Chapter Four
Ethan’s knee bounced – his script clamped tight in his fist. He sighed loudly.
‘What’s going on?’ Lena asked. ‘You’re acting like this is your first movie.’
‘It’s my first time carrying a movie this size. There are a lot of people relying on me.’ They were sitting side by side on a couch in Ethan’s trailer, waiting for him to be called to set. ‘And might I remind you, you’re the one who keeps telling me all eyes are on me.’
‘And they’ll see how professional you are. You know this character Ethan, you’ve played him before. You know what you’re doing, relax.’
He grunted, breathing deeply and trying to shake off his jitters. ‘I’ll be fine once we get the first shot in the can. I just wish I could have met the dogs before production kicked off.’ While he’d come a long way, a dog could still make him break out in a sweat with one bark.
He glanced at Lena and saw that a frown had crossed her perfectly assembled face. Harry was attempting to sit on her lap.
‘Oof, bold move, little dude.’ Ethan lifted his dog off the couch and popped him onto the floor.
‘Don’t get hair all over your wardrobe,’ Lena scolded. She wiped a few of Harry’s hairs off Ethan’s cobalt blue T-shirt. ‘And you’ll be fine with the dogs. Stop worrying. It’s not like you. You’re usually verging on… cocky.’
‘Gee, thanks.’
She was right, though. Nerves weren’t him. He was always Mr Confident. But that confidence had taken a knock lately. First he’d been rejected by Sera, and then everyone had been going on and on about the pressure of carrying a movie and how this was his make-or-break opportunity. He’d let it all get under his skin.
‘You’re right,’ he said with a determined nod. ‘I’m all over this.’
‘Good. Now, where’s Cash?’ she asked. ‘Shouldn’t he have Harry by now? Isn’t that his job?’
Ethan reached down and gave his dog a scratch. He was glad he’d given the position to Cash. Definitely glad. One hundred per cent happy. Well, not happy exactly, but it was the right call. Hazel was lovely. So lovely that images of her had been burning through his mind ever since the interview. Her creamy skin and pink hair and those sexy frowny eyebrows of hers. But the most appealing thing about Hazel was how utterly unfazed by him she was. There’d been no blushing cheeks, no hair flicks, no eyelash flutters for the entire interview – other than his. His eyelashes had been fluttering in overdrive, and that was the problem. He wasn’t unfazed by Hazel, and he couldn’t allow himself to become distracted over the next few months. Too much was riding on this movie. He stood and paced, tapping his thigh with the scrunched script.
‘Cash was interested in seeing the set,’ he said, ‘so I told him to meet me here. Which, now that I think about it, was probably a mistake.’
Lena rolled her eyes. ‘You have to stop being such a people pleaser. I know you want everyone to like you—’
‘It’s part of the job.’
‘—but you don’t have to try so hard all the time. People naturally like you because you’re… nice.’
‘Was that a compliment, Lena?’ Ethan’s lips quirked.
‘No, just a fact.’
He grinned and she rolled her eyes again. Lena knew him better than anyone. She’d seen him through his highs and lows, pulled him in line when he was being a dick and pumped him up when he needed a boost. She made him look good in every possible way and never, ever pandered to him. He trusted her completely.
There was a tap on the trailer door, followed by the PA’s voice. ‘Cash is here for Ethan.’
‘Finally,’ Lena said. ‘I’ll let him in, you calm down.’
Cash lasted about three minutes. That was how long it took him to reveal why he really wanted the job, pull out a screenplay he’d written and ask Ethan to read it, and for Lena to show him the door.
‘Fucking great.’ Ethan dropped to the couch with a loud groan, his head slamming back against the cushions. ‘I’m so good at interviewing people, I didn’t check to see if the guy was a would-be filmmaker. Shit.’
‘Blame me,’ Lena said. ‘I should have looked into him more thoroughly.’
‘Let’s blame him for playing us both.’
‘What about the other two candidates?’ she asked. ‘Or do we need to start from scratch?’ She marched up and down his trailer in agitation, her heels clacking on the floor.
‘I have no idea about Maddy. She threw a glass of water over me and left while I was in the bathroom with my crotch to the hand dryer.’
‘What about the other one? Hazel, with the cat. Shall I call her?’
He chewed the inside of his cheek. This was where he should suggest they find someone else. Hazel had barely been out of his thoughts since she’d walked into the cafe, swathed in sunlight. But it wasn’t as if they’d be hanging out together. They’d hardly ever see each other. A hello. A goodbye. He was perfectly capable of dealing with that. Besides, she clearly didn’t give a shit about him, and it sounded as if she needed the job, so…
For fuck’s sake, James.
His fists clenched as he forced a carefree smile to his lips and shrugged.
‘Sure. Let’s give her a try. See if she can start tomorrow.’
Kevin padded across the couch cushions, turned, flicked his tail and pointed his butt directly at Hazel’s face.
‘Kevin, go away, I don’t have time for your butt. It’s not like you want me to scratch it.’ The cat hardly ever wanted her to touch him, let alone scratch him.
He flicked his tail again.
‘Are you saying you do want me to scratch it?’ He remained motionless. She blinked in disbelief. ‘Okay then.’
Hazel tentatively reached out, careful not to spook him. But just as her fingers were about to meet his glossy fur, he leapt to the floor, casting a shade-filled glare over his sleek, black shoulder. If the cat could have talked, he would have said ‘Gotcha!’
‘Wow. That was a new low, even for you.’ She glowered at Kevin as he prowled towards an empty chair, jumped up and began to clean himself.
Hazel rubbed her tired eyes as she checked over the contract one last time. It was pretty straight forward. For the next three months, she would take care of Ethan James’s dog, Harry. Then two weeks before the contract’s end she would travel to the Gold Coast with Ethan and the rest of the crew for the final days of filming, where accommodation would be organised for her. She would take care of Harry whenever required, which could include overnight stays. All out-of-pocket expenses would be covered, and she would be paid a ridiculous amount of money, more than twice as much as she’d been earning at the restaurant. She typed a quick email back to Lena, thanking her for the opportunity, attached the signed contract and non-disclosure agreement designed to stop her spilling the movie star’s secrets, and hit send.
‘There, it’s done,’ she said to Kevin. ‘See how far I’ll go to keep you in cat food? I just sold my soul to a celebrity and his dog.’ The cat yawned and stretched. ‘Sorry, is my existential crisis boring you?’ He turned away from her and curled into a tight black ball.
Hazel’s nose crinkled. The only solace she took in her cat so obviously hating her was that he hated everyone. That made the utter contempt in his yellow eyes almost bearable because she knew it wasn’t personal, it was just who he was.
She scuffed to her bedroom and dropped onto her bed, already dressed in her sushi-patterned pyjamas. She had to be at Ethan’s house at seven the next morning. It occurred to her that she should probably watch the dog movie before she saw him again, but as she was searching for it she stumbled across Sugar Rush. One of the contestants was making a ‘sassy pound cake’ and she needed to know exactly what made it so sassy, so that was that. She was going to miss Barbara and the other dogs she took care of, but she was thrilled to get this job, even if it did mean reorganising her whole life for a movie star.