Addison was right of course. She wasn't stating such nonsense because it was expected of her. She was blatantly stating facts that Lombardo wouldn't be pegged as one of the greats if he didn't know what he was doing. All these needless fears plaguing me were insecurities of my own making and not Martin Lombardo's. The great man himself had chosen me, he had made the call-in casting me, and it was my turn to fully acknowledge that with pride and dignity.
Coming down from my incredible high, I crashed back down on the mattress, still grappling my phone in my left hand. Before I could share this splendid news to my friends, there was one person I had to share it first. Come hell or high water, I was going to win this argument. If River loved me enough, he would support me just as I had supported him since the beginning of time.
With Siri's superb assistance, she dialed River's number with one hasty command, and in no time, the phone began to ring. And with each ringing sound, my heartbeat accelerated to new peaks.
"Sorry, petal, but I'm running late to this party I'm supposed to be hosting tonight." River's words rushed out of him before hearing a loud thud of a door being shut.
He was probably running out of his hotel room, scurrying to get where he needed to be. Before I could utter a word, I could hear Ari and Willa's voice echoing from a distance.
I was tempted to put this news off when he was less distracted, but if I didn't do it now, I might not get enough courage to fight my battles right. It was now or never.
"Listen," I began nervously, chewing my lip before releasing a shaky breath. "I auditioned for this role today, and I got it. I just wanted to tell you that."
"What?" I could hear him pause, as if taking in this new development. "That's awesome, babe! What's the movie about?" he asked eagerly.
He was an artist, just as I was, so he understood where I was coming from. Therefore, revealing the next bit shouldn't faze him much … I hoped.
"It's a Lombardo film. I got the lead 'cause the first choice dropped out for medical reasons. Addison will dish out all the info tomorrow."
"Fuck, a Lombardo." That statement alone said it all. "Guess that entails the same usual morsels he delivers on screen, right?" A Lombardo film was notorious for all sorts of reason, mainly one in particular. Sex and art went hand in hand with his projects.
Why is he being such a typical male right now? I sighed loudly before shaking my head in frustration.
"Yes, it comes with all that jazz, as expected, and I'm perfectly okay with it." I made sure the last words were clearly emphasized in case there was any doubt. Nudity wasn't a rarity these days. All one had to do was go on social media to see how crazy millennials were, sharing their bits for the world to ogle over. Again, this shouldn't be a big deal because it kind of just wasn't.
"Fuck, I don't want to be a jerk, but I hate this, Cara," he softly grounded out. "I'll be back in two days. We'll speak more about it then, okay? For now, I gotta go. Ari's giving me the death stare."
Two days. A mediated time for us to cool down and hopefully discuss this like normal, rational adults. He didn't freak out, thank God. He seemed somewhat more ticked off, but not to the point of exploding. That was a good sign.
The heavy weight that had rested upon my chest finally lifted. All this time I had wasted on anxiety was for nothing. If he was displeased, he kept it to himself.
"All right, babe. Behave and don't get too drunk, please."
He scoffed as if he couldn't believe I would advise such garbage. "What are you talking about, baby? I'm always well behaved," he teased before adding with profound feeling, "I love you, petal."
My heart skipped a beat. It never failed to do so each time I heard him say those three words.
Like the total besotted girl that I was, I grinned from ear-to-ear. "I love you, too, babe."
Whatever qualms he had, he had to overcome them, just as I did with all his previous notoriety. To me, this was a job, and a job I intended to nail with everything I had.
My life was unraveling in ways I hadn't deemed possible. Things were too good, too sweet, and the cynical part of me waited for the pin to drop and burst this bubble of happiness that I had been living in. I wasn't sure why, but I somehow felt that sooner or later, hell would break loose and I best prepare myself not to drown once the shitstorm began.
Chapter Ten
As promised, my dearest agent had all the information before noon the following morning. I was set to star along with a Spanish actor named Juan Torres who conveniently happened to reside in Madrid. He was apparently famous in Spain. Their up and coming younger version of Antonio Banderas. The movie, La Mujer (The Woman), would be shot in both Spanish and English since seventy percent of the cast was all from Spain. The shooting location was in one of Spain's Balearic island of Minorca and allocated to film for eight weeks. And I was bound to leave in ten days' time.