“Oh no. I’m good, thanks. You can go now—”
“Mr. Darcy said for me to stay with you at all times.”
Of course he had. “All right. I don’t know how long this will be, but I’ll just come to the car when I’m done.”
The first person I saw was Mr. Hamilton, talking with—no way—Deborah Day. She was one of my favorite actresses. Her blonde hair was curled into an updo. She wore white pearls and a bright blue dress with opera gloves that went past her elbows. She was dressed for the part, but from the look on her face it seemed like she was not pleased one bit.
“What do you mean, you will get someone else?” she screamed at poor Mr. Hamilton. He looked exhausted. “I said replace him. I will not work with him!”
Well, there went my perfect picture of her.
“Excuse me!” I stepped forward. Mr. Hamilton looked relieved at my presence even though he looked past me for Theo.
“And who are you?” she snapped.
Good question. “I’m Mr. Darcy’s personal assistant. He had another appointment today but wanted me to convey a message for him.” I turned to Mr. Hamilton, who stared at me in confusion. “Where is the other actor?”
“He’s in the living room.”
“Please follow me, Ms. Day. I’ll talk to you both together.” I didn’t wait for her. I was already moving into the house, which in my mind would always be Mr. and Mrs. Beauchamp’s home, despite whatever it may be in real life.
In the very same room I’d had my acting debut across from Theo, was a man whose real name, I believed, was Alexander something. I had seen him in action movies, but I couldn’t place him. He was dressed for the part of Ernest, only his black hair was more slicked back and he wore his suspenders off his shoulders.
“Who are you?”
I didn’t answer, looking around at the crew. “Ladies and gentlemen, do you mind giving us a moment please?”
They looked relieved to not have to be around either of the actors. Deborah sat on the other end of the red couch like she was repelled by him. He rolled his eyes at her and looked the other way.
“As I told Ms. Day, my name is Felicity Harper. I’m Theodore Darcy’s personal assistant.”
“Why isn’t he here?” Deborah huffed and crossed her legs.
“Because he doesn’t have time to deal with actors with inflated egos. He’s the CEO of a company, not your therapist or your fan,” I yelled at her. “And just so you know, if your fans knew this was the type of person you were, believe me, they wouldn’t waste their time with you either.”
Alexander giggled as if he were twelve but quit immediately when my eyes drifted to him. “And you… the fact that I can’t remember your full name proves you have not made it far enough to be acting like such a diva.”
“Told you,” Deborah muttered under her breath.
“Your options are simple: grow up and figure out how to work with each other, or not only will we replace you both, regardless of your contracts, but we’ll make sure to sue, forcing you to pay for every last wasted day of production. We will also publicly cite our reasons, and I’m sure there are more than enough people here willing to vouch for how horrible you’ve made this experience. I don’t give a damn about who you people are. This is supposed to be your work! In real life, millions of people wake up every day and work with someone they hate because they have to. I know people working in diners who would kill for this moment. Not only are you both unprofessional but a disgrace to every person who dreams of being in front of a camera. Get over yourselves or go away.”
I was sure my face was red, I was so angry at them.
Deborah coughed as she sat up. “I’ll talk to my agent—”
“You do that because I’m sure they won’t be your agent for long once we put out to every entertainment company and agency that you are impossible to work with. Hollywood isn’t as big as it seems. Besides, Deborah, aren’t you getting a little up there? Sad fact is it becomes much harder to be an older actress unless you are Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she thought about it for a moment before she looked at Alexander, who had his hands clasped together and was staring at the floor.
“And me?” he asked.
“I told you I don’t even know your full name. You would just disappear from the limelight. It happens all the time.”
“Fine,” she said. “We will do our best.”
“Yeah. We’ll try.” He nodded.
“Great. I’ll stick around for a few scenes, but do know if anything happens, I will be back and then you should have your agents and your lawyers present.” I headed out to the front of the house. Everyone was crowded around the monitors in the corner, but when they saw me, they jumped up and pretended to be working.