There was light chatter as everyone found their seats and got comfortable. The excitement of having Anastasia in the room seemed to have slowly died down, at last.
The production team must have anticipated the pull of having Anastasia, who had supposedly retired from showbusiness, they even invited media to a supposedly closed table read.
Kiera found her seat in between Alec and Anastasia with the main leads across from them as well as Gregory and Melissa.
"Now that's a clear divide." Alec muttered loud enough for her to hear. It was the good vs bad. He looked at her with a raised brow, "Guess they see me as a bad guy too, huh?"
He leaned back on his chair, "Who do you think suggested this arrangement?"
"Not something we would be privy to." Kiera commented as she opened the script on her tablet.
"Seems to be more power play to me, to be honest. It's quite amusing how far they're going. Makes me want to know how far they're willing to go."
Anyone who knew they were in the middle of a power play would want to duck and hide and hope they won't be targeted again. But Alec had a definite quirk to his lips, as if this was nothing but an amusing game.
Kiera shrugged, "Nothing we can do right now. Though, it might be better if we told someone."
He glanced at her, the amused tilt to his lips becoming more pronounced, "I generally hate being a tattle tale but we're just small scrubs right now. You give your report and I'll give mine as well. It would be interesting how the higher ups at the agency would act, especially as they're investing a lot of money in this show."
Kiera nodded in agreement. Production politics was best left to the professionals. A little rookie like her should focus on doing her job and accumulating goodwill with everyone, co-stars and crew alike.
She was studying her script while sipping on her tea from her thermos when a plate of cookies and pastries were placed in front of her. She looked up and saw Alec give her a smile and motioned at his own plate, "We'll need our energy for this."
Kiera was too focused on her script and didn't notice that Alec had stood up and went somewhere else.
"Oh good! You found the snack bar," Anastasia took her seat with her own plate in front. "Table readings make me hungry." She took a bite of a chocolate croissant and let out a pleased hum. "At least they're not scrimping on the food."
A moment later, Nathan cleared his throat and got everyone's attention, "Alright people, we'll have our read through of the first episode out of the planned 28 episodes. Kindly forget our friends from the media out back and let's focus on our scripts."
The first scene was the main leads first meeting each other. It was a classic knight saving the damsel in distress. Even with Dylan and Sylvia just reading through the script, Kiera was certain that their fans would go crazy.
The first meeting of the two was sweet and planted the seed and a potential for more. To be fair, the two actors were very used to conveying that sweetness even with just their voices. That awkwardness of the speaking to a stranger to the yearning to see each other once again.
"… Anthony gets into the car and looks at one of his bodyguards in the front seat." Nathan narrated.
"I want all information about her and her family. Be as thorough as possible and I want it done within three days." There was a hard-edged command in his voice.
"Bodyguard 1 nods his head."
"Yes, sir." One of the extras said.
"Scene 2, Gerald York enters the house and Aurelia Thomas immediately helps him out of his suit jacket and hands Gerald a glass of whiskey."
"How was your day?" Melissa's voice was smooth and soothing, it was the tone a tired man would relish having when he comes home. Her tone was different from the near confrontation with Anastasia earlier. It was proof of how good an actress she was.
Gregory grunted, "The usual."
"Gerald looks around for his daughter."
"Where's Lizzie?" he asked.
Melissa sighs, "Some thief had snatched her bag from her but instead of just letting it be she ran after him screaming at the top of her lungs. Of course, I told her she shouldn't have done that but she didn't want to lose the bag you gave her for her birthday. It was a good thing a young man assisted her and helped her catch the thief. But while running around she seemed to have strained her ankle. The same young man sent her home in his car."
"Where is this thief being held?" There was rage in Gregory's words.
"Calm down, honey. That young man was Anthony Boltane, the only heir of the Boltane family. I recognized him at once when he helped Lizzie come in. He assured me he will make sure the man responsible would be duly punished." Melissa's voice became even more soothing and sweeter this time around.
"He stayed for tea and he and Lizzie seemed to have hit it off quite well. I wanted to find a way to thank him but," she sighed, "Lizzie and I are in an embarrassing situation, with myself being from a lowly family background."
Gregory hummed, "You say they hit it off?"
Melissa chuckled, "The young master could hardly take his eyes off our Lizzie. He seemed utterly fascinated by her."
Kiera wanted to roll her eyes, at the scene. Though this was all fiction, the words still grated. The female lead's mother, Aurelia, knew that the said young master was for intents and purposes, Veronica's fiancé. Veronica being Gerald York's legitimate daughter. Yet here was this woman planting seeds in her man's head.
"Would it be alright, do you think, if our Lizzie would continue her friendship with him?" this time Melissa's voice had a hint of vulnerability and hopefulness.
"Why shouldn't she? She is my daughter! Why couldn't she become friends with anyone she wants?"
"Oh, thank you, honey!"
Kiera continued to make notes on her script on the various inflections they used in their line. But a part of her was sad how this mundane scene started the end for Veronica York.