Rise of the Billionaire actress

Aaron stood dumbfounded. His shirt was ruined and his mood soured. He felt angered at himself for letting her have the last words. At the back of his mind, he knew that he wasn’t the most innocent in the situation but he felt angry nonetheless.

No one, not one person had the right to speak to him like that. Pretty or not. He was going to teach her a lesson. Something to remember him by.

” What’s going on in that smart head of yours boy? ”

The familiar voice of Mr Austin jerked him out of his reverie.

” Are you sweating or something? Did you run all the way here?” He asked, looking at the drenched chest with his hands in his pockets.

” I ran into a situation.” He winced, “long story short, I have to talk to you.”

” Okay? Let’s head on to the office then.”

Aaron shook his head at the request before speaking.

” There’s a lot of people there. It’s about the project.”

” Whatever it is, we can always talk about it later. I’m late for a meeting. ”

With that, Mr Austin led the way to his office. Aaron trudged behind him, unsure about how he felt, being in the same room with her.

The moment Mr Austin walked into the room, every conversation slowed to a stop and they all said their greetings to him.

” Good morning everyone. Sorry for the delay.” Mr Austin began, not bothering to take a seat. Aaron walked in and like everyone else, found a spot to sit.

” Today is the day we announce the roles you all rightfully auditioned for. And yes, the fact that you are all in this meeting means that you have, in one way or the order, bagged a role in the movie production.”

At that declaration, the crowd erupted into cheers, each and everyone happy that they had been selected. Soon enough the conversation died down, giving room for him to continue.

” Due to the importance and sensitivity of this project, many of you were given roles other than the one initially auditioned for. In other words, you may not get the actual role competed for, but were given a role nonetheless. ”

This time around, there were murmurs flying around. The happy countenance and air slowly fizzled out. Replacing it was a more serious approach to the subject matter. Everyone was eager to know what they’ve been assigned.

” As much as I’d like to remind you that small roles matter, you are at liberty to accept or decline whatever offer you are given. I’ll immediately announce the roles and the assigned persons for them.”

With that, Mr Austin began announcing the cast list, from the least significant up to the most significant roles of the script. At the mention of different names, there were chants of oohs and ahhs up until it was down to the three most important roles.

The female lead role, The Male lead and second female lead.

Everyone else heard their names in one category or the other leaving out three persons.

Aaron, Stella and Deloise.

Every eye was fixed on them, most especially on Deloise who was a new face. They all wondered who she was and how she managed to snag such a high ranking role without showing up at the auditions.

Although they didn’t know the exact role she was getting, they knew it was either the female lead or the second female lead. Each of which were pivotal roles for the production in general.

Stella felt confident of getting the role. After all, there wasn’t any real competition. No doubt she felt some brewing angst at the fact that the new girl was granted entrance into such delicate and high profile production.

But other than that, she was patiently waiting for her name to be announced as the lead female. She wasn’t the only one who shared that thought. As a matter of fact, ninety nine percent of the people held that belief. The other one percent included Aaron and Mr Austin.

Deloise was overtaken by joy, she honestly didn’t mind getting the second lead role of the gig. She had heard the gossip on Aaron being the male lead and now that it was confirmed, she didn’t exactly feel like working that closely with him.

She had seen a movie of Stella and despite her bitchy character towards her, she couldn’t deny the fact that she was talented and good at what she did. She could live with her being the female lead.

” Finally, for the Lead Female category, we have Deloise Tanner for the female lead and Stella Davis for supporting female! The male lead, I believe has been communicated to you, you’ll be updated if there are any changes.” Mr Austin said, staring directly at Aaron, and oblivious to the bomb dropped on the people.

The room was silent. Unlike the usual round of applause that came after every announcement, there was nothing.

Zilch.

No one could believe their ears. How was Stella the supporting lead and a newbie the main lead?! After some moments of shock, a clap came from someone and soon, the whole room was ringing with applause.

Everyone threw congratulations at Deloise, despite not knowing who she was. It was literally her moment. She had been announced as the face of the project and despite the fact that some people had their reservations, they joined the train anyway.

Stella felt dumbfounded and confused. She stormed out of the office in the midst of the chaos wondering what the hell just happened. Meanwhile, Deloise was in the moment, accepting the many congratulations getting hurled her way.

” Okay, okay, that’s it for today. Meeting adjourned. You may all leave now.” Mr Austin said to the people who were seconds away from turning the office into a meet and greet session with Deloise.

” Not you, we have to talk, remember?”

Aaron was stopped by the voice of Mr Austin. He was never planning on leaving though. With a head nod, he proceeded towards his target.

” Good to know that there’s actually something you are good at.”

He said to Deloise who clearly heard the menace in his faux friendly tone. She couldn’t be bothered to exchange words with him and left him to his devices.

Soon enough, the room was emptied out, save the presence of Aaron and Mr Austin who had business to handle.

” So tell me, what will it be? ” Mr Austin asked from the other end of the table, across from Aaron.

” I’m taking it.” Aaron said decisively, staring him square in the eye.

” Okay. Do you mind telling me why?” Mr Austin probed, curious to know the reason for his sudden change of heart.

” I’d rather not.”

The moment the words went out of Aaron’s mouth, the duo erupted in laughter. It was hard to be professional with how close they’d come to be.

” For real though, what changed?” Mr Austin asked, genuinely interested to know.

” Let’s just say I have a good feeling about it and want to try my hands despite the inconveniences.”

” Inconveniences that haven’t been resolved.” Mr Austin added, with a raised eyebrow.

” I don’t think they need to be resolved. I just need to get the best out of the situation, do my job and move on. All it took was a visit to Ma’s and it all made sense.” He explained while Mr Austin nodded.

” Anyways, I’m glad you decided to do it. It’s a great opportunity and would be the turning point of your career.” He sighed, ” he was right Afterall.” Mr Austin added. Referring to Mr Daniel’s thoughts on the subject matter at the time.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

” Who was right?”

” Did I say that aloud? Nevermind, get yourself prepared. The filming will kick off much sooner than expected. Be on your best.”

” I’m always at my best. See you around.”