Hollywood Prince (Hollywood Royalty 3)

“Are you ready?” he asks me, and I just nod my head. This movie is not action packed like my last one was. This is an emotional one about a man on the hunt for his missing daughter who was kidnapped by his ex-wife. I knew I wanted this part. It was time for the world to see that I could do more than jump out of planes. “Did you see the other stages?” he asks me, and I just shake my head.

“No, we just got here,” I say and then turn my head to Erin. “This is Erin. She works for Hillcrest.”

His smile grows even bigger. “Such a beauty,” he says. “Why aren’t you in the movies?” I’m about to groan and roll my eyes, but I don’t. I watch her smile and put out her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says all professional, ignoring the comment about how beautiful she is.

“I have to make sure stage five is set up,” he says. “I’ll see you on set at six,” he says and walks away. I didn’t even notice the quiet young girl by his side. I turn back and continue walking when I see the makeup corner. Four chairs in front of huge mirrors with lightbulbs all around them.

I see the same makeup girl who is on almost every movie set I’m on. She sits in her chair, her brown hair twisted up in a bun, while she eats a piece of fruit and scrolls on her phone. “Do you want me before I eat or after?” She looks up, and I see her brown eyes light up.

“There he is, Mr. Johnson.” She waves at me and then looks at Erin. “Don’t tell me you bit the bullet and got an assistant?” She moves her head to the side, smiling at Erin while I shake my head. “Holy shit, are you two dating?” She puts her head back and howls out a laugh. “You owe me five thousand dollars.”

“What?” I hear Erin beside me.

“I don’t owe you shit,” I tell her. “This is Erin. She works for Hillcrest and is in charge of making sure I stay a good boy.” She then looks at me. “She bet me five thousand dollars that I would fall in love one of these days.”

“It’ll happen, and then I’ll be rich,” she says with her hands in the air. “I’m Mandy.” She looks at Erin. “And I take it back. No way would someone that pretty date you.” I roll my eyes at her. “You may be hot-to-trot, Mr. Johnson, but your belt is full of holes.”

I shake my head. “I don’t even know what that means.” I pretend and then Erin leans in.

“She means your Johnson gets around,” she whispers, and I look back at her. This time, I’m the one glaring.

“Whatever,” I say. “I’m going to eat.”

“I’ll see you when you’re done,” she says and goes back to her phone.

“I like her,” Erin says from beside me as we walk toward the craft service. I finally notice the hanging signs. They have put up walls, and there are about ten white plastic tables with chairs. Three tables are against the three walls. One table has cutlery, one has the drinks, and then there is a table with the food. I walk up and see a tray of sliced tomatoes, a tray of bagels, and another tray of cookies. A basket of chips. They do have a fruit bowl with apples, oranges, and bananas, and then a full bowl of berries.

“What do you want to eat?’ I ask Erin over my shoulder.

“To be honest, I’m really not hungry, but I will take another coffee,” she says as she walks over to the drink station and then looks at me. “Do you want one also?” she asks me, and I nod my head, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie and eating it. “Here is your regular coffee,” she says to me.

“I have to head to makeup,” I tell her, and she just nods. “Are you going to keep me company or head back to the trailer?”

“I don’t know,” she says. Taking a sip of her coffee, she debates what she wants to do.

“I would prefer you stay with me,” I tell her the truth, and she looks at me, tilting her head. “It’s dark out there and a long walk back to my trailer, and I don’t know if anyone is outside to watch.”

“So it’s not that you want me to stay and keep you company?” She laughs. “But you want me to stay in case I get slaughtered and then you feel bad.”

I shrug. “Yeah, something like that.” I wink at her, and she rolls her eyes. We walk back to Mandy, and I get in the chair. It’s been two months since I’ve seen Mandy, so she fills me in on everything I’ve missed, and like usual, I just smile and nod. I add in a comment here and there, but in the end, she never asks me what I was doing. I just have to think it’s because she’s asked in the past and I’ve never told her.