Chapter 2
The next day I head into set. I am so glad Aidan didn’t have an early call time today. I was able to get a decent run on the beach this morning. I find Rachel near craft services. She has to be here at an ungodly hour since she is one of the makeup artists on this film. Her red hair is of course curled to perfection and her makeup is flawless. How does she manage to look like this all the time? Since I moved in with her, there have been maybe a handful of times that I’ve seen her without makeup on and even then, she looks flawless. She notices my approach and grins. “Good morning, sunshine. Did you find my treat last night?”
I repeat the words I texted to her: “Never again.”
“I know, I know. You made that extremely clear last night. Never again will I try to help your sex life.”
I let out a small chuckle, “Oh my goodness, Rach. My sex life is fine.”
She snorts. “Okay, I’d say not hooking up with anyone in three years is nowhere near fine. Just trying to help a sister out.”
“How do you know I haven’t had a one night stand or two?”
“Um, because I know you, Haley, and that’s not you. And it’s a damn shame if you ask me. No-strings-attached sex is the best way to go. Less of a chance of getting your feelings hurt.”
“Well, that’s just not me, Rach. Not judging anyone that can do that. I think people get their feelings hurt either way. You’re lucky you can separate your feelings from sex.” Rachel shrugs and grabs a banana. “Thanks anyway, Rach. I promise I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, there’s no doubt. You are nothing but a strong woman, Hales, especially with everything you’ve gone through.” Rachel grabs a giant croissant and places it on a napkin alongside her banana. “So, I know your best friend’s wedding is coming up. What are you going to do for a date? Wait, you’re not going alone, are you? With him there?”
My stomach drops. I lean against the table. The wedding is coming up quickly and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I still haven’t responded to Anna’s official RSVP. I feel like a terrible Maid of Honor, but I want to wait to check the box that says plus one just in case that plus one does miraculously pop into my life before the wedding. Mr. Perfect has unfortunately not made an appearance.
My phone buzzes and the screen flashes Mom. “Hold on, I have to take this…Hello?”
“Hey sweetie. How are you?”
“I’m good, Mom, just at work. What’s up?”
“Well I am just trying to help Anna out and call to confirm with her bridesmaids their plus-ones. She said you haven’t responded to her RSVP yet. She knows that you are coming, but are you bringing a date or not?”
God forbid the Maid of Honor show up to her best friend’s wedding alone, while the groom’s Best Man is her ex. It has been months of my mom and Anna asking me the same question over and over and I can’t take it anymore. So I spontaneously pull a little white lie out of my ass to put an end to this conversation.
“Yes, Mom, I am bringing a date to the wedding! He’s my new boyfriend, okay? So just stop asking!”
Yup that just came out of my mouth. There’s no take-backs on that one. I hold my phone away from my ear as my mom starts squealing with joy about my out-of-the-blue news. It was very out-of-the-blue. I don’t have a date. I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t even have a semblance of a man in my life.
Well, that’s not true. There is one man that my life basically revolves around, but he’s my boss and that would be a definite no. Not to mention he is completely out of my league.
I don’t know how I am going to pull this off.
“Oh my goodness! Haley Girl! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! Why did you put your mother through this agony of worrying about her daughter who is all alone out in L.A.? Who is he? What is his name?”
I start tapping the side of my thigh and my face turns hot from lying to my mom. I never lie to my mom. Mainly because I am a terrible liar. But my guilt always gets the best of me.
I clear my throat. “Um, Mom, I can’t say right now. I’ll tell you more about him later.” Yeah, later. After I have the time to think about how I am going to fashion an imaginary date–no not date, boyfriend–out of thin air.
I glance over at Rachel. Her mouth is agape and her eyes are wide. She whispers, What are you doing?”
I press my fingers against my eyebrows and squeeze my eyes shut. “Uh, Mom, I gotta get back to set. My boss needs me. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay, I love you sweetie.”
“Yeah I love you too. Bye.” I press the red icon on my screen and sit in a nearby director’s chair. I cover my face with my hands.
“You’re screwed.” Rachel says plainly.
“Ugh, I know I am. What was I supposed to do?”
“Um, not lie about having a date, or a boyfriend for that matter.”
“She wouldn’t stop pestering me, okay?” Ever since Anna announced that she was getting married, my mom – and Anna too, I might add – asked me almost daily if I was going to bring a date. I know they are trying to distract me from what happened and trying to make me feel less alone. Ironically, it’s become a constant reminder of how alone I actually am. “I had to say something. She was driving me crazy.”
“Okay, I get it. But, girl, where are you going to find a date in two weeks? As we discussed five minutes ago, I’ve known you for three years and I’ve never seen you bring home a man or even go on dates.”
Rachel already knows why my focus has not really been on a man. Ever since my ex-fiancé dumped me, I have basically sworn off men to protect my heart from ever going through that again. Part of the reason I moved out to Los Angeles three years ago was to get away from the drama that ensued after the whole situation with Robert. There were way too many stares. Way too many whispers. Way too many memories that slapped me in my face everywhere I went. I needed to get away. I needed to find myself without someone by my side. I needed to focus on work.
“Well I’ve been a little busy. Aidan’s schedule is so insane. Especially since he has landed a lot of blockbuster roles. Managing his day-to-day has kind of consumed my life. And that’s totally fine with me. I didn’t come out here to find a boyfriend or even love. I came out to L.A. to pursue my career.”
“As a personal assistant?” Rachel jokes.
“Haha, very funny.” Rachel knows full well how much I want to pursue my dream of becoming a screenwriter. As I told my blind date last night, I want to be the next Nora Ephron. I want to write the next Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, or even better, When Harry Met Sally. I want to revive the magic that those movies brought into my life and the lives of so many viewers over the years. In the meantime, I have to work my way up the business and play the game for a little bit. I need to establish myself and get some experience on movie sets and network with the screenwriters, directors and producers. This whole opportunity fell into my lap courtesy of Rachel. While she was working on a movie, one of the newer actors on set said he needed a personal assistant. His schedule was getting more and more hectic since he was booking more roles. I had just moved in with Rachel and was struggling to find something that had decent pay to keep up with the ridiculous rental rates that California had to offer. She said that this actor was desperate and needed to hire someone quickly who was trustworthy and not a total nutcase.
Who was that actor? None other than Aidan Stone.
AKA one of the hottest up-and-coming actors. AKA the universe’s most eligible bachelor. AKA probably the most good-looking man I’ve ever encountered in my life.
AKA my boss.
AKA off limits.
I have been working for Aidan for close to three years. I know his daily schedule like the back of my hand. I am his girl Friday in almost every aspect of his life. I coordinate every travel arrangement, book his flights, arrange transportation and any accommodations he may need (which is not many…he’s actually pretty laid-back). I manage his schedule, including any upcoming appearances and meetings. I coordinate with his agent, Chris, and his publicist, Samantha. I also work with producers and directors on behalf of Aidan. The only aspect of his life I’m not directly involved with (not that I want to be) is his love life. He was dating an actress, Natasha Davis, who is now the star of a very popular vampire series. They were together a full year, but about six months ago, she dumped him for one of her co-stars. Aidan was devastated. I think he really did love her.
It’s official.
Love sucks. Even when you are a famous movie star.
Lately, Aidan’s been dating a new woman every week, as if he’s swiping right on every single profile that pops up on a Tinder feed.
Although I work exclusively with Aidan and am basically his extra limb, I try to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible. I hide my face from paparazzi anytime they spot Aidan and me together, which is a rare occurrence anyway. I don’t want anyone to speculate anything because that would never happen. Not in a million years. I haven’t even told my friends or family who I actually work for– only Rachel knows. That would lead to too many complicated and invasive questions, and my job is to make Aidan’s life easier.
Whenever I have downtime, I work on my own romantic comedy screenplay. It’s pretty strong and I hope to pass up the ranks. I’m just not sure how to do it. Do I approach one of the screenwriters and ask them to read it? Do I chat up the producers on set? Try to find an agent? Truthfully, I am too scared to try any of that. Also, the one thing about my screenplay that I can’t quite figure out is the happily-ever-after. There is a mental block and the root of it leads back to what happened with Robert. Even though the story I’m writing is fictional, I want what the male lead does or says to win the girl back to feel real and genuine–everything that Robert ended up not being. It is hard to write about something that I haven’t experienced myself. I don’t know if I ever will.
“So, what are you going to do?” Rachel asks, breaking me out of my own head.
At that moment, my phone dings with a calendar notification:
MEETING WITH SAMANTHA CHRIS AT 1:00 p.m.
I check the time: 12:30 p.m. It takes about thirty minutes to get to Samantha’s office.
“Um, I don’t know right now. I’ve gotta run to a meeting with Aidan’s publicist and agent. See you back home?”
“Yeah, see you later.”
As I turn to leave the set, I run right into a rock-hard body and drop my phone in the process.