Awa
Chapter five
"Quel idiot ," I mutter under my breath as Yong-rae misses yet another mark, only the top of his right shoulder still in view on the monitor.
Edward isn't the type to yell or throw equipment, but I can tell from the clench of his jaw that he's nearing the end of his patience with the rookie actor.
The budget is big, but if we go through a reel of film every day, I doubt the studio will be happy.
"Cut!" the director grits out. "Take ten, everyone!"
Edward stalks off, and I get a meaningful look from Rory, the producer, who's already making her way toward me.
"I've never seen anything like it," she murmurs once she's beside me, keeping her voice low. "We had rounds and rounds of auditions. A chemistry read that still gives me chills." Rory shakes her head. "Did the kid suffer a TBI in the last few weeks?"
I try not to laugh.
She's not wrong; it's as if Yong-rae has completely forgotten how to act.
He's flubbing his lines, repeatedly making eye-contact with the camera, and even his usual charismatic smile seems forced.
It's a little silly that she would call him a kid when they both look to be in their mid-to-late twenties, but Rory is masterfully leading a crew of over one hundred people, while Yong-rae is bombing in front of all of them.
"His agent is on the way to talk to him," she continues. "I don't know how much good it'll do, but I'll try anything at this point."
"Is there anything I can do?" I ask.
She's got as much riding on this as Tabitha, who used a fair amount of her industry clout to get this role.
Tabitha's ability to sell tickets is undeniable; it's made us both extremely rich.
But ever since a mean-spirited article dubbed her the "Queen of the Popcorn Flick", she's been eager to show off her acting chops. Unlike Yong-rae, she has them.
Rory smiles gratefully.
"Do you think you could talk Tabitha off the ledge?
" she asks sheepishly. "I know this is bad, but we're going to get a handle on things ASAP.
This will be my first time working with Noah, but everyone says he's one of the best in the business.
Once he talks to Yong-rae, we'll know what our next steps are. "
Someone says something into Rory's headset, and she takes off. I'm left standing there, stunned. Yong-rae's agent is named Noah…There's no way she's talking about my Noah, right?
I blink my eyes rapidly to clear the thought.
He's not my Noah—and back then, he didn't want to be anyone's anything—but if he's who I think he is, Tabitha won't be the only person wishing she could quit. If it's the Noah I think it is, I'm about to come face-to-face with a twenty-year-old mistake.
Instead of panicking, I take a few calming breaths and walk to Tabitha's trailer.
"So, how are you feeling?" I ask as soon as I close the door behind me. Tabitha rounds on me with a glare.
"Like a fucking idiot!" she fumes. "I finally find a role I can really sink my teeth into. Something to shut up all the critics…and my mom." That last part is said with no small amount of resentment, and I'm reminded that unimpressible parents are something we have in common.
"Miraculously," she continues, "there's a hole in my schedule the perfect size to shoot the movie. It feels like fate."
Her expression goes dreamy as she imagines her bright future, then she resumes angrily blotting her smudged lipstick.
"Only now I'm stuck with some community theater hack who's going to ruin everything!"
I walk to her vanity and place my hands on her shoulders, trying to ease them down.
"He can't possibly ruin everything," I assure her. "The script is amazing. The director is legendary. And Tabitha Fucking Styles is the star!"
She gives me a reluctant smile.
We both know I'm laying it on a little thick, but only I know that everything I said is true.
This movie will be great. Because she's in it, and because it means so much to her.
After years of molding herself to meet the whims of countless casting directors and studio execs—many of whom wear their misogyny and sexism as badges of honor—she's finally going after what she wants: to be taken seriously as an actor.
It's risky, as her character couldn't be more different from the roles she usually takes, but it will pay off.
It has to pay off.
"You're worth every bit of the fifteen percent I pay you," she grins.
I smirk, grabbing a seltzer from the mini-fridge before settling onto the plush couch.
I still remember when Tabitha barely got a folding chair to sit on between takes.
Now, she has a high-end RV, complete with air conditioning, leather upholstery, a private bathroom, and a queen-size bed.
It's bigger than the apartment I had all through law school.
"Rory let me know that Yong-rae's agent is on the way. He'll have a talk with him. With the press already sniffing around, the powers that be want things back on track and fast."
"I'm surprised they aren't already calling their backup," Tabitha muses, swiveling in her chair to face me. "Maybe I should say something to Edward?"
"Definitely not," I answer, surprised she'd even consider such drastic measures at this point. "After all the effort spent to find him, they don't want to look foolish by replacing him after less than a week."
"Well, I don't know how much more of this shit I can take," she pouts. "I signed on to act in a film, not babysit someone who would've gotten thrown out of theater camp!"
I tut my disapproval.
"If I remember correctly," I start, my voice stern, "there was an actor a while back who threw up with nerves the first day of every job.
She'd stay up all night running lines, then freeze when the cameras started rolling.
She drove the crew crazy with her rituals to get in the zone for a take.
And now she has two People's Choice Awards. "
Tabitha grumbles something about playing dirty, and I chuckle.
"I'm not saying you're wrong to be pissed," I offer in a more soothing tone. "I'm only saying that you're such a pro, I think you forget how hard this job actually is."
She purses her lips in annoyance.
"Fine," she relents.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing again, then stand, smoothing down my skirt.
"I'm off to meet the agent. You stay here and get 'in the zone'."
Tabitha sticks out her tongue at me, and this time, I can't help but laugh. As dramatic as she is, she's certainly in the right profession.
My laughter stops abruptly when I walk up and see who Rory's talking with by the craft table. I inwardly wince when she sees me, but roll my shoulders back and approach instead of ducking into the makeup tent.
I'm a professional. I can handle running into an ex. Or whatever he is.
"Speak of the devil," Rory says with a wave of her hand. "Noah, this is Awa Faye, Tabitha's attorney. She's been on set since yesterday."
After the briefest of pauses, he turns to face me, and my breath hitches.
God damn him for still being as handsome as ever. He's grown his hair out since I last saw him, and the styled curls fall gracefully across his eyebrows. He's filled out a bit since I knew him too, with strong, broad shoulders that strain the fabric of what looks to be a thousand-dollar suit.
And his mouth? Oh, mon Dieu, do I remember how I used to fantasize about it! How the pillow softness of it shocked me when we finally kissed. How talented it was when we did more.
I clear my throat and reach out my hand to shake his.
"Hello, Mr. Park. It's a pleasure to see you again."
Rory's eyes widen in surprise.
"You two already know each other?" she asks, looking back and forth between us. Noah still hasn't offered his hand.
I nod.
"We had a few classes together in college."
A few is an understatement. After that night—the one I tried in vain to wipe from my memory—it was almost impossible to avoid him.
If he wasn't being annoyingly smart and engaged in my classes, he was wowing every agent at the numerous industry networking events.
Even with three years of Columbia Law School ahead of me, graduation was a relief.
He takes my hand just as I'm about to lower it.
"Yes," he says gruffly. "We were classmates at USC. Our paths crossed several times."
I pull my hand from Noah's too-tight hold, and that seems to shake him from whatever was swirling behind those stormy eyes. He drops his hand to his side and turns a dazzling smile to Rory.
"So, Rory," he says, picking up the conversation as if I'd never arrived, "you were just telling me what's been happening on set?"
"Yeah, uh…" She glances warily between us again before continuing.
"Well…Yong-rae seems to be having a hard time.
He's struggling with blocking, and this morning, it took over twenty takes to finish a scene because he couldn't nail his lines.
Is everything OK? The rest of the cast and crew are concerned. "
I roll my eyes.
"Rory's being exceptionally gracious," I scoff. "What she means to say is that your client is wasting everyone's time. This movie has Oscar potential, and right now, your client is putting that in jeopardy by showing up unprepared and ill-equipped to do the job."
Noah's face is all business when he says,
"Ms. Faye, we can do without your editorializing." His voice is cold steel. "I'm sure Rory said exactly what she meant."
I tamp down on a smug grin when Rory avoids his gaze. Noah frowns in response.
"I see. Let me have a talk with Yong-rae. I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding."
"You do that," I sneer sweetly as he walks away.
Once he's out of earshot, Rory pulls me aside.
"What the fuck was that?" she hisses. "I thought lawyers were supposed to be diplomatic. You had your claws out, girl!"
I sniff, feigning ignorance.
"I'm just making sure everything's out in the open. He needs to understand what's at stake here."
"That may be," she hedges, "but let's not make production any more contentious than it already is, please."
I make a noncommittal noise, and she curses.
"Great. Now I have to worry about whatever's going on between you and Noah, too?"
She stomps off towards the video village, muttering to herself.
I like Rory. I won't intentionally make things harder for her.
But the bad blood between Noah and me runs deep.
I'm no longer the na?ve little girl that fell for his charms, and I will not let his incompetent client ruin Tabitha's chances of getting to the next level of her career. I don't care how chiseled his jaw is.