Wilks rubbed his forehead. “I’m not sure he’s right for this one. We have a high-profile cast member, and I need someone with a delicate touch.”

Lauren frowned. “But that’s not at all unusual. Pretty much every other production has someone famous headlining. We’ve worked with Meryl Streep, for God’s sakes. Matty can handle famous.”

“It’s not unusual, no,” Wilks said. “But from what I’ve read this morning of Carly Daniel, she can be a handful.”

Lauren blinked. Carly Daniel? Of course she knew of her. She’d been a much talked about film actress who was everyone’s favorite in Hollywood until recently. It all came back to her. Sometime last year, a series of articles about her misbehavior on sets swarmed the gossip rags, and as a result, she’d been MIA onscreen. Lauren looked to Wilks, incredulous. “Who’s directing Starry Nights?” The real question was who the hell had cast a party girl to come and headline at a show at the esteemed McAllister Theater, of all places?

“Ethan Moore, who I’ve been trying to get on our season for years. I finally managed it. He’s a fabulous director who knows what he’s doing. He’ll do great things here, but he wants Daniel. Insisted.”

Lauren could understand, to an extent, why. She was a good actress, layered, and watchable as hell with how pretty she was. Lauren couldn’t argue that fact. Lauren wished she had half of Carly’s talent—maybe things would have gone differently for her. As far as Ethan Moore, of course she’d heard of him, too. He’d directed multiple times on Broadway in the past five years but would be new to The McAllister space. “Okay, so Carly Daniel, problem child, is starring in our next one. Sounds like a done deal. Keep her from dancing on top of tables and you’ll be fine. Why do you want me?”

“You can handle her, and I want more than anything for Ethan to have a good experience here. I’d love to foster this relationship with him for future projects, and if Carly Daniel comes in and makes this production unsavory for him, he’ll always remember his time here as…undesirable. Ultimately, we’ll pay the price for it.”

She closed her eyes. “And Matty can’t make that happen for you? I’m hours from a beach and a piña colada, Wilks. Hours,” she practically squeaked. Anything to not have to lose her vacation. She needed this vacation. She’d planned for it for over a year now. She had a bundle of little brochures all in a folder.