Chapter Ten
It would be a couple more days before she saw Rico again.
She spent her day off by having a long lie in, sleeping till nearly lunchtime before getting up and heading out to grab something to eat and spend the afternoon taking a leisurely look around LA. She walked along the promenade and checked out the beach. It was lively and busy, everywhere teaming with people. She enjoyed herself for a couple of hours, then began to grow tired of the crowds and sought out solitude and quiet in her small hotel room.
In the evening, she went out for dinner alone and found a pleasant little pizza restaurant, sitting in the window and people watching. She didn’t mind eating on her own at all. It was a perfect time to think and reflect.
All her thoughts were on Rico, and what would happen when she saw him again; how this little friendship of theirs could possibly develop. She was definitely interested in it being more than a friendship, and she hoped that he was too, but maybe the fact that she’d had a few to drink the previous night was clouding her judgement of how things had played out.
The following day she was back on set again, and although she kept her eyes open for Rico, he was nowhere to be seen at either breakfast or lunchtime, and her various jobs kept her busy looking after the supporting actors, some of whom she was starting to get to know fairly well. She was definitely building up her list of contacts and gaining so much valuable knowledge and feedback about the industry. She was learning on the job and loving every minute of it, but after another day of not seeing Rico, she was starting to miss him, and her own insecurities were eating at her, telling herself that he was avoiding her because he regretted taking her out for dinner.
Thankfully, her anxiety was put to rest by Wednesday morning, when she stood in line for breakfast and felt a sudden tap on her shoulder.
She turned around, expecting to see Sally or Julio, or Marlow and Liz from makeup, the usual people she sat with over lunch, but instead she was greeted by Rico’s smiling, gorgeous features.
“Hey there,” he grinned.
“Hey!” Ashleigh exclaimed, really surprised to see him and suddenly feeling a rush of nerves as she remembered her fears about him avoiding her.
“We seem to keep missing each other at breakfast and lunch,” he remarked.
“Yes, we do,” she agreed.
“I normally swing by really early, get mine before anyone else joins the line. Either that or I wait till everyone’s gone, but then all the best food is gone too.” He winked at her.
“Ah, so that’s the trick, is it? I’ll remember that for lunch.”
“Speaking of eating,” Rico continued with a sparkle in his eyes. “I was wondering whether you’d like to go for dinner again sometime soon?”
Ashleigh’s heart felt like it was in her throat. She swallowed it down and excitedly nodded, hoping no one else in the line was listening in on this conversation, once again wondering whether it would be considered inappropriate for her and Rico to be seeing each other outside of work like this.
“That would be great, yeah. I’ll pay this time.”
He tutted and shook his head. “Don’t be silly.”
“I mean it. I’m gonna start feeling bad if you take me out and pay for dinner all the time.”
Rico sighed and twisted his lips a little as he thought about it. “Well…if it would make you feel better, I suppose I could let you share the check this time…but I’m not going to let you pay for the whole thing yourself. Consider it a compromise, and the best I can do.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Fiiiine. I’ll take the compromise.”
He chuckled. “Great. How about tonight then?”
“Tonight?” She was surprised he wanted to do it again so soon, but obviously took it as a massive compliment. She had been overthinking this after all. Thank goodness. This was great news – the best! She internally squealed, and then nodded, externally keeping her composure. “Sure, tonight sounds perfect.”
They moved along the line a bit, shuffling closer to the front, and Rico turned the conversation to asking how her day had been yesterday, the two of them making idle small talk about the shoot.
Once Rico had his food, he said a polite goodbye to Ashleigh in front of everyone else and made his way to his trailer. She wondered whether he was making a show of things on purpose in order to throw of any kind of suspicion that something was going on between them, and she did feel a little put out that he wasn’t coming to sit on the dining bus with everyone else but she did understand, in a way. Some of the supporting actors and background artists could easily get star-struck, and she’d already heard stories about people coming up to him on sets and bothering him, asking for photographs and autographs when he was trying to work. Rico was the kind of actor that liked to get immersed in his part. He spent a lot of time studying and getting into character, and for that he needed space.
She sat with her usual friends over breakfast, but Ashleigh was distracted, already thinking about dinner that evening and looking forward to getting to know Rico better.
Once she’d finished eating, she took her plate back to the catering bus and grabbed herself a coffee. She was just crossing the courtyard to get back inside the main studio building when she saw Francis Romero appearing out the door she was heading towards. She kept her head down, a little, uncertain of him after their first encounter the other night, but she knew their paths would invariably cross and, sure enough, Francis recognized and remembered her.
“Ah, it’s Ashleigh, isn’t it?” He stopped her as she walked, placing one hand on her forearm briefly before letting go.
She looked up and smiled at him, actually rather surprised and pleased that he’d remembered her name. “Yes.”
“You’re just the person I wanted to speak to…”
That also was surprising. Why on earth would Francis want to speak with her, just a lowly runner?
“May I have a moment of your time? Alone?”
Vaguely worried that she might be in trouble for something, she nodded in agreement, then he turned on his heel and led her back inside the studio the way he’d just come out of. Down the corridor they went, neither of them speaking, Francis striding along importantly with a swagger in his walk.
He took her in one of the spare office rooms and closed the door behind them.
Suddenly, she didn’t exactly feel very comfortable being alone with him, but she didn’t say anything. This wouldn’t take very long, whatever it was.
“When I saw you the other night,” he began with a smile, looking into her eyes. “I have to admit, I was enchanted…”
Now, the creepy feeling was intensifying. She was starting to think Francis had some sort of crush on her, which was unnerving to say the least. He was twenty years her senior and, although she didn’t mind age gaps in theory, he wasn’t exactly the most attractive older gentleman either, especially when compared to the beauty and grace that Rico exuded by the bucket-load.
“I want to get to know you better,” he continued. “Are you available this evening?”
Oh God. She began to internally panic. What did getting to know her better even entail? It all sounded rather dodgy and weird. Besides, she already had plans to go to dinner with Rico that evening, and although she might have been able to squeeze in time to spend half an hour or so with Francis, she didn’t particularly want to.
“Actually, I’m uh…I’m really kind of busy this evening,” she mumbled, stumbling over her words a bit in her nervousness. Francis was an imposing, intimidating figure, made more so by the great power he so clearly wielded in Hollywood. It wouldn’t be a wise move to annoy him if she wanted to make gains in her career. “I’ve kind of already got plans.”
He frowned and looked deeply disappointed, so much so that she even felt a little sorry for him. “Hmm, that is unfortunate,” he sighed. “We’ll have to make plans for another time then.”
He wasn’t exactly leaving her with much choice. It sounded more like a demand than an option.
“Yeah, I’m sure we can do that,” she nodded vaguely, not suggesting a particular day or time.
He smiled and reached out to pat her on the arm. “That would be wonderful. You really do have so much potential. I can see it.” He turned and opened the door. “Well, I’d better get back to work. See you very soon, Ashleigh.”
And with that, he walked out, leaving her clutching her cup of coffee with a feeling of dread, trying to shake it off and put the positive thoughts of later that evening in her mind instead.