CHAPTER THREE
Jude
Iclosed thedoor to Ash’s corner office behind me, falling into the leather chair across from his desk with a sigh. He wasn’t back yet from the audition and I could use the moment alone, anyway. Most actresses in Los Angeles weren’t exactly demure, submissive types. That personality just didn’t breed the “spotlight” mentality. But Marlena Taylor? I groaned, leaning back. She was the perfect combination of timid and passionate. Almost every actress who came in played the role as a dominant woman trying to be submissive for the man she loved—and almost every actress had it wrong. But Marlena got it. She got Holly—a woman who was naturally submissive, overcompensating for her lack of control by a false sense of dominance. Holly finds her true self in the BDSM lifestyle. The problem was… Marly didn’tknowshe got it.She doesn’t know who she is.Though it was clear Marly didn’t quite grasp the lifestyle to its fullest extent, that was easy enough to coach. A true and natural chemistry and understanding of the character? Not so easy.
I lifted her headshot from Ash’s desk where she grinned at me through the image. Goddamn, she was beautiful. Even her physicality was exactly what I had pictured Holly to be in this movie. Glossy red hair, blue eyes. Thin, but not hard-bodied. I dropped the headshot back down on the desk where it had been and released a sigh, trying to shake her image from my mind. Shit, I needed to snap out of it. Yes, she was perfect for the role—that didn’t mean I needed to spend the whole fucking afternoon daydreaming about her.
Beside Marlena’s headshot was an image of Layla Hutson, nearly naked on the beach. If that wasn’t the damn biggest difference in personalities, I didn’t know what was. After all we had been through, I still couldn’t believe Rich had brought Layla in for this audition. Yeah, her agent was the biggest bulldog in the industry and when the script crossed his desk, he was relentless until Silhouette Studios gave her an audition. As a producer, I get it why Silhouette Studios auditioned her; the studio owed her one after they canceled her latest movie. And even I couldn’t ignore the fact that she would draw an audience. Dumb frat boys would come in droves at the chance to see Layla Hutson full frontal. But as her ex-husband and the other lead character of this movie, I had to say… she was all wrong for Holly. And not because she was a bad actress—Layla was actually a good actress. But there was an honest vulnerability Marly brought to the role that Layla simply didn’t have. And hand to God, I’m not just saying that because she had used me to climb Hollywood’s social ladder.
There was a knock at Ash’s door and I hopped to my feet as Richard Blair, the CEO of Silhouette Studios walked in. “Jude,” he bellowed. “The auditions went well.” Other than a few smile lines around Richard’s mouth and some salt added to his pepper hair, he looked almost exactly as he had twenty years earlier in his prime. And he damn well knew it, too.
“With one or two, yes.” I pushed the headshots toward Richard who gave a wolf’s whistle, holding up Layla’s image.
“Fuck me,” he grunted. “Layla will cost the studio a pretty penny, huh?”
I shrugged, doing my best to act indifferent. “I think you mean a pretty million.”
“After canceling production on her latest movie?” Richard sighed and dove a hand through his hair. “We owe her.”
I snorted. “Yeah. And she knows it.”
“She was good in the audition, Jude. You have to admit she was the best actress we saw.”
I swallowed the thick knot lodged in my throat. “She was good. But Marlena Taylor was better.” I tapped Marly’s headshot with an index finger. “And if we’re serious about this being an award movie, then we’re better off going with the actress who can show Holly’s vulnerability in a subtle way.”
Ash entered at that moment, closing the door behind him. My best friend since college… God I hoped he’d be on my side with this one. “Richard,” Ash said with a nod. Then, he flashed a quick smile at me.
Richard ran his tongue across his teeth, examining Marly’s headshot more closely. “Does this girl have a body shot like Layla’s available?”
“She does,” Ash said, crossing to his desk and pulling an image out of his top drawer. Where Layla’s body shots oozed confidence and sex, Marlena’s were playful; sweet even. Innocent, if half naked photos could be such. There was a twitch behind my zipper and I shoved the feelings that stirred low in my gut aside. I’d been down that road before and I knew from experience that it ended abruptly at the edge of a cliff. No more dating actresses. Never again. I tore my eyes away from the images.
“She’s that girl from the Chase Evans movie, right? The Wedding Dance or some bullshit?”
Ash nodded. “Yeah, that’s her. Bridesmaid Retreat.”
I inwardly groaned, swallowing the sound. Romantic comedies are great. But it’s also the sort of movie that could really hurt Marlena in future auditions. It’s hard to move beyond that cutesie typecasting. “She’s ready to break out, though. I think this part is perfect for her.”
Ash’s smirk climbed higher and he flashed me a knowing look. “I have to admit, you guys had some intense chemistry in the audition.” His eyebrows jumped suggestively with the statement.
Richard set the images down on Ash’s desk, pointing a finger at each of us. “Careful. After the class action harassment suit being brought against Harris Lewendon, we are issuing a studio-wide no-fraternization policy.” Richard grumbled something inaudible to himself and tugged at the sleeves of his dress shirt before going over to Ash’s liquor cabinet and dropping some ice into a glass.
Ash snorted and Richard shot him a stern look. “I mean it… Absolutely no fucking anyone you’re working with.”
“Well,” Ash said, sarcastic regret tightening his face. “That could be a problem… Because I fucked the receptionist last night.”
Richard hissed a curse from under his breath and poured a scotch.
“What?” Ash asked in false innocence. “It was consensual. Go ask her… She already texted me about meeting up again tonight.”
“You better not,” Rich said, pointing at Ash. “Not without getting her to sign a non-disclosure first.”
“Yeah,” Ash huffed a laugh. “Because that’s some hot foreplay. Hey, baby, signthis…”
I groaned, dipping my hands into my pockets. “You don’t have to worry about that with me, Rich. I’m done with actresses.” After Layla? Never again. Especially not one I had to see every day on set.
“It goes beyond actresses. Anyone on the crew. Anyone who might see you in a position of power over them,” Richard said, tugging the cap off the scotch bottle. Then he held it up, sloshing the liquid around in an offering. “Anyone else want one?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he poured three drinks.
We clinked glasses and Richard sipped with a satisfied sigh as the amber liquid went down, looking to me after he swallowed. “So… You don’t have faith in Layla?”
