Page 6 of Nanny for the SEALs

“Maybe I didn’t think this through,” I said.

Maurice pointed up ahead. “Someone’s coming out of that door… Oh. It’s a bachelorette party.”

“We’ll never fit in there,” I replied. “We need to find a suite that’s full of people from a local business. Then we can just pretend we work in some other department.”

“As long as you watch your mouth,” Maurice muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you curse like a sailor,” he replied. “That’s not appropriate in a company setting.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll watch my mouth. Ass.”

Maurice pointed at me. “That right there. That’s the language I’m talking about.”

“Ass barely counts as a curse. Stop worrying. I was a nanny for three years. If I could watch my language around those kids, I can do so here.”

Just as we were walking by one suite, the door suddenly opened. A man on a phone rushed out, gesturing angrily.

“Wonder what his problem is,” I muttered, craning my neck to try to see inside the suite. But the door was already closing.

Maurice’s head swiveled to follow the man. Then he started smacking me on the arm. “Heather. Heather! That wasJonah Weiman.”

I whipped my head around. “From The Weiman Agency?”

He gave me a look. “How many Jonah Weimans do you know?”

I squinted after the man, who was disappearing out of sight. “How sure are you?”

“Positive! I’ve got a spreadsheet of all the acting agencies I’ve applied to. Jonah Weiman is in the top tier, along with the other agents at The Weiman Agency and William Morris. I’ve submitted headshots to all of them. I haven’t heard back,” he added with a grumble, “but I’d know any of them on sight.”

“That’s perfect then,” I said. “That’s our suite.”

Maurice did a double-take. “Are youcrazy?”

“This is so much better than finding some company suite to slip into,” I explained. “The booth is probably filled with agents and other actors.We’reactors, Maurice. It’s perfect.”

“Just because we’re actors doesn’t mean we’ll belong,” he argued. “We don’t know anyone in there. They’ll ask who invited us.”

“Then we’ll say we were invited by one of the other agents. Someone who isn’t there. You just said you have a spreadsheet full of them, right? Pick one, and that will be our cover story. We’ll blend in easily. And think about this—we can mention that we’reseeking representation. Maybe they’ll sign us! If you’ve already sent him headshots, this might jog his memory and push you over the edge!”

Maurice looked like he was going to be sick. “Mr. Howard says that if an agent doesn’t reply, it means they’re not interested.”

“Mr. Howard says a lot of things,” I replied dismissively. “This might be our only chance to be in the same room as someone like Jonah Weiman. You cantalk to him, Maurice. Let him get to know you. That’s much better than just looking at a headshot. We have to take the chance! Come on.”

I took his hand and dragged him forward. Maurice was muttering under his breath. It sounded like a prayer.

I opened the suite door without hesitation. Confidence mattered. If you looked the part, you could get away with a lot in life. Just act like you belong.

And acting wasliterallyour specialty.

I strode into the suite, head held high. There was a half-smile on my face, the kind I reserved for when I was playing a cocky character. I surveyed the room. It had a private bathroom to the right. There were two tables to the left, one with heating trays of food, and the other with a full bar and a dedicated bartender currently mixing a cocktail. Aside from the bartender, there were only seven other people in the room. There were a pair of couples—one woman had the worst boob job I’d ever seen in my life—and three jacked, hunky-looking guys in suits. Two of them had tattoos peeking out at the cuffs of their dress shirts.

There was a stack of business cards on the nearest table. The logo was shaped like a shield, but the lines spiraled inward like a maze. It wasdefinitelynot the logo of an acting agency.

“Heather!” Maurice whispered to me. “There aren’t enough people in here. We won’t be able to blend in.”

I immediately knew he was right. Half the people in the room were looking at us with curiosity. We were sticking out. This wasn’t going to work.

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