Back in the apartment there’s a text message from Nick.
Emily’s car is gone. Did she contact you? Nick x
The woman who came here last night must have taken it. I wonder if I should call him and tell him what happened last night. I check the clock and realize I just don’t have time. I tap out a quick reply instead and jump in the shower.
Yes. She came over to collect keys last night. Bit strange. Can’t talk right now tho. Got a meeting at 10. Mia
Once I’m ready I grab my car keys and bag and head to the table to pick up my script. Except it’s not there. The table is completely bare. I look underneath and then turn a quick circle on the spot scanning the living room floor. Gone. It was definitely there yesterday evening. Unless…I head back to the bedroom. It’s not there either. I pause in the hallway flummoxed. What the hell did I do with it? I don’t really need it for the meeting today, but the fact that it’s gone is extremely strange. I didn’t take it out with me yesterday so I can’t have left it somewhere. Did I put it somewhere weird? I head back into the kitchen and check the counters, the cupboards, and then the bin. Only fajita leftovers greet me. God knows why I’d have thrown it out but I’m at a loss as to where else it could have ended up.
Could someone have been in here? I know the apartment is serviced so perhaps a cleaner cleared it away thinking it was a used script. Maybe I left the packaging on top of it and it looked like rubbish, but I can’t remember. My eyes instinctively examine the rest of the room but everything else looks the same. I guess the cleaner could have been here; it’s hard to tell as it was pretty immaculate anyway. I freeze for a second suddenly remembering my lost keycard. Could someone else have been in here? A shiver runs down my spine. I try to remember the last time I actually saw the script. Was it yesterday afternoon or yesterday morning? If I saw it last yesterday morning then a cleaner could easily have been in while I was out. I catch sight of the kitchen clock and start. I’m running late. I need to go. I can check to see if a cleaner came in yesterday with Lucy once I get back later. That’s probably all it is. I’m just on edge because of the strangeness of last night, I tell myself as I head out the door.
The drive to the studio is busy but relatively painless. I make it in time, retrieving a photo pass from the studio gate and heading into the pristine marble-lobbied building where an assistant collects me and guides me briskly up to Kathryn Mayer’s floor.
My heels clack out a reassuring heartbeat as we head across another lobby and enter a bustling open-plan office spanning half of the building’s footprint. We wind our way around busy desks until we reach the open door of a corner office. The assistant disappears inside and swiftly reemerges.
“Kathryn’s ready to see you now.” He smiles and gestures into the warm sunshine inside Kathryn Mayer’s office. I take a breath and head in.
She stands as I enter, an athletic woman in her early fifties in a well-cut gray trouser suit and a brilliant white shirt, her perfectly styled hair graying gracefully at the temples. She walks around her desk and greets me with a warm handshake.
“Mia. It’s great to finally meet you. Take a seat.” She indicates the chair behind me and turns to pour me a glass of water from the pitcher on her desk.
“So tell me, how are you finding LA?” she asks, handing me the glass.
I take a welcome sip before answering brightly, “Well, the weather is amazing.”
She lets out a throaty laugh. “That’s very diplomatic of you. Ha, yeah, LA’s something else all right but the weather’s fantastic.” She raises her eyebrows in solidarity and takes a seat at her desk. “If I’m honest, I try not to come into town unless I have to at this point. I only do two days a week here at the studio then work from home the rest of the week. I always advise young actors, when it comes to LA, get in late, leave early.” She smiles, adding lightly, “If you stay too long that’s where the trouble starts.”
I can’t help but think of what happened last night. Have I stayed too long already? I’ve only been here six days. I take another cool sip of water and try to refocus. “Yeah, it’s definitely different from London, that’s for sure. But it’s been an interesting few days.” I give a wry smile.