The Assistant

It was the day before my 18th birthday when my mother was murdered. It appeared to be a home invasion. I should have been home, but I had a school project due and stayed late at the library. It is hard not to think of the "what if's". What if I was home, would I have been killed too? What if I could have saved her? The guilt I feel for not being there engulfs me some days.

I never knew my father and I do not have any siblings. It was just me and my mom. The only other family I had was my best friend, Theo. We have known each other since we were little and talk every day.

After graduation, me and my mom were going to move to Los Angeles together. My lifelong dream was to be a famous actress in Hollywood. Theo didn't want me to go. He would always say that I was too good for Hollywood and that it would ruin me one day.

But I felt all alone now and wanted nothing more than to leave. Theo tried convincing me to stay. He told me that I would have regrets leaving without knowing who my mother's killer was. But the police had zero leads and I had nothing left here in this small town. He tried getting me to stay for him, but I just wanted to be away from everything and everyone who reminded me of home and my mom. I know it hurt him, but it hurt me more to stay.

So, after graduation I left for California and never looked back.

Theo would text me every day. At first, I would respond, but after a while I stopped and so did he. Years had passed and I did a good job of forgetting my old life.

I just celebrated my 22nd birthday and you would think by now that I would have some acting gigs under my belt. But I found out very quickly how hard it is to break into show business.

All the money I got from my mom's passing had run out and I had to take odd jobs to make ends meet. I worked at a diner for a while. Then I got a job at a fancy boutique. This is where I got my big break and met Charles Sampson. He was shopping for his wife and was saying how his assistant had just quit due to a family emergency and he was in desperate need of a new one.

Charles was in his 60's but he had a long acting career under his belt and just landed a major role in a successful series. I jumped at the opportunity as this could be a great stepping stone for me to land an acting role. Plus, I could learn a lot from him. I felt like things were finally looking up for me.

I had been working for Charles for a few weeks and today was the day we got to go on set for filming. I was beyond excited and really nervous.

"Victoria, please stop playing with your hair." Charles said.

"I am so sorry." I said as I put my hands under my legs so I couldn't do it again. It was one of my nervous habits and was hard to control.

"You will do great. You do not need to be nervous. If anything, I should be the one being nervous." he said as he laughed.

There were a lot of big named actors and actresses on this show, and I was excited but scared to meet them. So far, Charles is the biggest celebrity I have ever met.

The car dropped us off at the entrance of the set for today.

We both walked in and were greeted by the producer. She had her assistant show us to his fitting room.

As we were walking by the suites, I glanced at the name on the wall outside of one of the doors and saw Luca Hayes. I have had a crush on him for as long as I can remember. I couldn't believe I was walking by his fitting room.

The door was open, and I peeked in. He was pulling a shirt over his head and all I could see was his toned abs. I didn't stop staring until his shirt covered them. I quickly looked up and we made eye contact. I could feel my face heat up and immediately turn red.

He had this cute smirk on his face, and I looked away and left as fast as I could.

I was so embarrassed. He probably thought I was some weirdo, just staring at him. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had drool coming out of my mouth.

I hurried and caught up with Charles and the assistant.

We arrived at his fitting room and his stylist was ready for him. I didn't need to be there for this so I asked, "Is there somewhere that I can set up my laptop to work on emails?”

The assistant showed me to a communal area with food, wifi and a lounge area.

"Be careful with him. He is known to make you feel special, but it is all a lie." She said as she walked away. I looked up from my laptop and saw Luca walking toward me. I didn't dare say a word and just looked back at my screen.

"Did you like what you saw?" he asked.

I kept my eyes down and said. "I don't know what you are talking about.”

The last thing I wanted was to get caught up in any of his games. Plus, this job meant everything to me, and I wouldn't want to jeopardize that.