FairyTale

Chapter 3: I Get an Offer I Can't Refuse

I arrived at my destination, not fifteen minutes after my encounter with the horrid man, and found it was actually just a normal office building. It struck me as odd that my audition would be in a place like this. Most of my auditions have been in old theater houses or weird graffiti ridden hipster homes, but this was just an ordinary office. Well, if by ‘ordinary’ you meant a large, glass windowed, building that shot high up into the sky. I won’t lie, I was really nervous as I walked up the steps to the front doors of the office, but once I was in and finding my way, it wasn’t so bad. Getting over the initial fear was something I had learned to deal with. I was going to be an actress for god’s sake, ‘nerves’ and ‘fear’ couldn't be a part of my life.

I was currently siting in a small room, in a surprisingly comfortable chair, while I waited for someone to call me in to audition. A thin girl with obviously fake blonde hair and just-a-little-too-bright blue eyes was clicking her long nails over a computer keyboard. The constant sound of the taping was oddly comforting to me, so I relaxed a little and closed my eyes.

I swear the moment you finally want a little break or decide to take a quick nap, no matter how long you've been waiting, is when you will always be needed. As soon as my eyes slid closed, I heard the loud voice of a girl call out through the silence.

“Mr. Taylor will see you now,” the blonde at the receptionist desk said, not even looking away from her computer screen. I stood up slowly and looked around, wondering which door I was supposed to go through, when suddenly one opened revealing a large man in all black. His eyes were covered by dark sunglasses and his face was emotionless with his mouth in a tight line. I gawked at him as I walked past, and I noticed an ear piece resting in his ear with a wire that ran to somewhere under the back of his shirt. What the hell? A body guard? Just who was I about to talk to, David Beckham? Ha, yeah I wish…

“Come on in, Miss Adair,” I heard the sound of a deep and imposing voice, and when I turned to look at who it belonged to, I fought the urge to turn around and run.

If I thought the man by the door was scary, this guy was terrifying. He wasn’t exactly broad or muscular like his body guard, but there was something about the presence of this man that made my knees week. He was tall, and surprisingly young, with pitch black hair and equally dark eyes. I stood frozen, all thoughts of hiding my fear gone. I heard the door shut behind me, and I whipped to around to see the body guard standing in front of it, blocking any chance of escape. I suddenly felt hot and my palms began to sweat, I was trapped. What was I getting myself into?

“Please sit down,” The man spoke softly with a gentle tone which scared me more than it should have. His voice was too pleasant, as if he was suppressing all the rage and hatred that could be hiding behind his toothy grin, “My name is Zachary Taylor. It’s a pleasure to have you here Miss Adair.” The man, Zachary, stuck is hand out and motioned for me to take a seat in front of his large black desk.

I stood frozen for only a moment longer before I finally found the courage to mutter a ‘thank you’ and took a few steps towards the chair. I cautiously lowered myself into it, fully expecting ropes to suddenly spring forth and strap me in. Okay, maybe I was being a little too dramatic, but hey, if you were in this situation, you’d be expecting the worst too.

Zachary smiled at me again after I was settled in the chair – no ropes of course- and seemed to be comfortable. I finally took the chance to look around and take in my surroundings. For how much power this man’s presence demanded, the office was actually quite small. It was a perfectly square room with grey walls and matching carpet. To my right was a windowed wall from floor to ceiling, looking out over most of London. I stared wide eyed out the window, watching tiny figures scurry along on the snowed streets. The tiny dots moved quickly and randomly just like the way ants do when you step on their hill.