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“Why would you say that?”
“I didn’t get the role,” I said, dropping my head into my hands. “They called and left a message. They said they were going in a different direction.”
“Oh, Josie, I’m so sorry. I know you were really looking forward to that part.”
“I was,” I whispered.
“But there will be other auditions and other jobs. I’m sure—”
“No,” I cut him off as I looked up at him.
He frowned. “No?”
I shook my head so hard that my hair flew in a fan. “No. There are no other parts. No other jobs or auditions. There’s nothing left, Maddox.”
“Josie, I’m sure there are other roles for you.”
“There are no other fish in the sea. This was the last one.”
“I can see how you would feel that way but—”
“It’s not…” I said, my voice going high. I tried to hold back the tears. I didn’t want to cry. But tears were my calling card. The one thing that had always come easy to me. “I don’t know how to say this.”
“Hey,” Maddox said, getting down on my level and taking my hands. “You can tell me anything.”
I looked up into those sincere, dark eyes and knew he really believed that.
“I’ve been auditioning constantly since Academy ended, Maddox. Constantly. And I’ve gotten hundreds of rejections. My agent keeps telling me the same thing that you did. That there’s something out there for me. Academy was too successful for me not to step into other roles. Martin has. So, why wouldn’t I, right?” I swiped at the tear on my cheek. “But men are allowed to age in Hollywood, and somehow, at not even thirty-two, I’m too old for the roles that people want to give me. I’m too old to play a high school student. I’m too young to play serious roles. Trust me, I’ve heard it all. There are no acting jobs for me out there. I’m just Cassie Herrington.”
“They’re all fucking stupid then. I watched you work for the last six weeks. Sure, maybe you were Cassie Herrington, but that’s not who you are. You put everything into that role. They’re all idiots for not wanting you.”
“That doesn’t change the facts,” I yelled, feeling the anger and resentment that I’d held toward myself bubbling to the surface. “It doesn’t change the fact that I have no career. I have this movie, and then it’s over.”
“It’s not over.”
“It is! How can you be so calm?! It’s over.”
I pushed away from him and stormed toward the entrance. He jogged after me, catching me around the middle and holding me close to him.
“Josie, it’s going to be okay.”
I pulled out of his embrace. The tears were coming harder, and I just wanted to collapse. “Nothing is okay. I don’t even know how you can look at me. Why would you want someone like me? All I’ve done is hurt you.”
“We hurt each other. I was as much in the wrong in the past as you were. I said things I regret, and I won’t be that person again,” he said, reaching for me again. “I’m not going to fight with you. I’m going to fight for you.”
A sob escaped me at those words. “Maddox.”
He pulled me in, and the tears ran into his shoulder. “Hey, I’m here. You can be mad at your career. You can be mad at the industry. You can be mad at Martin. I’ll allow that too.”
I hiccuped on a laugh. “I bet.”
He kissed my hair. “But you’re not mad at me. I wish you’d told me, so we could have dealt with this together.”
“I was embarrassed,” I admitted. “You’re so successful. You have your own studio. Your own company. And I … I have Academy.”
“Academy was what you wanted though,” he reminded me. “You went after it with full vigor.”
“And now, anything I go after, I don’t get.”
“Then flip the script.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t do what everyone thinks you’re going to do. Stop doing what they expect. Give up on the idea that following the Hollywood mold is what you need. You didn’t get into acting by following their advice. You met a stranger in an alley and started your entire career.”
“Yeah, but who is going to give me a second break like that?”
“You are,” he said, taking my shoulders in his hands. “You’re in the unique position where you can do whatever you want.”
“I want to act.”
“Then act. Maybe audition for smaller roles, do voice acting, work in the theater, try Broadway. I don’t know, Josie, but you’re capable. Personally, I think you should direct your own film. It’s what you always wanted to do. You pivoted because acting was more viable. Now, it’s time to follow your heart.”
I choked out a laugh. “My directing debut was a huge bust.”
“And now, you have a decade of experience on a television set. I bet you can use that to your advantage to make something new and interesting. Something you love. And why not? You know people in the industry who will work with you. I have a studio here in town that you can use.”
