Micah

 

“Kid, you’re beautiful! Those headshots you sent over, they didn’t do you justice. I can just imagine how wonderful you’ll look on the screen, that shining smile of yours, those beautiful curls. And is that a natural red?”

 

I smiled from across the desk at the producer, nodding. “Natural, through and through.”

 

This was my first real audition that Tanner Wilde had set up for me, and I’d made it through the first round. The producer here had called me back for a second one. It was for a small part in some action film, but Tanner had been pretty adamant that I take it, saying that I needed to get my foot in the door somewhere. “Listen, baby,” he’d said, “you gotta hit every audition you can. That’s your job right now. You’re a beggar here, not a chooser.”

 

And so, here I was.

 

“Why don’t we get a little more comfortable, though?” the producer asked as he got up from his desk, walked around, and headed to the couch at the back of his office.

 

I got up from the chair and followed him over to the black leather couch. “Now, Tanner said I wasn’t an exact fit,” I said, settling down on the couch next to the producer, “but that I’d still be as close to perfect as you were going to get.”

 

He scooted a little closer to me on the couch, took off his glasses, and gave me a look. “Well, your agent’s mostly right. We’re really looking for a blonde for this part, but I think we can swing a redhead for it. What do you think? You got what it takes, sweetie?”

 

“Well, this would certainly be my first real role,” I admitted. “But I’ve been in all the classes Tanner recommended, and I feel like I’m finally ready for my first substantial part.”

 

“That’s great, sweetie,” he said, easing his hand down till it came to rest on my knee. “Real great. I’m sure you’d be great in the part, real great. But, you know, I got a hundred girls trying for this role, and they’ve all got the same chops you do. Which is to say, none.”

 

I looked down at his hand on my knee and cleared my throat uncomfortably.

 

He squeezed my knee a little. “So, you know, I might need a little encouragement to get you in this flick. You know what that means, right, sweetie?”

 

I tilted my head a little to the side and bit the inside of my cheek, just as someone knocked on the door. Loudly.

 

“One second,” he said, then leaned back without taking his hand from my knee. “Cheryl?” he called through the door without getting up from the couch. “Cheryl, I told you no visitors.”

 

“Ain’t Cheryl,” a man’s gruff voice replied.

 

The producer got a perturbed look on his face and hopped up from the couch. He opened the door and immediately stepped back when he saw the man on the other side.

 

“Sorry to disturb you, but I’m here to pick up Micah.” Ford popped his head in the door and looked at me on the couch. “Micah, you almost ready, babe? You got another appointment in thirty, and you know how traffic is.”

 

“Just a minute, Ford,” I sweetly replied. “Be out in two shakes, honey.”

 

The producer nodded and shut the door, swallowing so hard his Adam’s apple looked like it was bobbing like a cork in water. “That your boyfriend?” he asked, not returning to the couch.

 

I smiled. “Sorry, he’s just real protective. So, you said I’m perfect, right?”

 

The producer nodded. “Perfect.”

 

“Good,” I said, smiling as I got up from the couch. “I’ll let Tanner know you’re not nearly as sleazy as he thought you were. Deal?”

 

The producer glanced back at the door as if Ford might come bursting through any moment like the Kool-Aid man. “Uh, yeah, sure, sweetie. You got it.”

 

I smiled, took his hand, and said my goodbyes, before slipping back out of his office.

 

Ford was waiting for me outside in the parking lot in his new car. Well, new to us, at least. It was a hell of a lot nicer than that old Pontiac of his. It had barely even made it into town.

 

I climbed into the passenger seat, leaned over, and kissed Ford on the cheek. “Which restaurant are we meeting Kessa and Tanner at?” I asked.

 

“Same place we always do, honey.”