. He said you were an old friend, and honestly, I’ll do anything to get in his good graces.” She took a seat at the table and patted the chair beside her. “Plus, since you have history with him, I figured you could give me some insider information?”
“What do you mean?” My mind was still spinning from the idea that Landon was the one who lined up the job for me. Why would he do that?
“Well, you know.” She licked her lips, then bit her bottom one. “It’s no secret that Landon is a dreamboat. I’ve been trying for years to hook up with him, but it never really worked out.”
“What? I thought you two dated years ago. Back when your first film together came out?” I asked, trying to keep my question as calm as ever, even though my heart was pounding against my chest, trying to leap out of my body.
Sarah waved a hand at me. “Oh, I wish. That was just some promotion mumbo jumbo. Landon got himself into a bit of a dramatic pickle back then, so our agencies shifted the storyline. But you probably know all about that, being such an important part of his life.”
I sat up in my chair, confused as ever. “Yes, of course. Right.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I tried with him back then, but he wasn’t having it. He was too hung up on some high school sweetheart or something. I swore, he’d sit on set every single day talking about her like a lovesick fool. I’d never seen anything like it.”
He talked about me to Sarah Sims?
The emotions sitting at the back of my eyes were intense, and I did my best trying to blink them all away.
“Did he ever say what happened between them?”
“Just that she was better off without him and his baggage.”
Better off without him? Why would he think that? There were so many missing pieces to the puzzle of Landon and my past, I wasn’t even sure what to think of it all.
“Thankfully, it didn’t work out for the two of them. Leaves more of a chance for me to reconnect with him. The production company wants to push that narrative again this time around—the ‘old lovers rekindle their flame,’ which is fine by me. Only this time, I don’t want it to be a fake love story. I want Landon to really fall for me, and it’s going to be so much easier with your help.”
“My help?”
“Yes! Of course. It seems you two must be close, so perhaps you can give me pointers on Landon. Help me get to know some of what he’s into. His likes, his dislikes.”
“I don’t know...” I started. “Maybe that should be something you do—grow the connection yourself.”
“I would, but I don’t have much time with my schedule.”