Chemistry (2 page)

being. At thirty-five years old, shouldn’t he be able to

handle himself a lot better?

“Your character is David, and you’ve just realized that

you’ve fallen in love with the girl everyone overlooks.

Now, are you familiar with the scene?” Mitch asked.

“I’ve read over it, yes.”

“Good. Let’s go in three, two, one.”

Sarah had already placed her script down on the table,

and she didn’t need to look at it. Smiling at Adam, who

was in fact David, she chuckled. “What is your problem? It

was one date, and it wasn’t exactly a good date.” She

reached out to take her imaginary coffee cup and took a

sip. Adam sighed, rubbing at his temple, and turning

toward her. He leaned his elbows on the table, and lifted

his gaze to hers. For once, she actually believed that Adam was staring at her. “You shouldn’t go out with guys that

are coded or designed to be compatible. It’s a computer

system. It’s not real.”

“This is how we modern women do it, David. I can’t

just go wandering into some bar and wait for it to happen.

I’m not like you. How many women have you screwed in

the last month? Twenty? Thirty? Did you do more than one

a night?” She licked her lips and tilted her head to the side.

Her cheeks started to flush like they always did when she

spoke of screwing, and sex, and everything she didn’t have

a clue about it. Twenty-five-years old, and still a virgin, it was pitiful.

“You can’t find what you’re looking for online.”

“And I can’t find it in a bar. I mean, look at me. I’m

not the kind of girl that men look at.”

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Chemistry

She went to grab her cup, and Adam stopped her,

placing his hand on top of hers. “I’m looking, Piper.”

Giving a nervous chuckle, she shook her head.

“You’re my best friend.”

“I’m not looking at you like you’re my best friend.

When I look at you, I see a woman I want, Piper, a woman

I need.”

“David?”

He leaned in close, and Sarah couldn’t stop herself,

she glanced down at his lips. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to do what I’ve been dreaming about for

fucking years.” His lips pressed against hers, hesitant at

first, and slowly, he deepened the kiss.

Everything fell away, and Sarah completely forgot that

she was supposed to be acting. He plundered her mouth

with his tongue, and instead of yanking on her hair, he

cupped her cheek.

“Cut!”

Pulling away, Sarah licked her lips, and turned toward

Mitch, thankful that he called cut.

“We’ll be in touch,” Mitch said.

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Chapter Two

Two weeks later

Adam paced the floor of his apartment that he kept

within the city, and he was so damn angry. It had been two

weeks since he had auditioned for the role as David, and

he’d not heard anything. Opening his cell phone, he

checked to see if Niles had called. Nope, no call, nothing.

He’d been to six other auditions, and nothing. No one

wanted to hire him, and he’d been rejected from the other

six movies. He just couldn’t catch a break.

Finally, he couldn’t bring himself to wait, and he

dialed Niles’s cell.

“Hello,” Niles said.

“Have you heard anything?”

“I’ve just gotten off the phone with the director.”

“Did I get the part?” he asked, anxious to know. The

kiss he’d shared with Sarah had played over and over in his mind. For the first time in his professional career he’d

forgotten about acting; to him, the kiss had been real. He’d started out real slow as she seemed so nervous. Everything

had fallen away for him, and they were the only two people

in the world. It was corny, pathetic, and yet there was no

other word to describe it.

“You got the part with some conditions,” Niles said.

Adam listened as he was told that he’d have to stay on

set, and trailers were already set up. Mitch wanted him on

time, and there was to be no demands for anything. It was

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the first time since he made a name for himself that he was giving restrictions.

“There will be no negotiations.”

Niles sighed. “Do you want to know why it has taken

them two weeks to get back in touch?”

“No.”

“They didn’t want you. Mitch didn’t want to work

with you. The studio had hoped to find someone with more

chemistry. In the end, they settled on you. This is not good news. You told me to tell you like it is. Well, you’re not

exactly the best option to hire right now. Studios don’t

want to take the chance on a diva. I’m sorry, Adam, I can’t get you a better deal.”

“I’m back to working my way up to the top.”

“My advice, don’t try to run before you can walk. Be

grateful for the fact Sarah spoke up for you.”

“Wait? What?”

“Sarah picked you. Out of all of the male leads that

they threw around, she said you captured David’s

character, and there was a connection. Thank her.”

Niles hung up, and Adam ran a hand down his face in

an attempt to clear his mind. What the hell was happening

when it took a woman to get him a job? There was nothing

he could do. Running fingers through his hair, he made his

way toward his bedroom and started thinking of the things

to pack. He was starting on the movie next week, and he

wanted to be prepared. No, that wasn’t it. He had nothing

more to do, and his life had gone from being hectic to

boring.

Once he packed, he sat down on his bed and turned on

the large television. He could stop by a bar and pick up a

woman to entertain him, but Niles didn’t want him getting

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bad publicity.

Shit, he was literally in a heap of shit, being told what

to do from everyone.

Flicking through the channels, he stopped when a

picture of Sarah flashed on the screen. Staying on the

channel, he saw it was the entertainment news, and they

were talking about the upcoming movie role.

“Filming will start on Monday, and we can confirm

that Adam Feltworth has been given the main role. This

will be an entirely different movie from anything Feltworth has ever done. Known for being the hard action hero,

moviegoers have since grown bored. It has been over a

year since his last movie flopped big time. We have to

wonder if starring alongside golden child Sarah Leigh is a

ploy to show his fans he’s got a sensitive side.”

Adam hated what he was hearing but everything they

said was right. His last movie was a mega flop, and he’d

not had any contracts since.

“Sarah is the beautiful, best friend that is always

overlooked. She started out as a young child star in adverts for food, toys, and even some clothes. Plagued with body

image issues all of her life, Sarah is now making it big as plus size is becoming popular…”

The woman kept on talking, and Adam didn’t like

what he was hearing. Several pictures of Sarah through the

years popped up on the screen. One was her as a young

girl, next as a teenager, and then one taken a couple of days ago. She was a beautiful woman. There was no denying it.

Adam had often heard comments that Sarah would have a

huge career if she only slimmed down. He didn’t see it, as

she was having an amazing career. She didn’t need to slim

down and change to make it in the industry, providing she

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Chemistry

didn’t let nasty comments get to her.

“It will certainly be interesting to see how these two

unlikely love interests make it on the big screen. Adam is

known for starring alongside beautiful starlets on the

screen, and Sarah’s known for being in the background.

It’s going to be interesting to see how these two make it in a movie together. We’re all going to keep an eye out and

see how beauty and the beast make it.”

Adam was disgusted with what he just heard, and

clicked off the television. They were vultures, all of them.

He hoped the movie was a massive fucking hit, and not just

for his career. He wanted all of the haters to have egg on

their fucking faces.

****

beside his. She’d just spent an hour in makeup after being

told what she was going to wear. Dressed for the part, she

glanced down at the time to see Adam was due on set any

minute. The past week they’d done several scenes to see

how they sounded and looked. Now, today, she was going

to be in front of the camera on her first official movie as a lead. She was excited, nervous, and scared.

“You didn’t have to bring me coffee. We pay people

for that.”

“They always get my coffee wrong, and I like it a

specific way.” She waved away his comment. No matter

how many times she was told to leave the coffee for

someone else to get, she just couldn’t do it. What was

wrong with her getting her own coffee and getting it for

others?

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“I wonder if he’s going to give me cause to fire his

fucking ass.”

Mitch hadn’t wanted to hire him, and he didn’t want to

work with Adam. “He’s been on time for all of our

rehearsals.”

“Look, he’s not the kind of guy I like to work with. In

the early days of making a name for myself, sure, I’d have

worked with anyone. Now, I work because I want to work,

not because I have to. My time of putting up with divas is

over.”

Sarah laughed. She’d worked with a diva or two

during her time. “You’re so sweet.”

“Not at all, babe. I’m a hard-ass.”

She took a sip of her coffee and listened as Mitch got

to work organizing the whole crew. They had three months

to get most of the normal scenes out of the way. He’d then

organized for another month to be spent on the sex scenes.

She wasn’t going to show her breasts or pussy. The sex

scenes were going to be done tastefully, Dean had made

sure that it was part of her contract.

The moment Adam entered the room, she saw

everyone tense. He was dressed exactly how she imagined

David to be. She had been sent the script last year for her to read. The moment she read about a fuller woman trying

to find love, only for that same romance to come in the

form of her friend-slash-boss, had gripped her. It wasn’t

just a chick flick. Her character Piper was torn apart with emotion, used, and abused by those close to her. The only

person who didn’t use her was David.

It was a beautiful love story.

He walked toward his chair and took a seat. She

watched as he rubbed at his temple. “Do you want some

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Chemistry

coffee?” she asked, offering him a sip of her own cup.

Adam took her coffee without saying thank you. Rude,

very rude.

“Are you always so nice?” he asked.

“What’s wrong with being nice?”

“It’s an act.”

She frowned. “No, it’s not.”

He snorted. “Sure it is. This is your first major movie,

drop the act.”

Mitch cleared his throat. “It’s not an act, Adam.

Maybe you should take a leaf out of her book and actually

be nice to those around you that turn you into a superstar.”

Their director walked away, and Sarah rubbed her cold

hands together. “I’m going to get some more coffee.”

Leaving her chair, she made her way toward the coffee

machine. They had another twenty minutes before Mitch

would want them.

She reached out for the cream, and froze as Adam’s

hand came into view. He grabbed a couple of the creams

and handed it to her.

“It’s not an act?”

“Being nice?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not an act. I just don’t see the point in being

mean.” She opened the cream and placed it in the coffee.

“It’s not about being mean.”

“Fine, a diva, a hard-ass. Whatever you want to call

it?” She pointed at everyone moving around them.

“They’re all busy. They don’t need me making their life

hard. Is that why Mitch didn’t want to hire you? You’ve

got a reputation for being a pain in the ass?”

“You don’t know about me?”

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“I don’t read the newspapers, and I don’t listen to

speculation.” She held her coffee in front of her. Sarah had always preferred to have something in her hands when she

was talking to someone. She always got nervous facing

someone new. Adam, he was intense, and she didn’t have a

clue why. They had kissed once, been doing multiple

scenes together, and yet, he was making her nervous.

“You must have watched my movies.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Not really.”

He looked shocked. “Seriously?”

“I’ve got a lot of different tastes. I’m not just an action movie buff.” She stepped away from him, and made her

way toward her seat. No one was nearby as they were

preparing the final touches to the set. Didn’t anyone want

her? How could she tell Adam that she found his movies

boring, repetitive, and just not something she liked to

spend her time watching?

“Why did you want me as your costar?” he asked.

“Mitch had the final decision with you.” She hated