Page 25 of To the Moon and Back

“Little Lala,” he said. “Who knew?”

She stalked back to the table, disconcerted, excited, and turned thehell on.

Chapter Six

Lauren sat in one of her favorite spots in all of The McAllister,the long hallway off the grand lobby. At the end stood Wilks’s office, butalong the way were framed photographs of some of the most noteworthy shows puton by the theater. The faces of Broadway legends dotted the walls, just asampling of the many great actors who’d performed at The McAllister, thetheater Lauren now inhabited on a daily basis. She carried such reverence forthe place and sometimes had to pinch herself to remember that she acCtuallyworked here. Oh, and down the hallway a little way, they’d even added a framedshot of one of their most recent shows. Yep, that was Gyllenhaal she saw in aserious moment from a new play that had been very well received.

“Ready for you, Lauren,” Wilks said, opening the door. He did alittle ballerina twirl as she passed in attempt to lighten the mood.

She chucked. “Nice one.”

“I’ll spare you my twerk.”

“And now I’m sad.”

It wasn’t very often that they met in his office. Their workingrelationship had always been more informal, with him crashing her space as theyquickly hashed out daily details like scheduling, budget, or interpersonalmatters. The more official meeting in his rarely visited office intimidatedLauren, which was downright ridiculous. This was Wilks! Her Wilks. Thatreminder didn’t calm her churning stomach, though the twirl had helped.

Once inside, Lauren took a seat. As he walked around to his sideof the desk, she nervously grabbed the Rubik’s Cube in front of her. “Masteredthis one yet?” she asked. He grabbed the cube, worked the whole thing in undera minute, and tossed it back to her. She whistled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“What do you think I do all day in here?”

Just another testament to Wilks’s ability to deliver. She sat upstraighter, because this felt like she’d been called to the principal’s office.

“Well, here’s the crazy thing.” He sat back in his fancy leatherchair. “Ethan wants to make a change in his cast.”

“Okay. What kind of change?” It wasn’t a real question. Shealready knew where this was headed. Hell, it had kept her up all night. WhatEthan was angling for was unprecedented. Fear struck first and it landed hard.She was an imposter. For some reason, they seemed to think she was this amazingactress, when in all honesty, she wasn’t. She hadn’t booked a decent job in allthe years she tried. Then, the fear danced away and swapped places with atwinge of excitement that twisted, turned, and vibrated pleasantly. She orderedthe dueling emotions to stand the hell down, and take twenty. Given it was herjob to remain calm at all times, she luckily had the ability to mask thecascade of emotions in front of Wilks. Yep, that was her, completely not incontrol.

“I don’t know if this is going to shock you or not. It shockedme.”

She nodded but said nothing, probably because she was holding herbreath.

“He wants you to step into the role of Mandy effective today.There’s an official offer on the table.” He held up a hand before she couldspeak. “I know it’s a little out of left field, and I told him so myself. Wewent over it from every angle last night. Took hours, but we came up with adeal for everyone that makes sense.”

Lauren exhaled slowly. “Wilks, I haven’t acted in years. I wasjust filling in for our sick cast members.”

“But you have acted before.” He held his hand out as if presentinga very obvious point.

She shook her head. “Not at this level. Plus, I’m rusty.” Shegestured behind her. “These people are…pros. I couldn’t even land a toiletpaper commercial on my own, and trust me, I tried. Too many times.”

He waved her off. “We both know the industry is tricky. It’s notabout how good you are in the beginning. It’s about who you know, and being inthe right place at the right time. Then suddenly your talent matters.”

He had a point. She nodded. “I guess that’s what yesterday was.”

“I’d say so.”

Wilks leaned forward with a kind smile. He seemed more personable,like the everyday Wilks she was used to. “Here’s the thing. I know you, Lauren,and you’re nothing if not a professional yourself. Are you willing to step in?This is quite the opportunity.” He held out both hands. “These kinds of thingsdon’t happen that often in the business.”

Again, he was right. You heard about Cinderella stories likethese, but never in a million years did Lauren think it could happen to her,especially after she’d carefully tucked those hopes away. She never daredimagine. After years of schlepping from one audition to the next, she’d justbeen offered a major role, the kind she used to lie in bed dreaming about. Andshe’d done so via her stage management career? It really was about being in theright room. How strangely the world worked.

She clenched her fists several times, to discreetly burn off someof the nervous energy coursing through her limbs, and stared Wilks right in theeye. “I’ll do it,” she said quietly, feeling something long forgotten in herclick into place. “I’ve never been more scared of anything in my life, but howcan I not?”

“I thought you’d eventually get there,” he said with a wink. Hepicked up a folder from his desk. “I have a contract all drawn up, and sinceyou’re already an Equity member, there’s less red tape to fuss with.”

“What about Evelyn?” Lauren tried not to wince at that particularside effect. She imagined her being sat down and let go officially, followed bythe to-be-expected ire Evelyn was known for.

“She’ll be fine. She works fairly steadily and will move on to thenext project in no time. Part of the business.”

Lauren nodded. This would be a setback for Nia, as well. Thoughshe was never guaranteed replacement status, she would likely wonder why shewas passed over. But she still had her original standby gig. Nothing hadchanged on that front, and she’d still have a job.

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