Ms. Perfect

CHAPTER 1 Grace flipped her oversized square sunglasses from where they rested on top of her head down onto the bridge of her nose. They made a great headband, but the midday sun made her squint, and squinting, of course, led to wrinkles. Best to be cautious. Besides, this was Hollywood, anyone who was anyone wore sunglasses practically all of the time. “I still can’t believe we got Zac,” Phoenix Sutherland said as she pushed the air fried sweet potatoes on her plate around with a fork before popping one into her mouth. One of Grace’s hand picked producers, Phoenix was in her early 30’s, thin with bland blonde hair that was always pulled back into a limp ponytail, and earnest hazel eyes that were magnified by black framed prescription glasses. Roger Rigby, Grace’s other producer, known to his friends and colleagues as plain old ‘Rigby’, nodded emphatically, his mouth full of Portobello burger. A once handsome, maybe not so much anymore, movie producer in his late 40’s, Rigby had been a driving force in Grace’s career since almost the beginning. Still chewing, he grunted his enthusiasm and raised one finger in the air, waving it around like it was a flag and they were in a parade. The Zac they were referring to was Zac Foster, a hot young actor who had reached stardom in his late teens and was, many believed, on his way to super-stardom now that he had reached maturity, which was just under 30 in Hollywood years. Zac was tall-ish, with natural thick blonde hair, disgracefully attractive blue eyes, and that special mix of masculine and feminine bone structure in his face that made him both handsome and beautiful. Known for his excellent physique, Zac Foster had the body to carry off all of the beach scenes in their script and steal the audience’s heart along the way. Grace’s team had landed Zac in the lead role of her newest pet project, tentatively titled, Heart of Mine. Everyone was pleased. Really, really pleased. Grace was just as pleased as her producers, though perhaps not quite as obsessed. “Yes, Zac will be perfect,” Grace declared, hoping this would end the praise fest of Zac Foster that had been going on at their table for the past five minutes. They needed to move on to other important details. They were in the middle of lunch at a popular Los Angeles eatery, one of the top locations to have a production meeting. “Now, what do we have locked down in Australia?” Phoenix and Rigby both froze mid-chew and stared at her, Phoenix’s eyes grew even bigger than normal behind her glasses. At the exact same moment, they stole a sideways glance at each other then looked back at Grace, still silent and boggle-eyed. Rigby finally cleared his throat and said, “We thought Australia was on the back burner…now that we have Zac.” “Why would that make any difference?” Grace asked. Again the two producers shared an infuriating sideways glance and Grace gave them a sharp look, which was lost behind her sunglasses. “Would someone please explain to me why we would hit pause on the locations in Australia? And explain it to me quickly?” “Well, Grace, it’s just that with Zac as the male lead…well, we thought the obvious choice for the female lead was Indigo,” Phoenix said, looking quickly to Rigby for support. Rigby nodded his head enthusiastically. “Right. That’s what we discussed, wasn’t it?” He looked at Grace as if expecting her to agree. “Indigo?” Grace’s throat tightened as she said the girl’s name, twice, “Indigo Lee?” Indigo Lee was a gorgeous starlet with raven black hair and emerald eyes not dissimilar to her own. She had excellent acting skills and that certain something that charmed an audience through the lens of a camera. The same certain something Grace had always possessed. The same certain something she had felt slipping away of late. Still, Indigo was barely out of her teens. Grace wasn’t even sure the girl was 21-years old yet. How could Indigo Lee play Scarlet Kensington, the intense and broken female lead in this romantic drama? Anger rose in Grace’s chest as she c****d her head to the side, indicating that she hoped she had misheard what her producers had just suggested. Before she had a chance to argue, Rigby spoke quickly, “You know the script, Grace. The beach scenes, the nude scenes, the s*x scenes, these are all going to be better…” he searched for the right word and found it, “Received if the female lead is younger than the male lead. You know that.” He gave her a ‘what are you gonna do’ shrug and a wan smile. Grace glared at him from behind her sunglasses and wondered briefly what it would feel like to pop him right in the mouth and wipe that smug little smile off of his face. Not the first time she had wondered something similar in their decades long working relationship. Instead of punching Rigby, she took a deep breath and in the coolest tone she could muster, which was quite cool, she was a brilliant actress, after all, asked, “Are you saying I’m too old for the part?” Denial rose in unison from the two producers, reaching such a crescendo that Grace had to shush them both before they drew too much attention to their table. Rigby, at a loss to explain, took another huge bite of his Portobello burger, leaving Phoenix to do the dirty work. “It’s not that you’re too old, Grace. Of course not,” the girl gushed before glancing dismally down into her plate and building up the nerve to continue. “It’s just that you’re not…you’re not young.” Still cool on the surface, though this conversation sent palpitations through her chest, Grace asked, “I’m not young?” Phoenix’s big eyes panicked. “Not that you’re not young…not exactly. You’re not…smooth.” Phoenix’s face froze in shock, as if she was just as surprised as anyone else at the word that had escaped her lips. Grace’s facade slipped and she set her jaw so she spoke through nearly clenched teeth. “Not smooth?” All of the insults to her looks she had ever received as an actress, which were broad and varied, raced through her mind, temporarily obstructing any chance at a witty comeback. Grace had built up a fairly thick skin after years of putting herself on view to the public and receiving both adoration and negative comments. She knew that both came with the territory. Recently, the sting of being automatically set aside for major romantic roles and instead offered what she had always thought of as ‘old lady characters’ had been hard to ignore. That’s why she and her production company had taken on this project, after all, to show that she still had what it took to play a romantic lead and play it well. The silence at their little table was heavy. Neither Phoenix nor Rigby were bold enough to continue eating as they waited uncomfortably for Grace to speak. Grace lifted her sparkling lemon water, took a dainty sip, placed it back on the table, and let her fingers slide down the glass to rest on the tablecloth. She tapped the base of the glass with one French manicured fingernail thoughtfully. “What, exactly, do we have a DP for if it’s not to provide flattering lighting?” she began, her fingernail continuing its slow clicking on the glass as she spoke. “What, exactly, do we have makeup people for if it’s not to…smooth me out?” She emphasized the word ‘smooth’. Phoenix cringed. “I am not hiring Indigo Lee or anybody else to play Scarlet Kensington. I am playing Scarlet Kensington. End of discussion.” “Gracy,” Rigby always called her that when he thought she was being unreasonable. “It’s not that we don’t think you’d be a great match with Zac. It’s just…do we…” he opened his arms as if encompassing the other people in the dining room, in Hollywood, in all of Los Angeles and the rest of the world in the royal ‘we’, “…do we think it’s believable?” “Believable?” Grace shot back at him. She bent her head lower and gave them both pointed looks over the top of her sunglasses. “I’m an actress. Believable is what I do.” He let his arms drop to his sides. “There’s a ten year difference between you and Zac,” he offered, though his tone was more pleading this time. “There’s a ten year difference between Zac and Indigo, at least. Is she even 18 yet?” Grace asked sharply. Rigby and Phoenix shared a look and Grace was happy to note it was one of resignation. This conversation could be put to an end and they could go back to her original question. “So tell me why we haven’t locked things down in Australia?” Phoenix cleared her throat and responded, “Indigo had a lot of reservations about Australia. Too many poisonous spiders I guess.” “I see,” Grace said curtly. Then, in a show of her willingness to put the Indigo Lee conversation behind them forever, Grace let loose with her world famous smile. “So we can move ahead with Australia now, right?” Both Phoenix and Rigby nodded. “Excellent,” Grace said with finality. “I love Australia!” “Me too,” a man’s voice came from behind her, and before she could turn around to see who it was, his hands were on her shoulders and he leaned in from behind and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.