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“Yeah, I can transfer you. One moment please.” She frowns at the phone base and all its buttons. The poor thing doesn’t even know where to begin, but I don’t fault her for it. It’s her first day, and I promised her leniency.
I rise from my desk and make my way over, taking the phone straight from her hand. “Talk.”
“Yo, Stride!” Charlie, my director of photography, greets happily in my ear. “Just wanted to let you know that we’re all set up for casting tomorrow. I’ve been working with Azure-Hale Casting, and they’ve lined up a ton of options for Juliet. I think once we’ve found her, we’ll be able to move forward and fill out the rest of the cast.”
“I’m assuming we’re holding the auditions at the Azure-Hale offices?”
“You got it, boss. First actress is slotted for eight in the morning. Should take us all the way through to four.”
“How many?”
“At least a hundred.”
I shudder. Azure-Hale Casting is great at what they do. They’ve never failed to find me the star power I need for my films. We decided to cast a wide net for the role of Juliet. I meant what I said to Ashton at Sensational. I’m tired of seeing the same damn faces on the silver screen. We need more variety, a fresh face to lead this brand-new IP. It’ll be hard for me to imagine Juliet when all I can think about is —Oh, hey, that’s Katniss Everdeen or Hermione Granger or Furiosa.
But sitting through ahundreddifferent auditions, all doing the same scene for an entire day? It’s going to be repetitive and mind-numbing as hell. A necessary evil in this business, but still.
“Okay, I’ll be there.”
“See you later, boss man.”
I hang up and glance down at Eden, who’s been not-so-subtly stealing looks for the duration of the call. She’s seated with her hands neatly folded in her lap, the air around her smelling of coconuts and shea butter.
I could dip down and kiss her if I wanted to. It’d be easy. Just a quick bend and I’d find my lips planted on hers. It’s tempting, folding her over her desk and propping myself behind her to let my hands roam the expanse of her back. I’d be gentle, of course. That’s what she said she wanted. Not Mr. Right, but Mr. Respectful. Someone who cares about her pleasure just as much as I do mine.
And once I’ve been gentle, then we’ll see about being rough.
“Mr. Stride?” she says to me softly, snapping me from my rampant thoughts.
Fuck, what am I doing?
I suck in a sharp breath and turn away quickly to make sure she doesn’t see the growing tent in my pants. “I’m going to forward you the address to Azure-Hale Casting. Meet me there tomorrow morning by eight. Don’t be late. You’ll be taking notes for me. Bring snacks, too. It’s going to be a long day.”
“O-okay,” she mumbles. “What should I do for the rest of the day?”
“I won’t overwhelm you since it’s your first day. Eat your lunch, sync your phone to my calendar and email, and then keep looking for my Rolex.”
She rolls her eyes. “Can’t you just buy another one?” she teases, her tone dry.
“Not this one.”
“Limited edition?”
“A gift from an old friend. Irreplaceable.”
“You should have taken better care of it then,” she grumbles under her breath.
I frown. “What was that?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Eden says quickly. “I’ll keep looking.”
I hold back a laugh. I like her audacity.
Chapter 7
Tip #7: There’s nothing worse than an ungrateful actor.
EDEN
