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He handed off his full bottle of beer to Tina. “Enjoy. Stay away from me. Stay away from Maylis.”
The director came through the room, holding a large cup with a tea bag string hanging over the side. “You seen Maylis? Shewasin the study with the Powell representative, but he’s talking to some of the donors in the kitchen now, and I can’t find her.”
“A Powell rep? Here?”
“Yeah, man by the name of Vance. He wanted to speak with her.”
“Uh, no. I haven’t seen her,” Aiden said. “But if the Powell Agency was talking to her and done, then Maylis was already in her car and heading back to Lenox.” He casually made his way to the door and slipped out in time to see her Prius turning out onto the main road and turning south.
“You’re Harrison, aren’t you?”
Aiden turned around. The voice was that of an academic. He was dressed too formally for one of the cast and crew. One of the donors then. “Yeah. Aiden Harrison.”
The guy had a strong grip that belied the black framed glasses he wore. “I’m Thomas Vance. I’m with Powell.”
“Ah. Nice to meet you.”
“I’ve been watching you all week. You had one hell of a strong performance on opening night. Don’t know what happened, but the rest of the week wasn’t quite as strong.”
“Yeah.” Aiden could tell him what happened, but he spared the man Aiden’s emotional stupidity. It was tempting to bristle at the man’s observation but what good would that do? He was right.
“Once you home in on those seething emotions you’ve got going on, I can see you going places.”
“Er, thanks. I’m getting close to reining them in.”Just as soon as I catch up to one elusive heroine.
15
The drive hometook about forty minutes. Maylis ran up the stairs to her small apartment unable to decide if she wanted to shout for joy or scream out her frustration. It was one o’clock in the morning, so clearly, she would be doing neither.
With much fumbling, she let herself inside and fell back against the door. Her heart pounded with fear, excitement, anticipation, and a huge dose of sadness. She focused on the excitement. She was on her way. Thomas Vance from Powell had asked to see her. Her!
She hadn’t bothered to pull out the bed all week. She dropped her keys on the crumpled blanket and attempted the same with the clutch she’d carried tonight—a small velvet pouch with a chain strap that served much the same purpose as her orange purse. Only this damn thing, when she stripped it over her head, took pieces of her hair with it. Rather than tearing out her hair, she held it out and made her way to the bathroom and found a pair of tiny scissors and snipped herself free. She dumped the contents on the limited counter space and dropped the bag in the bathroom trash.
She flattened her palms on each side of the sink and stared at her reflection in the mirror. This was it. She would be paid for her work in Kentucky. From there, her resume would grow. She was a diligent, dedicated person. Her life was about to change forever. She didn’t need Aiden Harrison. With her schedule, she didn’t have all that many acquaintances she could call friends. Which was exactly why she hadn’t elaborated on her relationship with Aiden to Tina.
“Hello?”
Her head jerked. Shit, she hadn’t locked the front door.
“Maylis?”
She came out of the bathroom. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
“You’ve seen me. Now, go.”
“Please. I’d like to talk to you.”
“And I’ve heard all the talk out of you I care to hear.”
“Please,” he said softly. “I was an ass.”
“No arguments here. Out.”
“May I ask you… just one question?”
She hated giving him that much. He’d blown her off and she despised herself for allowing him to doubt her integrity, her self-esteem. She didn’t need anyone but herself. The innate loneliness that had always clung to her despite having a sister had subsided. Aiden had shot down her sense of isolation with the force of an AR15. But it had returned with a vengeance.
