Hollywood Stardust Supporting Roles - Wilson and Giselle (16 page)

“
Well, that is one thing
your runaway hostess and I agree on.” Mr. Alexander’s smile
revealed a perfect set of Hollywood teeth.

“
What would that be?” Craig
wiped his brow.

“
Miss Details should do the
interview.” In a swoon-worthy move, Mr. Alexander bowed to
her.

The spotlight shined down on her and the
same stage fright she battled every second of her life took a
strong hold over her body, made worse by being presented with her
teen idol in the flesh. “Craig.” How she managed to utter even one
word was beyond her, but she took it as a good sign.

“
Oh, no. No, that won’t do
at all.” Craig shook his head. The first and only time she was on
camera at Chargge.com, she ended up running off set and throwing up
in a trash can. “I am sure Julia will be right back.”

“
Don’t bring her back on my
account. I’m Team Details all the way.” Logan raised his fist as if
he were about to begin cheering and, with a wink, lifted his chin
in her direction. “She is clearly an expert on the movie and knows
story structure.”

His gesture, though
probably insignificant to him, served to ignite her courage as well
as her body. She chose to ignore them both. All she needed was to
throw up on one of the
Hollywood
Stardust
stars.

Craig cupped his hand over his mouth. “She
is an expert on every movie.”

Yes, fine, but she was
mostly an expert on
Hollywood
Stardust
. She remained silent.

“
I refuse to be interviewed
by anyone who is not an expert in cinema.” Mr. Alexander picked up
one of her note cards, gave it a quick scan, and sauntered over to
her. Yes, it was a total saunter. His walk may have also included a
bit of a swagger as well. “Miss Details is the only one for me. It
seems she has found something to talk about other than drugs, Drew,
and sequels, since I won’t answer those questions
anyway.”

She fought the need to hug her prepubescent
crush, bury her face in his chest, and breathe in what could only
be the smell of cologne and cookies. Later, they could go back to
her apartment, and she would confess she used to write his name in
her notebook and practice kissing him on the back of her hand. In
her dreams, she could interview him and then they’d conquer the
world together. In reality, she knew he was only playing a role and
she would never be able to utter a sentence. Dumb reality.

“
Either she interviews me
or you can call the company that owns not only
Hollywood Stardust
, but your website
as well, and tell them the video blog they expect to make waves
won’t air today. I’ll be in the lounge not lighting my cigarette.”
He handed her the card and walked out the door.

She leaned forward, bracing herself on her
knees. “Oh God, I want to do this.”

Her boss paced across the floor. “You would
be the perfect person if you could just learn to calm down. It’s
what we hired you for.”

Though Craig never admitted it, she was the
bane of his existence. He hired her as a favor to her father, and
they gave her the job as a reporter. Technically, her current job
as fact-checker and scheduler didn’t even exist. The reporters were
supposed to do their own research, but Julia sort of snatched her
up as a personal assistant. Both her parents who possessed multiple
acting awards between them, looked at her with wide eyes and pity
every time they discussed her career. Even they weren’t good enough
actors to hide their disappointment.

She crumpled the note card in her fist and
straightened up. “I’ll do it. I will interview Logan Alexander.”
Part of her expected a spotlight to shine down on her signifying
her strength of conviction. The other part was thrilled she didn’t
live in a world where spotlights randomly illuminated at key
life-changing moments. She would end up living in the bathroom with
the lights off, shaking.

Craig shook his head. His skin had turned
the most unusual shade of red.

“
This is the movie of a
generation, the one that spoke to that specific time. The story
should be told by someone who truly loves everything it
represents.” For once, she needed to be her own spotlight. “This is
the movie that pushed the boundaries, didn’t rely on the happily
ever after, asked the questions.” Maybe the movie that meant the
world to her could also cure her.

“
We need this story, Ivy.”
He crossed his arms. “Seriously, we need the story. Other sites are
competing with us. We need something to go viral. The advertising
dollars are not coming in as they should, and you know what that
means.”

Yes, it meant cuts, starting with the person
who technically didn’t have a title. She might as well go big or go
home, literally.

“
Do the interview, but make
sure you ask about Drew Fulton and the arrest and the
sequel.”

“
He said he wouldn’t answer
those questions.” The swirl of anxiety circled around her
stomach.

“
Ivy.” He rubbed his hand
over his face. “You can do this. You were made for this. Go to
wardrobe, ask them for something more contemporary and fashionable,
and ask the questions. We need you.”

For once she wouldn’t disappoint. She
stopped herself from saluting and gave him a strong nod. “I got
this.” As she walked out, she made a mental note to have a trash
can put near the set.

Coming October 2015 from Irksome Rebel
Press

Worth Waiting
For…

Twenty years ago, Drew
Fulton was made famous in the genre-changing movie, Hollywood
Stardust and fell in love with his costar, Erin Holland. Left
heartbroken and fed up, he played his ultimate role and walked away
from his life, taking on an entirely new persona.  Now he
wants everything back, from his place in the limelight to the love
that made him leave. He only needs to make sure he can leave the
past in the past.

Known as the spoiled,
has-been star of Hollywood, Erin Holland has spent the last two
decades pining away for the one love she cannot have. 
Blindsided when Drew Fulton appears in her life as mysteriously as
he disappeared, she is torn between acting on her heart and using
Drew’s reappearance to relight her star.

Together for the first time
in twenty years, their true passion consumes them, but the sparks
of old wounds still threaten to burn out of control before they can
decide if their love was worth waiting for.

Flashes from the cameras
created lingering silver, glowing starbursts in Drew Fulton’s eyes.
The media frenzy started almost instantly, derailing the
20
^th
anniversary screening of the one and only movie he
filmed,
Hollywood
Stardust
. For someone who successfully
remained hidden for two decades, he chose the ideal subtle moment
to come out of his self-imposed exile, or maybe not.

“
Drew, where have you been
all these years?” called out one of the reporters gathered for the
gala.

Once the studio executives realized what
happened, they stopped the festivities and with a bit of movie
magic, made the stage into a spot fit for a press conference in
record time.

Before showing up at the shindig, Drew
promised himself to go for it. Now was the time for full
disclosure, and he leaned down to the microphone. “To encapsulate
two decades into one sentence—I changed my name, went to school,
earned my doctorate, and opened up a small nutraceutical
laboratory.” All right, it wasn’t the world’s best sentence, but it
would suffice. In the next two days he would have to show up at his
business and do a lot of explaining, something he sort of pushed
aside when he made his snap decision to come here to find her.

A woman waved her hand. “Why did you feel
the need to change your name and disappear?”

Drew wasn’t sure if she was part of the
media or not, but if he didn’t answer her, someone else would force
the issue.

He searched for the only woman he wanted to
see in the studio set converted to look like the inside of the
Hollywood Stardust Theatre, the destination for the four characters
in the movie. In the film, their quest took them across country.
The road was a metaphor for the trip one takes to transition
between adolescence and adulthood.

In real life he, and the other actors, faced
the same challenges.

Once more, he looked for the reason he came
tonight. With her knowledge of all things smoke and mirrors, no
doubt she managed to squirrel away where she could watch
everything, yet not be seen. For the first time since he met her,
she shied away from the limelight.

Drew swallowed and took hold of the
microphone stand. While he wanted to offer the fans of the movie
the truth they sought all these years, the answer as to why he
disappeared was better left unspoken, at least in public.

“
Sometimes you need to just
get away from everything and everyone and start over.” More lights
flashed, leaving him blinking to see.

“
But how did you hide your
identity?” The question came from a male in the crowd.

An easy one. “During the movie I wore
prosthetics to appear more like the producers wanted the character
and they asked me to stay in costume for public appearances. It was
very easy to fade away once the costume came off…and the weight
came off.”

Some chuckles went through the audience.

Yes, he was the chubby kid. During filming
he lost weight, causing a whole host of issues for the movie. They
had to keep adding padding to his costume to retain continuity. He
hid for a while, let the fanfare of the movie die down and then
went abroad for college. By the time he returned with a different
name, no one ever put it together. He still found it incredible
that he pulled it off. Maybe he was a real actor after all.

“
Have you kept in touch with
your cast mates?” Another question barreled toward him.

Drew glanced off to the side of the stage.
While he might not be able to find her, his best friend, Logan
Alexander, was always there for him. Logan nodded, giving him the
okay to answer. “Only Logan Alexander.” The quote unquote villain
of both the movie and of real life was one of the best people he
knew. One might even say a hero.

Some mumbles went through the crowd.

“
Drew, why did you decide to
come back now?”

Again, he looked for her. Where did she hide
herself? On the other side of the stage he located Ryder Scott,
their leading man. The poster boy for a movie star, he always had
everything. After the film, Ryder went on to a successful career
and now also dabbled in directing and producing. Additionally, he
was a complete and total ass. However, Drew couldn’t locate the
last of their four. The reason he came out of hiding.

“
I have some unfinished
business.” He needed to go find her. “I can take one more question
before we should probably let you all get back to the
movie.”

“
Can we get a picture of the
four of you together?”

Well, the promise of a picture that would be
all over the world should bring her out. He turned left and right.
Ryder joined him first, shaking his hand and taking center stage to
thunderous applause. Logan, who only moments before proposed to his
fiancée on this exact stage, came out next and the clapping grew to
the point where it vibrated the building.

Logan shook his hand and raised his
eyebrows.

“
Where is she?” Drew
attempted to ask the question without moving his lips.

“
She’ll be here.” Logan
patted his back and took his place.

The crowd stilled as if holding its
collective breath, waiting for the one female of the group.

Drew ground his teeth together. After
everything he just did, would she not reveal herself?

And then she appeared.

Damn him to hell for his breath catching at
the sight of her. Though he followed her career, watched her in her
movies, her television appearances, and even clips of her in a
stage play, nothing compared to her in person.

She stepped to the edge of the stage and the
applause began once more. Yes, even with his news of showing up
after twenty years, Erin Holland would always steal the
spotlight.

The color that overtook her cheeks would be
gorgeous in the pictures, but he knew better. He knew the blush
came from her being flustered, unsure and taken off guard. If they
were alone, away from the scrutiny of the public, she would be
crying. Not that it mattered. Crying, flush, with or without
makeup, and even with twenty years behind them, he had never seen a
more beautiful woman.