Guillaume, Her French Husband

“Yes, maybe some people. I mean pretty blondes are usually great characters for CSI or something of the sort.” He held up a finger. “As victims of course,” he quickly corrected himself and she smiled.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Laurent. You seem like a really good person but I cannot help but feel like there is something more in this whole arrangement…I mean, I just can’t accept without knowing what you really want.”

“I only want one thing, Lara King,” he said. “I want you in my film and I am willing to do whatever is necessary to make this happen.”

She shook her head.

“But a school there….” She started and Guillaume took a long sip of his water.

“If you want I can send a copy of the contract to a lawyer of your choice and then take it from there,” he said. “I want you to get into this with your conscience clear.”

It was a long second before she finally nodded.

“Okay,” she said in a soft voice. “You get me a copy and I’ll have someone look it over.”

Guillaume smiled and his dimpled cheek showed his obvious excitement.

“We have your contact details so I will make sure you get a copy by the end of the day. In the next few hours even.”

She nodded and shrugged.

“I guess that’s okay,” she said. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“And I’ll be looking forward to your reply because I am not leaving the country without you,” he said as they both stood up. He stretched his hand out to shake hers. “Welcome to the Guillaume Laurent Production team, Lara King.”

She smiled and turned around before she walked to the door. She stopped and turned around to look at him for a long second before she forced out a small laugh and then walked out.

He was still standing in the room with a smile on his face when Tammy and Ian walked back into the room.

“Send the other girls home,” he said. “The audition’s over.”

“Wait…what?” Tammy asked and Ian just stared at him in surprise.

“It’s over. I found who I was looking for,” he said before he walked out of the room leaving a stunned casting team behind. But he didn’t want to talk about anything. He had already made up his mind and he always trusted his gut. And he never doubted his gut. Not once; he was definitely not about to start at that moment.

He was still smiling as he approached his car when he suddenly saw the source of all his stress leaning on his car: Zoe. He took a long deep breath and sighed.

“So, you are looking for a lead actress and I am the last one to find out?” she asked as she looked at him.

“If you were what I was looking for then maybe I would have given you a call earlier. Don’t you think?” he asked as he unlocked the car. He opened the rear door and tossed his iPad and coat in the back seat.

“What do you mean ‘if I was what you were looking for’?” she asked angrily. “I am what every producer, director and script writer in Hollywood is looking for.”

He shook his head and shrugged.

“Well, I hate to break it to you mademoiselle, but you are definitely not what I am looking for.”

“Why? What is wrong with me?” she asked. “I am the most sought after actress right now.”

He shrugged.

“Well, then. That means you have more than enough opportunities out there.”

She shook her head and gently placed her well-manicured hands on his shoulders.

“But we had such great chemistry together,” she said in a soft voice and he shook his head.

He had seen this coming from a million miles away halfway through his last project and how that he was here, he was not very sure what he was supposed to do. She was coming closer and closer to him but he couldn’t let her get to him. He’d had enough of her in the few weeks they had been filming together. He gently pushed her away and looked at her.

“Zoe,” he started as he shook his head. “We never really had chemistry. Sexually, maybe. At first but that’s just it.”

She bit her lower lip.

“Is that what we were?” she asked. “Just s*x?”

Guillaume sighed loudly.

“We were never anything. We had a good time together and that’s it. That was why I told you from the get go that this was never going to be permanent.” He shook his head. “I thought I made that perfectly clear.”

“You did but everyone says that to Zoe Matheson before they find out what they are really in for,” she said and he forced out a laugh.

This was probably why the attraction he felt for her ended with it being just that: physical. The girl was so full of herself she could barely see what was real anymore. As far as she was concerned, she was God’s gift to women. He looked at her and sighed again.

“I am not going to indulge you, Zoe. You are too much…work on set. And it is always something with you.” He shook his head. “Besides. I told you that you were not what I was looking for in a lead actress.”

There was a long silence before she finally spoke again.

“And what is that? What are you looking for that you cannot find in me?” she asked and he shrugged.

“Well, I was looking for a fresh new look. Someone with the rare talent I want and the industry does not know of. At least not yet,” he explained.

“Why the hell would you want to work with a newbie instead of working with me?” she asked angrily and he gently pushed her away from him before he climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Well, Zoe. I would work with a newbie any day as long as it is not you,” he said in a soft voice. “Now we had a good run on the set of that last project but even you know that it was eight weeks longer than it was meant to be.”

“But the entire production took eight weeks,” she said in a confused tone as he secured his seat belt.

“My point exactly,” he said before he began pulling out of the parking lot. And even though his words had been harsh and he knew that his words cut right through her, he did not regret it one bit. Matter of fact, he was glad he did it because if anything, she needed some tough love. And he had just served it up to her.