Page 77 of Sleeper: The Palisades Edition

“Did people laugh?”

She nods vehemently. “Your charm and attractiveness transcend cultural boundaries.”

I have to laugh at the earnest way she delivered that line. “Shut up.”

“I mean it! I mean, would I have chosen to spend my time watching those movies if you weren’t in them? Probably not. But they make people happy. And you’re always really good and likable.”

“I guess.”

“Don’t tell meyoudon’t like those movies either.”

“No, I do. I want to do more serious stuff. The indie I did—the one we’re going to see a rough cut of this week—it’s a comedy drama. It’s the first time I was able to show some range since I was a sexy vampire… Did you watch that show?”

“Not once I found out you were dating Margo.”

“You didn’t miss much. Anyway… It’s really hard to transition from teen star to serious actor. First-world problems, though.”

“Yeah.” She sighs and polishes off her second glass of wine. “Careers, huh?”

“Well, yours is starting out pretty well.”

She stares at me, blinking, and I can tell she’s trying to decide if she should say something again. Finally, she nods and says, “I got an e-mail from my mentor in Versailles. Yesterday.”

“Oh yeah?”

“He told me he spoke to someone at a big company about me. They’re based in Germany, but they’re global suppliers of fine fragrance and flavors. And they have a perfumery studio in New York. I guess they’re expanding there.” She watches me for a reaction.

My reaction is immediate and gut-level and I fuckinghate how I feel, but thank fuck I’m an actor so I can keep my expression neutral. “And?”

“And they’re looking for perfumery technicians. It’s lab work. I’d—the technician—would be supporting the perfumer by doing compounding. Something like 280 pours a day, so it’s a lot of lab work. No designing. But it’s a good company. I’d—the technician—would be part of a team. I’m more than qualified and the salary is good, but you know…I’ve had sales and good reviews on Etsy already, and I’m going to try to get some local boutiques to carry a couple of my scents.”

“That’s great. You should do that. How can I help?”

“Oh, you don’t have to help me.”

“I want to.”

She smiles and gives me awhat do you know about perfumelook.

I get it. I mean, I probably know more about perfume than Al Pacino does now, but I get it. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Do you want to live in New York?”

“I used to. I always assumed I would one day. Anyway—I’d still have to interview. I haven’t set anything up yet.”

“Well, I hope you get to do whatever it is that you want to do, wherever you want to do it.”

She tilts her head. “Thank you.” She leans in and says, perhaps a little too loudly, “I want to do what we did in the hot tub again after dinner.”

“We’re on the same page, then.”

The waitress brings us our entrees, but I can’t take my eyes off Willa. I don’t want to take my eyes off her. Ever. In the glow of the candle and string lights, she hasgone from unique everyday beauty to beguiling and stunning. When the waitress leaves, I finally have to ask the thing that I’m wondering every time I look at her: “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

She smiles and looks down, rearranging the napkin in her lap. “I have an idea. I just don’t think about it very much.”

“Really? Because I think about it all the time. Ever since I saw you at Erewhon.”