Chapter Nineteen #2
“Lillian!” she declares, by way of explanation.
She doesn’t wait for him to respond, just runs upstairs to the bathroom to check her reflection, dabbing concealer under her eyes, applying lipstick, and sorting out her hair.
Trying to make herself look like a professional, and not someone who was just making out with her ex on the sofa.
“You can use the kitchen!” Finn calls up to her.
She gives herself one last stern look in the mirror, then runs back downstairs.
Finn is waiting for her at the bottom and her gaze briefly snags on his.
But she doesn’t have time to talk about what just happened—or what almost did.
She doesn’t have time to digest her feelings about it—or try to understand his.
So instead she takes the laptop he’s holding out to her.
But…“What if she doesn’t like me?” she whispers.
And in her head—what if it’s all for nothing?
These months and months of planning, of conversations, of pouring herself into her business and ignoring everything else she’s feeling.
Of working late, and hiring people to do the bits of the job she loves so that she can focus on profits and wooing agents and strategy.
What if, in the end, none of it matters?
Finn gently takes her chin with his thumb and index finger.
He lifts it so that she has to look him right in those gorgeous eyes.
“Well then,” he says firmly, “you make her like you.” He drops his hand.
“You are good at your job, Mel. She should be convincing you to work with her, too, not just the other way around. There are plenty of Lillians in the world. There’s only one you. ”
She laughs, though his words send her stomach tumbling. “I’m not sure the rest of the country would agree with you there.”
Finn smiles—a real, shining smile. And her stupid heart flips. “Well, who cares about the rest of the world?” He places his hands on her shoulders, gives her a firm, direct nod. “You can do this, Mel.”
She lets out a long, loose breath, then returns his nod with one of her own. He’s right. She can do this.
So she heads to the kitchen and shuts the door behind her as Finn tells her he’ll keep the rest of them out of her way if they come home.
She sits down at the table, opens up her laptop screen, and logs on to Zoom.
She focuses on Lillian, on her business, on what this could mean for her life if this all goes to plan.
Not on the memory of Finn’s fingers, digging into her waist.
She’s expecting to have to wait for a while, but both Lillian and her agent come into the meeting right on time.
So Mel finds herself face-to-face with the brunette who has captured the hearts of so many people, whose million-dollar smile is plastered on London buses.
She looks as good as she does in the cinema—luscious curls, perfect skin, big, dark eyes that have a kind of knowing look to them.
And in her ears, Mel sees with a jolt, are her firework earrings.
“Melanie Carrington!” Lillian’s accent is not quite as posh as it sounds onscreen. “The Instagram sensation! At last, we meet!” Everything she says seems to end with an exclamation point.
“Lillian!” Mel presses her tongue to the roof of her dry mouth as she realizes she’s matching the exclamation tone, tells herself to calm down.
“I’m so thrilled to be able to talk with you.
” She ignores the agent’s beady-eyed look, and focuses only on the actress, remembering the tips Dylan gave her.
Get in a compliment early. “You look like you’re glowing!
” She can’t help mimicking the exclamation point tone.
“Is that Christmas, or have you been away somewhere?”
Lillian beams. “Well, actually, I’ve been in Turkey, filming.”
I know, Mel thinks silently. Out loud she says, “Turkey! What’s that like?” Following another of Dylan’s tips: Ask her questions about herself.
Onscreen, Lillian’s perfectly curved mouth puckers.
“Oh, well, in some ways it’s just brilliant, you know, because…
” And Lillian is off, explaining the pros and cons about her time in Turkey, tapping one red fingernail against her lip whenever she thinks, and not seeming to need much more from Mel than a “hmmm” whenever there is a pause.
This lasts a solid five minutes before the agent clears her throat. “Ah, yes. But, Melanie, given we only have thirty minutes carved out in Lillian’s schedule, perhaps we should hear from you?” She gives Mel a look as if it is all her fault that Lillian went off on one.
Mel smiles, and is gratified when Lillian returns it. She might like to talk about herself—but she’s still somehow warm. “Okay, sure.”
There are plenty of Lillians in the world. There’s only one you. Finn’s voice echoes through her, and she feels her resolve strengthen.
“Well, I know you’ve already seen some of my suggestions on paper,” Mel says, her voice steady, sure.
“But what I’d really like to talk about is how we can help each other, Lillian.
Because my brand isn’t about making me shine.
It’s about making you shine.” She sees Lillian’s beautiful brown eyes light up at that, and knows she’s picked the right tack.
She hears Finn’s voice again, like it’s rooted itself in her mind.
You can do this, Mel.
And do you know what? Maybe he’s right. Maybe she can.