Chapter 38
JOSIE
I watch on as Victor fucks up. He fucks up bad. And I instantly see how everything on the set has to completely restart again just because he fumbled over some words – how everyone has to redo their job just because of his one little mistake.
Oh, crap.
I’m feeling sorry for him.
But I also watch on as Victor somehow saves himself from the kind of utter embarrassment anyone else would have in his shoes simply by deploying his trademark charming smile and a laugh that immediately puts everyone on the movie set at ease. He acts like it was nothing, and everyone else laughs along with Victor, and it’s like all is forgotten and forgiven with just his smile. God, he can really command a room – a movie set – like that with just the fuel of his pure charisma.
Yeah, that’s why he’s the blockbuster movie star.
Everyone loves Victor.
And now I’m not feeling as sorry for him... the cheeky bastard.
“We’re going for another take,” the director yells out from behind the camera.
Everything is reset.
Everything is ready.
It’s now Victor’s time to shine. Properly.
And, this time, he does.
Oh, yes. He really does.
It’s the first time I've seen him act up close. Him in action. And, God, he is mesmerizing.
I stand far back behind the cameras and the monitors in the holding pen and simply watch him do some movie magic.
It’s undeniable that he and Hayley have got serious chemistry - their lines bounce off and they have such great rapport. They’re both light and playful with the scene. They clearly like each other.
The screenplay calls for them to flirt – to gradually build up the tension. They both act it so well.
They’re meant to be lovers.
And, at the end of the fun scene, they kiss...
It’s a long, lingering, passionate kiss. It’s something that will look totally amazing on the big screen.
But I feel something as I watch on. A pang of jealousy. A stupid pang of jealousy.
I take a step back and clutch my chest. I didn’t expect to feel that.
Why the hell would I be feeling that?
“Oh, he’s beautiful, isn’t he?”
I’ve been so engrossed with the scene and with that kiss that I haven’t even noticed the woman who has stood next to me. She’s a few years older than I am. Her eyes are trained on the scene playing out in front of us.
“Who’s beautiful?” I ask her.
“Who? Victor Penmayne, of course.”
I swallow the lump in my throat.
“Oh. Yeah. He is.”
The director calls cut. The kiss ends. Victor and Hayley are back to chatting warmly together as friends. Lights are moved around.
And the woman standing next to me is staring at me now. Not at Victor. Not at the crew.
At me.
And it’s starting to freak me out.
“Wait... Are you Josie Gunn?” she asks me. “Victor’s new girlfriend?”
I freeze.
“I’m Josie, yeah.”
“I saw the press conference and my social media is full of your face. I can’t seem to escape you every time I pick up my phone.”
“No way. I’m going... viral?”
“Yeah, of course you are,” the woman says. “You’re Victor Penmayne’s new girlfriend. Everyone is obsessed with you.”
I shake my head.
“There’s nothing to be obsessed about,” I whimper. “I’m a very normal barista. I’m no one special.”
Well, I should’ve known how my face would’ve blown up around the world once I was linked to the most famous movie star on the planet, but I didn’t think it would be like this.
“What’s he like?” the woman asks. There’s a flurry of crewmember activity around us while they set up for the next take.
I shrug. “He’s... normal.”
“It’s like a love story between you two. Like how you’re from his hometown, and how he went into your coffee shop and kissed you. That’s something that should only exist in the kind of movies he makes, right?”
She’s American. No trace of an Italian accent at all. So what is she doing here?
She’s not a crewmember, that’s for sure.
She could be a friend of someone high up. A visitor like me? Right?
My eyes flicker down her body, looking for a red lanyard similar to the one Victor gave me to access all areas. There isn’t one. There isn’t any kind of lanyard.
Who is she?
Is she just a fan who stumbled in here past the security guard?
I hope not.
I pray not.
I’m getting scared now. She seems so intent on talking to me. I’ve not thought about what kind of security I might need now that I’m labeled as Victor’s girlfriend.
What if there are fans out there who hate me? Who might want to take my place?
“I like to keep things private, if you don’t mind,” I say to her quietly.
“Sure. Hey, can I have a selfie?”
The woman is already taking out her phone even before she finishes asking.
I nod and let her take a photo. I try my best smile.
And then I’m making my excuses and am backing away.
“It was lovely to meet you,” I say.
The woman is staring, unblinking, at me.
“Lovely to meet you too,” she says. “I hope we meet again.”
Sure...
I go to the nearest restroom on the set and lock myself in the cubicle.
And I take in a deep breath.
I don’t know what happened there, but my mind is a mess. I lied so easily about being Victor’s girlfriend. The woman – a total stranger – knew who I was and where I worked and everything. I’m finding it easier and easier to lie, even to that security guard. Is that who I have to be now?
Call me na?ve, but I didn’t anticipate all of this when I signed up.