MAX

A holiday and days of casting for my male-hero later, Caden strolls into the loft, amused eyes flicking between me and Natalie as I stand up to greet him. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He claps my back on his way to her. “Good to see you too, jerk. Hi, I’m Caden. His brother. You must be the woman our parents warned him about.”

In a stylish dress that falls just above her knees, and lavender boots that climb just shy of them, she cocks an eyebrow. “So you’re blunt and cute, two winning qualities in my world. Nice to meet you Caden, I’m Natalie.”

A lopsided grin flashes and he shoots me a look. “Watch out, Max, she likes me.”

I grumble, “Why are you here?” shoving my hands in my pockets, a trademark Cocker move when the men in our family aren’t happy.

“Wanted to see who you’re casting as Dad. Can you blame me for being curious after our phone call last night?”

“Don’t you have some disease to misdiagnose?”

“I’ll do that later, don’t you worry,” he smirks, smacking my shoulder and sliding a slow gaze up Natalie’s body. “But I can see why you want me to leave.”

“Don’t be sleazy.”

Caden laughs. “Too much? Alright, I’ll stop fucking with you, bro. I’m on the graveyard shift, working sixteen hours straight and then eight off, then again. What they don’t know is I plan on staying longer than sixteen until they kick me out of there! I’m going to get ahead of Janet if it kills me. I had some time though, and it’s not like I wanna turn on the TV when you’re casting a real live film two miles from my apartment. So Natalie, Max tells me you’re new to producing.”

I shoot him a warning look that he’d better not make any cracks about her other job. He and I always fuck with each other, but she just met him and Caden can be a little insensitive.

She gives him a curt nod. “Yes, but I studied hard.”

“Interesting,” he smirks, glancing to me with a she’s-fucking-hot-I-know-why-she’s-here look. “Where can I sit?”

“Take my chair.” I point to it. “I’m reading with the actors so I’m standing by the camera during these.”

Caden’s eyebrows shoot up. “You’re acting?”

“Just reading the lines for their auditions.”

He glances to Natalie. “Max any good?”

“Hate to admit it, but yes he is.”

As Caden takes my chair he laughs, “Don’t want to compliment his big head, huh?”

From behind her wall a smile appears, just a small one but I notice it. Hell, I live for it. She’s so hot and cold, I never know exactly what I’m going to get. And I hated the days when she wasn’t available. Next time I saw her she looked scared. I didn’t know what I’d done to inspire that. The woman is a mystery. And then there’s her roommate.

My stomach is on edge almost every damn day lately.

Caden asks her, “How was your Thanksgiving, Natalie?”

“Good, thanks. Was with my family. I love sweet potatoes and marshmallows a little too much. Did you guys have a nice one? Max said it was at your grandparents’ place?”

“Yep, delicious. Almost everybody there, too. Except Soph, but she’s never with us over the holidays.” Glancing to me he says, “I can’t believe Sofia Sol is in love, can you?”

“Nope. Never thought it was possible for someone to chain a ball to her ankle.”

“Right?!” my brother laughs. “Sofia Sol engaged…what the fuck is happening in the world?”

Shaking my head I poke around the camera settings. “I heard her buddy Celia is too, now.”

“She’s a cutie,” Caden murmurs, staring at the ground. “I should’ve tried to get in on that.”

Laughing I punch his shoulder. “We are not alone! Oh hey, I forgot to tell you, Natalie confided in me people don’t like us very much in this town.”

He spins on the chair, honestly shocked. “What?” Flipping back around to her next. “Who doesn’t? That’s bullshit! We’re a staple in this community.” Under his breath he adds, “Lord knows there are enough of us!”

Natalie straightens her bangs with a long fingernail she painted red since yesterday. Before that they were blue. Two weeks before, purple. Orange, and of course light pink when we met. I’ve been paying attention.

“Yes, it’s well known how many of you there are,” she smirks. “And how successful. How good looking. And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but there are a lot of broken hearts crying for vengeance.”

He stares at her, then waves the problem away with one simple word. “Jealousy.”

Her lips twitch. “Ya think?”

“Yes! And it’s stupid. Gets nobody anywhere. Unless you use it to propel you to greatness, like I’m doing with Janet. The hospital is beaming at her and I’m having to work twice as hard because they’ve got their hearts set on hiring a woman. Plus she’s exceptional. So what am I doing? Moping? Shaming her? Gossiping? Hell no, because I’ve got a life that’s my own to create any damn way I want. Same as everybody. Janet raised the bar, so I’m working harder than she is and I will prove my worth no matter what it takes. You know what I hope? I hope they take both of us! I don’t want her to have to relocate from her family, either. You gotta just be a good human being for Christ’s sake.” He punches the air with his finger. “That’s what you do! Don’t go whining to your friends. Do something! And those people gossiping about us can shove their sharp tongues up their own asses.” Locking eyes with me he says, “Right Max?”

“Hell yeah.”

Caden motions to me to add, “Your Thesis film was outstanding because you knew if you really wanted to do your own movie one day then every project should have that much commitment behind it. How many of your classmates’ films did I sit through that weekend?”

“At least forty.”

“And yours won the prize!” To Natalie he groans, “Some were brutally bad.”

Defending them I correct him, “Caden, not everybody wanted to be a director but they had to turn in a project none-the-less. Their talents were in other things. Like that one about the butterfly people? That guy has mad skills in the art department, not helming.”

“Ah, right, I was wondering what the hell was up with that.” Jogging his head, “The scenery was pretty cool. Story, not so much.”

“He only cares about scenery. That’s his gift.”

“Well that makes sense now.”

My eyes lock with Natalie because she’s staring at me. She glances away, eyelashes fluttering like she was about to ask a question but decided against it.

So I prod her, curious, “What were you gonna say?”

Meeting my eyes she shrugs like it’s not a big deal, “I want to see the film you did. Would you mind showing me some time?”

Pride tugs at me and I roll on my heels, smiling. “Whenever you want to come over.”

Caden’s smirk is too much. “Yeah, you should come back here to Max’s place when you guys aren’t working. Watch a movie. Have some popcorn. That’d be nice.”

Laughing, “Shut it,” I head out to call the next actor in.

My brother’s voice lowers. “And if you want me to be there, too, I can arrange that.”

“Caden!” I grin, pausing at the door. “Cut it out. That’s my business partner. Don’t get me sued.”

He throws his hands up, “Okay!”

I borrowed a canopy and four outdoor heaters from our grandparents to set up a waiting room outside. The loft is one open space and it’s not fair to make actors listen to someone else’s audition before they’re about to read. It can really mess with their heads.

Three men in their twenties, all as blonde as my dad and his twin, look at me. They’re echoes of a younger time. Picking up the sign-in sheet to see who arrived when, I lead the first actor in. Caden watches me audition the first two. When they leave, he agrees with me and Natalie that neither one nailed it. Just like all the guys before them.

By the time I go out to bring the third guy in, three others have joined him. He’s leaned back in his chair, confident. They’re reviewing their scripts and don’t look up as I read his name.

“Dan Clark?”

He stands, comfortable in his own skin. “That’s me.” He extends his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Max, the director.” We go inside and I motion to my partner. “This is Natalie, she’s producing the film. And that’s my brother. He has a good eye for what I’m looking for so I asked him to sit in.”

Dan nods, takes his mark, and I cross to the camera. The actor’s pale green eyes drop to the floor as he prepares. I’m playing Marnie this time, which isn’t easy for a male actor to play against. There’s nothing feminine about me. But when Dan looks up, he’s tired, hurt, and locked on the girl of his dreams.

“Marnie,” he whispers, barely audible. “I followed you last night.”

I try my best to sound softer. “You did? Why?!”

Haunted, he confesses “I knew what you were doing. Having sex for money. To feed your addiction.”

“Jaden,” I rasp.

“I had to make sure you were safe.”

“Nooooo.”

“I’m not judging you! Don’t turn away.” He takes a step toward me then thinks better of it, shoving his hands in his pockets and gritting his teeth at the floor, a man’s struggle to remain strong when he feels anything but.

“Jaden…”

“I’m going to keep watching over you, Marnie. I’m going to be there. If you need me or if you don’t. I can’t stay at home when I know you’re with some guy who doesn’t even know you, doesn’t care. You don’t know who’s out there. The kind of guys who would do that aren’t good guys and I just...I can’t stay home when that’s going on.”

“I wasn’t doing anything with them. We were just talking!”

He stares at me like he’s looking through my soul. I blink, stunned by how wrecked he is and how well he tries to cover it, to be brave for her, for himself.

“Marnie,” he whispers, eyes filling up. “If you want me to believe that, fine. I’ll pretend I believe it.”

“It’s true. We didn’t do anything! I’m totally sober right now!” In the script there’s powder under her nose.

“Okay,” he nods, blinking to the ceiling and grimacing as he fights back tears. “I’m going to be in my car, parked outside your place tonight. So if you need me, scream.” He locks eyes with me. “I’ll come running, I promise.”

“You’re being ridiculous. Stop being silly and come here.”

“No,” he shakes his head and rasps, “No.”

“Jaden, I’m serious, get over here right now!”

He drags his hands from his pockets and takes a step forward like he wants to gather me in his arms and take me somewhere this will never happen to me again. But he stops himself. “Just shout, okay? I’ll be there. I love you.” Turning on his heel and rubbing his face, he walks out of my loft. All the way out. For real. And softly closes the door.

I glance to Natalie, then to my brother whose frozen in shock.

He meets my eyes.

“Holy fuck. That’s Dad.”

“You see why I have to do this film?”

Quietly nodding, my brother’s eyes travel to the door as Dan strolls back into the room, comfortable again, his smile movie-star-charismatic. “Hey uh, sorry I left like that. Mood just felt right. I was kinda in it.”

“No, that’s fine!” Walking to shake his hand I peer at him. I just found my hero. “Look, I didn’t get a chance to ask, but are you cool with the dates, the pay-scale? Did your agents fill you in on everything?”

“Yeah, they gave me the low-down. I’m cool with all of it.”

“Awesome. I’ve got some more people to see, but can you come back tomorrow and read with my lead actress?”

“Sure, yeah, love to.”