Emmaline thought she had heard Ashton wrong.
His car was already pulling out of the driveway by the time her brain processed his words and the whole time, she was second-guessing herself.
But her hands were already moving, opening her bag and pulling her phone out.
She checked the screen and for the first time that night, a real smile found its way to her lips.
Camilla had sent her a text that read: 'I KNOW YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. IF YOU DECIDE TO TRY THIS, I GOT YOUR BACK!'
Followed by a location pin that must be the address for the auditions.
Typing the address into the car's GPS, Emmaline turned to Ashton who had smoothly turned onto the suggested route as if he had known the way the whole time.
She didn't know what to say.
Ashton was literally paying her to act in front of his family and yet, he had cut that time short so that he could get her to an audition that she hadn't even told him she wanted to go to.
God, why did you make such a thoughtful guy gay?
After searching his name online, she had seen countless photos of him with models and heiresses and so on. So she had expected a charming playboy with guys as much as girls.
Instead, she had gotten a caring businessman disguised as a flirt!
"Thank you," She said quietly. There was nothing more she could say and he seemed to hear the sincerity in her voice because the side of his mouth tilted up just a little.
"It would be a crime to keep such a good actor like yourself from the screen," He replied casually, as if he wasn't going above and beyond just to help her out.
His faith in her since they had met was unwavering and Emmaline felt a wave of warmth wash over her.
Only her mother and Camilla had ever shown that kind of strong belief in Emmaline.
Ashton had only met her a couple of days ago and he still sounded so sure of himself when he spoke about her acting.
Nearing the location, Emmaline asked to be dropped off a little further out.
"Afraid to be seen with me?" Ashton teased.
Emmaline shook her head, smiling slightly, "You know how rumours fly in this industry. It's better that you stay out of it as long as you can."
"I can't even come and watch?" He asked
Panic leapt into Emmaline's throat.
She was auditioning as a girl! There was no way he could come and watch!
"No!" She said a little too quickly, "I mean, no, I think I'll perform better with the fewer people I know watching."
Ashton didn't argue, only slowing down a short distance away from the entrance and looking at her with his trademark roguish grin.
"Break a leg, Em."
Emmaline's traitorous heart fluttered just a little.
"Thank you, again," She exclaimed before dashing out.
Camilla was waiting for her at the entrance, like a beacon of hope.
She passed Emmaline a change of clothes, herding her into an empty room as Emmaline struggled out of her clothes faster than two people in a one night stand.
Together, they unpinned her wig, shook out her dark tresses and got her into a role appropriate outfit.
Emmaline rushed into the call room just as the last person went out and she nearly gave up.
But she hadn't come this far just to let it go like that!
She waited until the person finished and was dismissed before she went out.
"Excuse me, I'm here to audition for Stacy," She told the panel.
There was a flurry of papers as they looked through and someone said, "I thought we just saw the last candidate."
"I applied for the audition, Emmaline Spelt," Emmaline said urgently, "Please check."
Another flurry of papers before someone else went, "Oh! Here, it said you pulled out."
Cold fury gripped Emmaline.
"No," She repeated herself as clearly as she could, "No, I didn't. I just didn't get the memo about the date and time change, but I still want to audition which is why I'm here. I never pulled out."
Producer Penhas was easily recognisable on the panel with his signature ponytail and tee shirt with cargo pants style.
He had been quiet the entire time, watching her and looking through his papers.
Now, he finally spoke up, "Well, since you're here, go ahead."
A spark lit within Emmaline, burning until it became a huge, roaring fire.
***
Priscilla Curtis smashed another porcelain doll's head with her limited edition golf club.
Upon inspection, the golf club had a few scratches and she shrugged. She would just ask her father to buy her the next limited edition design.
With another shriek of rage, she decapitated another doll, leaving broken pieces and doll bodies lying all over the floor.
The servants outside the locked door winced with every crash.
It was never good when the young Curtis heiress threw a tantrum like this. They would be cleaning shards out of the carpet and the curtains for weeks.
Not to mention all the little cuts they sustained when cleaning up after her.
Collectively, they sighed.
Inside, Priscilla Curtis placed another order for a set of collector's edition dolls. They were always top of the line, ridiculously expensive and the most satisfying to smash.
How dare that stupid Emmaline Spelt dare to audition? How dare she steal Priscilla's role?
How did she even know about the audition or get there in time?
Her phone pinged with an email she had been waiting for.
Opening the attachment, she glared at the CCTV footage of the entrance of the building, watching until she saw a car pull up in the distance and a man alighted.
Weird.
She skipped ahead and then rewound the footage but she didn't see Emmaline arrive at all.
At the time that Emmaline had shown up to audition, only that mysterious man and car had appeared.
In fact, she squinted a little, the car looked kind of familiar. Had she seen it before?
Who was the man? Had Emmaline taken a separate entrance?
She tapped her nails on the table as she scrutinized the little image on her screen.
Just what was going on?