Page 14 of Seeking Stars
The smile that had appeared on her face in response to his "docu" stayed in place after pressing send. She could almost sigh in relief that Liam had these kinds of questions; most people she worked with had asked similar things in the past.
A new text came in while she still held her phone in her hands.
Liam: you're being really patient
Ana: Gotta be if I want to earn your trust :)
Liam: thing is, if you tell me that's your purpose, how am I going to trust you? Then your patience is fake ;)
Ana: Or I'm so honest that I tell you all about my ulterior motives directly?
Liam: still diffic to trust you if I know it's what you want
Ana: why wouldn't I want your trust? Of course I want it. What really matters is what I'm going to do with it
Liam: and what are you going to do with it?
Ana: a documentary ;)
They continued to text on and off until she lay in bed in the dark, willing herself to put away her phone but unable to.
She opened up her text chain with Liam, going over their conversation again. She chuckled at the budding banter between them, interspersed among his questions: would she move to LA temporarily? Would she basically be with him all the time? Book time for interviews? She didn't have all the answers, for a lot of it depended on what worked for him.
The more they talked, the more real he appeared, and the more it seemed to change her first opinion of him. Sometime that evening, he'd stopped being an unapproachable Hollywood actor and became someone she craved filming. She'd done more than find neutrality: she'd found curiosity.
With a sigh, she put her phone on her bedside table and pulled the covers to her shoulders. It was too late to call Ely, anyway.
She woke up the next morning half-expecting to have a new text from him, but there was nothing new until after she had taken a shower.
Liam: You up? Had breakfast? If not, meet me for a bite. If yes, meet me for coffee?
Ana chuckled. He texted weird but it always managed to put a smile on her face.
Ana: Awake, yes. Breakfast, not yet. Meet, yes.
Liam: Efficient texting :) Approved. Is half an hr ok to send someone to pick you up?
Ana: yep. They can come, pick me up, and drop me off at the mysterious rendezvous place.
Liam: Funny. See you soon.
A car picked her up promptly. After about twenty minutes of driving, Ana arrived at a fancy-looking restaurant. The driver informed her that Liam would be waiting inside.
"Hey," he said as she approached him. She sat across from him. "This place okay?"
"Yes, I think so. I don't know much about the restaurant options here in LA, so I'll trust you."
"This place should be fine. It's a snobby place, so the people that come here often don't care that I'm around."
She nodded. "Is the food good?"
"Yes, very good."
"Then it's perfect."
After ordering food and drinks and settling into it, she took her camera out. She set it up but let her finger hover on the record button, before looking at him. She pressed record after his nod.
"Just make sure it's only us on the frame. People here wouldn't want to be recorded without permission." He drunk some of his coffee.
