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“Darla!” Meagan called, waving her forward. Her light brown hair fell haphazardly from a pile on top of her head, her jeans and T-shirt were casual and comfortable. The big burly blond man next to Meagan stood, as well, and Darla assumed him to be Meagan’s new husband. Evidently, he’d used his role as head of studio security to ensure he was the man watching over his wife and her show. Darla found this endearing and romantic.
Seeing Meagan again dissolved what was left of Darla’s nerves. Meagan wasn’t a big bad studio person. She might be Darla’s new boss, but she was also one of the nicest people she’d ever met. Someone she knew could blossom into a close friend.
Darla rushed forward, and was soon trapped in Meagan’s warm hug. “I can’t believe you’re here.” She leaned back. “Isn’t it crazy how both of our lives have changed in such a short time?” They’d met during the casting of the first season of the show and quickly bonded. Like Darla, who’d started out in casting and become a camera personality, Meagan had taken an unexpected path, from injured dancer to producer of a reality dance show.
Affection filled Darla and she paused to look at Meagan. “I can’t tell you how much it means that you made this happen for me. I’m not going to let you down.”
“I know that or you wouldn’t be here,” Meagan assured her. “I really wanted to make drinks happen so you could meet your fellow judges before the first audition. But before I introduce you to everyone, I have to warn you, Darla, last season, we didn’t have anyone but our own crew and a few local press people on hand for the auditions. We couldn’t even get a good showing for the contestants. There are people who have been camped out for a full day already. This season is already chaotic but we have plenty of talent this time.”
Darla grinned. “I’ll be the judge of that.” Auditions had gone so poorly last season that Darla had personally set up some additional New York tryouts, where a bulk of the cast had been found.
Meagan grinned back at her. “Exactly why you’re here. But consider yourself warned. It’s going to be a wild ride the next few weeks.”
“She’s not kidding,” Sam said, offering Darla his hand. “Sam Kellar. Nice to finally meet you, and good thing we did it tonight. Something tells me I’m going to be on duty around the clock from here on out.”
“So nice to finally meet you, too,” Darla said, accepting his hand. “I guess the security threat is over now?”
He scrubbed his jaw. “We had some contestants get into a fight outside the hotel.”
“Needless to say,” Meagan added, “those individuals won’t be auditioning. I don’t like trouble or scandal. I’m trying to keep this show more American Idol than Jersey Shore. After last season, I know all too well that once we start filming the reality portion of the show that’s incorporating the contestant house, it’ll be a pipe dream to avoid.”
Meagan motioned to the chair in front of Darla. “I saved you a seat so we could chat. Let’s eat, drink and drink some more—God, don’t I wish I could do that, but morning will be here soon enough.” Meagan and Sam sat down, and Darla grabbed her chair, looking across the table for the first time. That’s when her gaze froze, her eyes colliding with the wicked heat of Blake’s sexy blue stare.
“Glad you made it,” he said, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
“We were starting to worry you might have fallen asleep,” Meagan teased. “But Blake said you drank a pot of coffee on the plane.”
“I did,” Darla said, easing into her chair and wondering what else Blake had said exactly, and from the look on his face he not only knew it, he was enjoying it. “And since I fly horribly, Blake felt the full wrath of me on a caffeine and fear high. But then, he’s my competitor, so who better to torture but him?”
Meagan laughed and waved a finger between the two of them. “That’s right. You two have a little baggage of your own, don’t you?”
“We did,” Blake said. “But she forgave me.”
Darla crinkled her nose, wondering why she was looking at his mouth. Oh, yeah, she knew why. It had been all over her body, which was a very bad thing to think about right now. “I didn’t actually forgive you.” Okay, maybe. Almost. If they’d had just a bit longer alone.
“We made a deal, though, Darla, remember?” Blake asked.
Her mouth gaped. “What?” He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. She’d trusted him, and that meant he probably would.
“Hi, Darla. So good to see you again.”
Darla cringed at the greeting and not just because of the timing. She’d already noticed who was sitting on Blake’s left and it was all Darla could do to force her gaze from Blake to the source of the greeting. Lana Taylor was the gorgeous, twentysomething Broadway star with trademark long red hair and pale, perfect skin, who was a second season judge. She’d also acted like a mean diva to Darla’s staff during a guest spot on her show, post Stepping Up season one. Darla wondered if she regretted her behavior now. The world was always smaller than people thought. Then again, Lana was the mean judge on the show—mean just seemed to be a part of her character.
