She went home that afternoon in a better mood and had put thoughts of Hollywood out of her mind. She didn’t even bother checking her e-mails. She just made herself a coffee and curled up on the couch to watch one of her favorite, old time movies. She loved the classics. There was just something about that era that was so…romantic. Especially in black and white.
It wasn’t until later on in the evening when she was feeling peckish and got up from her position in front of the TV to make herself something to eat did she decide to check her messages.
Her heart nearly leapt through the ceiling.
She’d received a message from a film company.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Ashleigh muttered to herself out loud, pacing up and down her small kitchen and just staring at the unopened e-mail, hardly daring to open it.
It was probably just a rejection letter, she told herself. Just a polite ‘no,’ ‘not this time,’ ‘better luck next time,’ something along those lines.
Don’t get your hopes up. Don’t get your hopes up.
She clicked the e-mail.
And her heart skipped a couple more beats, her stomach churning over and twisting into knots, her palms already lined with the cold sweat of excitement.
Her eyes quickly scanned through the content of the message, widening in surprise and disbelief, then further excitement.
Dear Miss Thomas,
Thank you very much for your application. We have studied your resume –and the attached MP3!– and think you would be a perfect candidate to come on board our fun, quirky, and hardworking team here at Romero Films. We welcome fresh talent from all walks of life, and your unique application definitely stood out.
Our apologies for the delay in getting back to you, but we did have a number of applications to sort through, and things have been busy with pre-production. If you’re still interested in the position, please get back to us ASAP.
Filming for Dangerous Existence starts this Friday at 9am at Sandylane Studios in Hollywood, LA.
Further details, including address and contact information will be sent to you upon your confirmation of taking on the role.
Kind regards,
Sally Hunter
3rd Assistant Director
Having read through the entire e-mail several times, Ashleigh could still hardly believe this was happening. She put her phone down, then did a little victory dance through the kitchen, literally jumping up and down and screeching with happiness.
Of course, she replied to the e-mail almost immediately, letting them know she was most definitely still interested.
The first thing she did after that was call Trina to let her know what had happened.
Despite knowing this meant she would be quitting the gym –at the very least for the next few months– her friend was over the moon for her. She’d seen how much Ashleigh wanted this, and how not hearing from the studio had affected her over recent weeks.
Next, she called the animal shelter, and let them know too. She hadn’t really told anyone there about her plans, or the application, so it was a total surprise to her boss, Alan, but he was happy for her too, and told her to make the most of the opportunity. She would be sad to leave all the animals, but hopefully it wouldn’t be forever.
Next on the list were her three closest friends who attended the open mic night, the three of whom she talked to most often. They were all incredibly excited and happy for her too, especially Ellie, who had been the one to encourage her to send the MP3 of her singing.
And finally, her parents. She didn’t see them very often, because they lived in a different state, and Ashleigh had moved out when she was nineteen, but they still met up for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and other special occasions, so she felt it was only right to let them know she’d be going away for a while and where she would be staying. She promised she would forward them the address details as soon as she had them.
Once all that was done –and her evening meal almost completely forgotten about– she got on the laptop and booked herself a flight to Los Angeles for the very next day, her head spinning with excitement, imagining what it was going to be like.
She did manage to eat something, eventually, but then she spent the rest of her night packing, wondering what kind of clothes she should take with her, and as she lay in bed tossing and turning, barely able to sleep, she smiled to herself.
This was it. This was finally her chance. Her shot at doing something different with her life. Something new, fresh and exciting. A chance at fulfilling her dreams.
Chapter Three
The very next morning, Ashleigh could barely believe she was sitting on a flight to Los Angeles sipping on a complementary glass of wine and gazing out the small, oval window at the fluffy clouds as the plane glided on through them.
She’d only taken a small suitcase and an overnight bag, so it didn’t take long to collect her luggage at the other side, and soon enough she was sitting in an Uber on her way to the hotel that the film company had booked for her. That was one of the other cool things: she didn’t have to pay for anything! Sally had even said to bring her receipt for the flight booking and she’d be reimbursed.
She’d never been to LA before, and she was immediately struck by the glamour and glitz of the city as she rode out of the airport zone and towards the center, her heart racing a little faster as they drove past some familiar sights she had only ever seen on TV screens and pictures before. She couldn’t wait to get out and explore once she’d checked into her hotel and dumped all her stuff. Thankfully, she was staying right in the heart of central LA, so everything was within walking distance.
Her hotel was small, and not glamorous at all, but it was all she could really expect for a runner. The salary for the job wasn’t great, and she could probably earn more in a week if she had a lot of clients doing personal training, but she wasn’t here for the money. It was all about the experience and getting that first step on the first rung of the ladder that was the entertainment industry.
She figured the actors and producers were probably staying somewhere much more fancy, as she got out the car and wheeled her suitcase into the lobby of the small and dirty-looking motel. Still, it was very convenient. The promenade, the beach, and the Walk of Fame were literally just around the corner.
“Hi there,” she smiled to the man behind the desk, shyly giving her name and explaining that a booking had been made for her.
He did some typing on his computer and checked the records.
It took a while for him to find it, and for one awful moment Ashleigh imagined there’d been some terrible mistake and she wasn’t booked in after all; that this whole thing had been a practical joke or something. She knew it was a crazy, irrational fear, but she still found it hard to believe that this was actually happening to her, just ordinary Ashleigh Thomas.
But then he smiled and handed over the key, along with her check-in documents, and the room was hers.
The elevator wasn’t working, so she took the stairs, and by the time she got up to her room she was all puffed out and sweaty. LA was hot, and she felt a little overdressed.
She hit the air-conditioning in her tiny, single room and stripped off a couple of layers straight away, getting down to just her T-shirt.
Then she threw her case onto the bed, opened it up, and began to unpack.
That didn’t last for very long though.
She was anxious to get out and explore, and unpacking seemed so…boring. She could finish that off later. Right now, she wanted to see LA, or at least, what parts of it she could see within walking distance.
She grabbed herself a map from the lobby and headed out, her oversized Marilyn Monroe sunglasses fixed firmly over her eyes, feeling on top of the world.
She took a moment on the sidewalk to study the map, then folded it up and put it in her pocket once she figured out which way to go, not wanting to look like a tourist wandering around with a map open. She wanted to look as if she owned the place, a
s if she had a right to be there, as if she was born to be there, which she’d always felt she had. And now her moment had come.
It didn’t take long to find the Walk of Fame; it was roughly a twenty-minute walk, during which she glanced around in awe and took in all the other sights and sounds of the city, making a note of the nearest store to her hotel in case she needed to buy drinks and snacks. She imagined that eating out in LA would be very expensive and outside of her budget, but at least she’d likely be fed on set.
When she arrived, she had to take a moment to just stand there and gape, her mouth slightly open in awe. At this point, she probably did look like a tourist; definitely someone who wasn’t used to it and hadn’t been there before. The whole place was heaving, the sidewalk teaming with people bustling around, walking this way and that, stopping and talking, taking photographs, pointing, chatting excitedly, crouching down and studying all the different stars. It was incredible, and she didn’t know which way to turn, which way to explore first.
She looked left and right, trying to make a decision about which way to approach this, although obviously she wanted to see it all. She’d just have to walk back and forth and look at every single star. She took out her phone so she could take pictures of the ones she liked the best, then something caught her attention further down the street.
It was a big crowd of people, surrounding something, or someone, with dozens of reporters and photographers around the outside, scrambling to get closer, snapping pictures, flashes going off everywhere.
Was a new star being unveiled? Was someone giving an interview?
She rushed over in that direction, as did several other people, the crowd around that area growing as more tourists and passers-by realized something was going on.
As she got a little nearer, standing on tip toes and peering around people’s heads to see what was going on, she realized with a gasp that it was Rico Fernandez himself, being photographed crouched down alongside his brand new star on the pavement.
He was all perfect Hollywood sparkling smiles, grinning and giving his thumbs up, looking around and trying to provide a good angle for every single photographer, giving them all a chance to get their shot. Some of the reporters shouted out questions and he tried his best to answer them over the general din and mayhem.
Rico was one of the biggest stars of the moment, and everyone wanted a piece of him.
“How long are you going to be in LA for, Rico?”
“Well, I’m actually filming something here at the moment,” he admitted with a small, coy smile. “I can’t reveal what it is just yet, but I’m very excited about the project and I’ll be in town for a while.”
Ashleigh nearly squealed with internal excitement. It felt great to have some insider knowledge. She’d seen the cast and crew list for Dangerous Existence, and knew full well that Rico Fernandez was the leading male actor.
She didn’t know how closely she’d personally be working with him in her role as runner, but she hoped she’d at least get to bring him a cup of coffee or a magazine or something. Regardless, it still felt amazing to be working with someone so famous.
And so good-looking.
She’d never really thought about it too much before, but he was gorgeous. One of those pinup actors that all the girls dreamed about. Swarthy, handsome, smooth; a real dreamboat.
She stayed and watched the whole scene for a little while longer, until a car arrived to pick him up and he waved goodbye to everyone. There were clearly some of his fans there too, as a general scream of excitement went up as he jumped into the car, people calling out, “goodbye, Rico!” and “we love you, Rico!”
Ashleigh bit her lip and smiled to herself, then turned and headed off in the opposite direction, wandering along the Walk of Fame for the next half an hour, taking pictures of some of the stars.
After the crowd had dispersed, she returned to the brand new Rico Fernandez star and snapped a picture of that too.
Then she headed back to her hotel, stopping to grab herself a bagel and a drink along the way, her thoughts still on Rico Fernandez. He was even more good-looking in person than he was in his movies.
Chapter Four
She spent the rest of the evening just chilling in her hotel room, sitting in the window and watching the world go by, and before long, it was starting to get dark and she was beginning to think about bed. It wasn’t particularly late, but she was tired from her flight and her long afternoon of walking around LA. Besides, she had a very early start in the morning and wanted to feel fresh.
Having had a bite to eat and finished the rest of her unpacking, she decided she’d better figure out what to wear for her first day as a runner.
She’d done a bit of research into the job online and found a couple of advice websites from people who’d done it before, and they apparently recommended comfortable trainers, jeans or shorts, and easily removable layers, so that she could adapt to all weather conditions. The last one didn’t really apply at the moment, however, since the first three weeks of filming would all be done inside the studio, then they’d be going out on-location for the outside shots. They would probably have air-conditioning though, which could sometimes get a little chilly, so she opted for a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and a little leather jacket on top, which could easily be taken on or off.
That done, she watched a bit of TV for a while, lying on her small, uncomfortable bed in her tiny, stuffy room, until she felt her eyes going weary.
Then she got changed into her nightclothes, turned off the lights and slipped in between the sheets.
Despite her tired eyes and exhausted body from all the walking earlier, she still found herself awake half an hour later and unable to get to sleep, her mind running through all the possible scenarios of her first day as a runner, wondering what the people she’d be working with would be like. Rico Fernandez… the producer, Francis Romero… Sally… and everyone else she was so excited to meet. She kept tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable and settle, her mind wired and hyped into overdrive.
Eventually, she got bored of her attempts at sleep and reached for her phone off the bedside table, yawning a little as she opened it up and decided to scroll through the pictures she’d taken earlier on that day on the Walk of Fame.
She smiled to herself at all the different stars, and finally settled on Rico’s, staring at it for a while longer than all the others.
Frowning slightly to herself as if deep in thought, she pulled up her browser and typed in ‘Rico Fernandez,’ curious and wanting to find out a little bit more about the man she would be working with.
She, of course, knew his name and had seen a few of his movies, but other than that she was rather clueless.
She pulled up a couple of articles and interviews about him and read through them, fascinated, for the next half an hour or so.
The most recent interview she found had taken place only two weeks ago. There was a picture of him smiling, with those sparkling eyes and teeth. He was talking about his latest movie, which had come out earlier in the year and done massively well. None of this was news to Ashleigh, especially now she’d read a handful of his interviews, but as the conversation went on, the reporter delved a little deeper into Rico’s personal life, asking him about his recent breakup with his girlfriend.
Ashleigh raised both her eyebrows at that, and re-read his answer a couple of times.
“Clarissa and I had been seeing each other for about a month. We met on the set of An Orange Barbados and there were definitely immediate sparks. I normally try to avoid mixing work and dating but in this case, we both couldn’t help each other. It was more of a whirlwind romance. It started quickly and ended quickly. We’re both still on good terms as friends and hope to work with each other again in the future. It’s just that neither of us is ready for a relationship right now.”
“It ended amicably then?” the interviewer asked for conformation.
“Yes, it did,” Rico replied.
For some reason, this entire section of the article made Ashleigh blush. Just thinking about Rico in a whirlwind romance with someone he met on the set of a film. And now he was apparently single.
Stop! she internally chastised herself. She wasn’t sure where her thought process was going with this, but she knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to go there.
Still, she couldn’t help herself looking up the girl he’d previously been dating – Clarissa Holton. She was a Hollywood actress, not as famous as Rico, but had been his co-star in An Orange Barbados.
Ashleigh immediately felt inadequate and stupid when she saw her picture. Clarissa was classically attractive and stunning. She had long, blonde hair; she was tanned, and had striking blue eyes. She looked tall and confident, not to mention the big breasts.
It was like she was the exact opposite to Ashleigh.
Ashleigh was pale, petite, and had smaller breasts, dark hair, green cat eyes, short hair; she was more unusual looking, although pretty. Everyone told her she was pretty, although she found that hard to believe a lot of the time.
She sighed and put her phone away, telling herself to stop overthinking and being stupid, and definitely not to get a crush on someone she was going to be working with. She wasn’t a teenager; she was going to be professional about this.
She determinedly closed her eyes and forced her breathing to slow down, trying to empty her mind of all thoughts and lull herself off into a dream world.
It still took some time, but eventually, she drifted into a restless sleep.
Chapter Five
She woke up feeling less refreshed than she would have hoped, and wishing she’d gone to bed earlier, but after a shower and a cup of coffee in her room, she was dressed, refreshed, and ready to start the day, staring into the mirror and giving herself a mental pep talk. She was nervous as hell now, of course, and didn’t have a clue what to expect. She’d woken herself up with plenty of time so that she could get ready, and now all she had to do was wait.
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