Well, until one of their two lead actresses was late for the first damn day of rehearsal. Really? The drama had started already? Lauren surveyed the long table she’d assembled for the first read-through and the polite, smiling faces gathered around it, all with scripts in front of them, ready to go. So where in the world was Carly Daniel? She checked her watch. It was five past. Nothing to panic about yet, but it wasn’t ideal. She exchanged a look with Ethan to see what he wanted to do. He mouthed back, Let’s give her another five. Lauren nodded and listened to the polite getting-to-know-you conversations happening all around her. She said hello to an actor she’d worked with before. At twelve minutes past, she did what any good stage manager would do—she excused herself and placed a call to Carly’s cell phone, which rolled to voicemail.

“Hi, Carly. This is Lauren Prescott, stage manager for Starry Nights. Checking in on your estimated time of arrival, as we’re now at thirteen past our go time. Please check in with me when you receive this voicemail, so I know when to expect you. See you soon.”

She clicked off the call and headed back to her seat where she looked to Ethan, who was seated to her left. “Why don’t we get started and Ms. Daniel can join us when she arrives,” Lauren said quietly to Ethan.

While it was ultimately Ethan’s call, it was Lauren’s job to make suggestions that would keep rehearsal running in a timely manner, and putting any more of their allotted time on hold for a late actress was not in the production’s best interest. Ethan nodded his agreement and opened rehearsal. He introduced himself and allowed the cast of eight, well, seven in its current state, to introduce themselves. When they got around the table to Evelyn Tate, the other lead actress in the play, the door to the rehearsal room opened with a noticeable bang and none other than Carly Daniel appeared. She wore distressed jeans, heels, a V-neck white T-shirt with a short floral kimono top hanging open, all accentuated with a long silver necklace. She was gorgeous, a vision straight out of a magazine. Her blond hair fell several inches past her shoulders, and she had large sunglasses perched on her head. In her right hand, she carried an oversized iced coffee, halfway consumed. Everyone swiveled in awe. While it wasn’t Lauren’s first choice to pause the introductions for a late arrival, it seemed Carly had the entire room’s attention regardless, which meant Lauren needed to pivot from her plan of plowing forward.