A Modern Cinderella. Kate Hardy

doing great, Cass. Don’t be so hard on yourself. There are days in that room I forget it’s been so long since we worked together.’

      She had been feeling better about her scriptwriting abilities, but hearing him say it meant a lot to her. ‘Thank you.’

      ‘You’re welcome.’ The smile sounded in his voice.

      It made her smile too, as she tilted her head back to rest her chin on his shoulder. Then she took another deep breath and forced herself to step away from him. ‘I guess I can stand to be cooped up in that room for another few hours if you can.’

      ‘Good.’ A devilish smile was backed up by another wink. ‘We can talk about Rachel wearing that harem girl outfit again.’

      Cassidy laughed. ‘No. we can’t. She’s not doing the Dance of the Seven Veils for Nick…’

      ‘She’d be very sexy doing it.’

      ‘She’d feel like a complete idiot doing it.’

      Will retrieved his glass and headed back towards the office. ‘Okay, then. We’ll play out the scene and see how it goes.’

      Cassidy chuckled; he could go right ahead and hold his breath for that one. But she suddenly felt a lot better going back into his office with him. Much better.

      Ryan and Malone were on top form when they pitched their script for the first time—even if it was technically just a trial run.

      Will had driven them into Los Angeles, to his plush, if chaotic offices. making small talk on the journey that Cassidy knew was meant to distract her from her nervousness. It was yet another thoughtful gesture she both needed and feared at the same time. Between his thoughtfulness, his ability to read what she needed—sometimes before she realised it herself—and the amount of mild flirting he’d been doing since the day of their partial truce she was already walking a fine line. If she made the mistake of falling for him again…

      Once they were in the conference room with selected members of Will’s team, and they began the read-through, something clicked. Maybe it was because she let herself get lost in what they were doing. Maybe it was because, for the guts of an hour, reality was shut out. Maybe it was because they became Nick and Rachel again. Maybe it was the fact their audience laughed and sat forward in their seats with rapt expressions at the right times. Heck, maybe it was a combination of all those things. But whatever it was, it was magical. For the first time since she’d come to California it felt as if the old Will was completely back.

      He laughed more, he smiled that smile at her when she blushed as she skirted over any kisses or love scenes in the script, he even danced with her and dipped her the way the script directed—to the obvious amusement of their captive audience. He took her hand so they could both take a bow when that same audience applauded at the end…

      Then they spent another hour talking with the team about special effects and storyboarding and locations—and Cassidy forgot she was with a group of complete strangers who worked for Will, and debated with him the way she usually did when they were alone.

      After handing out work assignments, Will watched her shake the last hand at the open doorway, then leaned casually against the doorframe. ‘Trying to start a revolution inside my production company, Malone?’

      ‘Meaning?’

      ‘You didn’t see some of their faces when you debated with me?’

      She had—and she might have been worried he was angry about it if she hadn’t seen the sparkle of amusement in his eyes. ‘I noticed the look on their faces when you conceded anything. I get the impression that doesn’t happen too often…’

      ‘It’s rare.’ He shrugged and cast a glance over the open-plan work area outside the conference room like some ruler surveying his kingdom. ‘But not unheard-of.’

      ‘Hmm.’ Cassidy leaned against the other side of the frame, pursed her lips and then smiled when he looked at her. ‘Might do you good if it happened more often, Ryan. Who knows what creativity you have here, hidden under too many layers of fear to speak up in front of the boss. You should thank me.’

      ‘Or hire you.’

      Her jaw dropped. But before she could figure out if he was being serious, he pushed off the door frame and jerked his head. ‘Come on. I have something I want you to see while we’re here…’

      Of all the things she had expected to be shown—fancy office, great views over Los Angeles, other productions he might be working on—a room the size of a large stationery cupboard, filled with piles of paper and sacks of letters pretty much came at the bottom of the list. So when he turned the lights on and closed the door behind them, she turned round and lifted a brow.

      ‘A mailroom? That’s what you wanted to show me?’ Her voice was flat.

      Will blinked lazily at her. ‘Pick a letter.’

      She was obviously missing something. Frowning, she turned her head and examined the room more closely. Nope—it still looked like a mailroom to her. Not a particularly well-organised one either.

      ‘Pick a letter. Or an e-mail—doesn’t matter.’ He stepped closer to her. ‘Any one you want.’

      Okay, she’d play. Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she made a big deal out of waving her hand in circles before closing her eyes and feeling around for a random selection—not helping with any invisible filing system he might have.

      When she opened her eyes and held it up in front of her face, the corners of Will’s mouth were tugging upward. ‘Read it.’

      Dragging her gaze from his, she slipped the letter from the opened envelope and began to read, her eyes widening when she realized what it was. Lifting her chin, she stared at the rest of the papers—then at Will.

      The green of his eyes radiated warmth, and his deep voice lowered as he told her, ‘Pick another one.’

      She did—and got an e-mail that made her throat tighten.

      Will’s voice was lower and closer when he spoke again. ‘Keep going.’

      ‘All of them?’ Cassidy lifted her chin and silently cleared her throat, so her voice didn’t sound so strangled. ‘This whole room is fan mail for our movie?’

      ‘Yes. The studio forwarded it here to begin with, but when it started increasing we changed the address on the website. We get mail from all over the world.’ He searched her eyes and smiled. ‘They call themselves the Fortune Hunters.’

      For the first time in her life Cassidy was at a complete loss for words.

      So Will kept going, his gaze locked on hers. ‘It started with message boards. Then they launched their own site and it grew from there. There are role-playing games, conspiracy theories—some of them have all the lines memorised so when they have a screening they can join in. They even dress up as the characters at conventions…’

      With her emotions threatening to overwhelm her, Cassidy forcibly dragged her gaze from his and reached for another letter. ‘What’s this one?’

      Will held an edge so he could read it. ‘California’s Fortune Hunters. There are chapters all over the place now, but California was the first. They organise a yearly charity screening of the movie, and let us know when it is so we can send memorabilia to auction on the night.’

      ‘I had no idea.’

      ‘I didn’t think you did.’ He waited for her to look at him before he told her. ‘The movie may have tanked at the box office, Cass, but it’s been successful in ways no one could ever have predicted. It’s brought people together—it’s even been the catalyst for a few weddings. There’s a community of amazing people out there who are making a difference to other people’s lives with their charitable causes through it. Does that sound like a failure to you?’

      Cassidy shook her head.

      ‘No.’