Page 58 of A Secret Cornish Wish
‘Don’t forget your flowers!’ Suzy says, and she lifts Claire’s bouquet from the table and hands it to me.
‘Thanks.’ I take it from her. ‘See you guys tomorrow.’
‘Have fun!’ Eddie winks.
Rob and I walk hand in hand across the dance floor towards the exit of the hotel.
‘What did Jenna mean just now?’ I ask as we emerge outside into the fresh night air once more. ‘When she said call me if you change your mind?’
‘Oh, nothing. Now, where should we go?’
‘It must have been something?’
Rob sighs. ‘She wants me to go across to the States and meet some casting directors and agents, that’s all.’
‘I know, you told me that before – after you finish your degree.’
Rob turns to me. ‘No, not when I finish my degree. Now. Immediately. She reckons she can get me work.’
‘As an actor?’
‘No, as a tour guide. Yes, of course as an actor.’
‘Wow – that’s amazing.’
‘It is a bit.’
‘But you told her no? You told her you had to finish uni first, right?’
‘Yeah . . . ’ Rob sounds a little hesitant.
‘You are going to finish your degree, aren’t you, Rob?
Rob looks confused as he gazes down into my eyes. ‘I don’t know, Frankie. It seems like such an opportunity.’
‘Yes, it sounds like that. But is it really? What do you even know about this Jenna?’
Rob reaches into his pocket and removes a white card. ‘It looks all above board, and she is a relation of Jonathan’s, isn’t she?’
I take the card from him.
Jenna Morgan, it reads.Talent Scout. Then there’s a New York address and a US phone number and, oddly, the little logo at the bottom of her business card is a row of little pink shells.
‘This means nothing,’ I say, handing him back the card. ‘It could all be a ruse.’
‘A ruse for what?’ Rob looks slightly irked now.
‘I don’t know. But you hear of these things . . . in the papers. People being lured overseas for all sorts.’
Rob smiles now. ‘Are you saying you think this Jenna is going to lure me over to New York and sell me as a sex slave?’
‘No, now you’re just mocking me.’
‘I’m not! I just don’t see why this can’t be above board, that’s all. This conversation shouldn’t be about if the offer is genuine, it should be about if I should do it or not. Or maybe you don’t think I’m good enough to be a professional actor?’
‘I’ve never seen you perform – I don’t know how good you are?’
‘Ain’t that the truth,’ Rob murmurs. ‘And the way this is going right now, you probably never will.’
