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It was easy to find roles for Sydney or Ada. Hell, they came to them, sometimes bypassing Lara altogether with scripts being sent directly to Ada or Sydney. There were too many options for actresses of their quality.
But Kerri had found Sydney.
And Lara needed to have a find like that.
Tracy Carrington certainly didn’t fit into Lara’s imagined scenarios of discovering talent. Tracy was probably twice the age of that young talent that Lara was looking for. But this was a good chance to put herself out there and have those kinds of conversations. Find out what a potential client wanted from their careers, beyond the obvious, to win the most coveted awards and work with the most esteemed directors and producers.
They carried their coffees to a rustic wooden table for two tucked away in the corner of the room. Tracy put her back to the window, and Lara wondered how often she was recognized.
“So,” Tracy said, folding her arms in front of her as she leaned against the table, “You recognized me.”
“Hm.” Lara decided to leave out the part about her mother loving the show. “I don’t remember how I came across it, but it was always on when I got home from school, and I got hooked. I shouldn’t say this when Adelaide and Sydney are clients, but Charlotte Dixon is probably my favorite actress, and it’s from that show really.”
“Huh.” Tracy brought her mug of steaming coffee to her lips and took a sip. “And you’re right. You probably shouldn’t say that.”
Lara smiled, tilting her head as she dared to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue since she’d realized who Tracy was. “Are you still acting?”
Tracy shook her head. “No. I’m afraid that ship has sailed. I had a few jobs on smaller movies and another tv series, but…” She exhaled. “It didn’t work out.”
Lara couldn’t ignore the way Tracy’s body language had changed, the way her voice had lowered. Was it regret? Disappointment? Frustration?
“What do you do now?” Lara asked, the idea of potentially signing Tracy going out the window.
“I run a surf school.”
“Oh wow. I’ve always wanted to surf, but I never got around to it.”
A smile tugged at Tracy’s lips. “Yeah. I love it. I started it almost twelve years ago now, but before that?” She sighed. “There were some rough years there.”
She didn’t elaborate, and Lara found herself waiting, hoping that she would, but she changed the subject.
“So, Kerri called it a day?” Tracy asked with a hint of a smile. “I’m surprised.”
“She worked so hard. I was her P.A. for her last three years as an agent, so I know. And then when her screenplay and the movie took off… She’s writing now. And she’s happier than I’ve ever seen her. She’s back in Colorado with a woman she met out there.”
“She was on the scene when I was. Ada. Kerri. Charlotte. We were all going for the same parts.” Tracy took another sip of coffee. “Kerri was a good actress, but she really found a niche for herself with the business side of things. I was always jealous of her in that way. She did what the rest of us desperately wanted to do. Come out. Be ourselves.”
Lara hid behind her mug, hoping that Tracy hadn’t noticed her jaw dropping. Tracy Carrington was gay? What?
“Ada and Charlotte got there eventually, but they had put their careers first, so at least they had something to show for it. Me?” A wry smile came to Tracy’s lips. “I managed to screw it all up before I even had a chance at any of that.”
Lara’s mind raced as she tried to keep up with everything Tracy was saying. She cleared her throat. “So, did you stay in touch with any of them?”
Tracy shook her head. “No.”
Lara blinked. She wasn’t going to say anything else? Lara watched Tracy sip her coffee, her face a mask.
What had she meant by screwing it all up?
Before Lara could figure out how to ask her any more questions, Tracy changed the subject.
“Do you really want to learn how to surf?” Tracy asked, wrapping both hands around her mug. “Because a lot of people say that they’d love to if they had the time, but really… They know they’re never going to. Deep down, it’s too challenging or scary, going out into the waves like that, possibly meeting a shark.”
“No.” Lara took a second to think about it. “No, I’m pretty sure that I will at some point.”
“Then I’ll give you my card.” Tracy took a white business card out of her bag and slid it across the table while Lara found hers in the pocket of her shorts, mirroring her actions. “Just in case I need representation?” Tracy asked with a bit of a smile.
“You never know.” Lara returned her smile. “But yeah. Just in case.”
