Page 80 of The Wrong Costar

We both turned and were greeted by a stranger. The man must have been nearing thirty, but his serious gaze made him seem much older. He was wearing expensive jeans and a T-shirt, which contrasted with the beat-up old Lakers cap on his head. The man’s eyes were thoughtful as he looked between the two of us, and as his stare settled on Liam, he clenched my hand a little tighter. Liam seemed to shrink under the man’s gaze, and worry lines marked his face.

“Josh, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“Well, I was wondering the same thing about you,” the man replied. He glanced over his shoulder at a very nervous-looking Zeke who was standing behind him. “Your assistant here turned up on set this morning to tell me you wouldn’t be coming to work because you needed to perform in a school play. I wanted to see what was so important you were willing to risk your role in my movie for it.”

My breath got stuck in my throat. The man was the director of Liam’s latest movie, and Liam had risked getting fired to be onstage with me tonight. I kind of felt the urge to slap him again. The play was important to me, but it wasn’t worth risking the movie role he wanted so badly.

“I’m sorry for disappointing you, Josh,” Liam said. “But this was the reason I didn’t want to start the movie early.” He looked down at me and smiled as he said the words, and I knew it wasn’t the play he was talking about. He focused back on Josh as he continued to speak. “You reminded me yesterday that I needed to start being true to myself, and I would have been doing the complete opposite if I hadn’t come here tonight. I made a commitment to these people, and I couldn’t let them down.”

It was impossible to know what Josh was thinking as he continued to stare at Liam. The man was intimidating, and I had no idea how Liam had managed to stand up to him. I certainly wouldn’t have had the guts to stare down a big-time Hollywood director. Josh suddenly started to chuckle though. “Ididtell you that, but I didn’t expect you to ditch us the very next day.” He slowly shook his head. “I guess we can discuss this more back in L.A. tomorrow.”

A small smile curved Liam’s lips. “So, I’m not fired?”

“Not today,” Josh replied. “But, I won’t be so forgiving if this happens again.”

Liam let out a breath. “That’s fair.”

Josh’s eyes drifted in my direction. “You must be Teagan,” he said, holding out a hand toward me.

I gave Liam a nervous glance before shaking Josh’s hand. “Yes, that’s me.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said. “Zeke was telling me all about you on the flight here. You were wonderful out there tonight.”

“Thank you.” I smiled politely, but my heart was racing at a million miles a minute. A Hollywood director had just complimented me, and it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“It was an impressive performance, and you had great chemistry with Liam.”

Yep, I was officially suffocating.

“I actually have a minor part in our film that we’re still looking to cast, and I think you would be perfect for it.”

My eyes grew so wide they must have looked like they were about to pop from my head. “You-you do?” I stuttered.

He grinned broadly as he nodded. “Have your agent get in touch with me, and I’ll send across the script. It was nice meeting you, and I look forward to seeing you on set.”

“You-you too,” I said.

“And, Liam?” Josh said. “I’ll see you bright and early on set tomorrow.”

“You will,” Liam agreed.

Josh turned and walked away, leaving me in complete shock. My jaw was hanging somewhere around the floor, and my ears were ringing like I’d somehow miraculously survived an atomic bomb going off. My body was shaking, and the sounds in the room had gone quiet.

“What just happened?” I whispered, finally managing to speak.

“I think you just got a part in a Hollywood movie,” Liam replied, grinning proudly at me.

This couldn’t be happening. “But he said to get my agent to contact him. I don’t have an agent.”

Liam laughed, like he thought my concern was cute. “I think I know a guy I can put you in touch with.”

I finally turned to him, a frown furrowing my brow. “Did you organize this?”

“No, of course not.”

“Because I told you I didn’t need your help!”

Liam raised his hands in appeal. “I didn’t say a word to him and had no idea he was going to show up tonight. I promise.”

---