L is for Luminous Read online

I could see exactly where they could fit into Naturals, and it was actually a good idea in context, but I was on edge about how much my story was being pulled apart. Then there was the fact that my fantasy was going to be played out on screen for the world to see. I knew they didn’t know that, but I did.

  Some actress was going to play me and get to live my fantasy with the man himself. I didn’t know how to feel about that, but at least a little of it was disappointment that it wouldn’t be me in her shoes.

  We spent the rest of the day completing the rest of the script for the premiere episode, and planning out the storylines for the next few. It was full on and fast paced, not at all what I was used to, which was procrastination. Everything was on a tight schedule to fit in with filming, editing, and airdates, so there was no time to sit and daydream about the story. It just had to get done and get done good.

  When we called it quits and everyone went their separate ways, Maisy gestured for me to follow her into her office.

  Her space was nice, with a huge desk and framed Naturals posters on the walls, and there was a nice view out of the window, but it was a mess. It was like an explosion of paper had gone off in here. There were stacks of scripts on a table to the side, her computer was almost buried, and I noticed my books were there, too. In the far corner was an indoor plant that was looking very sad.

  “You’ll have to excuse the mess,” Maisy said, gesturing for me to sit in one of the free chairs. “I have a system, I swear.”

  “I can tell,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

  “Okay,” she said, slapping her hand on top of the desk. “First day. Any questions?”

  “Not really,” I said. “I think it’s just a day by day thing at the moment until I get used to working in a team.”

  “It’s definitely not a job you can train for,” she agreed. “But I just want to make sure you’re cool with everything. We bought the rights to adapt your series, but we still want your opinion. You’re the one who knows your material the best.”

  I frowned. The short of what she was saying was if I had an opinion, I could share it, but she and the producers had the final say. I knew that when I signed the contract, but I hadn’t banked on getting a job to go along with it.

  “Lux, you can say anything to me,” Maisy said kindly. “We’re not going to fire you day one. I don’t want to fire you at all.”

  “I’m just a little surprised to see how much my work has been cut up, is all.”

  “It’s how these things work,” she explained. “We have to be faithful to Naturals first, so it was never going to be a straight up adaption.”

  “I understand. I do.” It still threw me, but I did get it.

  “You still have the rights to keep your books as they are, which is pretty rare you know.”

  “It is?” I didn’t have much knowledge of this part of publishing. It wasn’t every day that a series was bought by a major network to be adapted into an existing show. Actually, it was quite rare to the point that I reckon this must be the first time it’s ever happened. Being able to sell my books in their original format was a brilliant compromise.

  “It’s a stellar deal. You should be extremely happy with it.”

  “I am. I mean, I’m here.” Still dazed. Still confused.

  She smiled and shook her head at the stars in my eyes. “I know it’s your first day with us, but we need you to hit the ground running. This season is going to be tough. If we want the network to renew us for a fourth season, we have to blow viewers minds.”

  I felt the pressure begin to settle on my shoulders, and my old self began to claw her way to the surface trying to sabotage my new life. “I know,” I said, trying to sound confident and worldly. “It is a whole new world for me, being in television and writing scripts, but I came here knowing that it would be difficult to begin with. Difficulty I can handle, especially when it comes to words. You have nothing to worry about. As far as I’m concerned, I’m speeding up to a sprint.”

  Maisy beamed, her boss mode switching off. “Awesome. That’s what I want to hear. Now, go home and get some rest because I want you sprinting tomorrow. Bring any and all ideas you have to the table, and we’ll go over them as a team.”

  I bit my bottom lip, feeling a surge of inspiration smash into the wall of pressure and obliterate it. I was determined to not only blow the producers’ minds, but the whole of America, and then the whole world. I lived and breathed words and things were going to get messy…in a really, really good way.

  As I left Maisy’s office, I thought over everything she’d said about the contract. About how it was practically unheard of, and I began to suspect Jude had more of a hand in my being here than just giving the producers my card. Had he pushed for them to buy the rights? Shit, had he pushed for me to be here? That was way more than doing an awkward girl in an elevator a favor. Way more.

  Turning, I stopped in my tracks when I caught sight of a tall, statuesque brunette leaning against the wall, and I suppressed the urge to run the opposite direction.

  Tessa Donahue.

  She glanced up, our gazes met, and I was stuck. So much for not making eye contact.

  I hadn’t spoken to her yesterday at the set visit, even though she’d spoken at me, but I hadn’t wanted to talk to her, either. After witnessing her behavior with the hair and makeup crew, it’d put me right off.

  She narrowed her eyes as she turned, focusing all of her bitchy superpower straight at me.

  “Did you touch my man in that elevator?” she snapped.

  “What?” Of all the things that could’ve come out of her mouth, I wasn’t expecting that. Was she…insecure?

  “We all know your time here is limited,” she said, her voice dripping with poison. “People like you fly in and fly out all the time.”

  “Excuse me?” I knew she was a diva, but a full-blown bitch, too?

  “Expiration date, honey.”

  What the hell did Jude see in that woman? Because all I got was self-important bitch. More to the point, I was getting that she was insecure in her relationship and saw me as a threat. The thought was laughable.

  “You shouldn’t believe everything you read in those trashy magazines,” I retorted.

  I went to step around her, but she cut me off, shoving her face right into mine. “If I find out it’s true, you’re gone.”

  She moved to the side and walked off, smacking her shoulder against mine like a schoolyard bully. I bet she was a cheerleader in high school. We didn’t have cheer squads in Australia, but we had the elitist type of mean girl. Everywhere had a mean girl.

  As I walked toward the bank of elevators beyond reception, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to me being here than I wanted to believe. Only one person could answer that, and I was far too shy to ask. Anyway, the notion was too far-fetched to be real.

  I guess Lux two point oh still had some kinks in her operating system.

  Episode Seven

  If It's In The Script, It Must Be True

  Peering at the massive platter of sandwiches, I picked up one that looked like it was normal and placed it onto my paper plate.

  Today was the first table read of the season with the entire cast, and I would be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous and excited. I’d had a big hand in putting together the premiere episode, and it was judgment day. Then there was the fact that you couldn’t have a table read without the lead actor in attendance.

  I hadn’t seen Jude since the set visit almost a week ago, and like the little girl I was, I was amped up at the fact that today was a sure bet. The excitement was kind of dampened knowing that Tessa would be here, but it couldn’t be helped. That was the thing about unrequited feelings. They were damn painful, and you had to keep them secret.

  I just had to keep my head in the game of stringing words together and deal. After all, I hadn’t signed up for a ‘pine from afar’ deal. I’d signed a ‘write a shit hot TV show’ deal.

  Sighing, I picked up another s
andwich, fitting the little triangle next to the first. Nobody liked gourmet sandwiches with fancy spreads when they always went for the classics first. Cucumber and egg were always the last to be taken, and that was only because there was nothing else left. For good measure, I slipped an extra cheese and ham onto my plate.

  “I saw that.”

  I glanced up at the sound of Jude’s voice, and my heart began to go boom. He was standing way too close than I was comfortable with, but I let him get away with it considering the effect he had on my aura. It was all wobbly whenever he was around.

  “I know what’s good for me,” I retorted, holding my sandwiches close.

  He laughed and shook his head. “Duly noted. Don’t get between Lux and her sandwiches.”

  I allowed my gaze to drop for a moment to take him in. He was casual today, but everyone was. He wore a tight, black T-shirt that hugged his defined torso just so, and he rocked a pair of skinny jeans to the point I wanted to see the view from behind. Speaking about auras, he had a way about him that drew attention no matter the circumstance.

  “How’s your first week been?” he asked, grabbing a plate and loading up.

  “Good. Busy.”

  “Table reads are great fun,” he said, nodding at the pile of scripts on the conference table behind us. “It’s an excuse to eat bad sandwiches and hang out. Also, the bigwigs can see where their money is going.”

  Looking across the room, I noticed Sharon had arrived along with another man in a suit who I recognized as another of Starscape’s producers. Tessa Donahue was with them, and from the loud laughter, I assumed she was laying it on thick. I narrowed my eyes as she placed her hand onto the male producer’s arm. The room was beginning to fill up very fast, and I didn’t mean in the physical sense.

  “I never really thanked you for passing my card along,” I said, picking at a sandwich.

  Jude shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

  I frowned. “Don’t worry about it?”

  He smiled like he was smiling at a child who’d asked a silly question. “Yeah.”

  It was a big deal to me, it was life changing, but he’d just shrugged it off like it was nothing. Had I read too much into it, or was he putting on a show because we were in public? I shook my head and glanced over at the table where Tessa was now glaring daggers at me. Definitely blowing it out of proportion.

  “What did the producers say?” I asked, still not ready to let it go so easily.

  Jude shrugged, picking up a sandwich. “I took your card, then read your books. They were great, so I gave them to Sharon.”

  “You did?” He’d read my fantasy about him, and deep down, I felt a mixture of embarrassment and nerves begin to blossom. Jude Atwood had read my heart and soul.

  His lips curled into a sexy smile, and he shook his head. “I bought ‘em after the convention and read them on the plane back over here. You’re massively undercharging by the way.”

  “I am?”

  “Lux, they were great,” he said, turning his attention on me. “You did that. I just passed them along with a recommendation. No big deal.”

  “But—”

  “No big deal,” he said firmly.

  “Okay,” I said, holding my plate close.

  Not knowing how to end the conversation, I swiveled slowly on my heel and wandered over to the table, leaving Jude behind.

  Sliding into a seat beside Maisy, I shoved a sandwich into my mouth, rolling my eyes as Tessa laughed yet again. It was a cackle that reminded me of a hyena circling its prey out on an African savanna someplace.

  Maisy leaned close and murmured, “You don’t schmooze, you lose.”

  I glanced across the table and caught Jude watching me. If he didn’t get that I disliked his girlfriend, he had a clue now. If it bothered him, he didn’t show it, he just smiled, and as Tessa sat beside him, he threw an arm around her shoulders.

  Puke.

  “Lux!”

  I smiled as Candy skipped across the room and sat next to me, instantly drawing the attention of the whole room. I was beginning to like her flair for positivity, especially when I was trying my hardest to ignore Tessa and Jude canoodling across the table.

  “I’m so excited for today,” she went on, grabbing a script from the pile in front of us. “I can’t wait to get back into it.”

  “It better be good,” Tessa said, her lip curled into a sneer.

  Jude’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he pulled her attention back onto him. “You’re always great, Tess.”

  She chose that moment to lean in and kiss him. It wasn’t a casual peck on the lips. Nope, Tessa Donahue went for broke. It was a full on tongue wrestle that had me wishing I’d drop dead from embarrassment, complete with a flare of jealousy to cremate my corpse once I’d departed the mortal coil.

  Candy gave me a look and pretended to stick her fingers down her throat. Snorting, I slapped a hand over my mouth, but not before Tessa broke away and glared at me. I could tell it was fast becoming an us versus them clique, and I felt a little embarrassed that I’d let myself be slotted into the guise. I was always a voyeur when it came to confrontation, and I absolutely hated the attention.

  I had no idea what Jude thought on the matter because I didn’t want to read his expression. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him at all. At least I didn’t have to worry about it for long because Maisy rose from her chair, handed out the rest of the scripts, and began her speech about how the rest of the season premiere was planned out.

  “We have a stellar season planned, thanks to our Aussie newbie, Lux Dawson.” Maisy held out her hand, and the entire room stared at me. The force of the entire Naturals cast, producers, and fellow writers focused on me had my cheeks burning.

  “Hear, hear,” Jude exclaimed, and I was sure my cheeks went through every possible shade of red, right through to crimson.

  “As you are all aware,” she went on, “we have a great deal of the opening episode already filmed and in the bag, so this script is a little one.”

  “We’ve eased you guys back into work after all your fabulous holidays,” Gwen said.

  Everyone laughed, but Candy elbowed me and said, “Most of us went and filmed other stuff. What’s this holiday thing she speaks of?”

  “You love it,” Maisy declared.

  Candy flipped her script open. “Guilty as charged.”

  “Okay,” Maisy said, turning the attention back to her. “The script begins the day after the ritual. Skye is at the manor, wakes up and can sense something has changed. That’s our transition point from last season’s footage.”

  As the cast went through the script, I watched each actor as they delivered their lines. There was Jude, Tessa, and Candy of course, and also Tate who I’d spoken to at the set visit the week before. The rest of the cast I hadn’t met face-to-face yet, and they were all in attendance. There were the bad guys—Jeremy Irons, Samantha Fey, and Luke Hamilton—and to round out the goodies—Bonnie Grieg and Frank Cummins.

  They were all fantastic at their jobs, and the table read played out exactly like an episode would, without the actual physical acting of course. My gaze flickered between each as they delivered their lines, and I scribbled down notes as we went along. I’d always wondered how they could learn all their lines and cues so fast since they were pumping out a forty-minute episode every week. I made a mental note to ask Candy about it later since she was the most approachable out of the cast.

  Whenever Jude spoke, I found myself staring that little bit longer. Sure, he was handsome and all, but he had a natural charisma that drew in the entire room. He was hypnotizing, and that pretty much made him the perfect guy to play a tortured vampire. That’s what gave him the edge over other actors and made him what he was…a star.

  And I liked his smile, and I’d never been the kind of woman to get hooked up on those. I was more into eyes, and his were phenomenal, but I’d never seen anything like that stupid cocky grin he wore. He had a lot of expression in his featu
res, and when he turned it on, damn. His lips pulled up at one side, so his smile was lopsided and off balance. Instead of looking weird, it gave him an air of come-hither nonchalance, like he knew he didn’t have to do much to reel you in. It was sexy in a way that made me want to trace all the lines in his face and commit them to memory.

  “The end!” Maisy declared as the table read came to a close. “We’ll go over revisions and have the finals to you ASAP.”

  I blinked hard and clicked my pen a couple of times like it was a nervous tick. It was over already?

  Standing as everyone pushed their chairs back, I turned to Candy, who was squirming next to me.

  “That was brilliant!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the spot. “I get a lot of screen time in this one. Win!”

  “Ditto,” Jude said, appearing at my side and bumping my arm with his elbow.

  “Cool. Good to hear we’re on the right track.” I pulled away slightly and rubbed the spot he’d touched.

  “Can’t wait to see what’s coming next,” he said with a wink before backing away and linking his arm through Tessa’s.

  Watching them disappear through the door, I just wished he would stop being so nice. He didn’t know I was crushing on him, or maybe he did because everyone sucked up his ass, but it still felt like he was rubbing it in my face. I didn’t want to see it. Just knowing he was unavailable was bad enough.

  Catching my reflection in the window, I scowled. It didn’t matter one way or the other when I looked the way I did. Frumpy. That was a word, right?

  Jude Atwood and Lux Dawson side by side was like Beauty and The Beast. It wasn’t a stretch to figure out which of us was the ugly duckling in this fairytale. All I wanted to know was when I’d get my chance to turn into the beautiful swan, and the more I thought about it, the more I began to fear this was it.

  Lux and her frizzy hair and assortment of tartan shirts were here to stay.

  Episode Eight

  Transfiguration

  I stared at my phone, not knowing how to react to the balance of my bank account.