Playing with Magic (Elemental Trilogy Book 2) (23 page)

Chapter 2

Alisa had never made the long trip to Los Angeles by herself before, and it was eight-thirty by the time she made it there. Night had fallen, but the traffic was heavy and the town was still awake and alive with things to do. It was definitely different from her small town where all stores closed by six. Using her cell phone, thank the stars for free upgrades, she quickly located a cheap motel. She hoped they had rooms available.

The lady behind the counter looked up from the TV with large brown eyes and sprang to her feet. “Hello!”

“Hi. I don’t have a reservation, but I am hoping you have a room available for three nights?”

“I have one room left!” she exclaimed as she entered some information into the computer. “Will you be charging or using cash? Is it just you?”

“Yes. Just me.” Alisa pulled out her wallet and handed over her bank card.

“Pretty girl like you shouldn’t be here by herself.” She slid the card back to Alisa with a receipt for her to sign.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, taking the pen and signing the paper.

The woman handed her a room card key and told her to have a nice stay. Alisa retrieved her stuff from the car and found her room. Fumbling her bags, she tried the key card, but the light refused to turn green. She finally dropped the bags, and with her hands free, slid the card into the lock.  Finally the lock accepted the key, and the light turned green.

Inside the room, she looked around at the plain space which was done in reds and various shades of beige. Heavy curtains covered the large window, and a flat screen was bolted to the wall. Along one wall was a queen size bed with a bedspread matching the color scheme of the room. Other than that, the room had no other amenities or décor. Laying her bags down, she thought about getting some editing done. She had set a deadline for herself to get her newest novel to her editor by the end of the month, and it was coming close.

But what she could really go for was a shower.

She undressed as she made her way to the bathroom, not caring where her clothes ended up.  Naked, she had a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Her shoulder length brown hair looked like how she felt, disheveled. She made a mental note that she needed a trim, she liked the way her hair framed her oval face; it didn’t make her nose look too big.

She got the water going at a nice, steamy temperature and stepped in. As the warmth beat against her skin, the day flashed back to her. Her chest tightened, and she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. She gasped, fighting the tightness. The tears ran down her cheeks, and she crumpled to the floor of the shower, rocking herself as she cried.

****

Alisa clutched her laptop bag as she walked toward the secretary. From the moment she walked into the building she felt underdressed with a heavy stone sat in her belly. The bleached blonde woman looked at her with muddy brown eyes. “May I help you?”

“I have an appointment with Ron Suffington.”

“Name please?”

“Alisa Parson.”

“Oh yes. Your name is on the list. Please have a seat, and he will be right with you.”

“Do you have a lot of people come in who aren’t on the list?”

She nodded. “Tons.”

“With the security below, you would think that wouldn’t happen often.”

“Desperate people will do desperate things,” she said. Her eyes widened just a bit, causing Alisa to turn around and follow her gaze.  Her breath caught.

Logan Rider walked up to the desk, towards her. The Logan Rider! Hot comedy and TV star Logan Rider! He towered over her by six inches, and his brown hair looked perfect. He was the reason she faithfully watched Family Insurance for five years. Family Insurance was a quirky family comedy in which Logan’s character ran an insurance company with his bossy sisters and playful brothers after their father ran away to join the circus. She had also watched most of his movies at least one hundred times each; they were her favorite comedies ever created.

Alisa remembered to breathe as he leaned on the counter looking at the secretary.  Who had stuck her chest out to show off her goodies. Alisa stopped herself from looking down at her own. They weren’t perfect, but she thought a D cup fit her pretty well.

“I have an appointment with Ron,” he said.

“Of course you do,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

He smiled and then looked at Alisa.

Her heart thudded hard in her chest; she thought she would have a coronary right there. How embarrassing would that be? Her mind screamed. He is looking at me! We are sharing the same space. Alisa, you will not swoon!

“Are you Alisa?”

HE KNOWS MY NAME! Her mind screamed. “Yes.” She didn’t stutter. Score one for her.

He stood up straight and put out his hand. “Logan Rider.”

She unclenched her bag and put out her hand. For a second she worried he would notice her hand was clammy or that it shook horribly. But her hand touched his, and he gripped it nicely, his big hand engulfing hers. Again her heart thudded.

Don’t pass out! She screamed to herself.

“Alisa Parson.” Their hands touched, but she was pretty sure she was dreaming. No way would she actually be touching Logan’s hand in real life.

“I love your book, Gateway!”

He let go of her hand. The dream did not end.

O-M-G! She blanked for a second. “Really?”

“Yes. I read it and thought, ‘This needs to be made into a movie’. So here we are!”

“I’m sorry, I’m just a little lost for words.  You are part of the movie?”

He laughed. “I thought they would have told you. I wrote the script. The studio loves it. But of course you have to go through it and give your okay.”

“Wow,” she said, mostly to herself. Startling her, the secretary told them they could go in.

****

Two hours later they struck up a deal. Logan Rider wanted her– her– to read over his script. Since it was her book, he wanted to make sure he got it right. He was not taking on the main role, because he would be directing. He instead opted for the bumbling tech guy who was still a key part of the group, and happened to be her favorite character.

She stood outside the building in awe, unsure of what to do for the rest of the day. It was still relatively early. She thought of all the things she could do and see with no one to rush her around.

“Do you have lunch plans?” Logan said, making her jump. He chuckled, coming around from behind her. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I was just thinking. No lunch plans.”

“Thinking about what?”

The question caught her a little off guard. “What to do. I’ve only been to Los Angeles a few times. Once, I got to see Mann’s Chinese Theater, but was rushed, so I didn’t really get to geek out about it. I love movies, I love the history of movies, and well, I just love everything about them. The idea of being in places I have seen on screen…”

She shrugged as she looked out at the horizon. “It’s magical. Maybe not as magical as that moment you have when the lights go down in the theater and the trailers start, the excitement of the blockbuster to follow. Like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and the next Marvel movie. That next step in movie history.” She shook her head. “Sorry. I tend to rattle on.”

“Don’t let me stop you. It’s nice to meet someone who still has that love.  Many here no longer do. Some people seem so jaded nowadays.”

“My… ex didn’t care for them as much. But it didn’t stop me from enjoying them.”

“Ex?” he asked, pointing at his own bare ring finger. She grabbed her ring finger and middle finger with her left hand and looked at the ring indentation as her thumb ran across it.

“Yeah.” She sighed.

“I’m in the same boat. Sorry to be a downer. Let’s go get lunch and talk movie.”

“Okay.”

****

Talk movie they did. They sat at their table for close to three hours talking about different things. When Logan’s cell went off, he cursed at the text message. He typed a reply and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

“Sorry,” he said. “I have to get back to work. I only had a few hours off. We are actually caught up with taping Family Insurance, so taking some time off was pretty easy.  I had such a great time.”

He grabbed for the bill as Alisa pulled out her debit card. “What’s my half?”

He shook his head, waving off her card. “My treat.”

“Thanks.”

After the bill was paid, he took her back to her car. Her phone vibrated. She pulled out the phone and looking at the number, felt a mental groan. It was her mom. She hit ignore.

“Thanks again.” She opened the car door.

“Hey!” he said before she could get out. “I was going to say I’ll call you later, and then realized I don’t have your number yet.”

She stared at him dumbfounded for a second. “I—”

He gave her a charming smile that made her stupidly pause longer. “Here.” He took her phone, dialed something, and checked his phone before handing it back. “Now we have each other’s number.”

Phone in hand, she grabbed her bag and turned to leave but looked back at him. “Look. I am usually not this shy. I am just star struck. I am a huge fan. I was trying to act cool, but—thank you.”

He laughed a good natured laugh, making her inner fan girl squeal. “It was fun. I think we are going to be best buds making this movie.”

“I would really like that.” She slid into her car.

“Bye!” he called from the window of his own car, giving her a small wave.

“Bye!” She watched him leave, clutching her phone to her chest.

****

Alisa looked at her buzzing cell phone and groaned. She had been lying in the hotel bed reading the script they had given her as she ate greasy fries. For a few years she had followed a strict diet and lost over one hundred and fifty pounds. She had done it to please her husband. When he went on his macho, health nut exercise and diet regimen, she had wanted to keep up. She’d been very impressed with herself and the amount of weight she lost, but she had paid a steep price. She really didn’t care anymore as she looked at the fries.

Trying to talk herself out of it, she answered the phone, “Hi, Mom.”

“Alisa!” She screamed over the phone, making her daughter flinch and hold the phone from her ear. “I thought you were dead. What is going on? Kurt said you left. You just left.”

“Did Kurt tell you why I left?”

“No; he said you walked in, grabbed stuff, and left.”

“Ha. I walked in on him with the neighbor.”

“The one who lost her husband?”

“Yes.”

“You should have come home.”

“I have been in talks to sell one of my books to be made into a movie.”

“Are you in Los Angeles? Your father will come get you in the morning.”

“Mom, I am an adult. I’ll be fine. I have to see this through.”

“Wait until I see that jerk. I will let him have it. Hurting my baby.”

“I’ll be fine,” Alisa said, choking back tears. “Mom, I’ve got to go, I have to finish reading this by the morning.”

“Good luck, sweetheart, and call me about the movie deal tomorrow.”

“Will do. Bye, Mom.”

She dropped the phone on the bed, and the tears escaped her eyes. Too many years had been wasted with that dumb man. The man who said he loved her, who promised her life would get better. Things just kept getting worse.  And when she thought they were finally going to catch a break, he slept with their neighbor.

“Jerk,” she said out loud.

Her phone beeped. She looked at the text message from Logan. What do you think so far?

She loved it so far. As she read the script she saw it as she had written it. She replied:
Love it so far!

Great! See you tomorrow
. 

She was putting the phone down when her best friend Joann called. She debated answering for a second, and then decided she might as well.

“Hey, Joann.”

“Don’t hey me! You should have called me before you ran off to Los Angeles.”

“How did you find out?” She had a sinking feeling she already knew.

“Your mom.”

Alisa sighed.

“She is waging a full out war against Kurt on Facebook.”

Alisa rubbed her forehead. “Man, that was fast. I just talked to her.”

“Oh yeah, she said he is lucky she lives two hours away or she would be there to kick him in the you-know-whats.”

“Well    ”

“I’m glad you left him. He was a jerk anyway. He never liked me hanging around. I bet you would have written more too, but he wanted you to spend more time with him. Jerk.” She paused. “I forgot. Sorry. How are you doing?”

“Okay—”

“You should have hit me up. I would have come to Hollywood with you.”

“I had to do this on my own. You won’t believe who I met.”