Chapter Seven
Anthony turned so he was facing me head on and all I could do was look into his deep, brown eyes. He smelled so good. Like a man should smell. I took a subtle step closer to him. “You look gorgeous, Elena,” he said in a quiet voice, lowering his head slightly. “I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you since the minute you arrived.”
A burning blush crept across my face as warmth spread throughout my body. “Well, you know,” I said dumbly. “These gems on this dress catch the light pretty well.”
He smirked, a slight dimple appearing on his right cheek, "I wasn't looking at the dress." He took a step back and sized me up. "Although, it does look perfect on you."
“It should,” I said, batting at a lock of hair that kept falling in front of my shoulder. “It was custom-made for me.”
Anthony stepped even closer and reached his hand towards me. His fingers grazed my collarbone before pushing the stray lock of blonde hair over my shoulder. “I think you’d look beautiful in anything,” he said hoarsely, dropping his hand back to his side as goose bumps emerged across my body.
I stared at him, speechless, unable to think of anything witty to say. “Ah,” Anthony said, shifting a bit as something behind me caught his eye. “It looks like your team found us.”
I turned in the direction he nodded. Mason, Melanie, and Alyssa were hurriedly advancing on us. “Fantastic,” Melanie said striding right up to me, her long red hair flowing behind her. She smiled one of her rare dazzling smiles. When Melanie wasn’t super focused on her job, she was actually pretty striking. If only she could relax more often.
Alyssa came up next to Melanie and glanced at Anthony before turning back to me. “You nailed it! And you’ll never guess who I bumped into on the sides…” She trailed off raising her eyebrows expectantly while looking at me and Colton, who had strolled up behind her. Colton shrugged then turned his eyes on Anthony, evaluating him silently. Anthony just stood by politely, watching Alyssa, waiting for her to continue.
“Norris Clinton!” she said excitedly hopping a bit as if her body was too excited to hold the news in any longer.
“Oh!” I said genuinely surprised. “Norris Clinton? What’s he even doing here?” Norris was going to be the director of my next project Chosen. He had reached out to Alyssa after Ricochet inquiring what my next project was and shortly after, they sent me the script. He said he didn’t even need me to audition – that the role was practically written for me to star in.
“He said he was in town to support you and do a little networking,” Alyssa said practically vibrating from excitement. “He gave me some great news, too!”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“He said they’ve already green-lighted the sequel for Chosen. Isn’t that incredible?” Alyssa practically shouted. “If they've greenlighted a sequel before we even begin shooting Chosen, then this movie is going to be huge!” Alyssa pulled her phone out of her clutch and began typing away on it.
“This is incredible!” I said.
Alyssa and Melanie continued to congratulate me, even though I hadn’t even really done anything with the film yet. Meanwhile, I noticed Anthony was beginning to shift a little under Colton's formidable stare. "Colton," I said sharply, snapping his attention to me. He narrowed his blue eyes in response. "Did… Did you meet Anthony? Remember, from the meet and greet?"
Anthony gave a sure smile – if he was uncomfortable, he didn’t show it. Instead, he reached out his hand for Colton to shake. “Good to see you again,” he said politely.
Colton begrudgingly took Anthony's hand, giving it a quick shake before dropping it. "You too," he said. "I'm Colton, Elena's manager, and her best friend. Practically her soul," Colton shrugged nonchalantly. "We're pretty much the same person.”
Anthony chuckled, undeterred. “Nice,” he said. “It’s great to have someone like that in your life.”
"Reign it in, Colton," I said defensively. I never knew what version of my best friend I was going to get when introducing him to a guy that he knew I liked. Sometimes, he got along well. Sometimes, he acted more like a possessive jealous ex-boyfriend. Today, it looks like he went for jealous ex.
Anthony laughed again, “It’s fine. I should probably go find Izzy and Ethan. That girl is a handful.” He looked at me and slyly winked, “See you later, Elena.” I smiled and waved while all of us watched him walk away, with not quite a swagger, but definitely a confidence that showed he belonged in this world.
∞∞∞
When I got to my seat about an hour later, a wave of exhaustion hit me. I settled back into my seat and sighed, finally able to get off my feet. After Anthony had walked away, Colton continued giving me accusatory glances. He was unable to say anything though, as fellow cast, crew, fans and movie executives constantly interrupted us. Ethan had rejoined me shortly after Anthony left, and he attracted as much attention as I did, leaving no time for conversation between us.
Now that we were in our seat, which was on a raised up platform on the right side of the massive theater, I checked out the people sitting around me. Ethan was to my left sitting on the aisle. He looked cool and relaxed, his bright eyes taking everything in and giving polite nods to people that waved at him as they passed our seats.
On my right, sat Colton, Alyssa, and Melanie followed by a few other members of cast and crew. Mason sat behind me next to a man I’d seen follow Ethan around before. In front of me sat Mitch, his team, and a few of the other big-name actors who played important roles in the Destruction movie. The directors and producers sat in the very front.
“So, Ethan,” Colton said across me to Ethan. “What did you think of Elena’s new beau?”
I smacked Colton on the arm and quickly turned back to Ethan. I pointed a perfectly manicured fingernail in his amused face. “Don’t answer that,” I snapped. “And shut up,” I added in a hushed voice to Colton, who grinned at me in response.
Mitch spun around in his seat directly in front of us, his face lighting up. “Elena has a new beau? Do tell.”
“No, I don’t,” I retorted. “No one was talking to you, Mitchell. Turn around.” The guys just shared annoying smiles with each other and chuckled.
“He seems like a nice guy, but I don’t really know,” Ethan said ignoring me. “He disappears every time I come around.”
“Not true,” I countered. “He only disappeared once at the pool. You were the one who disappeared earlier when he came up to us.”
Ethan nodded in concentration while the guys waited for his rebuttal. “That’s true. Though when he found me later at the bar with Izzy, he wasn’t real chatty. Just a ‘thanks,’ then he grabbed his girl and ran.”
“Ohh,” Mitch cooed, adjusting excitedly in his seat. The guy loved to gossip. “Elena’s going after a taken man!”
Colton snorted, “Yeah, taken by a ten-year-old girl.”
Mitch gasped, “He has a daughter?” You’d think he’d just found out my love interest was terminal.
I scowled and rolled my eyes, “No, Izzy is his niece. But so what? Can we please stop talking about this?”
“Well, I don’t think I like him,” Colton said ignoring me and leaning back in his seat.
“Me either,” Ethan replied.
“Me either,” Mitch chimed in.
“You guys don’t even know him. And Mitch, you haven’t even met him! Besides, nothing’s happening,” I said grumpily, also leaning back in my seat. “Besides,” I continued. “I don’t care what any of you think.”
“Besides,” Ethan mocked me. “We need to make sure he’s good enough for our Elle before things get serious.”
“Right!” Mitch exclaimed enthusiastically, thrusting a fist up in the air.
“Shut up, it’s starting,” I said nodding towards the stage in front of the screen. The guys all laughed at me as a man came up on stage and called attention to the front of the room, wrapping up our humiliating conversation.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining us for this exciting night," he spoke with a strong, unwavering voice. I recognized him from the last two premieres we had. He was the star of a daytime talk show, a singer, and an actor. Most recently, he was a judge on a televised singing competition. He was pretty good looking, as well, for a forty maybe even fifty-year-old man.
“I’m Mark Rawlings, for those who don’t know, though you should as I have been a die-hard fan of the Monument trilogy since the first trailer. As far as the third and final installment, I think I speak for all us when I say … it’s about time!” The audience chuckled, a few cheering. “You know, I have been waiting almost two years for this conclusion. And what the hell is going on with Maren and Liam?!” The crowd continued to cheer. Mark straightened the front of his tuxedo, flashing his bright smile in our direction before continuing. “Before we get to the premiere of the most anticipated film of the year, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the men and women behind the action of our favorite trilogy of this decade. Please welcome to the stage, Director Russ Putnam, Producers Adam Scott, Paula Sanchez, Collin Butler, and New York Times Bestselling Author of the Monument series as well as Screenwriter, Sebastian Knight!”
The crowd applauded and cheered as the movie executives at the front of our platform left their seats, gathering together on stage. Russ took the microphone as the applause died down. He chuckled and looked around at his group joining him on stage before clearing his throat. “I heard there was a good movie playing here tonight,” he said ironically. The crowd laughed egging him on. “I’m glad you all got the same message.” More polite laughter.
“No, in all seriousness and honesty, it’s been a dream come true to see these films unfold," Russ spoke earnestly. "And the reception we’ve seen from the fans, from all of you, has been monumental, no pun intended. And the cast and crew, Elena, Mitch, Rasheed, Monica, Kiya, Carlisle, Susanna. I can’t list them all, but everyone who had a hand in this series, we could not have made this dream a reality without you. I can’t say thank you enough, so I won’t try and I’ll go ahead and turn it over to Seb.”
The crowded clapped as Russ moved aside, making way for Sebastian. If there were ever a costume for a typical writer, it would be based on Seb. He was always an interesting character to me. He was young, about my age, actually. He had black hair that was always messy and sticking up in different directions as if he just rolled out of bed. Thick-framed glasses always covered his dark eyes. Today, he wore a tuxedo, but typically he wore a graphic t-shirt under a sports jacket with a pair of jeans and dress shoes. He almost always had a pen behind his ear and his pale skin flushed anytime I had spoken to him before. Tonight, though, he stood strong in front of us and spoke with a newfound confidence unseen before.
“Thanks, Russ,” he nodded in Russ’ direction at the corner of the stage. “Russ and everyone on the stage up here with me… this is the team that had faith and believed in Monument. This is the team that took my fantasy, my dream, and my words and brought them to life. My whole world changed when Adam called me and said he wanted to make my books into movies and he had just the guy for the job. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen please enjoy, our final installment in the Monument trilogy – Destruction!”
The crowd roared as the lights dimmed slightly, leaving enough light for the movie execs to find their seats. Then, the lights went down and the opening score began along with the opening credits. The crowd cheered for their favorite names before succumbing to silence when the actual movie began.
Ethan leaned in close to me, whispering quietly, his minty breath tickling my skin, “Have I told you how proud I am of you lately?” He reached over and gripped my left knee with his hand and gave a gentle squeeze. “Because you are awe-inspiring.”
I smiled sincerely at him, the movie screen light reflecting smoothly off his face. “Thank you, Ethan,” I whispered. “Now watch the movie.”