Griffin shook his head, “Not interested…not even remotely. What the hell, I’ve never acted a day in my life.”
Penelope, overhearing the exchange, turned back to them and said, “Are you kidding right now, Stew? It’s bad enough I have to put up with you know who! No way! If he’s in, I’m out.”
“Penelope, calm down. Look at him. He’d be perfect.”
She looked him up and down with disdain. “No.”
Griffin felt his blood boil, so he returned the favor and slowly raked his eyes over her…from her face…to her chest…allowing his gaze to linger insolently there, before returning to stare mockingly into her narrowed eyes.
Stewart held up his hand toward Penelope, “You don’t have the final say. I do. Now as I was saying, I figured it’d be a hard sell, but it’s just a test screening. If you do well, we’ll have you do a read through with the other actors. See what the chemistry is like.”
Despite himself, Griffin was intrigued. It certainly would be an antidote for the boredom he’d been feeling lately.
“Like how many lines are we talking?”
Penelope stood up abruptly. “I’m leaving. I’ve heard enough.”
Stewart said, “Get Ben to drive you home.”
She glared at him then motioned to a younger guy across from her that she was ready to leave, and he shot up to do her bidding like she was the Queen of England.
She stormed out of the bar without a backward glance.
“I don’t think the reigning diva will agree to work with me.”
“Let me worry about that. Let’s see how you do first, then, we’ll go from there.” He slapped Griffin on the back as if it was already a done deal. “Monday, meet me at the Butler House around noon. Your friend mentioned to you that we’ve rented the whole place out for the duration. Eighteenth century. It’s magnificent! Are you familiar with it?”
“Yes.”
“It’s basically become our studio. Dressing rooms, showers, meeting room, we set up a theater room for the dailies. We’ll even shoot some of the scenes there.”
“What should I expect on Monday?”
“We’ll do a read through. Real easy and casual. You should be recovered from your birthday celebrations by then.”
“I don’t know what to say except that I think you’re nuts, but what the hell, I’m always up for an adventure.”
“I knew it! I have a good feeling about this.”
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Between my lack of acting chops and your diva, it doesn’t seem very promising. I’d better get back to my party.” Griffin stood up, adrenaline surging through his body.
“Great! See you Monday.” He shook Griffin’s hand heartily.
Griffin returned to his friends a bit shell shocked. They were all over him, drilling him about what had transpired between him and the famous director. When he filled them in, they all guffawed except his friend Jake who said, “I can totally see it dude. You’re going to be a star!”
“Shut the fuck up,” Griffin said, deflecting the comment.
“You just wait. It could happen. Why not?”
Griffin pinched the bridge of his nose, “I don’t believe I agreed to this, it’s the last thing I want to do.”
“It’s just who you are dude. You’ve never said no to a challenge before, why start now?”
“Let’s change the subject. And this goes no further than this table. Got that?”
They all shook their heads in agreement. “Let’s get this party started!” Griffin said. And they ordered another round.
6
Griffin drummed his fingers on the arm rest as he waited in the foyer for the director’s summons. Unbelievably, he’d passed the first challenge and had nailed the read-through. The next step was to read the script with other actors. He had been given an hour to study the scene he’d be auditioning with. He shook his head. Auditioning…surreal man.
A young man approached, ear buds dangling and clipboard in hand. “Mr. Bennett?”
At Griffin’s nod he said, “Follow me.”
Griffin stood. What am I so nervous about? I don’t even want the part.
They entered a large and grand formal dining room that had a massive table with a half dozen scripts scattered around. “Have a seat. Do you need anything to drink? A bottle of water?”
“Yeah that’d be good, thanks,” Griffin said, clearing his throat nervously before taking a seat.
Stewart Abrams arrived first and eagerly pumped his hand in greeting. “How ya feeling? You nailed that first read through, Griffin. You’re a natural. Don’t let your nerves get the better of you.”
Griffin grinned, “I don’t know why I let myself get talked into this.”
“Who could resist?”
The door opened and Noah Davis entered. As confident as Griffin was in his own skin, he had to admit to himself that it was a little intimidating to be auditioning in front of an actor of his caliber. He’d been hoping to have some unknowns sitting in as fill-ins. This made it all too real. That could only mean that Penelope wasn’t too far behind.
Noah nodded his head toward Griffin and said, “So you’re the next big star, hey?”
Griffin bit back a laugh, “Hardly.”
Noah narrowed his eyes as he studied Griffin, “I have to agree with Stew, he could be on to something. You’ve got the look at least.”
The door opened again and suddenly it felt as though the air had been sucked from the room as Penelope Winters entered. Griffin’s heart pounded. Holy shit was she ever beautiful. Too bad it was only skin deep.
She managed to make even a simple black tee shirt and jeans look sexy. Griffin scrambled to find his bearings. Catching himself staring, he forcibly looked away.
The director fawned solicitously over his star, pulling out her chair with an overenthusiastic welcome. She had yet to even glance his way and he wondered, not for the first time, if this wasn’t the biggest mistake he’d ever made. His hackles rose.
“Okay, so he nailed the read-through. Now we’re going to see how it goes with you guys,” the director said.
Penelope looked at him and Griffin felt his chest tighten. Her green eyes skewered him. Whoa, talk about feeling like an unwelcome party crasher.
Exactly what he’d expected from her. He was doing them the damn favor to even consider auditioning and she was behaving like some imperial princess. He didn’t need this shit.
Griffin’s eyes narrowed as he inclined his head, “Ms. Winters,” he said coolly. She ignored him.
Two more people entered and were introduced as producers. They greeted everyone, then took their seats.
Stewart clapped his hands together and said, “Okay we’re all here. Let’s get started. Let’s have Noah and Penelope start by reading through their scene that starts on page fifty. That will give Griffin a taste for it and segue nicely into his first scene with Penny.”
Griffin caught the look exchanged between the two stars and was surprised by the tension between them. He was obviously behind on the latest Hollywood gossip. They certainly weren’t acting like a couple in love.