Mr. Hollywood (2 page)

I had to laugh. Jennifer was seriously so overly dramatic sometimes.

A few days later, my phone rang.

“Hey. I didn’t wake you did I?”

I rolled over and glanced at the clock and groaned -- eight o’clock.

“Oh man, you were asleep weren’t you? Sorry. I didn’t think about the time. We had a four am call time this morning so I’ve already been up for hours and I guess I just wasn’t thinking.”

“Grayson?” I asked. Still a little unsure if that was even who it was I was speaking to.

“Yeah.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I just couldn’t get you off of my mind.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet.”

I really meant that too. It was nice to hear that someone like Grayson Chase couldn’t stop thinking of me.

“I know you said you didn’t want to go out for coffee, but I was thinking, what if I brought some coffee to you?”

“I don’t know. We just don’t have anything in common. I don’t see …”

“How do you know if we have anything in common if you don’t give me a chance?”

“Alright. I guess you’re right. But instead of you coming here, how about I meet you where you are now. Where are you? Still on set at the campus?”

“Yeah. We have another few days of filming.”

“Trailer in the same place as it was before?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, notify whoever you need to notify so I can get access and I’ll meet you there in an hour. I’ll stop by catering on my way, and pick us up some coffee.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

When I hung up the phone I just sat there staring at it, like it was going to bite me or something. Did I really just agree to go have coffee with Grayson Chase, in his private trailer no less? What was I thinking?

I can remember the first time I laid eyes on him. He was starring in some Disney movie with Hillary Duff. I must have watched that movie like twenty times. Actually come to think of it, I’ve probably seen all of his Disney movies that many times. How pathetic am I? I don’t want him to think I’m some crazy fan girl. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.

When he was cast on Malibu High, I was just in junior high so I wonder how much older than me he really is? I should probably Google him and read up on his bio. Although I watched the show faithfully, that ended years ago and I haven’t kept up with Hollywood, so I don’t know much about him. Then again, I guess watching some guy on a TV show back then, didn’t give me much real information about him either.

Maybe he’s a total party boy or a player. Was he a Hollywood bad boy? Naaah, surely Jennifer would have mentioned that the other night when I told her that he asked me out. Right?

I started to get nervous but I didn’t have time to do any research on him because I only had an hour to get ready and get to the set for our coffee date. Was it a date? I guess, technically it was.

Jennifer wasn’t up for me to talk to her and if I called my sister I would have to spend forever on the phone with her explaining how I met Grayson in the first place. I sighed. I guess I would just have to suck it up and go on my date without the benefit of their advice or further research.

When I got to the part of the campus where they were filming, I walked up to the roped off area and was met by a very eager man with a clipboard and headset.

“Hi, I’m Alison Crawford. Grayson Chase is expecting me.”

He eyed me suspiciously and then looked at some names on his list. He acted surprised to actually find my name there.

“Oh yes, Miss Crawford. Mr. Chase asked that you be immediately escorted to his trailer. He said not to worry about stopping by catering, he has it all taken care of.”

I nodded as if I understood.

“Please follow me.”

And so I did. The young man escorted me to Grayson’s trailer and waited for me to get inside before shutting the door behind me. When I got there, I was alone. Grayson apparently was still on set. I wasn’t sure what I should do with myself while I waited. I didn’t want to be nosey and go through his stuff, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but look around.

On the outside, it looked like a big RV. On the inside it was a three room luxury home. In the back there was a full sized bedroom and bathroom and then there was the main room with a big screen TV, fluffy couches, and a beautiful granite kitchen table.

I only took a peek into the bedroom and bathroom. I was too afraid that Grayson would come back and find me in there. Until finally I decided to just sit at the table and look through a magazine that I found nearby. Turns out it had an interview featuring Grayson.

“You’ve travelled all over the world. What is your favorite city?” The interviewer asked.

“I’ve been to some amazing places but there is nowhere like home. In my case that’s a small town just outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma called Fair Oaks. It’s so small, it’s not even on a lot of maps. My family still lives there and there is nothing I love more than going home and spending time with them when I get some time off. Which unfortunately isn’t as much as I would like.”

“What’s the best way to spend a day off?”

“A day off?” Grayson teased. “I don’t get many of those. Between filming, working out and promotional tours there is always something to do.”

“You’re obviously in great shape. What’s your workout schedule like? Do you do it every day?”

“I try and work out five to six days a week but it’s not always easy to get a workout in when you are on set. Sometimes you have to compromise and just go with the flow. But on days when I don’t get a good workout in, I just don’t feel like myself.”

“I went to the screener last night for
Life Extension
,” the interviewer said. “I loved it. It really made me laugh and it made me think. I didn’t expect that.”

“I think the purpose of a great movie is to crack open a person’s mind. Sure it’s also supposed to entertain them and help them escape from reality for a while, but a really good movie also makes them think, really think. At least those are the kind of movies I like to make.”

“You and Sara Douglas had great chemistry in the movie. Anything there?”

“Sara is a great girl. I met her on the set of a movie I did when I was probably about fourteen or fifteen. We’ve been good friends ever since. But no, there isn’t anything more than that between us.”

“Is there anyone special in your life then? You thinking of getting married and settling down anytime soon?”

“I think over the years my views on love and marriage have changed. As I get older I have begun to see how serious marriage really is. When you’re younger you just take it for granted. I think that’s in part why the divorce rates are so high. Now, I think you should wait. You should get to know the person. Everybody has their own careers and ambitions in life and they aren’t always compatible but until you really spend a lot of time with the person, you just don’t see that at first. That’s something that only time can tell. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying don’t date. Just the opposite. Get out there and date but just don’t rush into something serious. If it’s meant to be, another few months won’t change that. Take your time, lots of time, and get to know the person you are with. That’s the only way to really know if you two could make a go of it, long term.”

The interview went on but Grayson showed up so I couldn’t finish it. What I was able to read though, I must admit, I was impressed.

“Hey. Sorry I’m late. Took longer than I thought. We had some issues with the lighting.”

“No problem. I was just flipping through this magazine while I waited.”

Someone tapped on his door and he turned to let them in. It was the catering department. They set out a huge spread.

“Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

“No, I haven’t. I was sleeping when you called.”

“Are you hungry?”

“I guess, yeah, I am.”

I grabbed a plate and started filling it up. There were all sorts of fruits, bacon, little sausages, scrambled eggs, pancakes and waffles. I didn’t want to seem like a total pig, but everything looked so delicious.

“Want some coffee?” Grayson asked.

I scrunched my nose and shook my head no. “To be honest I’m not a big fan of coffee. I’ll take a glass of orange juice though.”

The lady from catering filled a glass put it in front of me, then made her way out of the trailer, shutting the door behind her without saying so much as a word to either of us. It was kind of awkward.

“You didn’t have to do all of this Grayson. I thought we would just share a drink.”

“I know, but I was hungry and thought you might be too.” He gave me his trademark smile and my heart melted just a bit. “So tell me about this roommate of yours, the one who brought you to my set the other day.”

I smiled. “Her name is Jennifer.”

“Is she also studying business?”

“No,” I giggled. “Her degree is in marketing. She wants to be a publicist. She saw some reality show years ago about it and got it in her head that it would be the best job ever.”

“Public relations can be an interesting career choice but I couldn’t imagine I would want to do it myself. It’s a lot of hard work,” Grayson said.

“I agree. But she’s very social so I really think public relations would be perfect for her.”

“And what about you? What are your career plans?”

“I want to be a writer but my mother insisted I get a
real
degree as well just in case the whole writing thing doesn’t work out.”

“Ahhh, hence the double major in business and English.”

“Exactly,” I said with a grin on my face.

“So you want to write screenplays?”

“No. I want to write the great American novel, and by that of course I mean love stories.”

“Like a rom-com?”

“Yeah, something like that.”  I paused and asked, “Is this your first time in Houston?”

“We’ve been here for three months shooting so I almost feel like a native Texan now,” Grayson teased.

“Ha! Until you experience a hot Houston summer, you don’t get to claim that.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it since we finish filming soon and I’ll have to head back to LA.” He looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. “But maybe I’ll have a reason to come back this summer.”

“Perhaps. But don’t you have another movie to shoot?”

“I thought about taking some time off. When we wrap this film I have to do the press junket for another movie I have coming out, but after that, I’m free. I don’t have any commitments until fall.”

“And you wrap filming here in a few days you said?”

“Our last day is Friday,” Grayson confirmed.

“Will you head back to Los Angeles right away?”

“Yeah. I have several meetings lined up that I have to get back for. I’ve been away for a while now.”

“I bet you miss your bed too. That’s always the worst part of traveling. I love to come home and jump in my own bed.”

“I’m so used to traveling, I don’t give it much thought,” Grayson admitted. “One bed is the same as any other to me.”

“How much time do you get to spend at home?”

“I’ve been pretty busy lately. It seems like I’m always on the set of some movie or another anymore.”

“That can’t be easy,” I said sympathetically.

He shrugged. “It’s the life I chose.”

“How did you get into acting?”

“I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma. My older brother knew from a young age what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to be a lawyer. I didn’t know what I wanted, just that I didn’t want that. I knew all that schooling wasn’t for me. One day I heard a commercial on the radio about an open casting call for kids and I begged my parents to take me and the rest, as they say, is history.”

“Your brother is a lawyer, seriously?”

“Yeah. He’s a second year associate at a firm in Tulsa.”

“Oh my God. My twin sister Andrea is in law school.”

“You have a twin sister? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Identical?” Grayson asked.

“Yep.”

“So you look exactly alike?”

“Yes, in every way. People have a hard time telling us apart by our looks alone but personality wise we couldn’t be more different. She’s also very smart. She graduated high school early and is doing really well. She’s in her final year at law school.”

“Who is older, you are her?”

“She’s three minutes older than me.”

Grayson had a huge grin on his face.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“I told you that if you gave us a chance we would have something in common.”

I rolled my eyes. “Each of us having a lawyer sibling does not a relationship make,” I said in jest.

He just smirked.

“What’s the first thing you are going to do when you get back to LA?”

“Probably sort through my mail. I always have a huge pile of it to catch up on when I get home.”

“Interesting.”