Read Online Honey Moon by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
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looked down at the cassette. "This is where your story lies," he said quietly. "Right here. Her and me."
"That's ridiculous. It would be an entirely different show if we used that kid."
"That's for sure. It might not be the piece of crap it is right now." He tossed the cassette on Ross's desk. "This little girl is what we've been looking for, the element that's been missing from the beginning. She's the catalyst that'll make this show work."
"Celeste is eighteen, for chrissake, and she's supposed to be beautiful. I don't care how old your girl says she is, she doesn't look more than twelve, and she sure as hell isn't beautiful."
"She may not be beautiful, but you can't fault her for personality."
"Her romance with Eric Dillon's character fomis a major story line. She's hardly leading lady material for Dillon."
Coogan's lip curled at the mention of the young actor's name. He had made no secret of his antipathy toward Dillon, and Ross regretted introducing the subject.
"That's another point you and I happen to differ on," Dash said. "Instead of hiring somebody reliable,
you had to find yourself a pretty boy with a talent for throwing temper tantrums and causing trouble."
For the first time since they'd entered his office, Ross felt as if he were on solid ground. "That pretty boy is the best young actor this town has seen in years.
Destiny was the network's lowest-rated soap opera until he joined the cast, and within six months, it went to number one."
"Yeah, I watched it a couple of times. All he did was walk around with his shirt off."
"And he's going to have his shirt off on this show, too. We'd be fools not to take advantage of his sex appeal. But don't get that mixed up with his talent.
He's intense, he's driven, and he's barely tapped the edges of what he can do."
"If he's so talented, he should be able to handle a more challenging story line than a romance with one of those Texas lingerie models you're trying to hire to play my daughter."
"The concept of the show—"
"The concept doesn't work. That cornball plot about a second marriage isn't cutting it because the audience is never going to understand why the stuck-up city lady and the cowboy got married in the first place. And nobody in the world will believe any of those beauty queens you brought in to audition is really my daughter. You know as well as I do that I'm no Lawrence Olivier. I play myself on the screen. It's what people expect. Those girls and I don't fit together."
"Dash, we didn't even have the kid read any lines. Look, if you're serious about this, I'll have her come back tomorrow and the two of you can do that opening scene between Dash and Celeste. Than you'll see how ridiculous this whole idea is."
"You still don't get it, do you, Ross? We're not reading that opening scene together. It's a piece of crap. That little girl isn't going to be playing Celeste.
She's going to play herself. She's going to play Honey."
"It upsets the whole concept of the show!"
"The concept stinks."
"She came out of nowhere, and we don't know a damned thing about her."
"We know that she's part kid and part field commander. We know that she's years younger than her real age and a few decades older, both at the same time."
"She's not an actress, for chrissake."
"She may not be, but you look me in the eye and tell me you didn't feel some kind of excitement when you watched her talk to me."
Ross held out a hand, palm open, in a gesture of appeasement. "All right, she's quite a character, I'll give you that. And I'll even go so far as to admit that the two of you together had some interesting moments. But that's not what The Dash Coogan Show is about. You and Liz are supposed to be newlyweds with nearly grown children. Look, Dash, we both know the pilot script isn't what we hoped it would be, but the writing will improve. And even without a great opening script, the show's going to work because people will tune in to see you.
America loves you. You're the
"That's ridiculous. It would be an entirely different show if we used that kid."
"That's for sure. It might not be the piece of crap it is right now." He tossed the cassette on Ross's desk. "This little girl is what we've been looking for, the element that's been missing from the beginning. She's the catalyst that'll make this show work."
"Celeste is eighteen, for chrissake, and she's supposed to be beautiful. I don't care how old your girl says she is, she doesn't look more than twelve, and she sure as hell isn't beautiful."
"She may not be beautiful, but you can't fault her for personality."
"Her romance with Eric Dillon's character fomis a major story line. She's hardly leading lady material for Dillon."
Coogan's lip curled at the mention of the young actor's name. He had made no secret of his antipathy toward Dillon, and Ross regretted introducing the subject.
"That's another point you and I happen to differ on," Dash said. "Instead of hiring somebody reliable,
you had to find yourself a pretty boy with a talent for throwing temper tantrums and causing trouble."
For the first time since they'd entered his office, Ross felt as if he were on solid ground. "That pretty boy is the best young actor this town has seen in years.
Destiny was the network's lowest-rated soap opera until he joined the cast, and within six months, it went to number one."
"Yeah, I watched it a couple of times. All he did was walk around with his shirt off."
"And he's going to have his shirt off on this show, too. We'd be fools not to take advantage of his sex appeal. But don't get that mixed up with his talent.
He's intense, he's driven, and he's barely tapped the edges of what he can do."
"If he's so talented, he should be able to handle a more challenging story line than a romance with one of those Texas lingerie models you're trying to hire to play my daughter."
"The concept of the show—"
"The concept doesn't work. That cornball plot about a second marriage isn't cutting it because the audience is never going to understand why the stuck-up city lady and the cowboy got married in the first place. And nobody in the world will believe any of those beauty queens you brought in to audition is really my daughter. You know as well as I do that I'm no Lawrence Olivier. I play myself on the screen. It's what people expect. Those girls and I don't fit together."
"Dash, we didn't even have the kid read any lines. Look, if you're serious about this, I'll have her come back tomorrow and the two of you can do that opening scene between Dash and Celeste. Than you'll see how ridiculous this whole idea is."
"You still don't get it, do you, Ross? We're not reading that opening scene together. It's a piece of crap. That little girl isn't going to be playing Celeste.
She's going to play herself. She's going to play Honey."
"It upsets the whole concept of the show!"
"The concept stinks."
"She came out of nowhere, and we don't know a damned thing about her."
"We know that she's part kid and part field commander. We know that she's years younger than her real age and a few decades older, both at the same time."
"She's not an actress, for chrissake."
"She may not be, but you look me in the eye and tell me you didn't feel some kind of excitement when you watched her talk to me."
Ross held out a hand, palm open, in a gesture of appeasement. "All right, she's quite a character, I'll give you that. And I'll even go so far as to admit that the two of you together had some interesting moments. But that's not what The Dash Coogan Show is about. You and Liz are supposed to be newlyweds with nearly grown children. Look, Dash, we both know the pilot script isn't what we hoped it would be, but the writing will improve. And even without a great opening script, the show's going to work because people will tune in to see you.
America loves you. You're the
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