Page 15 of The Starlet

I let her know I’ll just be a minute, and she leaves. My phone chimes, and I look down to see it’s a message from Caleb.

Caleb:Have you heard from Quinn?

Me:No, and don’t you dare message her. I’ll reach out to her later to make sure she’s fine, and I’ll let you know.

“Elena, come on,” Chloe calls from outside.

I step outside at the same time as Bradley, and he looks to the ground, avoiding my steely gaze. He sits on the golf cart, and I take the spot next to him, my thigh grazing his. The small touch shoots heat through my body, but I’m annoyed with him and ignore it. Chloe takes off, and I clutch the handle above me to avoid falling out. Our bodies jostle as she straightens the cart out.

He places his hand on my thigh, and I look down at it. “Listen, sorry for pushing you away. I promise I’m fine, and I appreciate you checking up on me.”

“I’d do it for any friend. You ran away from set so quick, I thought it would be best to check on you. Wearefriends, right?”

“Yeah.” He smiles.

“You can’t run away on me like that then. I’m going to get a complex thinking I did something. Friends should be able to tell each other anything. I don’t want there to be anything awkward between us. Deal?” I stick my hand out, waiting patiently. He looks at my hand and back at me.

“Agreed.” His hand clasps around mine. I swear, every time this man touches me, my body goes into overdrive and I want more. I’d really like to be able to keep him as a friend, but right now, my lady bits are trying to control things.Maybe friends with benefits?

We stop and he helps me to stand. Dropping my hand as soon as I have my balance, he walks next to me as we enter the set. I pull at my short dress again, trying to make sure it covers everything as Joe comes up to us with instructions.

“Nico is testing how much he trusts Zach in this meeting. He wants to know if Zach will give him anything he wants.”

We nod and get into place. The cameras start rolling and we’re off.

“If you and I are working together, I need to know I can trust you. I need to know you’re not going to cross me,” Tait says.

“Nico, you have my word. I’ll work on getting you something that will break Antonio Donato.” He glances back to me and winks. “I already have something in the works.” I narrow my eyes at him but keep my lips shut.

“Excellent. Well, in the meantime, I expect you to be available to my beck and call at all hours. I have something major planned, and I need all the help I can get to pull it off.”

“Cut!” Joe calls out. “Perfect. That’s great, guys.”

* * *

The sun is setting,and we’ve been here all day. I’m ready to crawl into bed and sleep forever by this point. Filming is tiresome, but I always forget how much until I’m on set.

“New call sheets are here.” Chloe hands me mine. “Looks like we have another long day tomorrow.”

I place the back of my hand over my mouth, stifling a yawn. “Yup.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Elena.”

“Sounds good. See you tomorrow.” I push the door to my room open. I can’t wait to crash. I look down at the call sheet and shake my head. This is going to be another emotional day. Caleb will be joining us on set tomorrow.

I hope he’s not an asshole.When he gets pissy, he makes everyone around him miserable. I decide to call him for a check-in.

“Hey, Elena,” he answers on a sigh. He sounds tired.

“Hey. I just wanted to check in with you. See how you’re doing.”

“How do youthinkI’m doing? She’s fucking pissed at me.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s your own fault, Caleb.”

“Yeah, I know. I can’t get her out of my mind. She’s good for me, ya know?”

“I get it. Just give her some time, and I’m sure it’ll work out. This is a trial run for you. You need to be on your best behavior until she gets here. Give her a reason to forgive you.”