Limelight || A Shourtney Story

.21 welcome to hollywood (courtney)

After the conclusion of the film with Noah, Courtney had reluctantly headed back to working at the coffee shop. Of course she felt grateful to have the job, and Jackie made the transition back to working as a barista seamless. All that aside, pouring the aromatic coffee into hundreds of cups didn't exactly compare to the thrill of bringing pages of script to life.

Today's tasks had been mostly focused on maintenance. For whatever reason, only a few customers had managed to come in since her shift started. Courtney didn't mind the quiet. It allowed her to focus on refilling the coffee bean canisters and scrubbing the countertops without distraction.

"Heya, Courtney," a baritone voice greeted. A bright set of mischievous blue eyes greeted her.

Ian's unusually chipper smile immediately had her on edge. He was never this happy pre-coffee.

"Ian? What are you doing here?" she asked, eyeing him warily.

"What? I can't visit my favorite barista for fun?" he grinned.

Her eye roll triggered instantly. "As much as I love to hear that, I think I know you well enough to know there's an ulterior motive."

Ian playfully snapped his fingers as if he was a cartoon character. "Darn it! Foiled again!"

Laughter escaped her lips. "So, what's up?"

The child-like sparkle in his eyes softened to a happy smile. "I just got the numbers back from the studio about Noah and your film."

"And?" Her heart beat increased quickly. She hadn't expected the movie to feel so personal, but it did. It reaffirmed her dream to work in production. The response would determine if she had any real talent.

Ian's expression dismantled into a more stern look.

"Look, Courtney... I don't know how to tell you this..."

Her chest pounded with fear. The tone Ian used was enough to throw in the towel. Maybe she wasn't as talented as she thought. Maybe this was all for nothing.

Before she could string together some sort of coherent sentence, the corners of Ian's lips broke into an ear-to-ear beam.

"Oh shit, you should've seen your face. That was too much," he exclaimed. "The indie film circuit is raving about it. It was a smash success."

"Ian, I almost had a heart attack," she wheezed. "Thank goodness. I was about to throw up."

"If you ever vomit from good news, remind me not to stand near you," Ian smirked.

Another eye roll escaped her expression.

"I'm told you're the main reason that the short film did so well. Noah can't stop talking about your work ethic," Ian smiled.

Her insides warmed at the compliment. Trust Noah to have her back when it came time to being evaluated. Behind his sarcastic quips, he really had a heart of gold.

"Noah's being dramatic. His writing was really good," Courtney brushed aside Ian's words.

"That's not what I'm told," Ian argued. "Take some credit, kiddo. You did a good job. Your artistic eye and your humility are going to take you far."