Page 16 of Play Room Actor

“Good, thanks,” I replied, watching as he set his camera bag on the table and adjusted his glasses. “How about you? Have you been working up until now?”

“Almost,” he said.

“Hi,” someone said behind me. Before I could turn around, a guy passed by me and placed a guitar case and a heavy backpack on the floor beside the table. He had long hair, which he swiftly tied into a thick knot.

“This is Noé,” Alex introduced. “Noé, this is Kilian.”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Noé said, lifting his hand in greeting.

At first, the guy came off as a bit standoffish, but when he walked past Alex to the coffee machine and caressed Alex’s back, I could see he was just tired. I also appreciated that he wasn’t one of those types who shook everyone’s hand.

Alex flashed a slightly apologetic look and seemed to feel the need to explain. “I just picked him up from the airport,” he said, his voice rising slightly as the coffee machine began to rumble in the background.

“Do you want one?” Noé asked.

Alex declined, but I wasn’t opposed to an espresso.

“How do you two know each other?” Noé asked, downing his espresso in one gulp.

“From the theater,” Alex answered, finishing the water bottle he’d pulled from his bag. “I took photos for the website last year, and since Kilian was in charge of the lighting, we spent a whole day working together.”

“Cool.”

The coffee worked wonders, and I felt my energy returning. I had drifted off a bit while lost in Lucien’s painting, caught up in the shades of blue.

“Has Greta given her speech yet?”

“No, she’s waiting for you.”

“I just need to talk to her for a minute,” Alex said, turning to Noé.

Noé waved him off to go ahead, and Alex disappeared into the crowd. I stayed put, with the perfect view of Dominic.

That bastard was obviously having a great time. As much as it annoyed me, I couldn’t help but enjoy watching him.

“Are you going to mingle?” Noé asked from behind me.

“I don’t know,” I replied casually. “I haven’t decided.”

Noé laughed, suddenly standing beside me, gazing at the people gathered around.

“Who’s making it hard for you to decide?”

I paused for a moment, then turned my head. For a second, I almost wanted to knock the charming smile off Noé’s face, but I wasn’t in a manic enough mood for that.

“I’ve got eyes,” he said, scanning the gallery visitors. “Is it the brunette over there?”

I followed his gaze to a young woman in a light gray skirt. Her red lips matched her high heels.

“Not my type.”

“Then how about the blond over there?”

“More like the guy next to him with the brown hair,” I sighed quietly. “We work together. And he’s doing everything he can to avoid me.”

“Why is he here then?”

“Probably because he didn’t bother to read the flyer.”