Charlotte's POV
I stormed into Kelly's office without a second thought.
She looked surprised to see me barging in like that, still in my work clothes, but I didn't give her a chance to ask anything. I sank onto the couch and started talking, the frustration pouring out of me.
"I've never been this frustrated with a co-star in my entire life. What the hell does Derek think of himself? I'm the producer of this movie, I know what I'm doing! He just doesn't get that I can't kiss him. When I said we'd use a double, he lost it. Now he's saying he won't do the film at all unless everything is done practically. He says he can't feel his character otherwise. Can you believe that? I'm going to lose money, Kelly. This is my first time both producing and acting. If this fails, my whole reputation goes down with it. You have to do something."
Kelly stayed calm, even though I'd just dumped a truckload of panic on her.
"I understand your position" she said. "But I already got a call from his manager. Derek isn't backing down. You either do the intimate scenes with him… or you drop the movie."
Instead of calming me down, she made me feel even more panicked. Before I could get another word out, the door clicked open, no knock, no permission.
A guy peeked his head in and asked, "Is this where the interview is?"
I turned to Kelly, waiting for her to deal with it. But she didn't even glance at me.
"Yes, it is," she said to the guy, then turned back to me. "Charlotte, can you excuse us for a bit? I need to do this interview."
I stammered, "B-but we were in the middle of a conversation."
"We'll continue later" she said smoothly, like that was final.
Who did she think she was? I was the one paying her, not the other way around.
She noticed the look on my face, she was good at reading people.
"I get it" she said. "But Ben sent him. He's retiring. This is the guy he wants to replace him."
I blinked at her in shock.
"What the f—what do you mean he's retiring? I can't survive without Ben! And this guy? You're interviewing him to replace Ben? You can't be serious!"
Kelly stayed calm, like always.
"He's Ben's nephew" she said.
I looked at him again. He was young and my god, he was handsome. But that didn't mean he could just walk in and take Ben's place.
I walked right past him toward the door. Anyone in this building would usually be at least a little excited to see a star, it's not every day you meet one. But this guy? He didn't even bother to greet me. A minimum bit of decency wouldn't kill him.
Still, if Ben sent him, maybe he was trustworthy. That had to count for something. I had bigger things to stress over anyway.
----
I reached into the pocket of my jeans to grab my phone, but… it wasn't there.
Just as I turned back toward Kelly's office, I saw him running toward me.
Our eyes met for a second. He looked… okay, I guess. Wait, what? Why was I even thinking about how he looked? It didn't matter.
He reached me and held out his hand. It was my phone in his hand.
"You forgot this on the desk" he said.
I took it from him with a quick, "Thanks" and turned to leave.
But then he spoke again.
"I know this change might feel sudden… and it's hard to trust or adjust to someone new in your life. But I'm only doing this for Uncle Ben. He's in the hospital."
I froze.
"B-Ben is hospitalized? What happened? Is he okay now? Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"He's still in the hospital, but he's out of danger" hereplied calmly.
"Give me the address. I want to visit him."
He nodded. " It's Calmly Wellness Hospital, 18 West Street"
"I'm not familiar with that location", I admitted.
"I'll be heading there after the interview" he offered. "You can tag along if you'd like."
"I will" I said firmly.
"You can wait until the interview's done" he added.
I flipped my hair back. "Aren't you supposed to be my assistant? I should be the one interviewing you. Come on."
Without waiting for a reply, I walked past him and straight back into Kelly's office. I could hear him following right behind.