Page 3 of Heartless Sinner

“Yeah. I’m so sorry.” Lucy sighs. “They said you were great—really, really great—but they wanted someone with a few more years’ experience and…pop?”

“Pop?” I raise a brow. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“Just forget them. They’re idiots. Youwereperfect for that role. But let’s think about the next one.”

The next one.

Always the next one.

I haven’t had an acting job in two years. I’m starting to think I’m never going to get another one and I’ll be stuck in that diner for the rest of my life.

God. What if I can’t act anymore? What if my talent has dried up and I’ve lost that spark that made me who I used to be?

I really thought I had that audition in the bag. But clearly I didn’t.

Stay positive, Scarlett. Stay positive.

This is how the industry works. It doesn’t mean I’m not good or that I lack talent. But damn… the rejection hurts like crazy.

“I appreciate you for trying for me,” I say when I realize I’ve been silent for too long. “I know you don’t need to. I’m sure youhave more clients with more experience and pop.” I’m also sure they’re less tired than me.

“Scarlett, please don’t talk like that. Where’s your inner Vivien Leigh?” She laughs.

I manage a smile. “She’s still in here somewhere.”

“She better be, because I know something will come up soon.”

“It sure would be nice.”

“That’s why I’m going to keep trying.” I can imagine her nodding with that fiery determination she’s known for.

“Thanks.”

“You know you don’t have to thank me.”

“I always do.”

Lucy and I met at Brown University. She wanted to go into the business side of entertainment while I wanted to be an actress. We were a match made in heaven.

She went to work at her uncle’s agency in New York, and I came back here for my first acting job on the set of the Emmy-award-winning soapAll my Years.

That job was supposed to last for a few years, but it didn’t because the owners got themselves tangled in a murder and securities fraud scandal. It’s been difficult to find work since.

“Hey, it sounds like you’re driving.” Lucy’s worried voice pulls me from my thoughts again.

“I’m on my way home from the diner.”

“What? Please don’t tell me you were there all day again.”

“I wish I could.” I borrow her words from earlier.

“Oh, Scarlett. That’s just too much.” The pity in her voice grips me.

I hate pity. It reminds me that I messed up my life. “I know. It was just an extra shift. It will go toward my savings.”

The measly ten grand in my account is hardly worth calling savings for my plans. But it’s a start.

I need to move out of my father’s house, get my own place, and find another job, then really focus on landing the dream job.

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