The door opens. We freeze. Nathan, our director walks into the lobby.

He's wearing sunglasses, gray shorts, a black T-shirt that says «California» on it, and sneakers. He is one of those people who is serious about the task at hand, and doesn't like things to go wrong. He looks at his phone, and in the meantime he tells us:

’ Preparations are in full swing. At nine o'clock, we start. ’

Today we're shooting a scene on the beach with just me and Patsy. On the set: the director, the assistant director, the editors, and the line producers. In addition to the crew, a lot of people will gather who just want to watch the process. I don't have much left to learn the names of our crew, and Patsy is helping me with that.

’ Where is Olivia? ’ Clare asks.

Clare is Patsy's manager. An unbelievable beauty who takes every job responsibly. She is, as always, wearing a strict dress with a white collar, and in her hands she holds a stack of papers.

Patsy shrugs her shoulders and rises from the couch.

’ Jake, let's go for a walk. ’

Clare shrieks:

’ No! They're waiting for you in the dressing room! I'm out of here. ’

On the way to the dressing room, we got so chatty with Patsy that we almost walked through the right door. Suddenly Casey grabbed our hands, like she was waiting for us at the door. She sat us down in a chair and started looking at our faces.

’ Jake, I guess I'll start with you. ’

She styled my hair and matted my skin.

Then she took on Patsy, who was more of a hassle.

I walked out of the dressing room and headed outside. When I opened the door, I saw Ashley sitting on a bench under the canopy of the building. Ashley is fifty years old and owns the hotel where we temporarily live.

She knows all the news that goes around celebrities, because everyone who came here to shoot lived in her hotel.

’ You're Jake, aren't you? ’ she asked.

’ Yeah, ’ I said.

’ Have a seat, ’ Ashley said.

I sat down on the other side of the bench. Ashley looks at me. And I look back and forth at her, and I feel uncomfortable.

’ Do you have a girlfriend? ’ Ashley asks.

I turn my head and say:

’ No. ’

’ Well, do you like anyone? ’

And for a minute, just for a minute, I thought of Bella. The way she looks, the way her eyes shine as soon as she smiles.

’ There is one girl, ’ I said. ’ But we're friends and nothing more. ’

It's silly. I understand that you don't have to tell anyone anything, because if you tell one person, everyone will know. But I don't know how to get away with it.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.