SLEAZE: A Hollywood Comeback Story (Book #1)

Chapter 23

“Did that surprise you?”

I looked up from where I sat in the waiting area to see Sam watching me, her bright red lips stretched into a Cheshire’s grin. She leaned against the reception desk and dragged her pointer finger in lazy circles around its glass surface.

“Which part?” I asked, still reeling from having listened to her argument with Kelly moments before.

Sam chuckled as she balanced on one mile-high stiletto, raising her left foot slightly off the ground and rotating it until it cracked. “I think it went well,” she said, nodding towards the closed door of the casting room.

“Yeah. Hey, thanks again for helping me out. Sorry I didn’t realize that you and Mr. O’Brien are, uh...”

“Married?” Sam laughed and clapped her hands together with amusement. “Don’t be embarrassed, I’m glad you didn’t. And, please, call him Kelly. When people are as polite as you, it tends to go to his head.”

I grimaced, wondering how I could’ve been stupid enough to forget about brushing up on Kelly’s bio before coming in. It was a basic rule of industry networking to know enough about a person to hold a basic conversation and I’d definitely blown that. Still, it could’ve been worse; I had a suspicion that screwing up in front of Sam instead of Kelly made me the luckiest idiot of all time.

“It’s pretty cool you guys work together,” I said while running my hand along the fabric of my shirt in an attempt to smooth out the wrinkles. Each time I got rid of one, another took its place until I finally gave up.

“We usually don’t,” Sam said and her smile faltered until it had been replaced by a deep frown. “Both of Kelly’s assistants quit after he refused to give them Christmas Eve off. I told him it was stupid but he insisted, said that if he was going in to review demo reels, they should be in the office, too. Of course, now they’re gone and I’m here so I’m sure you can guess how that went over.”

“I see,” I said, unsure of what response she was looking for. “That must have been frustrating for Kelly.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Sam replied with a sigh and a shake of her head. “The man’s a teddy bear, he just isn’t the best with people.”

I stared at Sam for a moment before getting to my feet and looking down at her tiny frame with uncertainty. By all accounts including mine, Kelly seemed more like a full-grown grizzly than a stuffed toy—a very large, very hungry grizzly, ready to rip off the heads of any and all woodland critters that crossed his path. I just hoped that I’d be able to stay off Kelly’s dinner menu until Michael took over.

“Well, anyway, there’s no point in you waiting around here unless you want to,” Sam said, switching the topic and sparing me the task of playing up my sympathy for her husband. “There’s a café on the fourth floor if you want to run and grab a coffee. I’m sure Kelly’s going to take his time with Sophie’s reading so you probably have another twenty or thirty minutes.”

“I think I will. Do you want anything?”

Sam smiled again, her face softening as the lines around her eyes crinkled. “No thanks, but if you want a job as Kelly’s assistant, I’ll personally vouch for you.”

I laughed, briefly wondering if she was serious before forcing the idea from my mind. Michael’s tantrums may have been annoying, but at least I knew working for him wouldn’t end in bodily harm. Kelly, on the other hand, gave off the distinct impression that he wanted to snap somebody in half. “I’ll be right back.”

“Think about it while you’re gone. You could have this desk all to yourself,” Sam said, motioning to the counter with the flare of a game show host.