“I’m good,” she replied softly as more flashes went off. “What’s going on with Rick?”
“Surgery for a broken arm,” she explained. “He hasn’t even made it to Colorado yet.”
“You’re kidding?” Darla asked Meagan. “Will he make the next show?”
“Face the camera!” the photographer yelled.
“Oh, ah, sorry,” Darla said and quickly posed.
The photo shoot wrapped and Darla and the judges headed to the audition room. “Darla,” Blake said, gently touching her arm to get her attention before she could get away. She swallowed hard at the impact of those piercing blue eyes that never seemed to lessen. “Don’t think about the camera or pleasing an audience,” he said, his voice a caress for her ears only. “This isn’t live and the auditions won’t even be shown for another six weeks. Think about the contestants, about doing what you did last season, and picking the best contestants. Forget everything else or you’re going to make yourself crazy.”
Darla softened inside, surprised by his words. So very right. “That was absolutely what I needed to hear right now.” Someone called her name, and she backed away, hesitating to leave, wanting him to know… There seemed to be something she needed to say. She heard her name shouted again.
“Thank you, Blake.” Darla rushed away, but silently vowed not to let him leave tonight without a proper goodbye. She was smiling, rather than fretting, when she walked into the audition room.
* * *
FOUR HOURS AFTER THE AUDITIONS started, Blake finished an interview with a joyful, crying seventeen-year-old girl who was chosen for the finals. She was the last candidate for now. During the next hour and a half, there’d be prescreening of candidates while the judges were given a chance to eat and take a break.
Beaming at the excitement of the girl and her family, Blake decided he loved this job, and he planned to tell his agent just how much.
Seeking Meagan, Blake stepped inside a small room where the cameras were recording the action in the audition room. Meagan stood in front of a row of monitors, watching the live feed from the judges as it played on the screens.
“Why must you ask every contestant about their dreams and goals?” Lana demanded of Darla. “We simply need them to dance well.”
“We’re looking for stars,” Darla said. “People who have drive and ambition. There’s a reason why Jason is so respected in the industry, why Ellie is in demand by big-named stars to choreograph. They’re special.”
“She’s right,” Ellie said. “I like hearing people’s stories. I’ve worked with a lot of talent. The ones who make it have certain qualities.”
“Hear them after we see them dance, and once they make it to Vegas,” Lana argued. “We have a huge line of people out there and not enough time to see them all.”
“That’s why Meagan has a team of screeners making sure we only see the best,” Ellie argued. “The ones we see can dance. But can they become success stories? That’s up to us to decide.”
“If we send them to Vegas and they have no personality or career potential,” Darla added, “then we’ve wasted time and money. The top twelve are going to be living in the contestant house with a live camera on them. We have to pick people who can become reality television stars or people won’t tune in.”
“We did fine last season,” Lana said tightly. “You need to respect what worked.”
Darla drew in a long breath and Blake could see her biting back words. “Tell her,” he said softly, stepping to Meagan’s side. “Tell her you cast the winner of last season and most of the top twelve.”
Meagan glanced at him, then back at the screen, seemingly waiting right along with him. But Darla didn’t tell her. She stood up and said, “We’ll have to continue this argument later. I need to check in with my producer back home and make arrangements for filming my show.”
Blake scrubbed his jaw. “I don’t get it. She’d never let me get away with that. Why didn’t she tell her she was the primary casting agent last season?”
“I don’t know,” Meagan said, still watching the screen. “Her confidence isn’t where it normally is. Something is up with her.” She glanced at him. “You got anything to do with that?”
“Me?” he asked. “How would I have anything to do with it?”
“You tell me.”
He opened his mouth to deny his guilt but shut it again, remembering the incident with Lana in the hallway. Surely, Darla wasn’t so worried about a scandal created by Lana’s big mouth that she was afraid to stand her ground with her. Then again, he wasn’t sure what was behind it, but Darla was almost irrationally worried about losing this job before she even got started. Especially so, considering her own show’s success. He wanted to know why. He wanted to know a lot of things about Darla—and not just what made her moan and sigh. Those things were high on his list, but so was discovering what made her happy and sad, what made her afraid of flying. Hell. He wanted to know what her favorite food was. Actually, he was pretty sure that would be chocolate.