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“Ah, so you would,” she states boldly, uncrossing her arms and meeting my gaze firmly.
I sigh again, looking down the street at the many marquees above the theatre entrances. Broadway. This is where I want to be. And Sophie. She’s where I want to be, too. “I mean…” I hesitantly meet her skeptical eyes again. She’s simultaneously irritating and adorable at the same time. Weeks ago, I resolved to finally forget her, but now that she stands in front of me, all sweet and small, tempting me again, that resolve is crumbling. I take a breath. “I can’t make any promises…”
She drops her shoulders and turns away from me, beginning to walk away. “I don’t know Kai…I have to think about this. I can’t be on stage every day trying to be professional with someone who’s playing with my feelings like that.”
“Oh come on…playing with your feelings? What are we, twelve?”
She stops and turns to glare at me. “Really?”
I take another aggravated breath. “Fine, I’ll just tell George you’re not interested. We’ll bring the other candidates back in.”
She doesn’t move.
She’s being ridiculous, whether she wants to admit it or not, but I don’t mean what I just told her. I’m not about to let her ruin my opportunity. She can throw away her future all she wants where I’m not involved. But if I have a say in this one, she’s going to be Elaine. She clearly outperformed the other women. I need her to be Elaine. And whether she realizes it or not, she needs to be Elaine too.
I have to make it happen.
She’s turning away again when I realize my only option left. I step toward her. “Ok, what if I did promise?”
She stops and raises an eyebrow. “Promise what?”
I take a hesitant breath. “What if I promise you that I’ll keep my distance? Straight professionalism. Two actors, playing their parts on stage, but completely platonic otherwise.”
She blinks at me, but she’s silent, so I continue. “I’ll behave myself. I’ll make sure we’re both focused only on the production. I won’t make any sort of move, whatsoever.” I pause. “At the very most, maybe we’ll be friends. But I won’t overstep that boundary.”
I know I’m making promises that will likely come back to bite me, but more than the trouble they will cause, I want to keep them for my sake, and for hers.
She’s gazing at me with a thoughtful expression. Then she narrows her eyes. “You can’t possibly promise something like that.”
I raise both brows. “What, you think you’re so irresistible that I couldn’t restrain myself?”
“No, no… I just…” She stutters over her words.
“Look…” I smile lightly at her. “I’m not gonna let you throw this away because of me. I know how much this means to you. And this is a big one for me too. I can absolutely see the value of keeping it strictly professional. So, I’ll gladly do just that.”
In her eyes, I can see her pondering the possibility too. We’re both silent for a moment, and her voice is quiet when she speaks again. “You promise?”
I project utter seriousness and perfect poise while my mind secretly rejoices in my victory.
“I promise.”
NINE
Sophie
“Excuse me, I ordered a grande, iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soy milk. This tastes like skim.”
Dazed, I look up at the grimacing customer across the counter who is holding her drink out to me.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mumble, taking it from her and turning around to make another.
I glare at the ingredients as I make sure to get the order right this time. Usually, I think customers just like to be a bother, but this time I have absolutely no idea if I used soy or skim. My mind is much too far from my barista duties today.
Yesterday, I auditioned alongside Kai, completely in shock and with a hesitation that practically rendered me speechless. Yesterday, Kai made me a promise. Yesterday, I questioned his sincerity.
But today, I accepted the role.
Early this morning, my agent called me to read the details of the offer and the huge salary that accompanied it. My jaw dropped right down to that faded, outdated, cheap kitchen floor of my apartment, barely believing such a number was within my reach.
