The Accidental Movie Star Read Online Free Page A

Ashley.”
    “Didn’t you hear? I’m Boomerbecause I’m the boom operator.”
    “What’s that?”
    “The boom pole is a long pole that holds the microphone near the actors. I also hide other microphones around the set. And they think I can be replaced. What’s a movie without sound?”
    “True,” Ashley said.
    “Besides, look at my biceps. I’m standing in front of the directors all day showing off these bad boys. I’ll make the transition from crew to cast in no time.”
    “Oh, you’re an actor?”
    Boomer gave her a pitying look. “You’re in LA, babe, everyone’s an actor.”
    The guy on her other side, a small, effeminate man with a tall tuft of brown hair, gave her a very attentive look. His flowery cologne followed his turn. “Yeah. So, who do you know? How’d you get chosen to be on set? You’re quite pretty. Are you an actress?”
    A little blinded by his shiny shirt and unsure which question to answer first, Ashley said, “Um, no, a student, an assistant.”
    “Oh.” The shiny shirt guy’s face twitched.
    “What do you—” Ashley began.
    He turned his shiny back to her and gave the person on his other side a deeply interested look.
    Realizing her unimportance, Ashley turned with raised eyebrows back to Boomer. He was staring at his own biceps.
    She rubbed her hands on her jean-covered thighs and rolled her shoulders. Get ready for a long LA summer.
    Boomer spoke without looking away from his biceps. “He’s Cutter.”
    “Cutter?”
    Boomer flexed his biceps toward the shiny shirt. “You know. The costume tailor guy. As if he has a shot of getting on camera before me. Did you see my guns?”
    “Uh, yeah.”
    The bleachers swayed, going from a solid framework one moment to metal in motion the next.
    “Earthquake!” someone shouted.

Chapter 3
    Boomer jumped from the bleachers to the ground. Cutter scrambled down the bench like a monkey, sat, and edged off the bleachers. Petra held her hands in the air and two men lifted her down like a water ballerina. Other crew members did their own version of escape. The sound of collapsing metal coupled with feminine and masculine screams as her new co-workers exercised their flair for the dramatic.
    Ashley took in the action from her spot on the swaying bench. Heart racing, but unable to move, she clung to the metal seat with rigid fingers. With a slow, but unrelenting move, the metal folded in on itself. Gravity forced Ashley to release her grip and slide down the bench. She landed on the concrete, cradled in the metal V of her former seat. The hard floor and awkward angle didn’t hurt as much as Caz’s weight. He’d fallen against her legs, trapping her in place, six-feet-something of heavy.
    “Hiya,” Caz said. “Ashley, right?”
    Ashley shoved at his shoulders. “Earthquake!”
    Caz shifted his weight and pushed to his feet. “I don’t think so. Only the bleachers moved.” He offered her a hand up.
    She gripped his large hand and stood on shaking legs. “Not an earthquake?”
    “No earthquake.”
    Olive, two stagehands dressed in black, and Cutter rushed over. Olive got there first. “Mr. Thaymore, are you okay? Please, please speak to us.”
    The foursome grabbed his arms and pulled him clear of the wreckage. Hands dusted him off and straightened his collar.
    “Fine, fine.” Caz brushed away the help.
    Olive announced loudly, “Caspian is fine.”
    Cutter said, “His clothes are okay, and he’s not wearing one of the costumes, so we’re good.”
    Petra stood in a corner, re-enacting the event while someone used his cell phone to film her.
    Ashley took a deep breath, trying to calm her thudding heart. Ignoring his helpers, Caz put a hand on one of the folded seats and offered the other to her.
    ***
    Boomer said, “At least the wreck ended the meeting early. I was getting bored.”
    Ashley stood behind him in line waiting for her turn at the infirmary. Hurt or not, everyone had to get checked out. The medics triaged