Read Online Training Days by Jane Frances - Free Book Online

negatives, and once word got around that more filming would take place at the Cook stop, she could hardly contain herself until the train drew to a standstill. Ally had followed Marge outside into suffocating heat, but she had not contributed to the audience that formed around Morgan & Co., choosing instead to meander around the settlement by herself. When she and Marge settled back into their seats Marge had been all chatter about the filming process. Apparently her efforts to get Morgan’s attention when filming ceased were as unfruitful as earlier, her being “very involved” with talking to the cameraman. Ally had not commented, but her view of Morgan as the stuck-up star had been doubly reinforced.
    So, when Ally arrived at the table and was in turn introduced to everyone by Kitty, she had given Morgan a cold glance combined with an even colder greeting. But despite her best efforts to keep her dislike for the woman alive, by the time they had been served their appetizers, she found her preformed opinion melting.
    Ally’s cynical side warned her that Morgan’s welcoming demeanor and seemingly genuine interest in what Ally had to say were probably both carefully cultivated traits that could be called up at will. And it was also her cynical side—or maybe it was just the female tendency toward bitchiness that reared its head whenever confronted with a particularly beautiful woman—that told her Morgan had no doubt won her position with the television network courtesy of the casting couch. Her less cynical side admitted she was probably seeing the woman for what she really was—a genuinely likable person who had not only striking good looks, but also a keen mind and a certain charisma that drew people around her like moths to a flame. A formidable combination, and no doubt her presence was one of the reasons, as Kitty made sure to point out, Bonnes Vacances kept topping the ratings.
    Just as likable was Mark. To Ally’s mind he could have been a poster boy for the stereotypical laid-back Australian bloke. Not that he was especially handsome. His nose was a little too big and his ears stuck out a little too much from under a mop of sandy-colored sun-bleached hair. But he was obviously comfortable in his own skin, and what he lacked in looks he made up for in personality. Ally felt instantly at ease with the man and was glad he formed a buffer between her and Kitty, him squashed between them in a space meant only to accommodate two. Their close arrangement had lasted only as long as the aperitif because once the appetizers arrived it became apparent the three of them would either have to take turns eating or have a constant clash of cutlery. After consultation with the waiter, a chair materialized and Ally took her place at the head of the table, which had the advantage of now allowing her to see all of her dining companions without obstruction. But since she was now smack in the middle of the corridor—not the most convenient of locations— she had to draw her chair as close to the table as possible to allow the staff to squeeze past.
    Another disadvantage of her new position was that it impinged on the legroom of Nick. Long and lanky, he had been jutting one leg into the corridor and moving it out of the way each time a waiter or fellow diner passed by. Now, after knocking knees with her on at least three occasions, he had folded his legs under the table and kept them there, unmoving. She imagined it must be quite uncomfortable as he wore a rather pained look on his face. Or maybe his pained expression was due to the intense looks Kitty kept throwing at him. For what reason the poor guy was being targeted, Ally could not surmise. Personally, she found him rather sweet and unassuming, and definitely inoffensive.
    Ally shifted in her seat, and not just to avoid her head being knocked by the waiter who was about to pass behind her chair, but because she was again getting the feeling that something was not quite