Page 49 of Cast to be Mine

“Can I tell you something weird?” Grace asked.

“Sure.”

“My father told me not to work with a Blackwell.”

I blinked, caught completely off guard. “What?”

“When I told him I got the part, he basically lost his mind. Told me I had to turn it down.”

“Because of my family?”

“Yep.” She shrugged. “I didn’t listen, obviously.”

Being famous brought the inevitable haters. “Who’s your father? What does he do?”

She hesitated, and I could see her debating what to tell me. “Gordon Sterling.”

I stared at her. “Gordon Sterling. The Gordon Sterling?”

“That’s the one.”

“Holy shit.” I ran a hand through my hair, trying to process. “He directed one of my favorite films of all time. I’ve probably watched it fifty times.”

“I’ll let him know he has a fan.”

“Grace Sterling.” I tested the name. “Why didn’t I know this? Why isn’t it everywhere?”

“That’s kind of the point,” she said with a soft smile. “I didn’t want to be Gordon Sterling’s daughter. I wanted to be an actress who earned her roles, not someone who got handed opportunities because of who her father is. So I changed my name. Made up a whole new identity.”

“Stone,” I said, understanding dawning.

“It’s not a total secret. If someone really digs, they’ll find it. It’s like…” She paused, searching for the right comparison. “You know how Nicholas Cage’s last name is actually Coppola? Like the Godfather director?”

“Francis Ford Coppola is his uncle.”

“Exactly. It’s not hidden information. But most people don’t know because he doesn’t advertise it. That’s what I was going for.”

I sat with that for a moment, turning it over in my mind. It explained a lot, actually. The natural talent. The instincts that went beyond what you’d expect from someone with her limited resume. She’d grown up around filmmaking. It was in her blood.

“So why does your father hate my family?” I asked. “What did we ever do to Gordon Sterling?”

Grace sighed. “He said your father screwed him over on a business deal. He wouldn’t give me details, just that Max Blackwell had cost him millions and nearly destroyed him.”

“Damn, I’ll have to ask my dad about that,” I said. “I’ve never heard anything about it.”

“You know what? I’m glad I didn’t listen to him.”

“Yeah?”

“Meeting you has been the best part of working on Breathless.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“I mean it, Micah. Thank you for taking all this extra time to make me feel at ease. To help me do my best work.”

I opened my mouth to deflect, to say something professional about how it was just my job, but she wasn’t finished.

“I know I’ve been high maintenance,” she continued, a self-deprecating smile tugging at her lips. “The meltdowns, the extra rehearsals, the whole Jack situation. I know an opportunity with a director who actually cares enough to pour into his talent is rare. I’ve heard the horror stories. Directors who chew up actresses and spit them out without a second thought.”