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“I thought I knew everyone here tonight, but I have to say, I don’t recognize you.”
The woman extended her hand. The movement caught Charlotte off guard, because she didn’t think anyone that young would initiate a handshake, especially at a party like this. “Lara Soler. I’m Hayden Dent’s agent.”
Charlotte blinked, momentarily dazed, her mind searching for the image of those headshots, trying to see how they could be the same person. “Charlotte Dixon,” she said after a moment, her hand sliding into Lara’s.
Charlotte tried to shake away that feeling of surprise, hoping that Lara couldn’t see how thrown she was. And her stomach dropped a little when she realized that Lara had been looking at her because she’d more than likely recognized Charlotte. They had a lot of friends in common, and maybe Lara was wondering if Charlotte knew who she was.
She hated that she was disappointed that this woman wasn’t staring at her because she was interested. She didn’t want to be that person, the kind who needed attention and validation, but maybe she was.
3
Lara had to remember to breathe as Charlotte Dixon slid her hand into hers, giving it a firm shake. She was torn between wanting Hayden to come back with their drinks and diffuse this strange vibe that appeared out of nowhere when Lara introduced herself but also wanting to have Charlotte Dixon to herself for as long as possible.
Lara’s hand fell away, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what had just happened. Charlotte had approached her with her signature swag and confidence, but when Lara had held out her hand and introduced herself, something changed, and Lara had no idea what it could be.
Unless Charlotte had heard something about her. About how shit of an agent she actually was. And that she was only where she was because Kerri Talbert had handed her a star-studded client list.
Lara swallowed down the lump in her throat. She’d had Ada and Sydney along with a few more of her clients reassuring her and thanking her for doing such a good job since taking over from Kerri, but that didn’t stop the nearly daily worry that she was doing a horrible job representing her clients and finding them the roles that they deserved.
Charlotte’s voice took her away from her thoughts. “Well, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. We have a lot of mutual friends, but I’m pretty sure that we’ve never met.”
Lara shook her head. “No. We haven’t. I never went to any events or parties like this with Kerri. I was her P.A. so it was different back then. But yes, we are friends with a lot of the same people.” She was rambling, and she didn’t know how to stop herself. She was so distracted by Charlotte’s reaction. It had been subtle, but at the same time, it was enough that Lara couldn’t ignore it.
Charlotte’s charming self was back now though, and Lara found it difficult not to fall under her spell. Those eyes were just so mesmerizing. The rest of the party fell away as Lara gave Charlotte her undivided attention, the relaxing roar of the ocean filling the gaps in conversation.
“I’m surprised you weren’t at Kerri’s fiftieth birthday party. At Ada’s.”
Lara tried not to let her gaze rake over Charlotte again, but this woman in a suit was like something out of her fantasies. “She actually gave me that week off, and I went to New York.”
“It’s funny, thinking back…” Charlotte sipped her drink. “Kerri had just bought her cabin in Colorado. She hadn’t even met Rachel yet, and she wasn’t really even thinking about retiring. And look at her now. Look at you now.” Charlotte lifted her glass towards her. “Congrats.”
Lara exhaled, not entirely sure if Charlotte was questioning how she got to where she was or genuinely congratulating her. “Thanks. Yeah, it’s been a crazy year. I had been learning from Kerri, thinking that, you know, maybe someday I’d like to be an agent, but it all happened so fast.”
“And do you love it?”
Lara opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Did she love it? She’d been so busy trying to keep her head above water, to hold onto Kerri’s clients who were now her clients, that she hadn’t really stopped to think about how she felt, if she was enjoying her new job.
“Wow,” Charlotte said, her gaze fixed on her. “You might want to do some soul searching. I can’t speak from experience career-wise, because I love what I do, but I have lived my personal life under the weight of other people’s opinions, of what I thought I should be doing to keep my fans happy… It’s my biggest regret. That I didn’t make decisions for myself sooner. And if you hesitated that much…” She pursed her lips together. “You might want to think about your career choice.”
Lara’s stomach dropped as Charlotte’s words sunk in, and Hayden appeared at that moment with their drinks.
“Thank you,” Lara said softly as Hayden handed her the glass before wrapping her arms around Charlotte, zoning out of their conversation for a few seconds, wishing she could be more like Hayden, chatting to Charlotte with ease, although they had been on the same set for months, so it wasn’t a fair comparison, but still.
Lara needed to figure out how to behave like a professional. Fast. She didn’t want Charlotte Dixon to leave this party thinking she was an incompetent agent who was too starstruck to carry on a conversation.
“…isn’t it Lara?”
Hayden was looking at her, waiting for her to answer, but Lara had no idea what they were talking about. She gave the slightest nod before lifting her glass to her lips and taking a drink.
“Someday,” Hayden continued. “Someday, I’m going to live in a house like this. On the beach.”
“Well, you have the talent,” Charlotte chimed in. “There’s no doubt about that. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The parts will come. And you’ve got a capable agent,” she said, turning her attention to Lara. “So, it’s just a matter of being patient.”
Lara could feel the heat coming to her cheeks. A compliment from Charlotte Dixon? Was this real life? Or was that more of a backhanded compliment? Where capable meant that she should have already found Hayden a more significant role?
“Is it okay if I head back inside?” Hayden asked her. “Jessica wanted to introduce me to someone.”
“Yeah. Of course.” And then it was just Charlotte and her again. A second chance for Lara to redeem herself. She met Charlotte’s blue eyes. “What you were saying before… I assume you were talking about coming out?”
