Behind The Limelight

02: Those Goddamn Eyes

Ashton was ambitious.

He did not just dream, he made goals. And when he set his mind to something, he wouldn't stop at anything until he reached whatever he wanted. Right now, what Ashton wanted was to revive his dying career. He wanted to be in the limelight again, to have people screaming his name and making lines outside movie theatres to watch him.

A couple of bad movie choices almost killed his career, but he knew this Erick Tate film would be huge. So what if he had to work beside Ryker? He was an actor, for crying out loud, he could pretend to get along with him as long as the means justified the end.

"You good?" Malcolm asked. They were both in the car, on their way to the first script reading.

"Why won't I be?" Ashton questioned back, his face devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

"Because you're going to see Ryker after years?" Malcolm deadpanned, he wasn't buying any of Ashton's unemotional bullshit. He was aware of their history, well, at least some of it.

"So? I'm a grown man. I can keep my personal feelings side for the sake of my job," Ashton answered.

"But after what happened at that award show, do you-"

"Can we not bring that up?" Ashton cut off his agent, looking irritated now.

"Right, my bad," Malcolm muttered. "Keep your calm when we're at the reading too, okay? We cannot risk you getting fired."

"You don't have to tell me how to do my job, Malcolm," Ashton retorted. "It was a bad night. It's not like I have anger management issues."

"It is my job to tell you how to do your job," Malcolm replied.

Ashton sighed, but did not say anything in return as silence took over them for the rest of the ride. It took them another thirty minutes to reach their destination, and all that while Ashton kept repeating in his head that everything was going to go smoothly.

He was going to pretend as if he had no history with Ryker, that he was simply just a new actor he was going to have to work with. Maybe if he repeated this to himself enough times then he would actually come to believe that it was true.

Ashton felt the first wave of nervousness hit him as he got out of the car. It grew more when he stepped foot inside the building, and by the time he reached the room where the reading was going to be held...his heartbeat had shot up.

He took a deep breath in. He had done this a million times. He could do this again. Ryker being there was not going to change anything. He was a good, no, he was a great actor, and this was finally his big break to prove himself. To prove that he was worthy of the Archer name.

"Ashton Archer! About time you joined us!"

Ashton put on his million dollar smile, a persona he had spent years perfecting, as he shook Erick Tate's hand who was the first one to greet him.

"Excited to be here, I can't wait to start working with you, Mr. Tate," Ashton spoke.

"Just Erick is fine," the director waved his hand dismissively. He was in his late forties, shorter than Ashton by half a foot with a bald spot shining through. But his appearance did not matter in the slightest, he had made a massive name for himself in the industry and it was nothing but a dream to work with him.

"Erick it is."

"Come, I'll introduce you to everyone," said Erick.

Ashton did not want his eyes to wander. He did not want to look at Ryker until he absolutely had to, so he controlled himself as he shook hands with the various other actors that Erick introduced him to. A couple of them he had already worked with, but most of them were strangers to him.