Page 10 of A Star is Scorned

Livvy was running late to rehearsal. It wasn’t her fault.

Harry Evets had insisted she stop by his office to discuss the terms of her contract.

She’d been ten minutes early to the lot and even beaten Harry’s secretary there.

Her nerves had her sweating through her blouse.

She’d heard plenty of stories about what studio bosses tried to do with young, naive actresses after summoning them to their offices.

She’d tucked a particularly long hatpin in her pocket that morning just in case.

But Harry hadn’t called her to his office to make unwanted sexual advances. No, what he wanted was something else entirely—for her to pretend to be dating Flynn Banks. The moment he’d told her what was expected of her, she’d lost all sense of time and place.

She hadn’t protested. Hadn’t even asked a question.

The pronouncement had left her in shock.

She’d nodded and said, “Yes, Mr. Evets. Thank you, Mr. Evets.” Harry would send further instructions for their first date and told her to lie low until then, and dismissed her.

She had immediately run to the nearest dark, quiet, empty space she could find, which was the janitor’s closet.

There were a broom and a mop and the lingering smell of bleach.

The overpowering scent made her lightheaded.

Or was that a result of Harry’s new dictate?

Ha! If Harry Evets only knew she’d dreamed of dating Flynn Banks for years.

Now that she’d actually met the man, well, performing with a tiger sounded like a safer option.

But what could she do? It wasn’t like she had a choice.

If she wanted to keep her job and pay the rent on the bungalow, she had to obey Harry’s orders.

She hadn’t even wanted to be an actress.

But now she was here, making a picture. It allowed her to keep her sister safe, well fed, and in spitting distance of the studios until Judy got her own big break.

So Livvy was going to have to pretend to date Flynn Banks. That was all there was to it.

Resigned to her fate, she squared her shoulders and left the broom closet, making a beeline for the soundstage where they had scheduled rehearsal today.

It was then that she noticed she was ten minutes late.

She sprinted the rest of the way, arriving at Soundstage 6 completely disheveled and sweaty.

Between her nerves and her mad dash, she worried she was beginning to smell.

The cramp in her side made her feel like she’d accidentally stuck herself with the hatpin in her pocket.

At least she was wearing black-checked shorts with a cherry-red gingham blouse, having been told to come to set prepared for athletic activity.

After wandering her way through a mishmash of wooden backdrops and discarded furniture, she finally located Flynn Banks, who was standing near a capuchin monkey in a pirate hat—a miniature version of the hat she’d seen the wardrobe department preparing for Flynn yesterday.

The monkey was perched on a stand and watching intently as Flynn chatted with a man she didn’t recognize.

She didn’t want to get too close, lest she startle the monkey.

“Banks,” Livvy called out. She surprised even herself with her snappish tone and wished she was half as confident as she projected.

Flynn Banks snapped his head toward her, a congenial look on his face sharpening into something more wolfish when he realized it was her.

“Well, if it isn’t the woman who’s going to sweep me off my feet.

” So, at least he knew already. She could not imagine being the one to tell the man about Harry’s cockeyed scheme.

She ignored Flynn’s retort, deciding it was safest to avoid the subject for now. “Who’s your friend?” She gestured at the monkey and approached gingerly.

“This is Rallo!” Flynn made a face. The monkey made a face back at him, putting its fingers in its mouth, drawing its lips wide, and sticking out its tongue.

Olivia couldn’t suppress a giggle. “He’s my sidekick.

This over here is his trainer, Lionel Berry.

Rallo has made three pictures with me now. This will be our fourth together.”

“You better hope they don’t start dating rumors about you two,” she joked. Flynn laughed, deep and resonant. It reminded her of a crackling fire on a cold night. Cozy and warm and deeply masculine. It was a reminder of why she’d found him absurdly attractive when he was merely a man on a screen.

She was pleased that her joke made him laugh. She’d spent their previous two encounters annoying him to protect herself, but this charade would be easier if they got along.

“I don’t know.” Flynn twisted his nose up and the monkey copied him. “I think he’s rather handsome, don’t you?”

Livvy bit her lip and pretended to think about it.

Flynn feigned a pout. “Rallo, the lady doesn’t think you’re handsome!”

The monkey frowned in dismay.

“Oh now, I didn’t say that!” Livvy protested. “I was just trying to find a nice way to tell you that Rallo is much better looking than you are.”

Flynn laughed uproariously, which made the monkey jump up and down on his perch in excitement. “I set myself up for that one.”

“He is awfully cute though.”

“Thank you.” Flynn batted his full, gorgeous eyelashes at her. Why was it always men who had the most wonderful eyelashes? They were completely wasted on them.

Livvy rolled her eyes at Flynn’s cheesy attempt to flirt. “I meant the monkey, not you.” She took another step toward them, and Flynn raised his hand in warning.

“Careful, he doesn’t like strangers. It took him a whole picture to warm up to me. But now we’re the best of friends. Right, Rallo?” Flynn looked at the monkey and the monkey nodded a demonstrative yes, showing all of its teeth.

“Here, Miss De Lesseps, try giving him a treat.” The tall South Asian man that Flynn had introduced as Lionel put a slice of a fresh banana in her hand. She extended it toward the monkey, waiting for Rallo to make his move.

The monkey sniffed gingerly at her before meeting her gaze. He seemed both impish and impossibly wise, and she immediately liked him. He reached out and plucked the banana slice from her hand, clapping it to his mouth and eating it in one bite.

She laughed again, and Flynn did too. The sound made something warm flare in her stomach.

The monkey made a grasping gesture with its fingers, and Livvy looked toward Lionel. “What does he want?”

“Rallo, the lady does not have more bananas,” the man told the monkey. But the monkey didn’t seem to care. Without warning, he jumped from his perch and onto Livvy’s shoulder. The sudden movement surprised her and she yelped.

“Rallo, no!” Flynn cried and leapt to remove the monkey. “Now, my friend, let’s leave the lady alone.”

But Livvy fended Flynn off. After the initial shock of Rallo jumping on her, she was fine. Content, actually. “No, it’s all right. Let him be. If we’re going to make a picture together, I should get used to him jumping on top of me.”

“I wish you’d told me that,” Flynn retorted. Out of anyone else’s mouth, it would’ve seemed leering. But somehow, he made it ludicrously charming. He smirked at her and her heart started racing.

This was bad. This was why she’d pretended not to know who he was, and she was still determined to show him how little he impressed her. Damn Harry Evets and his stupid plan to improve Flynn Banks’s image.

The monkey played with the small golden hoop earrings she was wearing, clearly entranced by the way the lights in the rafters of the soundstage made them sparkle.

He attempted to nibble on the hoop, and Livvy giggled at the soft huff of the monkey’s breath behind her ear.

Satisfied that her earrings were not edible, Rallo scampered down her shoulder to her hand, which she made into a fist so that the creature would not fall.

He perched on it and looked at her, cocking his head from one side to the other, appearing to weigh her trustworthiness.

Seemingly content with what he found, Rallo wrapped his hands around her arm and squeezed, leaning his little head against her bicep.

It tickled and was astonishingly gentle.

“What’s he doing, Lionel?” Flynn asked in concern, edging closer, clearly ready to intervene if necessary.

“I think…he’s hugging her.” Lionel met Livvy’s gaze. “He likes you.”

Livvy smiled. She patted the monkey on the head to thank him for the hug.

Flynn scowled. “That’s not possible. He threw his own shit at me for six whole weeks when we made our first picture together.

I still have a scar on my finger from the time he bit me nearly down to the bone!

” Flynn held up his pointer finger on his left hand as proof, and sure enough, Livvy could see a series of short, thin white lines that looked like dashes in Morse code and matched the exact width of Rallo’s teeny teeth. Livvy swallowed an urge to laugh.

Rallo turned his head and looked at Flynn’s finger, baring his teeth. Flynn grimaced back and Rallo twisted his head to look up at Livvy, as if to say, “Are you seeing this?”

Lionel ignored them both. “Try this.” The trainer gestured, cradling his arms as if he were holding a child. Livvy did as instructed, and Rallo instantly climbed into her arms and snuggled against her.

“Oh, he’s a dear,” she cooed.

“A dear who nearly bit my finger off,” grumbled Flynn. “He’s a little tyrant is what he is.”

“Oh ho ho, five minutes ago, he was your best friend that only you knew how to handle.”

Flynn glared at her. “I worked like hell to win him over. And this is the thanks I get. Feeble-minded beast.”

Livvy gasped in mock outrage. “Flynn’s a meanie, isn’t he?” she mumbled to the monkey curled in her arms. “You’re not a tyrant or a beast. You just don’t like loud, boorish men, do you?” As if in answer, Rallo curled more tightly against her and raised his little hand over his ear.

“I am not loud and boorish!” Flynn stomped his foot. “I treated that monkey with nothing but respect. I practically had to buy a banana farm to get in his good graces! I let the publicity department put him on the movie posters. What more does the little creature want from me?”

Lionel burst into uproarious laughter. Flynn crossed his arms and sat down in the chair next to the monkey’s perch. He quietly seethed while Livvy swayed the monkey in her arms.

“Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,” she sang.

“Are you singing him a lullaby?” Flynn growled.

“He looks tired.” Her heart swelled at the sight of the monkey wrapping his hand around her thumb, clinging to her.

“He can’t be tired. He has fencing practice with us.” Flynn stood up abruptly, crossed to Livvy, and practically touched his forehead to hers to look down at Rallo, who seemed utterly content.

“Traitor,” he muttered at the monkey. Rallo yawned and rolled over so his tail was pointed up at Flynn. “I see how it is. A pretty face turns your head, and you abandon all loyalty.”

“You think I have a pretty face?” Livvy inquired. Flynn had not been quick to compliment her in their brief interactions the days prior. She wasn’t certain that Flynn Banks had time for anyone’s good looks but his own.

“Miss De Lesseps, don’t flatter yourself. Anyone can see you have a pretty face. I’m merely stating a fact.”

Livvy lifted her shoulder, gently shrugging. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Banks.”

“Not in Hollywood,” he retorted. Livvy raised her eyebrows at him. “Sorry, I… Sorry, that was rude.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were jealous,” Livvy quipped.

“He was my monkey first,” Flynn replied with the petulance of a small child.

“Here, if it bothers you so much, take him.” Olivia held out the monkey in Flynn’s direction, willing him to pick Rallo up. But Rallo refused to let go of her thumb, and with his other hand, he immediately grabbed her shirt, not wanting to be handed over.

“He doesn’t want to come,” Flynn grumbled.

Olivia lifted the monkey to her face, meeting its eyes. “Now, Rallo, don’t you want to go visit your nice friend, Mr. Banks?” The monkey grinned and he looked almost ghoulish, like he was taunting Flynn. But he still did not let go of her thumb. “Lionel, can’t you tell Rallo to go to Flynn?”

Before Lionel answered, Flynn replied. “I don’t want him to come to me because he’s forced to. I want him to come to me because he wants to.”

“Honestly, Flynn, he’s a monkey.” Olivia sighed.

“It’s not a personal affront.” But on the inside, it tickled her that it bothered Flynn so deeply.

She’d thought nothing could annoy him more than pretending to have never seen one of his pictures.

But Rallo’s ease with her—that really got Flynn’s goat.

For some reason, she found it charming. He did, it seemed, have the capacity to care about something other than himself.

It was evident that his jealousy came from a genuine affection for Rallo.

That he and the monkey had formed a bond over several pictures together.

But it also made something else clear: She had the upper hand in this scheme. She already knew some of his vulnerable spots and how easily she could get a rise out of him. Maybe pretending to date Flynn Banks wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe it wouldn’t be risky to her heart and her sanity.

All she had to do, literally and metaphorically, was make sure the monkey liked her more.