Everyone at the table ordered a first round of drinks as they chatted. Elizabeth said little, merely drinking from a bottle of imported beer.
Naturally, Lydia was drawing attention. She leaned forward, showing her cleavage to best advantage, and chattered about her favorite topic of conversation: herself. “Mom said she knew I was going to be a star from the moment I was born. When I was little, I used to dress up in costume and put on shows. I mean, how clever is that? And, of course, my parents encouraged it. I had dance lessons, singing lessons, remedial singing lessons, acting lessons, elocution lessons—that’s where you learn to elocute—improv, everything they could find…”
Across the table from Darcy, Jane watched her younger sister with an indulgent smile while Elizabeth demonstrated admirable skill in not rolling her eyes.
Darcy only had one sister; they were four years apart and had been raised mostly by nannies. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have so many siblings—all trying to become actors and competing for their parents’ time and attention. How hard it must have been for a young Elizabeth to be told that Lydia was the favorite, that Lydia was prettier, that Lydia would be the star. Jane was four years older than E
lizabeth, so she had no doubt escaped many comparisons with the youngest in the family, but Elizabeth…?
He experienced a strange impulse to gather her into his arms and tell her how she was worth ten Lydias. How she was beautiful and smart and funny. And her parents were crazy if they preferred her younger sister.
It was most odd. Darcy had never experienced these sorts of thoughts about anyone. He’d been protective of Georgiana, but that was an obligation; it was something older brothers did. He wanted to cherish Elizabeth simply because she was worth it.
Darcy shook his head at his fanciful thinking and took a sip of scotch. Maybe all the sentiment in the screenplay was going to his head.
Conversation eventually turned to the True Colors shelter project, in which Jane and Charlie were eager participants. When Jane asked about it, Elizabeth’s face displayed all the animation it had earlier lacked. “The shelter’s director loves the idea,” Elizabeth explained. “She’s arranged for two chaperones and twenty kids to visit the set next week. After that each student will be assigned a mentor from the cast or crew who will work with the kid for a day or so.”
Jane practically bounced with enthusiasm. “I’m so glad we’re doing this! Until I started doing research for this role, I didn’t realize that forty percent of homeless teens are LGBTQ.”
“That’s terrible!” Lydia exclaimed
“When I was a kid, I would have killed for the chance to visit a movie set,” Charlie said. Darcy’s friend was sitting rather close to Jane. Were they still at the flirting stage, or had he already made his move?
Caroline caught Darcy’s eye and gave a disdainful sneer. They disagreed on many things but definitely saw eye-to-eye on bullshit charity projects.
After a second round of drinks, people started drifting to the dance floor in small groups until Elizabeth and Darcy were alone in the booth. He promised himself to stay cool and in control. It’s just Elizabeth, he reminded himself rather uselessly.
Could he move to the other side of the table and make it appear casual, or would that give her the wrong impression? Elizabeth resolved this dilemma for him by sliding around to sit by him. “I hope you don’t mind that I took a different position,” she said, staring determinedly at her drink. “I’d like to get a greater breadth of experience.” That made sense; a good working relationship with Perez might help Elizabeth get cast in some future movie.
Of course, such reasoning might just be a cover to conceal her feelings for Darcy.
“Not at all,” he said. “Although I miss seeing your smiling face every day.” He took another sip of his scotch.
“Kurt doesn’t smile?” she teased.
“Not much.”
“Does he get your coffee order right?” she asked.
“Yes. Perfect every time.” Darcy didn’t reveal that coffee was the only part of his job that Kurt got right.
“So maybe he’s better suited to the job than I was.”
Darcy didn’t reply. Over the past week Elizabeth had been putting together an entire charity project while managing to juggle all her regular PA duties. He was more and more convinced that the coffee mistakes were deliberate, but he didn’t understand why. Perhaps it was some strange attempt to get his attention.
She cleared her throat. “I was wondering if you would consider mentoring one of the teens from the True Colors shelter?” Was this why she had moved around the table to speak with him? Darcy tried to quash an irrational flare of disappointment. “You could have a lasting impact on some kid.”
“Or scar him for life.”
She laughed. “I doubt you’ll have sufficient time for that.”
Darcy couldn’t conceive of a more awkward situation than being responsible for some pimply-faced, sullen teenager. Even one day would be an eternity. Hell, Kurt was enough trouble for Darcy, and he was twenty-two. His new assistant was polite and cooperative but had no initiative; even after a week on the set, he didn’t seem to know any of the people on the crew or understand how anything worked. And he constantly worried about getting his chinos or loafers dirty. Hadn’t the guy thought to put on a pair of jeans?
Darcy disliked being asked to help with charities. He resented being put in such awkward situations. If he said yes to the project, he’d hate himself for caving and loath spending his precious free time on it. If he didn’t agree, then he’d be swamped with guilt and diminished in Elizabeth’s eyes. Not that it mattered what she thought of him, but still…
“I don’t have the time to devote to a mentee,” Darcy said.
“Your commitment can be as short as one day,” Elizabeth said with a touch of aspersion.