Page 5 of Faking It

“Can’t you ask for a break? This can’t wait, Ana.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on—”

“What the hell are you doing crouched behind there?” Frank gruff whisper interrupts. He leans forward and sees the phone pressed to my ear, and his scowl darkens. “Strike two, Ana. No phones on the job. It’s a new policy, but you’re an adult. Shouldn’t be hard to understand.”

“Is that your boss? Shit. Listen, Ana—”

“I gotta go,” I reply quickly and hang up.

Frank gestures to my phone, then opens his palm. “I’m getting sick of your attitude. The next time I catch you taking personal calls on my time, it’s an instant dismissal, you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Frank,” I mumble, slipping my cell phone in the pocket of my apron.

I feel him watching me as I head back to the dining area, and like I already knew, my customers are doing just fine. I spend the next hour alternating between the grill and the dining room while wondering what Tori’s call was all about. Somehow, Diego and Sandra are connected, and I’m quite curious to find out how. Such a pity we won’t get to finish our conversation until the workday ends.

Six hours to go.

The breakfast crowd thins out, and I focus on clearing the tables while preparing for the lunch hour. On my way to the kitchen, Mikayla, the hostess beckons to me while waving the handset of the restaurant landline.

“Call for you,” she says as I approach.

Puzzled, I take the phone, and my body relaxes when I hear Tori’s voice on the other end. “I’ve been trying to call you back,” she greets me urgently.

Yeah, I felt the phone vibrating in my pocket the entire time. “Frank will kick me out if he sees me taking another personal call. Can it wait?” My boss left half an hour ago, but I wouldn’t put it past him to be spying through a CCTV camera with those beady little eyes of his.

“Not if you want to miss a chance for your big break,” Tori replies. “ThinkHouse of Rulestimes ten. That’s exactly how big this is.”

As usual, any mention of the comedy sitcom I’d starred in three years ago leaves a drop in my stomach.House of Rulesshould have been my big break. I played a supporting role for two years, but it was a steppingstone to the leading role I’d been working toward for years.

Until it wasn’t.

Until the show got cancelled.

Just like that, I went from a promising C-list actress to a waitress in a fast-casual restaurant, serving the industry I rubbed shoulders with back then. When the show wrapped, potential deals fizzled. The only jobs Tori got me could barely cover the bills. Thank God we’re friends. Another agent would’ve dumped me by now.

“Don’t tell me you’re already in shock without even hearing the good part,” Tori says, her tone laced with amusement.

My fingers tighten around the handset. “Which is?”

“An audition, Ana!” she crows.

“Okay…”

“Lower that enthusiasm, will you?”

I sigh at her sarcasm. “This feels like déjà vu, so forgive me if I’m not jumping for joy. How many times did a ‘life-changing audition’ turn out to be a walk on role in a commercial?”

“Based on your disappointing track record, I agree, your concern is valid. Let me assure you, this is the real deal. Remember Micah?”

“Your chatterbox sidekick from college. How could I forget?”

“Well, you already know he’s got connections to the industry, and he owed me a favor. When I heard about the fallout from the Lopez’ divorce—”

“Hold on. What fallout?” I ask as Mikayla taps my shoulder.

“Honey, I need the phone,” she whispers.

“Sorry,” I whisper back. “Tori, let me call you back.”

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