Guillaume, Her French Husband

Chapter 5

Lara

It had been a really long time before Lara could even think of herself as a serious actress. But at that moment, two days after her audition, seated across from Michael who was helping her go through her contract, she was still having a hard time believing that she was actually negotiating a serious job.

Ashley gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and snapped her out of her thoughts. Lara turned and looked at her, her heart beating hard and fast. It almost felt like it was threatening to beat out of her chest.

“Hey,” Ashley said in a soft voice. “Will you relax a little? Michael knows what he is doing.”

Lara nodded.

“I know but I am just a little…” her voice trailed off. “I am not sure what I am supposed to say. I am just here trying to figure out if it is all real or not.”

“Still having doubts?” Ashley asked and Lara shrugged.

“Maybe just a little.”

Ashley nodded and took a sip of the iced tea in front of her.

“You better sip on that tea before it becomes just tea…the ice is melting fast you know,” she pointed out and Lara reached for her glass with her free hand. She took a sip of her tea and then put the glass back on the table – all the while, Ashley watching her. “So, have you told Myka?” she suddenly asked and Lara shook her head.

“I really didn’t want to say anything until I knew everything was rock solid, you know.”

Ashley nodded.

“I get it but considering the man offered to have you both in France on his own dime not to mention that it is going to mess with her whole school schedule,” she said as she looked at her friend. “And as far as Michael is concerned that contract is on the up and up.”

Lara rubbed her temple and sighed as she shook her head.

“I just don’t want to get her all excited about something I cannot back,” she said.

“Did that guy somehow make you think that he was not legitimate?” Ashley asked and Lara shook her head.

She had done everything possible after that audition. She had researched Guillaume Laurent and all his work. He might not have been so big in the States but he was a big deal in Europe. Heck, he had even won a couple of American awards. And it was maybe the fact that he was authentic that made her a little skeptical. It was not that she did not believe in herself or anything. It was that a big shot like him had chosen to have a little to not known person like her to play the lead role in his film.

“Lara, this is a great deal you have here,” Michael said when he finally looked up. “I mean, your signing bonus and the terms are really great. I’d say this contract is good to go.”

Ashley let out a loud sigh of relief.

“Good. Because I told Myka to meet us here,” she said.

Lara turned to look at Ashley, shocked.

“You what?” she asked.

“Well, Michael spent the better part of yesterday and last night going through this contract. And that was after the best of his associates went through it with a fine toothed comb.” She put her other hand over Lara’s. “And if by last night he had not found something awkward after all that work, I knew that he was going to give you good news.”

Lara shook her head.

“And you just made the call?” she asked.

“To be honest, you don’t have a lot of time. The minute you sign this contract you need to be on your way. And by the way filming begins in less than two weeks so you need to get your act together. And fast,” Michael said.

“How fast are we talking?” Lara asked.

“Well, if I was you, I would have sorted out everything and packed up everything,” he said.

“Oh my God….but it is all so soon and this is my home. It has always been my home,” Lara said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“Well, it is not like you are moving to France for good. It is just for a short time and then you will be back,” Ashley said in a reassuring voice.

Lara took a long minute before she sighed loudly and nodded.

“Does that mean Michael can make the call now?” Ashley asked and Lara nodded.

“Yeah. Set up a meeting for this evening,” Lara said. “Guillaume is still in town. He said he would not leave until he left with me.”

“Good. Because that’s the front door and I think that’s Myka,” Ashley said as she stood up.

“Yeah, I’ll go check on MJ,” Michael said before he also walked out of the room.

“Hello,” Lara heard her sister’s voice from the front door. “Anyone home?”

“In here,” Lara said in a soft voice.

She smiled at Myka as she made her way into the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “I got a text from Ashley telling me to meet you guys here after school.”

“Come on. We need to talk,” Lara said as she stood up from the table. She walked towards the fridge and opened it. “Are you hungry?”

Myka put her bag on the table and sat down.

“Yeah, sure,” she said in a soft voice. “I can literally eat an elephant right about now.”

“Didn’t you have lunch today?” Lara asked as she pulled out a mayo jar and Tupperware container from the fridge.

 “They were serving that disgusting mush in the name of spaghetti that always makes me sick. So I just had an apple and a bag of chips for lunch,” Myka said.

“I thought the PTA had a talk with the school about that spaghetti and meatball sauce nonsense,” Lara said as she got the bread from a bread box on the counter.

“They did and it changed for a while but soon enough it was back to the disgusting mush,” she said as Lara made a sandwich. A smile played on her lips.

“What fillings do you want for your sandwich?” she asked.

“Depends,” Myka said. “What do you have there?”

Lara opened the container and looked inside.

“Turkey,” she said. “But I think she has some ham and bacon in here too.”

“No, turkey sandwich is just fine,” Myka said.