Inner Diva Read Online Free PDF Page A

headset to an inch from her mouth. He wouldn’t dare.
    “That’s the finger I use to bathe the stage
in revealing light. I could very easily push the lever just a few
seconds early. Maybe when you’re on your hands and knees, searching
under the couch for a stray pillow?”
    She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”
    An evil chuckle returned. “Maybe not, but I
could. Why don’t you remove all doubt by making one little
commitment, to buy my trustworthiness?”
    She smirked. “What’s the one little
commitment?”
    “Go talk to Dave. Tell him you’re interested
in being onstage. You’d be a fantastic actress, I just know
it.”
    She sighed. She wanted to visit the theater’s
director. She just hadn’t gotten up the courage. She’d wanted to
audition for a handful of plays over the years; yet, she stayed
backstage, hidden by her props and the security of this heavy
curtain. Her desire to act center stage remained. Why, when she was
terrified at the prospect of being in the spotlight?
    “Mon?” The tinny voice persisted. “I’m
serious. Go for it.”
    “I don’t know …,” she whispered.
    “I do. Do it. Tonight.”
    She sighed again, her insides in turmoil.
What was wrong with her? Did she think she didn’t deserve the
spotlight? Was she so comfortable helping everyone else look good
that she’d resigned herself to a lifetime of lurking in the
background?
    No. Inside her was a diva who begged to be
released. Steve had faith in her. Why not try it? She’d never know
unless she tried.
    “I’ll do it.” Her words were strong and firm.
Determined. “I’ll talk to Dave tonight after rehearsal.”
    “Good girl.”
    Her heart pounded. She’d made a decision that
could change her life.
    Flashbulbs popped, causing her to blink
daintily. Applause followed as she headed toward the auditorium.
“Ms. Lampton, could we have a word?” An interviewer planted on the
carpet near the doorway held out a microphone. Motion cameras
caught every movement.
    “ Yes, of course,” she said with a smile
and a glance at her escort. He stopped and scanned the crowd while
she addressed a few questions from the host of some Hollywood talk
show. She answered with gracious responses and then it was time to
move on, find her seat and hope beyond hope they called her name
for the Best Actress award. Her carefully prepared speech lay
folded and tucked into her tiny beaded handbag, although she
wouldn’t need it. She was accustomed to memorizing speeches, and
this was the most important one of her life ….
    “Mon? Monica?” The voice in her ear became
more and more urgent. “Are you there?”
    Monica shook the cobwebs out of her head and
looked around. Trina and Brad were bustling backstage, arguing
about something. Wait. Trina and Brad were backstage? That meant
…
    She darted through the curtain and looked
frantically around. What scene change was it? What was she doing?
“I’m sorry,” she spoke low, for Steve’s ears only.
    His chuckle eased her nerves. “Daydreaming
back there, huh?”
    She nodded in the darkness and grabbed the
blanket and pillow. Wasn’t there something else she was supposed to
be doing? Oh yeah, she should’ve grabbed the suitcase and brought
it out on stage.
    “Give me a second, I forgot something
backstage.” She ran through the curtain, grabbed the suitcase and
darted back onstage.
    “Only because of our agreement earlier,”
Steve said with a chuckle.
    Monica nodded with a frown. If she didn’t
realize her dream soon, she’d never get anything done.

    Carlos sat on the
couch, his nerves jangling. He held the latest Mechanics
Monthly in his lap, his shaky fingers making the slick pages
quiver. Irritated, he tossed the magazine aside. Luisa sat at the
table across the room and looked up at him, her eyes popping
wide.
    “What?” she asked.
    He shook his head. He turned his back to her
and hoped she’d go back to what she’d been doing, the busy little
thing. She was always doing something