Cara shook her head. She couldn't let this affect her. She was here to work and be professional - not worry after the mixed signals of a Hollywood actor who'd clearly had this M.O. long before he ever laid eyes on her.
Melissa walked back in with her coffee, "The guys brought us coffee...wasn't that nice?"
Cara nodded and gave a small smile.
Of course, she thought. It was a simple gesture that had been extended to both of them. Nothing more, nothing less. She hadn't been picked out specifically. She'd been included because she was there with Melissa. Get back to reality, Cara thought to herself.
~~~
Meanwhile, Hayden and Tove were back in the conference room, preparing for their next meeting.
"So, I think the Bentley's should love this proposal," Tove said with excitement. "It's far too good to pass up and for the budget...it can't be beat by any other company!"
Hayden nodded, only half listening.
Tove looked over at him. "Hey, you at least have to pretend to listen to the reps from Bentley when they get here."
"What?" Hayden's eyes snapped to Tove, like he'd just been awakened.
Tove rolled his eyes. "Nothing...your mind is just completely somewhere else right now."
Hayden shrugged, "I'm kind of tired, that's all."
"I'm surprised. You went to bed early last night - no drinks, no parties, no women...come to think of it, are you feeling alright?" Tove asked in a joking manner but Hayden wasn't in the mood.
~~~
Shortly thereafter, Melissa ushered the executives from Bentley in to the conference room.
The Christensen brothers went into their pitch for the script option.
"Lower production costs, better and more accessible locations, full control and management of assets and that's just the tip of the iceberg," Tove said, completely in his 'pitch' mode.
The Bentley reps listened with interest at the proposal and brought several suggestions of their own to the table.
"We at Bentley have talked over casting options - and we want to reserve the right to control of casting the female lead for the film," George Bentley stated.
Tove nodded, "...alright, who are some candidates you have in mind?"
Terrie Bentley spoke up, "after review of the final draft, I think that Sienna Miller would be the only choice for the female lead. She's edgy, strong and completely unique."
Hayden took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.
He felt himself loosening his tie that now felt like a noose around his neck. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe that they were fighting for a deal with an agency who was fighting for Sienna.
Tove was quiet a moment, knowing full well what Hayden's reaction was without looking at him. Then he spoke up, "its something to take into full consideration."
"What?" Hayden asked suddenly.
Tove's head snapped to look at him, "It's something we'll consider...."
Hayden just looked at him.
The meeting ended shortly after in which the Bentley's wanted more time to discuss the full arrangements of the proposal and speak with Ms. Miller's agent about her availability.
Hayden and Tove walked them out to the front office.
"I can't believe you're considering this," Hayden said, not much caring that Melissa and Cara were right there and could hear every word.
"Hayden...don't start," Tove said abruptly.
"What do you mean, 'don't start?' Are you fucking kidding me?!" Hayden said. "I have worked with her, she's a mess! She's erratic and unprofessional, she costs a production more money and time than she's even worth and we'd be making a huge mistake to agree with it!"
"Hayden...this is a huge deal for us. If they want access to the casting, we can't stop them. If they want to cast Sienna, we can't stop them. What we can do is make ourselves as marketable as possible by agreeing with what they say and not putting up a fight....they're the ones in power here, not us...and this could be a huge project for us."
"This is bullshit," Hayden said, almost mumbling under his breath as he walked back through the office.
Melissa and Cara just sat at their desks, not sure what to say.
Tove tried to smile, "rough day, ya know?"
Both girls only shook their heads in response.
~~~
Melissa and Cara had agreed to have alternating lunch breaks - today would be Cara's turn to go at 1, when Melissa came back and the routine would reverse the following day.
Cara was at her desk when Hayden and Tove walked out of the conference room.
Tove was visibly angry and walked through the office and out the door.
Cara just continued to file her paperwork, not looking beyond her desk drawer. In her peripheral vision, she could see Hayden was starting to walk through the office.
"Thanks for the coffee this morning," she said with a small smile.
Hayden only nodded and stopped to stand in front of her desk.
Cara continued working until she'd noticed he was standing there for a moment in complete silence, waiting.
She looked up at him, uncomfortable by his silent looming presence. "Is there something you need?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said, a gruff tone very evident in his voice. "I'd like to know what it is with you women sometimes..."
Cara's eyes widened, "excuse me?"
"Seriously....women go on and on about what dogs guys are, but you know what? At least we know what we want and we go after it. We don't throw all of these mixed signals!"
"Mixed signals?! You wanna talk about mixed signals? How about not even acknowledging that you'd ever met me before this morning...how is that for a mixed signal?" Cara asked, her tone even and firm even though she was thoroughly shaken inside.
"I figured it was best not to make mention of something that clearly was a mistake," Hayden said, looking her square in the eye.
Cara's expression went from firm to angry. Her defiance and pride wouldn't allow her to back down on this one. She remained her even tone, "you're right about that. It was a mistake."
Hayden's eyes never left her's. She had him utterly in shock. No woman had ever acted this way toward him. If anything, he'd ended up dodging women after a one night stand who had wanted actual relationships. Never in a million years, when he said those words would he have thought that she would agree with him. She was humbling him very quickly and it was an odd and uncomfortable thing for him to comprehend.
"Well, you don't have to worry about it happening again," Hayden said.
"That's for sure," Cara said.
"Fine," Hayden said walking out.
"Fine!" Cara said as Hayden walked out the door.