I walk into the boardroom and notice that my entire crew is present, punctual as ever. I smile. It’s good to have reliable people behind you, people who share your passion and commitment for a film.

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s people who don’t give a project one hundred percent, who miss meetings, and who, if they do attend, are disruptive.

So far so good, I think.

Alice smiles brightly, and Eric nods in my direction. Time to get down to business.

Thirty minutes later, it’s time to wrap up.

“So, unless anyone else has a question or wants to add something, that just about wraps it up for today.” I have a definite need for caffeine.

I see heads nodding, mumbling between cameramen. I hear the scraping of chairs being pushed back. Looks like no one has anything to add.

“Thanks, Sophie,” one of the ground crew calls over, giving me the thumbs up sign. In return I give him a short wave.

For me, however, meeting time is not quite over.

“Great work today, Sophie,” Alice pats me on the arm.

I force a smile on my face. My insides are about to explode.

“Remember the steam engine?” her voice is almost a whisper. “I think I can, I think I can, I know I can,” another reassuring rub on the arm. “You’ll blitz it, mark my words.”

With a deep sigh, I slump back in my director chair, a present from my dad.

Briefly, I reflect on Dad. He was my idol. Of course he would never ever have an inkling of self-doubt. But then I’ll never fill his oversized boots anyway.

Dad was the doyen of directors.

“Thanks,” I glance at Alice and adjust my papers, clipboard, pen and laptop.

“Should I be part of this huddle?” Eric has joined our end of the table.

Instantly, Alice wraps her arm around his waist.

“It’s not a huddle. I’m just injecting Sophie with a little bit of self confidence.”

Eric feigns mock shock.

“Sophie.” He points in my direction. “This Sophie needs confidence?” Now he shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”

All three of us laugh.

I’m lucky to have such supportive friends.

Alice and I go way back. We sat together on our first day of school.

But we really bonded when Charley Chatterley called me clumsy. I burst into tears, and Alice broke her ruler over pig boy’s head. Since then, we’ve been through thick and thin―as well as film school.

Luckily, Eric understood our friendship and was not one of those guys who tried to break us apart.

I push my own chair back and hug first Alice, who promptly makes choo choo noises in my ear, and then Eric, who thankfully doesn’t.

“Thank you,” for some reason I feel a little teary. “You two are too good to me.”

With a deep breath and my shoulders held proudly back, I smile brightly.

“What’s the worst that can happen?” I quip and glance at my watch. The two stars are due in three minutes. “With any luck, he won’t show up.”

I stress the word he.

Alice pecks Eric on the cheek and sits down again. I see him give us one last thumbs up before he’s gone.

I’m trying to think of words of wisdom Dad would have thrown my way over the years, but nothing comes to mind.

For another few seconds, I indulge in strolling down memory lane. I used to love sitting on dad’s knees when he was sitting in his director chair. It was black and had the words “Director” written on the back in large white letters. The words Do not touch were printed underneath.

Dad did not take me often on set, but when he did, I relished every second.

Suddenly, the door opens, and a petite blonde woman walks in, accompanied by a much taller and slightly round man at her side.

I watch Emma closely as she comes into the room. She’s not very tall, but she’s very well proportioned. Her eyes remind me of a deer. They look a little timid, but they’re beautiful.

To my surprise, I register that her blonde hair is naturally blonde; it’s not the peroxide blonde most actresses seem to have these days. She wears it in a casual up-style. A few strands have escaped and hang loosely down to her shoulder.

Alice stands to take over the introductions.

I hold out my hand and am pleased Emma takes it and actually shakes it. No dead fish handshake with this woman.

Something else I instantly like about her is her smile. It looks genuine, non-Botoxed.

“Nice to meet you, Emma,” I invite them both to sit down.

For the first few minutes, we engage in the usual small talk: about the weather, the traffic and then about the film.

“I’ve read the script,” Emma steers the conversation to business. “Who is playing the lead role?”

“Sophie is playing the lead role and directing,” explains Alice for me.

I glance at my watch. Todd should be here by now.

“Lovely,” replies Emma, and I’m pleased my co-star seems to be of a good nature.

My eyes wander to the door and back to my watch. The arrogant prick is now ten minutes late.

“Look, I’m really sorry but our other main star is not here yet. Do you mind if we wait just a few more minutes?”

Emma shrugs, leans back in her chair, and crosses her legs.

Her agent on the other hand flicks through his phone before he leans toward his star and whispers something in her ear.

“It appears I’m needed in other meetings after this. Are we able to start without him?”

I look at Alice, who nods her agreement.

“Sorry,” I’m all business-like, careful not to let my anger take hold of me. “Of course we can start.”

By the time our meeting finishes, I’m quite excited to be working with Emma. Eric described her as being subpar with a huge fan base. I found her easy to get along with.

Perhaps she isn’t the brightest bunny out there, but we can’t all be super geniuses, right?

“I can’t believe the arrogance of the man not to show up today.” It takes every ounce of self-control not to throw something at the wall. “Not only did he miss the meeting, but he made us, his colleagues, wait.” I’m seething with rage.

Alice drums her fingers on the edge of the table. She knows better than to interrupt me when I’m in this state.

“You better call his agent and find out what’s going on. Because if you let me do it, I’ll end up firing him on the spot.”