He's the One (12 page)

All the same she was a mass of nerves as she approached the impressive five-star hotel, and she heard her voice shaking as she asked the attractive brunette receptionist to let Zac Keller know Liberty Evans had arrived. Part of her couldn’t help thinking that the receptionist would reply, ‘Who?’ and then the whole audition would be revealed as an elaborate prank. But no, the receptionist discreetly made the call then said, ‘Mr Keller says to go straight up to his suite. He’s in the Davies Penthouse. If you take the lift all the way to the top, turn to the right and you’ll find it.’

Liberty felt as if her legs had turned to jelly as she followed these instructions. The mirrored walls of the
lift showed her looking anxious, hardly the expression to blow the socks off a Hollywood director. ‘I’ve got nothing to lose,’ she told herself, wishing that her mum or Em were here to give her a pep talk. ‘And either I’ll be right for the part or I won’t be. So what will be, will be.’ She touched her dragonfly necklace for luck – she always wore it now.

Outside the penthouse suite she hesitated for a few seconds before knocking. Almost immediately the door was opened by a tall, athletic blonde woman, who smiled at her and said, ‘Hi, I’m Tess, I work with Zac Keller, do come in.’

Liberty had never been anywhere as lavish as this suite. She could hardly take it all in: the French windows leading on to a terrace, giving a breathtaking view over London; the immense marble fireplace; the vases full of beautiful arrangements of fresh flowers; the ornate lamps. And there, sitting on one of the elegant armchairs and looking every inch at home, was Zac. He stood up and held out his hand to her, ‘Liberty, it’s so good to see you again.’

‘Even if we did have to fly over,’ Tess said dryly.

‘It was worth it, though, Tess, wasn’t it?’ he replied, shaking Liberty’s hand and holding it for a fraction longer than you usually would in greeting. ‘She definitely has the right look.’ He gestured to Liberty to sit down and she perched on the edge of the sofa.

‘Now we just need to see if this one can actually act.’ Tess again. She didn’t seem nearly as impressed with Liberty as Zac was.

It was a little disconcerting, she found, having people discuss her as if she wasn’t even in the room.

Zac grinned. ‘You mustn’t mind Tess. She’s still furious with me for casting the wrong leading lady. So your agent mentioned that you had a daughter?’

‘You didn’t tell me that,’ Tess muttered.

‘It’s not a big deal, Tess,’ he replied. ‘Are you and the father still together, Liberty?’ he continued.

She shook her head, and feeling that she needed to get Tess on her side, she added, ‘But really I don’t think it should make any difference to whether I’m the right actor for the role or not. In fact,’ she was gaining confidence now, ‘I happen to think that having a child gives you a deeper insight into human emotions. And that can only be a good thing, can’t it?’ She tilted her chin and shot a defiant look at Tess.

‘Well, I suppose we should get down to business,’ Zac told her. ‘I’d like you to read the first scene with Tess, who will take on all the other parts. And you’re to keep your English accent.’

Initially Liberty made a complete hash of it. It had been so long since she’d had an audition and she felt she wasn’t getting into the character at all – too aware all the time of sinking into the luxurious sofa and being in the presence of this powerful director.

‘Heard enough?’ Tess asked Zac, as yet again Liberty stumbled over one of her speeches. They must be regretting wasting their time on her.

Zac looked disappointed, but before he could reply Liberty said, ‘Please let me try it again. I know that was rubbish. And I think it would help me if we stood up.’

‘Sure. Do it again from the top,’ Zac replied. But he sounded weary, as if he had nothing to lose.

But this time Liberty felt herself connect with the words and with the character. When she came to the end she looked over at Zac and Tess, and they seemed impressed. Well, Zac seemed positively excited and Tess actually cracked a smile.

‘Liberty, would you mind stepping out to the other
room while Tess and I have a talk?’ Zac asked. ‘Help yourself to a drink from the bar.’

They seemed to be ages. Liberty felt too agitated to sit down and, after pouring herself a glass of water, paced up and down the room. Now she was here and had met Zac again and had the prospect of this amazing, life-changing role within her grasp, she suddenly realised how much she wanted it. With a fierce, burning ambition.

Tess popped her head round the door. ‘Come on through, Liberty. We’ve made our decision.’

Zac smiled broadly at her as she walked back into the room. ‘Well, usually we’d do all this through your agent, but there’s no time. So, we’d like to offer you the role. We need to start filming next week. What do you say?’

For a moment she was too stunned to reply, and Zac took her silence for uncertainty. ‘Obviously we would help you get settled into an apartment, arrange child care for your daughter, and make the move as trouble-free as possible for you.’

‘I can’t believe it!’ Liberty finally exclaimed. ‘Are you sure this isn’t a joke? Things like this don’t happen to me.’

‘Believe it. You have just the quality we’re looking for. You’re perfect for the role.’ He glanced at his colleague. ‘Even Tess agrees and she is really tough to please.’

Tess smiled. ‘It’s certainly true that I had my doubts. But I’m ready to concede that Zac is right. You’re just who we’re looking for.’

‘We should celebrate,’ he went on. ‘We’ll order champagne and have dinner here. We all need to get to know each other better as we’re going to be working together. Would that be okay with you, Liberty?’

‘Sure,’ she replied, as if room service in Claridges was an everyday occurrence, while inside she was brimming over with excitement.

Chapter 14

Nina was waiting up for her when she arrived home. Liberty had called her mum from Victoria station to let her know the brilliant news. As soon as Liberty walked into the living room, Nina got up and folded her into a hug. ‘I’m so proud of you, Libs.’

Now she was back with her mum she felt like bursting into tears. It was overwhelming, and reality was starting to sink in. This would mean being away from Cory, from her mum, from her friends. Was she really strong enough to cope with all of that? Then she thought of the opportunity it would offer her and her daughter to carve out an exciting new life. There was no way she could turn that down.

‘D’you think I should take it, Mum?’ she asked, sitting by the open fire, which was dying down now.

‘Definitely. No question. It’s what you’ve always wanted to do. And I can come out for a couple of weeks to help you get settled.’

‘That would be so good. But what about Cory?’

‘What about him? Surely there’s nothing to stop him moving back to the States and going to art school there. It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it? I’m
surprised you didn’t stop off at the bar and tell him.’

‘I phoned but they said he hadn’t come in because he was ill. I’ll go and see him in the morning.’

There was no answer when Liberty rang the doorbell the following day. It was after ten and she’d expected Cory to be there. She was just about to give up when the door was opened by a bleary-eyed Zara who was dressed only in a long white t-shirt and looked as if she’d just crawled out of bed.

It was the first time Liberty had seen her since the party and she forced herself to sound friendly. ‘Hi, is Cory in?’

‘Yeah, he’s still in bed, I think.’ Zara clutched her head. ‘Ouch! I’ve got a major hangover. We had quite a session yesterday.’

‘Oh? I thought he was ill?’

‘No, he just couldn’t face going into the bar. We both got a bit, well, rat-arsed. We had some friends over. I’m never going to be able to drink tequila again. It
really
doesn’t go with champagne.’ The hangover had made Zara’s posh drawl even more pronounced.

Liberty was not impressed to hear about their drinking exploits. Whatever happened to Cory saving every penny for college? He’d only been working at the bar six weeks. She’d worked at the restaurant for the last three years and had never thrown a sickie.

She glanced into the living room as she walked along the hallway. It was a complete tip – talk about the morning after the night before. Empty bottles of champagne littered the mirrored coffee table, the ashtray was brimming with cigarette ends and the air stale with smoke. CDs were strewn all over the floor. It seemed as if they had got the late-night munchies too
as empty pizza boxes were piled up on the expensive Turkish rug. Nice.

Liberty ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Cory lay sprawled in bed, flat on his back. She sat on the edge of it and looked at him. Typically, he still looked good. There was an empty bottle of tequila on his bedside table. His clothes seemed to have been dropped where he had taken them off, including the t-shirt she had saved up to buy him. He stirred, rubbed his face then opened his eyes.

‘Hi.’ He struggled to sit, then gave up. ‘Man, my head’s killing me. I don’t suppose you’ve got any painkillers, have you?’

She shook her head.

‘Is there any chance you could go downstairs and get me some? I’m dying.’ Cory groaned theatrically.

‘Well, you certainly look like shit,’ Liberty shot back. She had wanted to share her good news and his hangover had ruined the moment.

‘Oh, baby, don’t be mean. I feel so bad.’

‘Are you going to go to work today?’

He shook his head and then winced. ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to. I was supposed to be starting at midday, but there’s no way I’ll be up to it.’

She sighed. ‘I’ll get you some painkillers and a glass of water, and then maybe you’ll be okay.’ At this rate he’d get fired. Then again, would it matter now if he was coming to the States with her? She’d get his tablets and then surprise him with her good news.

Zara was downstairs in the kitchen, buttering a slice of toast and covering the sleek granite worktop with crumbs.

Now Liberty knew about her own acting role, she didn’t give a flying fuck about seeing the other girl. She smiled to herself as she thought about the look on
Zara’s face when she found out about it. That should wipe away her self-satisfied expression …

‘I never usually eat bread,’ Zara drawled. ‘It’s only when I’m hungover I have to carb load. I’ll regret it, but it’s essential. Do you want me to make some for Cory?’

‘It’s okay. I’m just taking him up a glass of water, and do you have any Ibuprofen?’

‘Cupboard at the end.’ Zara paused then continued, ‘So has Cory told you about his idea of going to work in Thailand?’

What the fuck was she talking about? Not wanting to let on to Zara that she’d had no idea, Liberty muttered ‘Yeah’, which probably fooled no one.

‘I think it’s a brill idea. The cost of living is so much cheaper out there, so he can save and still have a great time. He’s wasted in that bar. And maybe out in Thailand he’ll feel like painting again. I keep nagging him to pick up a paintbrush, but he won’t. I think he’s depressed.’ Zara looked at Liberty accusingly. ‘
Really
depressed.’

She didn’t say ‘And it’s all your fault’, but to Liberty her meaning was crystal clear. ‘He’ll be fine,’ she replied, and grabbed the tablets. She ran back upstairs, spilling half the water in her rush.

By now Cory was sitting up properly. He smiled when she walked in. ‘I’ve cleaned my teeth, so why don’t you come into bed?’

She put the glass down on the bedside table and handed him the packet of pills, sitting down next to him.

‘What’s this about Thailand?’

‘What? Oh, yeah, I was talking about an idea I had last night, about the three of us – you, me and Brooke – going off to Thailand for six months. There are
some beautiful places out there and I could easily get a bar job, or even work as an artist, painting portraits for tourists. We could rent a really cheap beach villa and go to sleep to the sound of the ocean. It would be awesome. What do you reckon?’

‘Well, actually, I’ve got some news of my own. Some amazing news.’ She couldn’t stop the smile from breaking across her face.

‘Oh, yeah? Go on, tell me.’

She quickly filled him in on what had happened, but instead of seeming happy for her, Cory seemed mightily pissed off.

She ended up by saying, ‘And there’s no reason why you can’t come to LA with me. You could enrol in art school there. We could live together. I’m going to be earning really good money, I could help out with your fees.’

‘No way am I going back to the States! I’m going to art school here, like I said I would.’

Liberty was shocked by his flat out refusal. ‘What the fuck are you talking about?’

‘If I go back, it will be like my mom has won. And that she knew all along that I wouldn’t be able to make it on my own. And, no, I won’t take money from you.’

‘But I’ve
got
to take the role. It means I can give Brooke the life I want to give her. I won’t have to be a waitress any more.’ Liberty was struggling to imagine how they could manage a long-distance relationship.

Cory gave a bitter little smile. ‘So I give up my dream for you, but you won’t even consider giving up yours for me?’

‘But you’re just being stubborn! What does it matter what your mom thinks?’ Again she felt that lack of understanding from him about what it was like to be a parent. He was behaving too much like a child.

‘It matters. But look, if you got this role, you’ll get other ones. Why don’t we go to Thailand like I said. And then when we come back you can get another part.’

As if they grew on trees. He didn’t get it. There was no way she could turn down this role.

‘Oh, Cory, how can I? This is the break I’ve been waiting for, I can’t just turn it down.’

He drew her to him. ‘I know it’s hard, but I can take care of you and Brooke, I know I can. And you’re so talented, there’s no way you won’t get another role.’ He kissed her. ‘We’re so good together. We can make this work.’

His blue eyes were fixed on her. She felt the familiar pull of attraction towards him, her body longed for his. And even though she knew she couldn’t turn down Zac’s offer, she found herself kissing Cory back and making love with him. It was tender and intense, as if they both wanted to put their argument behind them.