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Charlotte nodded. “I wasted a lot of years trying to fit in, and I did, but at what cost.” She sighed. “Looking back, it’s easy for me to say now, but I would give anything to go back. To live my life differently. And yeah, it might have changed the trajectory of my career if I’d come out ten or twenty years ago, but at that point I’d already played some amazing characters, won awards, and bought my dream house.” She shrugged. “But you always want more.”
“That’s human nature.”
Charlotte took a drink. “Maybe, but it came at a cost.”
“You have the best of both now though, right? Your career was just… Iconic. All the accolades, the memorable roles. You don’t have to wonder what you might have achieved. And you still have so much time to go out there and live the life you want.”
“Past tense…” Charlotte inhaled a sharp breath.
“What?” Lara searched Charlotte’s face. What had she missed?
“You referred to my career in the past tense.”
Lara felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. “No…” She cleared her throat. “That’s not what I meant. I just–”
Charlotte brought her glass to her lips and knocked back what was left in it. “You might not have meant it, but it’s what you thought.” Her hand was on Lara’s forearm, warmth spreading across her skin. “You just said the quiet part out loud. I’m going to get another one of these,” she said, looking down at her empty glass. “Can I get you anything?”
“No.” Lara wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
And Charlotte Dixon strode away from her, one hand in the pocket of her black slacks.
Lara exhaled as she turned back to face the water, her eyes closed as she relived that disaster of a conversation. From the career advice to that embarrassing moment.
And now Charlotte was gone. Probably wondering what Ada and Sydney and the rest of her clients were doing with her for an agent.
4
Charlotte Dixon finished her second Old Fashioned as she stayed in the living room area, listening to Jessica regale them with stories from the last season they filmed. At least a dozen guests had gathered around, between the couches and the armchairs, a few standing behind them, only now finding out about mistakes and bloopers that they hadn’t been on set that particular day to witness.
Charlotte still couldn’t believe that the series was over. They’d only had three years working together, and they’d all been hoping for a renewal, but it hadn’t happened.
Thankfully, the writers hadn’t left too many loose ends, and the finale had been satisfying, but Charlotte couldn’t help thinking about what would have happened if they’d had another year.
Jessica and her had shared some fantastic chemistry on set. They’d been rival lawyers, and despite being great friends in real life, they’d had some heated scenes, accusing the other of something nefarious, of not having the evidence that they claimed they did. It was always dramatic with them, never mind when they filmed those court scenes.
Charlotte would miss playing a confident, intelligent lawyer who never seemed to get rattled. It was her second time playing a high-powered lawyer. The first time had been almost thirty years ago, another TV series. The one that had launched her career.
Out of the corner of her eye, the flash of white caught her eye, and when she turned, she recognized Lara’s dark hair and the open back of her dress. She was in the kitchen giving Hayden a hug.
Charlotte found herself following her away from the open planned kitchen and living area, down a hall and into the foyer where Lara was looking down at her phone.
“Hey,” Charlotte said. “You’re leaving?” She was probably the first person to leave. It wasn’t even nine o’clock.
“Yeah.” Lara gave her a lop-sided smile, and there was something sad about the expression on her face as she returned her attention to her phone.
“Is your driver on the way?”
Lara looked up. “I don’t have one. I’m trying to find a free car,” she said, holding up her phone, a taxi app open.
“I was just about to call my driver.” The words were out of her mouth before Charlotte could second guess them. She’d had no intention of leaving this early, but that conversation on the deck had only left Charlotte wondering if Kerri was right to be worried. And this would be the perfect chance to get to talk to her a bit more, see if she could get to know Lara better and put Ada’s and Kerri’s minds at ease. “Can I give you a ride home?”
Lara stared at her for a second. “I’m probably out of your way.”
“I heard you were staying at Kerri’s place.”
Lara hesitated. “Yeah. I am.”
“Then you’re not out of my way.” Charlotte slid her phone out of the inside pocket of her blazer. “Just give me a minute to see how far away he is.” She started walking back down the hall as she spoke to her driver who was less than five minutes away.
