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Yes, the parts she wanted were getting harder and harder to find, but when she could get a quality role, it was worth more than she could possibly say. It rejuvenated her. It gave her life meaning, because acting was what she was born to do, and as much as this business was ready to move on from her, Charlotte wasn’t quite ready to throw in the towel.
“Here you go,” the bartender said as he set her cocktail down in front of her.
“Thank you.” Charlotte lifted her drink and took a sip, savoring that smooth taste of bourbon along with a hint of spice. She’d have a few of these tonight, that much she knew.
She’d come alone, even though she could have brought someone. She would have asked Ada, but she was out of town, and Sydney, Ada’s fiancé, had an audition tomorrow, so Charlotte knew not to ask her.
Ada had become one of her best friends since they starred in a movie together, spending quality time in London and sharing secrets. Neither of them had been out back then, and it was hard to believe how much had changed in the last few years.
Going into that project, Charlotte never could have imagined how much she had in common with Ada, that they’d been harboring the very same secret, both afraid that coming out would cost them their careers.
Ada had come out publicly first, and seeing Ada and Sydney together, their careers still intact, gave Charlotte the courage to finally come out.
Thinking of Ada reminded Charlotte of something Ada had said the last time they’d had dinner together almost a month ago now. Ada had asked her to look out for Lara Soler, Kerri Talbert’s understudy, so to speak. Apparently, Kerri was worried about her, and Ada wanted to help, but she didn’t know how because Lara was her agent. She didn’t want to overstep or ruin their working relationship, which Ada was happy with.
Kerri had said to Ada that it wasn’t anything serious, that she just wanted to know that she was doing okay because Kerri knew the pressure she’d be under just a few months into her new career.
So, Charlotte had agreed to see if she could talk to her, maybe befriend her and make sure everything was okay, because she thought there was a decent chance that she would be here tonight.
One of the actresses from this project, Hayden, was represented by Lara, and although most agents weren’t here tonight, Charlotte got the impression from Hayden that they were close.
Charlotte was not the kind of person who set people up or who tried to repair friendships or business relationships. Even though she was, or at least, had been, one of Hollywood’s best actresses and regularly captivated audiences, she would never have described herself as a people person. She was actually quite introverted.
But Charlotte felt for Kerri, and if Charlotte could help, she would. Kerri had followed her heart and moved back to Colorado, leaving behind an incredibly impressive career as a talent agent, and she’d trusted that career and her clients to Lara Soler. They were big shoes to fill, and Charlotte wasn’t at all surprised to hear that Kerri was worried about her.
Charlotte would text Ada tomorrow if she made any progress tonight. After her conversation with Ada, she’d searched social media for a photo of Lara Soler but only found a few professional headshots.
Charlotte carried her drink outside, nearly certain that she hadn’t seen Lara so far, but she really wasn’t sure. Those headshots gave Charlotte very little to go off of, and they were probably several years old now.
She wished Sydney could have come with her tonight. She’d known Lara for years, because Kerri had been her agent, and Lara had been Kerri’s P.A. back then. Now, Lara was Sydney’s agent too, so maybe it would have been just as awkward for Sydney to be here while Charlotte tried her best to casually find out how Lara was doing, someone she had no recollection of meeting before despite being Kerri’s personal assistant.
As Charlotte’s heels clicked against the wood, she waved to a few people who were sitting on the outdoor sofas. She didn’t see anyone who could have been Lara with them, so she kept walking, finding herself at the glass wall surrounding the huge deck.
The last of the light was disappearing as she looked out at the empty beach, the waves gently rolling in. When she put her back to the ocean, several outdoor lighting features were switched on, casting a soft glow on the deck without being too bright.
She turned to her left as she sipped her drink, making sure she hadn’t missed saying hello to anyone, and she found a young woman’s eyes already on her just a few feet away, her dark hair styled in loose curls that fell just below her shoulders.
Charlotte held her gaze, still navigating this new world she found herself in. Yes, she was famous, even if her star was fading with each passing year, but now that she was out, it was still strange for her to think that if she found a woman looking at her like she just had, that maybe they weren’t looking at her because she was famous, but because they were interested in her.
Charlotte felt a tug at the corner of her lips as the woman darted her eyes away, unable to hold eye contact. Charlotte took a drink as she stole another glance in the woman’s direction, tapping into her apparently, fairly decent, gaydar. She must have been honing her skills over the years without even realizing it.
And as she let her eyes move over this woman’s simple white dress that fell a few inches above her knees, Charlotte lingered on her halter neck and the tasteful amount of cleavage on display. When the woman turned to look out at the beach, the moonlight illuminating the sand now, Charlotte couldn’t take her eyes off the dress’s open back and the tanned skin it revealed.
Charlotte found herself approaching the woman, because at this point in her career, there were very few people in this business that she didn’t know, and she’d never seen this woman before. She would have remembered if she had.
Charlotte couldn’t leave Jessica’s party tonight without finding out who this woman was, and while, from a distance anyway, she was an attractive young woman, Charlotte was more curious about finding out who she was than asking her out.
Because even from a distance, Charlotte could tell that this woman had to be at least twenty-something years younger than her, and while age-gap relationships seemed to be all the rage in her social circle, she didn’t think it was something that would happen to her.
She’d just turned fifty-one, and she couldn’t see herself dating a woman in her thirties. Maybe forties, but Charlotte also knew from those long late-night conversations with Ada in London, that the way she’d fallen for Sydney had been so unexpected, that even though she knew she was gay, she never could have imagined herself with someone so much younger.
And then there was Kerri. Someone Charlotte had known and respected for years. Now, she was happy with Rachel in Colorado, their age gap a non-issue for them. Charlotte could keep going when she thought about the rest of her wider group of friends and colleagues in this business. Even her agent was dating a guy so much younger than him.
Charlotte obviously didn’t have an issue with any of their relationships, but it was different when it was her, and anyone that she’d dated in the last few months had been close to her age, although she’d never pursued anything serious with them. She still hadn’t felt that spark that everyone else seemed toknow about.
“Hi,” Charlotte said as she closed the distance between them, and when the woman turned, her honey-brown eyes met her own.
“Hi.” The woman visibly swallowed, and Charlotte briefly wondered if she’d read this wrong, and she was a fan, maybe a friend of one of the actors.
