having her full
attention again. "Well, I'm a volunteer fireman in Oak Ridge, Texas—my
home town. I grew up there, helping my family to run the ranch we've owned for
a couple hundred years. I'm also involved in a local charity, and I hope to
raise the public's awareness over the issue of drought affected farmers and
ranchers."
The shutters closed over her eyes, and Seth knew he wasn't going to get
the job before she spoke. "As you probably already know, Mr. Coulter—"
"Call me Seth."
She smiled. "Well, Seth ... as I was saying, there are more fire
fighters auditioning for this show than anything else . ' Rescue
Me' will be made up of a mixture of the emergency services—police officers,
fire fighters, EMTs—all competing for the chance to win the five million dollar
prize."
"I know, I read the information pack your assistant gave me,"
Seth said, forcing a tight smile to hide his irritation. Surely the production
staff had known he didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell when they'd called
him a month ago to tell him he'd made it through to the first round of
auditions? Almost every other person he'd met in the waiting area had been a
fire fighter. Why had they agreed to audition so many? He'd wasted time he
could ill afford to lose to come to LA, leaving his father to try to cope alone
with the ranch. If he'd been lucky enough to get selected, his financial
worries would be over, at least in the short term, because the studio would
give the contestants a generous living wage as well as accommodation for the
duration of the show. Seth had planned to send the money home.
"Help me out here. Is there more you can tell me—something that
makes you unique?"
Maya's eyes crawled over him as she waited for his reply, and she sucked
her bottom lip between her teeth again in a gesture Seth was becoming familiar
with. Her gaze lingered on his jaw, and then slid over his neck and down to his
chest. Seth wished he'd chosen to wear the long, loose blue shirt he’d bought
specially for the audition rather than the tight white T-shirt he'd ultimately
chosen, because the second her dark brown eyes landed on his groin, he wouldn't
be able to hide his reaction to the caress of her gaze. Seth cleared his throat,
and Maya's eyes snapped up to his face, a tell-tale blush on her cheeks as if
she'd realized what she'd been doing.
"I'm a rancher and a mentor to a local orphanage, as well as a
volunteer at the ranchers’ charity I already mentioned. I hoped to use the show
to raise awareness, and I planned to share the money with the charity."
To his surprise, Maya grimaced and glanced down at the application form
she held in her hand, her brow creasing. She lifted the pen in her hand to her
glistening red lips and sucked the tip between her teeth. Seth dragged his gaze
away from her mouth, fighting to suppress a surge of heat from imagining that
luscious mouth doing the same thing to him.
"In real life, your charitable work is an admirable asset, but for
a TV audience, it's a reminder that life is very hard and very cruel, which is
exactly what they are trying to escape by watching a few hours of mindless TV.
They want to forget their problems, not be reminded of them. If you were to be
offered a part in the show, it would be on condition that you didn't mention
the charity. The orphanage might be okay. It will tug on the viewers’ heart-strings."
Seth knew Hollywood was tough, but in his naiveté he'd assumed that
starving kids would matter to them. To hear a pretty woman say such cold and
ugly words shocked him. "I guess it's been a while since you went without
a meal. Maybe that's why you think lonely children are more important than hungry
ones. They all need help, not just the kids you think will be useful."
Maya's cheeks flamed. "Don't make assumptions about me, Mr.
Coulter. You have no idea of my personal feelings about these issues. I might
have chosen the wrong words, but I was simply stating what the studio would
want."
attention again. "Well, I'm a volunteer fireman in Oak Ridge, Texas—my
home town. I grew up there, helping my family to run the ranch we've owned for
a couple hundred years. I'm also involved in a local charity, and I hope to
raise the public's awareness over the issue of drought affected farmers and
ranchers."
The shutters closed over her eyes, and Seth knew he wasn't going to get
the job before she spoke. "As you probably already know, Mr. Coulter—"
"Call me Seth."
She smiled. "Well, Seth ... as I was saying, there are more fire
fighters auditioning for this show than anything else . ' Rescue
Me' will be made up of a mixture of the emergency services—police officers,
fire fighters, EMTs—all competing for the chance to win the five million dollar
prize."
"I know, I read the information pack your assistant gave me,"
Seth said, forcing a tight smile to hide his irritation. Surely the production
staff had known he didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell when they'd called
him a month ago to tell him he'd made it through to the first round of
auditions? Almost every other person he'd met in the waiting area had been a
fire fighter. Why had they agreed to audition so many? He'd wasted time he
could ill afford to lose to come to LA, leaving his father to try to cope alone
with the ranch. If he'd been lucky enough to get selected, his financial
worries would be over, at least in the short term, because the studio would
give the contestants a generous living wage as well as accommodation for the
duration of the show. Seth had planned to send the money home.
"Help me out here. Is there more you can tell me—something that
makes you unique?"
Maya's eyes crawled over him as she waited for his reply, and she sucked
her bottom lip between her teeth again in a gesture Seth was becoming familiar
with. Her gaze lingered on his jaw, and then slid over his neck and down to his
chest. Seth wished he'd chosen to wear the long, loose blue shirt he’d bought
specially for the audition rather than the tight white T-shirt he'd ultimately
chosen, because the second her dark brown eyes landed on his groin, he wouldn't
be able to hide his reaction to the caress of her gaze. Seth cleared his throat,
and Maya's eyes snapped up to his face, a tell-tale blush on her cheeks as if
she'd realized what she'd been doing.
"I'm a rancher and a mentor to a local orphanage, as well as a
volunteer at the ranchers’ charity I already mentioned. I hoped to use the show
to raise awareness, and I planned to share the money with the charity."
To his surprise, Maya grimaced and glanced down at the application form
she held in her hand, her brow creasing. She lifted the pen in her hand to her
glistening red lips and sucked the tip between her teeth. Seth dragged his gaze
away from her mouth, fighting to suppress a surge of heat from imagining that
luscious mouth doing the same thing to him.
"In real life, your charitable work is an admirable asset, but for
a TV audience, it's a reminder that life is very hard and very cruel, which is
exactly what they are trying to escape by watching a few hours of mindless TV.
They want to forget their problems, not be reminded of them. If you were to be
offered a part in the show, it would be on condition that you didn't mention
the charity. The orphanage might be okay. It will tug on the viewers’ heart-strings."
Seth knew Hollywood was tough, but in his naiveté he'd assumed that
starving kids would matter to them. To hear a pretty woman say such cold and
ugly words shocked him. "I guess it's been a while since you went without
a meal. Maybe that's why you think lonely children are more important than hungry
ones. They all need help, not just the kids you think will be useful."
Maya's cheeks flamed. "Don't make assumptions about me, Mr.
Coulter. You have no idea of my personal feelings about these issues. I might
have chosen the wrong words, but I was simply stating what the studio would
want."
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