“Thanks for the charger,” he replies.
I nod and shuffle into the aisle, swallowed up in the orderly queue of people. Glad to be rid of him.
As soon as I disembark, my phone rings. I pull my suitcase to a stop and answer.
“Ah Anya, finally got through.”
“Devon,” I straighten, coming to a halt on the platform, “Sorry, I was on the train and had no signal.”
“It’s fine, you were busy.” Devon brushes it off.
My senses twitch but I ignore them. Yes, busy being locked in a battle of wills with my seatmate.
“Anyway,” Devon starts, “How was it?”
“Uhm,” Is this how the industry is? Is everyone this polite about traveling? “Fine.” Apart from the irritatingly attractive stranger.
“I know Danny can be difficult, typical really.” Wait,what? “You know how these actors are.”
My stomach drops.Danny?
“Uh—” I start.
“So Georgia has sent over the full job spec, this has come from the big boss obviously. It’s pretty detailed, hotel, transport etcetera, but good to have as a reference.” Growing dread climbs up my throat. “If you could make sure he gets to the hotel okay? He has the details too. And I’ll see you tomorrow on set. He’s coming in with the boss so don’t worry tonight but from the end of play tomorrow you’ll need to be stuck to him like glue, okay?”
“Like glue,” I mutter, turning back to the train. The crowd of people disembarking flood around me as I stand frozen on the platform.
Devon hangs up with a “See you tomorrow”.
I instantly open my email, and it doesn’t take long for me to see the document it would have been helpful to receive four hours ago.
DANNY COVINGTON DETAILS.
Danny Covington.
Danny Covington, household name, nepotism baby, heartthrob, star of teen blockbusterBetter You Know, main feature of the poster hanging above my bed from the ages thirteen to fifteen.
A throat clears and I lift my head. Danny Covington is standing right in front of me.
Those swimming blue eyes twinkle despite the cocky smirk twisting his soft lips.
“I’ve got it from here.” he says, sardonically. “I’ll see you tomorrow, freckles.” He pulls a navy baseball cap out of his pocket and pulls it on his head. “Oh, and if you could get a charger sorted that would be great.” He doesn’t spare me a glance as he walks off into the crowd.
I watch his retreating figure in stunned silence. I’m in big trouble.
Chapter 5
ANYA
To make life just that little bit harder, the queue for the metro tickets stretches for miles. I do a quick glance around for Danny Covington but when I can’t spot him, I assume he called a car. Which then makes me feel worse. Despite what Devon said on the phone, I know that a good first impression would have been to get the car sorted.
Of course a better first impression would have been to allow the man to charge his phone on the train. God, I’m such an idiot. How did I not even recognize him? I just thought he was a regular hot guy, it never crossed my mind that he was a famous movie star.
Tugging my suitcase onto the métro and squeezing into a seat, I’m confident I know where I’m going so I don’t bother consulting a map. Which is obviously a mistake as I miss my change at Strasbourg-Saint Denis and have to spend an extra fifteen minutes going back on myself.
I refuse to pull my phone out of my pocket to check a map, determined not to read the rest ofthatemail until I’m safely behind four walls and able to freak out in peace. Surely, I can’t be expected to work closely with Danny Covington. I’m anobody. Why would they trustmewith one of the most famous men in the world?
When I finally emerge onto street level, I take a deep inhale, allowing my mind to take a breath. The area is quiet and residential, with a small cafe perched on the corner and a few boutiques dotted along the street. It has been a few years since mum and I have visited Paris but I can still remember sitting at a bistro table whilst my mum and Claudette devoured a bottle of rosé and I nursed an fizzy orange drink.
