STAGESTRUCK - The Complete Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

to see you, you should have returned the sentiment. You could have said that you’d gotten the messages, but you dropped your phone in the sink and lost his number. Then, you could have commented on how happy you were that fate had landed you a job at the exact same place he works! It would make a great ‘how we met story’.” She finished with a smile.
    “Yeah,” I agreed sarcastically after finishing my fourth beer. “We had a random hook up one week and became coworkers the next. That’s a great story, Janette, really something you want to share with your grandchildren one day.”
    “There’s your mother talking again.” Janette said, shaking her head. “We’re twenty-one years old, why in the world are you worrying about your grandchildren? You could get hit by a bus tomorrow… focus on the here and now.”
    “Okay, fine.” I huffed. “I’ll focus on the here and now. But that doesn’t mean that I have to date Max Shepherd.”
    “I’m not telling you to date him.” Janette countered. “I’m merely pointing out that not being able to handle the fact that you slept with him isn’t a good enough reason to treat him like a piece of trash.”
    “I understand what you’re saying, Janette. Really, I do.” I assured her. “I know that I’m a little old fashioned, and that that’s part of the reason I dislike Max so much. But honestly, I’m a good judge of character and I just get a strange vibe from him. I don’t think that he can be trusted.” I didn’t mention what Lisa had said about Max; the information didn’t support my argument so I saw no reason to bring it up.
    “Well if that’s the case, why don’t you just quit? I think it would be easier to find a new job than work in such an awkward situation. Besides, you have plenty of money to fall back on. You could take your time and find something that you really enjoy.” She suggested.
    I shook my head. “I can’t do that. It may be my old-fashioned upbringing coming out again, but I don’t want to touch my savings unless I absolutely have to. The longer that account stays in the black, the longer I can stay in the city. And you know how hard it is to find work in this economy. If I quit Orlando’s it could be months, a year even, before I get another paycheck.”
    “Didn’t you come here to be a star, Kate?” Janette asked me skeptically.
    “Of course I did, why would you even ask me that?” I was drunk and growing impatient with her attitude.
    “Because right now, you’re acting like you lifelong dream is to be a waitress at Orlando’s. A lot of people come to New York with the exact same dream you have. They want to be stars and they bust their asses, book their own auditions, and pray that an agent will one day take a meeting with them. Those people take jobs just like you have, but because they don’t have a choice. And do you know what happens to those people, Kate?”
    “No, but I’m sure that you’re going to tell me.” I sighed.
    “The stress gets to them. It all gets to be too much. Something has to give, and it can’t be the job that keeps a roof over their heads. Some give up completely and go back to where they came from. Some give up on their dream but stay in the city. None of them end up with their name in lights.”
    “I can handle it.” I answered defensively.
    “But you don’t have to.” She replied before I could continue. “If I was in your shoes, I’d be living it up! You’ve just moved from a small, wholesome Midwest town to the most exciting place on earth. You’ve been here for a week: you haven’t seen the Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square, or the Statue of Liberty, but you HAVE seen Orlando’s employee break room. There’s something seriously wrong with that Kate.”
    “I went to the flea market…” I argued halfheartedly. I knew that Janette had a point. I’d been so caught up in my determination to survive in the city that I forgot to actually enjoy it.