Chapter 11
Chapter 11
+20)
Angelica gave Tasha a quick look up and down, one brow raised. “Hey, kid, what’s your name? And how do you know Zeph’s lines like you wrote ‘em?”
Tasha ducked her head with a shy grin. “I’m Tasha. Zeph’s actor is a total pro, so I’ve been sticking close, tryin‘ to learn a thing or two. Guess his lines just stuck in my head.”
Tasha wasn’t ready to show her full hand yet. In the showbiz world, she was a nobody–smaller than a speck of glitter. Shining too bright too soon? Big nope.
Angelica chuckled, relaxing a bit. For a hot second, she’d thought Tasha had nailed Zeph’s whole script in one go.
She smirked. Tasha looked young–probably skipped college. ‘If she has some crazy memory trick, why is she here instead of killing it in school?‘
“Knowing lines is one thing,” Angelica said with a shrug. “But let’s see if you’ve got the goods. Give it a shot.”
This was the male lead’s big moment, and they couldn’t keep dragging their feet.
The crew hustled Tasha off to change. She was so tiny that Zeph’s costume hung on her like a kid playing dress–up in Dad’s suit.
The assistant director eyed her and frowned. He thought she didn’t look any better than the last guy they’d tried.
But Stuart’s agent was all grins. Why? Tasha was barely five–two, standing next to Stuart like a puppy beside a lion. She made him look like a total badass–tall, ripped, and larger than life.
Tasha had been “upgrading” her height lately, cashing in three days for every centimeter.
At five–foot–two, she wasn’t exactly runway material, but it beat her old pocket–sized self by a mile.
She stepped up to face Stuart.
The moment she hit her mark, the cameraman’s jaw dropped.
No joke–Tasha’s spot was flawless.
Everybody knew the deal: newbies gawked at the glitz, but pros zeroed in on the heart of it. And on TV? Where one stood wasn’t just luck–it was an art form.
Tasha didn’t steal Stuart’s spotlight or mess up the frame, Nope, she nailed it, giving the shot this clean, balanced vibe.
If Stuart was a lone fake flower, Tasha was the perfect green leaf, propping him up just right to make that plastic bloom look legit.
‘Whoa, hold up–this random extra’s a total nobody. How’s she got the stage chops of a pro?‘ The cameraman’s brain pinged with the thought, but heck, he’d seen more actors than grains of sand on a beach.
He then shook it off. ‘Luck or skill, who cares? Let’s shoot and bounce!
Stuart wasn’t quite a superstar yet, but he sure acted like he owned the place. Spotting Tasha already in position, he let out an annoyed huff. “Hey, can we get this show on the road already? We’ve been cooling our heels all damn day.”
Right before the director barked “action,” Tasha pulled a sneaky move.
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5:07 pm D &
Chapter 11
She slipped a pen into her jacket pocket.
It was so subtle that it flew under the radar for most. Only the cameraman, who was already zeroed in on Tasha’s spot, clocked the little sleight of hand.
“Action!” The second the word dropped, Tasha’s face flipped like a switch.
The nervous, bit–part energy? Gone in a flash. Instead, she oozed this slick, almost slimy charm.
It wasn’t just her expression–her whole vibe aged like she’d been around the block for decades. Her young face suddenly seemed to carry the weight of a thousand shady deals.
+20)
Tasha’s eyes narrowed to sly slits, a crafty glint dancing in them. With a forced, toothy grin, every line on her face screamed “smooth operator.” She looked ten times more seasoned than she did ten seconds ago.
Even Stuart had to do a double–take. The guy wasn’t winning any acting awards, but he could tell Tasha’s face–switch was some next–level stuff.
Still, no way was he letting some extra steal his spotlight. Shaking it off with a smug smirk, he drawled, “Mr. Neal, how ‘bout you run that line you fed the old lady by me one more time?”
Tasha froze for a split second, itching to sneak a peek at Mary who’d roped her into this, but she played it cool and held back.
Flashing a greasy grin, she chirped, “Come on, sir! I could repeat that spiel a million times, and it’d still be the same deal.”
Stuart scoffed. “Just spit it out already. What, the old lady gets the tea, and I’m left high and dry?”
Tasha threw in a mock bow, all “oh, please, sir.” “It is not what I meant, sir.”
She spun to face the lady of the house and her crew, laying on the charm thick. “So, on the seventeenth, this scruffy guy who looked like he just stepped out of a servant gig strolled into our jewelry shop, asking about ruby necklace prices.
“I was like, ‘Man, our ruby necklaces are a steal–top–tier ones go for just two–seventy. Guy shook his head and went, ‘Not buying, dude. What’s the trade–in value?‘ I slipped him a number on the sly—”
Right then, Tasha paused for a hot second, pulling a move that raised a few eyebrows.
With a smooth flick of her wrist, a sleek pen slid out of her pocket. She twirled it like she was born to do it, vibing with the air like it was no big deal, then slipped it back in without missing a beat.
The whole thing was so slick, so natural, it flowed right into her lines–no stumble, no fuss. Nobody on set batted an eye.
Well, except the cameraman, whose eyes widened just a smidge.
Way back when, antique and jewelry traders had this slick, under–the–table move called “code trading. To keep their prices hush–hush, they’d throw out subtle signals–twirling a pen, brushing a finger, or tweaking a cufflink–to tip off their bids.
A few chill gestures, and bam, the other guy was clued in, no chit–chat required.
And that was exactly what Tasha just nailed.
With a couple of smooth moves, she turned into a crusty antique shop boss right there on camera. Yeah, Tasha got that fresh–faced vibe, but nobody was buying she was some newbie just off the bus.
With one tiny move, Tasha worked pure magic, turning a nothing moment into a full–on character glow–up.
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Chapter 11
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The cameraman was floored, totally thrown. ‘If her killer positioning before was a happy accident, could this move really bet a coincidence too?”
He’d been in the showbiz game long enough to know this extra’s face wasn’t a regular on set.
‘Is this for real? Is this girl just born to own the spotlight?‘ he mused.
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