Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss(55)

“Her name is Simone.”

“Simone. That’s right.”

“I still don’t believe Leah was fired,” Amanda said.

“Me neither.”

“Although maybe I should’ve expected it with her history with Remy.”

“She has a history with Remy?” I asked, surprised. “As in . . .”

“Yes, they used to date.” Amanda looked over my shoulder. “I have to run. I’m happy you’re back.” She gave me another hug, then took off quick.

Leah had a history with Remy and now my dad was dating her . . . could that be some sort of clue?





Twenty-Six


“Lacey Barnes,” Grant said as he joined me in the room representing Scarlett’s bedroom. I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and he sat down beside me.

“Grant James.”

“You look like you’ve been through death.”

“Haven’t you heard? I’m a zombie,” I said.

He smiled. Grant was charming, I had to admit. But I also had to admit that he was a suspect on the list I had started in my head of people who might want me gone. He was trying to redeem himself, and like the article stated, I wasn’t up to that task. Was it possible that whoever was sabotaging me was trying to get me fired like Leah?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

“Like what?”

“Like you want to eat my brains.”

“Just getting into character.”

The lights were bright on set, we were filming a daytime scene, but I looked out over the crowd in the studio who were regulars. They all moved through and around props and lights and monitors like an ant colony, hard at work. Remy was talking to the camera operator as he often did before takes. My eyes caught on one of the bodies that wasn’t moving. He wore flip-flops and long shorts, his gray hair was slicked back, and he was on the phone.

“Your agent is here again.”

Grant lifted his hand to block some of the light and squinted. “Oh yeah.” He waved, and his agent waved back.

“Why is he here again?”

“He likes me. Plus, I’m his biggest client. He wants to make sure things are going smoothly.”

“And does he feel like they are?”

“Yes, Lacey. Speaking of random people hanging around the set,” Grant said. “Isn’t that your tutor guy?”

My heart leaped into my throat, and I immediately scanned the studio. Sure enough, Donavan was toward the back, some sort of notebook in his hand, talking to someone.

“What’s he doing?” Grant asked.

“Not sure,” I said. What was he doing? “Maybe he wants to be an actor when he grows up and is taking notes.”

Grant nodded a little. Then said like he was presenting a huge gift, “Tell him that if he wants, he can interview me.”

“I’ll let him know. I’m sure he’ll be very grateful.”

Grant smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Even though I knew he’d been at the studio today, I was still surprised at how happy I was to see Donavan sitting in my trailer when I walked in. “I wasn’t sure if you were coming today,” I said, walking to the mirror and immediately getting to work removing my makeup.

“I thought I could help.”

“With what?”

“With trying to figure out who’s behind all the sabotage.”

A feeling of gratitude warmed my chest. He was the first person who wasn’t trying to downplay my feelings. “Thank you.” I cleared my throat and nodded toward his notebook. “So what did you learn?”

“Did you know that Simone, your new makeup person, is married to Noah?”

“The assistant director?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t. So what does that mean in all this?”

“I don’t know. I’m just making notes on people. We’ll figure out motives later.”

I was so happy he was helping me that I couldn’t hide the smile that had taken over my face. “Okay.” I dropped the last piece of latex onto the counter, grabbed a makeup wipe, and joined him on the couch. “Speaking of makeup people, my old one, Leah, had something going on with my director, Remy.”

He scribbled that down in his book.

And I added quietly, “And now she’s dating my dad.”

“She is?”

I nodded.

“Does that bother you?”

“A little, but I was just thinking it might be a clue.”

“You think Remy is sabotaging his own movie?”

I groaned. “No. I don’t. I don’t know; I’m grasping here.”

“I get it.”

I scooted closer to Donavan, putting my elbow on the back of the couch, so I could read over his shoulder. I saw the name Peter right below Simone’s. “Grant’s agent? You talked to him?”

“Yes.”

I waved my makeup wipe several times over his name. “He’s evil. Doesn’t he just give off an evil, self-righteous vibe?”

Donavan moved his hand in the “so-so” way.

“Really? Just meh about him?” I finished wiping off the rest of my face and threw the wipe toward the trash in the corner. It missed. “Why don’t you have any notes next to him?”