Over the course of the next week, several things became clear to Lauren. Number one: Carly Daniel was single-handedly breathing life into each scene without much help from Evelyn Tate, who was still holding back, and turning in a stiff interpretation of Mandy. Number two: Carly Daniel was proving herself to be a total thorn in Lauren’s side. She was chronically late and had twice now organized the cast into a late-night gathering at the bar down the street, leaving them all slower and hungover the next day. She hadn’t memorized any of her lines and didn’t seem to care about simple requests like returning a prop to the prop table when not in use. Number three: she was, conversely, always upbeat, positive, and actually kind of fun to have around. Sigh. Carly Daniel was an interesting problem to have.

“Hey, Lauren?”

“Yep?” Lauren said, looking up from her production binder to see Carly standing next to her with an anticipatory grin. She had some slight blocking corrections to add to her notes, based on the changes Ethan had made at that day’s rehearsal, and hadn’t even heard her approach.

Carly slid a strand of hair behind her ear and flashed the dimple that resided in her right cheek. “I was wondering if you wanted to come out with us tonight? Everyone’s going to meet at Put Upon Pete’s for mango martinis. My treat.”

Oh, man, she hated having to shoot people down, but that outing wasn’t in her best interest. She would celebrate with everyone at the closing party. “Very nice of you, but I have to decline.” The reply was automatic. There was probably a good Dateline waiting for her and a warm bowl of popcorn. She looked back down at her binder, prepared to jump back into work.

“Why?”

She glanced back up at Carly. Lauren hadn’t been prepared for the question. Did she have to explain herself, include the Dateline bit? She stared at Carly, who blinked back at her with big, sad blue eyes. Those eyes were incredibly hard to argue with. It became apparent that this woman wasn’t moving from her spot until Lauren gave her more.

“It’s been a long week. I need to decompress.”

Carly nodded. “But it’s Saturday. No rehearsal tomorrow. Do it. Come be bad with us.”

She sighed. “I’m not sure it’s always the best idea to fraternize with the cast. It’s better for a stage manager to keep a professional distance when possible.”