Nantucket Summer House (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove #9)
Chapter 1
Chapter One
T he best thing about Lauren Singer’s Hollywood Hills apartment was the panoramic views of Los Angeles. It almost made up for the high rent and hideous rush hour traffic to get to the film studios. The apartment was small, just one bedroom, but the ceilings were high with big windows and French doors that let in lots of natural light.
Lauren made herself a cup of vanilla coffee and tried to relax and read the novel she’d been so excited about when it arrived in the mail that morning. It was hard to focus, though. She kept getting up and pacing around the room, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was Friday and as the time inched closer to five, she grew more tense. If she didn’t hear today, she likely wouldn’t hear anything until Monday and the stress of not knowing would drive her crazy all weekend.
She took a deep breath and had just resigned herself that the call wasn’t going to come, when her iWatch started vibrating and a second later her phone rang and it was the studio.
“Hi Andrea,” she said, trying to sound calm and collected. Andrea was the decision maker for the new show that the studio was developing. The show that could be a huge opportunity for Lauren and a chance to get back to the East Coast for a few months. She had stiff competition, though. Lauren knew that it was down to her and Toby and they were equally qualified.
“Hi Lauren, I have some exciting news for you. You got it! We’d like you to be the lead producer on Nantucket Influence . Can you leave next Thursday?”
Lauren’s last show had wrapped over a month ago, and she was more than ready to go. She’d been feeling stir-crazy just sitting around waiting.
“Yes! Thank you. I’m so excited about doing this. And it’s been ages since I’ve been to Nantucket. I only get home to the Cape once or twice a year, usually around the holidays.”
“To be honest, that gave you an edge, that you know the area. There’s one other thing you should know though, before accepting…” Andrea paused, and Lauren wondered what she thought could make Lauren hesitate.
“What is it?”
“So you know, like the other shows we’ve done, we’ll be putting an interesting friend group in a share house for a few months.”
Lauren knew that ‘interesting’ also meant attractive. The formula had worked very well in other locations.
“So, this will be a little different,” Andrea continued. “Instead of people who are already friends, this group will be influencers. Some of them know each other, of course, but it’s more acquaintance level, if that makes sense.”
Lauren smiled. It actually seemed smart to add a new hook, an additional twist that would cause people to watch.
“I like that idea and if they are influencers, some of them might already be familiar to viewers and they’ll bring their followers along, which will help boost ratings,” Lauren said.
“Exactly! I’m so glad you like the idea.” She paused for so long that Lauren wondered if she’d dropped the call. But then Andrea spoke again. “One of the influencers is someone you know. He just signed on today—Billy Winston will be in the house.”
Lauren instantly felt sick to her stomach.
“Billy’s going to be there? I’ll have to produce him?”
There was another long silence. Andrea sounded overly cheerful as she said,
“Yes, though you’ll have help, of course. I know that might be uncomfortable for you. If it’s too much, I’ll understand and we’ll go with Toby.”
Lauren felt a rush of anger. They’d only broken up a little over a month ago, and it didn’t end well. But she was not going to lose this opportunity because of Billy. She’d find a way to deal with it.
“It’s okay. I’m still in.”
“Excellent! Marissa will be in touch on Monday once she has all your travel details confirmed. We are all so excited about this, and I know you’re going to do a great job.”
When the call ended, Lauren felt a mix of emotions. She was thrilled to get the job, but was apprehensive about seeing Billy and having to deal with him on a daily basis. She was looking forward to seeing Angela, though. At least she’d have one good friend nearby. They’d gone to college together and had kept in touch after Angela had moved to Nantucket permanently. It would be nice to see her old friend again and catch up in person.