A Midsummer Night's Fling (Stage Kiss Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

theater complex. Today, he barreled over the dirt roads and passed the theater sign fast enough to leave the metal sheet trembling in his wake. He parked and hurled himself out of the car, trotting the back way around the theater and taking the winding staircase to the artistic director's office two stairs at a time.
    The door was half open so he flung himself inside without knocking. Isabelle Elton, a stylish woman in her mid-forties – who always tried very much to appear as a stylish woman in her mid- thirties – glanced up from the stack of costume sketches fanned across her desk. Her wild cascade of reddish brown curls sat piled atop her head in a messy bun. "Max. Hello."  
    He glanced about the room to make sure it was empty of other supplicants. Isabelle had two bookshelves with plays and reference materials occupying one corner. Several different set design maquettes sprawled on top of the bookshelves, like a train of conquered cities in miniature.  
    He gulped in a deep breath then turned his grin on, the one he'd been told could transform any woman's knees to water. "Isabelle – "
    "Ah, Max, I'm so glad you came," she said, drawling the words.  
    Her voice was her great claim to fame – a child-like rasp yet still lyrical, perfect vibrato, beautiful technique, and utterly distinctive. Isabelle always made sure to use her voice to best advantage however she could. In this moment, she slapped her hands on the desk and scowled, making him feel like a cornered rat. "You cast Titania without me." Her rich voice picked out every consonant in the sentence, like small sword-stabs of articulation.
    He sighed. "Which loud mouth in the company told you about the Titania thing?"  
    "Rita was being shifty with me so I tortured the truth out of her five minutes ago."
    Figures . So much for the smooth strategy he'd laid out to woo Isabelle.
    She studied him, steepling her hands against her mouth. Then she smiled, but her dark eyes were cold as she motioned him to a chair.  
    He sat.  
    "Why should I let you and Rita foist this girl on the company without an audition?" she said. "I've never even heard of Nicola Charles, and her resume is mostly musicals and TV commercials."
    Dredging up a load of confidence from somewhere deep in his gut, Max sprawled himself out in her guest chair, looking casual, unconcerned. "She’s has her MFA, and Nicola did Antigone with Rita, so she does have experience with classical theater. Isabelle, bottom line: what will it take to get you on board with this?"
    Someone knocked on the door behind them. "Isabelle?"
    Max turned. The speaker was a refined woman, maybe a few years older than Isabelle, with white-blonde hair and a great hour-glass figure.  
    "Oh, hey, Jude," Isabelle said, a laugh in her voice.
    The woman wrinkled her aquiline nose at the greeting. "Darling, are you ever going to get tired of that joke?" The newcomer had a slight British accent; Max's roommate, an Englishman named Lachlan, would love her. Of course, Lachlan loved all women.
    Isabelle crossed around her desk to make the introductions. "Max, this is Judith O'Fallon. She was in the company with me when we were teenagers. She directed a couple plays with the RSF a few years ago, she even played Titania that year I was too pregnant with Tierney."
    Judith grinned. "I played Titania in New York too."
    "Bragging, Jude?" Isabelle laughed. "Anyway, Judith is going to direct the first main stage production this fall."
    "Oh." Max turned to Judith, mentally flipping his charm dial to FULL. If Judith was directing the fall play it was never too early to make nice.  
    Judith was tall for a woman, and as they shook she met his gaze with an unsettling directness, her gray eyes unblinking. "Pleasure to meet you. Max, was it?"
    "Max Fiesengerke."
    "Oh." Her eyelids fluttered. "Any relation to that movie star? Peter Fiesengerke?"
    "My older brother." He managed to get the information out without actually growling. I should have