Page 5 of Billionaire's Second Chance

“Stop it—I can—”I stuttered on my last line.

Long silence accompanied my last words.

“You done?” Agatha inquired.

I nodded.

The two men in cardigans whispered to themselves, lopsided smiles on their faces. Had I been that bad? Were they laughing at me?

“It wasn’t flat,” the 'shark' said.

Was that supposed to be a compliment coming from her?

Damon crossed his arms and peered at me.

“Have you starred in any movie I directed before?” He finally asked.

My eyes bulged.

Only a private one, but you don't remember.

But I didn’t say that. I couldn't.

“No,” I replied.

“Any bestseller yet?” his probing eyes bore holes into mine.

“No,” I answered and looked away.

Agatha snorted. Damon unfurled his arms.

“For someone without big screen experience, you did pretty well.” Damon's lips curled into a subtle smile that only I could recognize.

Oh my God, am I getting the role?

My eyes darted across everyone in the room. Damon kept smiling at me. The other two men were done whispering now but remained quiet. Agatha tapped her pen on the desk.

“We’ll contact your agent if needed,” The 'shark' bluntly declared and motioned me to leave.

2

Damon

Auditionsweresupposedtobe fun, with actors taking turns to impress me and the casting team. Instead, only amateurs had dared to turn up.

I peered at my Rolex. This audition should have come to an end already, now that I had found my Rose. She was the last person to exit the stage. Ava Sage was in a league of her own—she had perfectly crafted Rose's universe right here on my stage. Her lips had moved, as did her hands, but there was something else about her.

Something achingly familiar. I peered into her face, past the veil she had put up over those blue eyes, trying to decipher that familiar feeling I got when she walked in. She wore a flowing yellow dress, wavy blonde hair over her feminine shoulders, and red lipstick on her plump lips—a walking vision of Rose's character.

You should look away,I had thought to myself several times during Ava's audition.

I didn’t get to. Her eyes had found mine, then looked away at once.

“No, don’t,”she mouthed the lines of her dialogue.

My eyes narrowed, and I crossed my arms.

“I mean, Thomas, you could—”she continued with her script.

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