Chapter 4
TASHA
Tasha stood to the side and watched Riley Sharp charm the blushing receptionist as she stepped from behind the desk and went to shake his hand.
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Sh… Sh… Sharp.’
‘Please,’ he said, taking her hand and lowering his head to kiss the back of it, keeping eye contact at all times. ‘Call me Riley,’ he said in his sultriest voice, causing the receptionist to sigh and look for a moment as if she might faint.
Poor girl, Tasha thought, understanding only too well the effect her boss had on people when they met him in the flesh for the first time.
His piercing blue eyes, six-foot-plus frame, toned physique as well as his perfectly symmetrical face and dark, almost black, perfectly styled hair were breathtaking.
Initially. Knowing Riley as she now had for the past three years since starting work as his personal assistant, she thought he had probably spent most of his teenage years perfecting this first impression.
She was relieved that his deep voice and beauty no longer made her feel weak at the knees.
He still had the ability to magnify her stress levels though.
He was a master of that, she mused, frustrated that so many of her more recent working days and evenings were spent doing damage control after he had upset yet another actor, director or member of the crew he was working with.
She caught his sideways glance in her direction as he lowered the receptionist’s hand and turned slightly towards Tasha.
She tensed, aware that if the radio host didn’t appear soon Riley would almost certainly leave without going through with the interview.
She took a steadying breath and willed the man to appear, closing her eyes in relief when the door opened and a flustered man burst into the reception from a door at the back of the room.
‘I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.’ He took Riley’s hand in both of his and shook it enthusiastically.
‘Thanks for welcoming our guests, JoJo,’ he said, giving the receptionist a grateful smile.
Then turning his attention back to Tasha and Riley, he stepped to one side and held out an arm.
‘Let me show you through to the studio.’
She followed the men upstairs and took a seat next to Riley, hoping this idea of hers had been as good as Riley’s manager presumed.
It wasn’t common knowledge outside of the cast and crew, but Riley’s cheerful, friendly personality was as fake as his posh English accent.
The past two months filming on the island’s picturesque beaches and secret valleys had been exhausting, with one tantrum or argument after another.
Most of the crew were no longer speaking with Riley unless their lines called for them to, and three assistants had been fired after offending him in some imagined way.
His previous two shows and last year’s film might have been a roaring success, but she wondered how long it might be until people began to talk outside filming circles about his rude manner.
Thankfully, today he seemed to be on his best behaviour, and Tasha was enormously relieved. He was here to help raise interest for the TV cop series, aware that he now needed to do something to rectify all the damage he had done by his disruptions on the film set.
She glanced down at her tablet, which showed the running order of the questions she had agreed with the radio host prior to Riley consenting to take part in the interview. So far so good. She listened to host Callum’s lovely voice as he ran through what he intended doing.
‘I’ve got a shout-out to make and will then introduce you,’ he explained to Riley, shooting a glance at Tasha. ‘Then we’ll get straight into it if that’s OK with you?’
‘Sounds fine.’ Riley gave his brightest smile that he saved for people he wanted to charm. Tasha knew that look, though, and could tell he wasn’t happy the host hadn’t seemed more enthusiastic to see him again. ‘We’re happy as long as you are.’
Tasha also knew that was untrue and by the brief movement of surprise in Callum’s eyebrows she sensed he did too.
‘Great, let’s do this.’ Callum gave them a nod and focused his attention onto the sound panel.
‘Welcome to another sunny afternoon at BBC Island Radio. I’m your host Callum Preston and today, as most of you know, we have a very special guest who’s been filming on the island for the past couple of months.
He’s a star of television and film.’ He lowered his voice and moved slightly closer to the microphone as if he was sharing a secret with his audience.
‘Mr Riley Sharp has kindly agreed to come into the studio. Yes, that Riley Sharp – and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him here.
’ He sat back and looked at Riley. ‘Welcome, Riley. Thank you again for agreeing to come and speak to us.’
‘It’s my pleasure, Callum,’ Riley said, seeming, Tasha was relieved to note, happier now he had been given the sort of attention he had grown to expect.
She thought back three years to first meeting Riley when he had seemed far less arrogant and still surprised and grateful to have been in the top-ranking psychological thriller series on television that year.
It was only a few months after that when he was offered a supporting role in a massive film and had been nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.
After that, there was no stopping his ego.
How the mighty can rise only for their behaviour to be reported on.
He had developed a reputation, at least in the acting world, for being difficult to junior cast members and crew.
It had completely changed that meteoric trajectory when more and more directors refused to work with him.
It served him right, as far as Tasha was concerned.
Riley brought the microphone closer to him.
‘Hello, listeners in Jersey. Thanks for inviting me here today, Callum. I am delighted to be on your show and share some behind-the-scenes news about our brand-new series Sam Thorne Investigates with your wonderful listeners. I hope they all look forward to watching.’
Tasha reminded herself that despite Riley’s behaviour she liked her job, most of the time. She would have loved to find work with a more likeable actor. Unfortunately, Tasha knew that those celebrities tended to keep their assistants for years, so she hadn’t heard of any vacancies that suited her.
Maybe if working as Riley’s PA hadn’t been her first role in show business after leaving banking wanting a more varied lifestyle, she might have had more confidence to stand up to him or leave sooner, but she loved her job, or at least the part of it that didn’t include Riley’s tantrums. She couldn’t forget her gratitude to Riley for giving her the chance to work for him, and she was certain that not many other people in his position would have taken on someone with no experience in show business like he had done.
Then there was the niggling doubt that even though she had proved she could cope with Riley’s demands, other more established actors would still choose an employee with much more experience than her if she did apply for another job.
‘This is the detective series you’re currently filming here in Jersey,’ Callum said, bringing her back to the moment. ‘Can you tell us how everything is going?’
Tasha wondered how the public would react if they knew. She braced herself for the nonsense Riley was about to spout.
‘Extremely well,’ Riley answered proudly. ‘The production team are delighted with the scenes they’ve already captured and looking forward to wrapping up the final ones in the next two weeks.’
Liar, Tasha thought, biting her lower lip to calm her irritation as well as keep herself from blurting out the truth.
Despite Riley’s and his manager Dale’s assurances to the director, Riley’s behaviour on set had been the cause of delays.
How could someone she believed to be over-rated as an actor fake being so likeable?
She listened anxiously as Callum asked the questions and Riley answered them.
He was charm personified and as much as it irked her to know people were unaware of his true personality, she was grateful he was doing something to rectify the damage he had seemed intent on doing for the past two months.
She suspected the film Riley was initially cast in and should have been working on next, but which had been recast the previous week, probably had a lot to do with him agreeing to do this interview.
It might also be why he was suddenly taking the TV series a lot more seriously.
If other offers for work weren’t forthcoming soon, Riley would be mortified.
He needed a second series to be commissioned as soon as possible, as did Tasha, if she wanted to have her salary paid.
Catching movement from the corner of her eye, Tasha turned to see a younger man in the next room giving Callum the thumbs up before seeming to take a call.
Tasha had accompanied Riley to enough radio stations to know that the person in the next room was usually a sound assistant.
Maybe not though. She focused her attention back to the interview and Riley’s next answer. So far, so good.
Dale would be as relieved as her that this was going better than either of them had dared hope it would.