Page 56 of Doc Hollywood

“Excellent. Thank you, Taylor, for bringing this to my attention. Doctor Upford, my assistant will contact you to discuss the timeline in detail. Please could you give your attention to the script as soon as possible.” Mr Atrosky nodded and clicked off the call without waiting for her to reply.

Clara checked he was gone, then said to Taylor, “He’s a friendly fellow.”

Taylor chuckled at her sarcasm. “He’s very dedicated to his work. I’ve heard rumours that if you make it to his inner circle, he would do anything for you. But his circle is small and loyal.”

“Is that why all his films win Oscars?”

“Yeah, and every other award. It’s huge for my career that he’s cast me,” Taylor said very seriously.

“But you were Superman; surely everyone would want to cast you?”

Clara’s stomach growled. She put her hand on it, and when it didn’t stop, she got out of her seat, picked up her phone, and walked over to the fridge to find some food. She hadn’t eaten anything since eleven in the morning when she had been relieved for a tea break at work.

“Nah. There’s a certain reluctance once you’ve played a superhero to take you seriously. Evidently, wearing tights for a few films puts you in a certain box.”

Clara opened her fridge; it was as empty as she knew it would be. It would be toast again then.

“But you looked great in the tights,” she said, her mind forgetting to filter her words in her distraction. “Oh shit.” Slapping her hand over her mouth, she looked guiltily at Taylor’s image on the screen.

However, Taylor was laughing. “Thanks. I missed a lot of desserts to look good in those tights.”

“Which is obviously why you used any excuse when you were at mine to get into the ice cream.” Clara blushed as she recalled them sharing a tub of ice cream.

“Absolutely. Calories consumed from food bought for someone else don’t count.” He nodded seriously.

“Ahhh, an excellent rule.” She managed to keep a straight face.

“Do you think you’ll be able to get the time off work?” He sounded hopeful.

“Yeah. I hope so.”

“Good. It’ll be great to see you again in person.”

“Yeah.” Clara’s heart fluttered at the thought. His messages were the highlight of her days, and she longed to spend more time with him.

CHAPTER 15

When Clara asked for time off work, Sadie hadn’t hesitated. Gleefully telling her friend that she should go, and waggling her eyebrows so much that Clara had been surprised they hadn’t got stuck in her hairline.

Mr Atrosky’s assistant had immediately couriered the script over to Clara and she was sitting at her kitchen table with it that evening, ready to start reading, when her phone rang. It was Taylor on FaceTime.

“Hi.” He waved at her.

“Hi,” she stuttered, surprised to see him. “Are you okay?”

They had only spoken the previous day; she didn’t expect him to ring so soon.

“Yeah, fine. I just wanted to chat.” Taylor grinned, leaning back on a sofa in what she assumed was his hotel room.

“What about?” Clara’s first thought was that something else was wrong for him to be calling.

“Nothing, really. To be honest, I like talking to you. I miss not talking to you. Is it okay?” His voice was hesitant.

Clara couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. “Yeah, I like talking to you as well.”

“Tell me about your day.”

“It’s very boring. I got up, I went to work, and I came home. I’m going to order takeout to celebrate the fact that I have to do more work now.” She told him, then picked up her phone and swivelled the camera down to show him the front of the script.