Hollywood Royalty

A few hours later they landed at LAX safe and sound although Ash had another little panic attack as they were landing. Luckily Pedro helped her with him again, this time it was even more hilarious considering the amount of Ash’s squirming and their laughing. Grace and Pedro had spent the entirety of the plane ride going over their lines together. Mostly it was just taking apart every little scene Grace and Pedro shared as her grandparents. They analyzed every single line and discussed their interpretation of it, everything ended up becoming much more clear after that. With the amount of time they had been spending together going over the script, Grace was sure that when it came to filming there wouldn’t be too many problems that would arise.

There was a car that picked them up outside the plane, the studio seemed to be investing a lot into this new movie. They were counting on this movie to be the most grand, beautiful, and romantic film that would come out in 2017. It took them forever before they were finally able to reach the hotel that the studio had set them up at. Apparently nothing had changed in LA as far as traffic went and that was definitely something that she hadn’t missed about LA. Things were quiet for the most part in the car between her and Pedro as they checked their phones for any messages or missed calls. Ash sat between them in the backseat and Grace was thankful that Pedro hadn’t been bothered by all the shed fur that was bound to be on his clothes.

It was the beginning of August so it was of course very warm and bright in LA which made Grace want to retreat into her hotel room with the air conditioning turned up high and her blinds shut. Now that she was in LA to work there would be no time for discomfort. Grace would just have to get through all the sunny, heated august afternoons and hope that her very English skin didn’t burn from the intensity of the sun. Once they arrived at the hotel, Grace and Pedro checked in at the front desk while their luggage was being taken up to their rooms. It was one of the higher end hotels of LA so Grace was wondering just how long the studio was willing to have two of their actors put up there.

Grace and Pedro made their way up to their respective hotel rooms whilst making idle chit chat in the elevator. People stared at them as they made their way down the hall to their rooms but not because anyone recognized them. No, it was because a rather stray looking German Shepard followed the nicely dressed blonde. Not many of the hotel’s occupants ever brought their dogs to the hotel and if they did they were pampered little lap dogs. Grace, however, didn’t seem to have a care in the world as she walked down the hall alongside Pedro. It had become a new goal in her life… Not to care what other people thought of her.

“So where are we going?” Pedro questioned as they walked down the hall. Grace gave him a curious look as she glanced back up at him.

“Sorry?”

“You said that you were picking out where we’re going this time.” Grace nodded. She honestly forgot about that portion of their conversation from the plane. There had a lot had been on Grace’s mind so it was easy to distract herself with other things.

“Oh… Right. Well, let’s just make it a surprise.” Pedro raised an eyebrow.

“A surprise? I don’t really like surprises.” Grace just smirked at him.

“All I’ll say is that it’s a club so just dress for that. See you in a few hours.” Grace told him before leaving his side and approaching the door of her hotel suite. Pedro looked after her with a curious look in his gaze, wondering just what was going through the mind of Grace. She was definitely the kind of person that made you wonder. That was something that he could definitely determine about the famous blonde actress.

Grace entered her large and lavish hotel room after telling Pedro that she would see him later that night. It was about time that she got settled. The room was expansive with high ceilings and a large amount of space. There was a small kitchen inside that contained everything within it so that she could cook if necessary. French doors opened up between the bedroom area of the hotel suite and the living room area that contained the kitchen off to the far right wall. The bathroom connected to the bedroom and was every bit as lavish with its roomy shower and luxurious looking tub. It was perhaps one of the nicest hotel suites that she had ever stayed in. Her luggage was already in the room so Grace didn’t waste any time unpacking.

She thought it was best that she didn’t unpack everything since it was quite often that the studio had their actors moved to a different hotel or even apartment during filming. Grace unpacked about a week’s worth of clothing and necessities before looking through Ash’s things. She pulled out his dog food dish as well as his water bowl. Grace was sure that she had about a few days’ worth of dog food so she would have to go to Whole Foods shortly. She would probably go tomorrow after filming was done or maybe when she had a break. Ash didn’t waste any time making himself at home as he padded into the living room and hopped up onto the couch. Grace smiled in amusement before grabbing a change of clothes and heading towards the bathroom. She always felt a bit unclean after flights and especially flights as long as the one from New York to Los Angeles. It had been a while since she had a good bath anyways.

After Grace’s long bath she took a much needed nap wearing the hotel’s complimentary robe. Whenever she stayed in hotels Grace often felt as though she were a little kid, like she was staying in an upscale hotel in Paris all over again. When she was a little girl she always loved staying in hotels because it was exciting and different. It was a few hours later when Grace was finally woken up by her phone ringing. The blonde actress tiredly rubbed her eyes as she unlocked the screen to answer it without seeing who it was that was calling her. It was in that moment where she became more alert as realized that it could’ve been anyone on the phone. Her mind went to the worst possible situation and she started to panic whether or not it was someone like Taylor on the phone. Someone that she absolutely loathed the idea of talking to.

“Hello?” She answered with hesitation in her voice.

“Darling, you were supposed to call me the moment you landed.” Grace sighed in relief. It was only her father, a very worried father but at least it wasn’t Tom or worse… Taylor.

“Right… Sorry, dad. We were kind of rushed away from the airport and then of course there was the Los Angeles traffic. By the time we got to the hotel I was beyond tired so I just took a bath and fell asleep. I completely forgot but everything happened so fast.”

“That’s completely alright, Gracie, I understand. Things have been quite busy here in the newsroom too I’m afraid.” Her father replied, pausing for a brief moment before speaking again. “What did you mean by “we”?”

“Oh… I just meant Pedro and I.”

“Pedro? Who in the bloody hell is Pedro?” Grace smiled at her father’s bewildered tone.

“I told you about him, dad. Remember? He’s playing grandfather in the new film. We both live in New York so the studio flew the both of us out on a private plane.” Grace thought that it was best not to mention her night out with Pedro. Her father was always persistent about her not going out partying all night like all her celebrity counterparts. She didn’t think her father would approve of her going out to a bar with a man she hardly knew.

“Right… Well, be careful around him, Gracie.” Grace rolled her eyes at her father’s tone.

“Dad, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve talked to him quite a bit and I’ve found that he’s a very kind and funny person. So there’s nothing to fear.”

“You’re a very beautiful, young woman so of course he’s kind and polite.” Her father replied in that ‘no nonsense’ tone of his. Her father was always so pessimistic when it came to people. Eric Gallagher always saw the worst in people. She always rolled her eyes at her father’s nature but maybe he was onto something. He had never really liked Tom after all so maybe he was right in the long run.

“He’s forty one… Much too old for me and I’m sure he just sees me as a silly little girl.” Her father scoffed.

“Darling, men aren’t as moralistic as you would like to believe.”

“Then you can rest well knowing that I have no interests in relationships at the moment and especially with costars that are fifteen years older than me.” She told her father confidently although she wasn’t quite sure she believed herself. Grace knew that she was attracted to Pedro but she wasn’t about to admit that to her father. What was the point? She had no intention of romance in the near future so her attraction to Pedro was just that… An attraction. Grace wasn’t going to even entertain the idea of a summer romance with her new costar. Could you imagine the headlines in the news?

“Good.” Her father replied, sounding a bit satisfied that his daughter was putting off relationships for the moment. The last one was such a mess that Eric wanted his daughter to have the time to heal before finding another person to commit herself to. It wasn’t as though he expected his daughter to eventually marry again. No, it was quite the opposite. He actually hoped that his daughter never dated again because all the boyfriends she had in the past must have taken ten years off his life span.

“So how is Bethany?” Grace asked of her younger sister.

“Oh, she’s just fine. Settling in at college and hardly has any time to talk to her old dad.” Grace laughed, amused at her father’s sad tone.

“I’m sure that’s not true, dad.”

“I’m afraid it is, darling. Bethany’s made plenty of new friends, she’s enjoying her studies, and your sister’s even gotten herself a boyfriend.” Grace’s eyebrow lifted in surprise. It was a surprise to her because as far as she knew Bethany had never had a boyfriend before. Bethany was quite different from her famous older sister. Grace had always been a bit boy crazy at Bethany’s age but Bethany was very serious and focused on her studies. That was something that the older blonde had always teased her little sister about.

“Really? A boyfriend? Our Bethany?” Her father chuckled.

“The very same Bethany. Apparently his name is Colin and he’s from Scotland.” Grace smiled because she was happy for her sister. She always thought Bethany took herself too seriously but she supposed college loosened her up quite a bit. It was a good thing.

“Well, that’s nice. How about Alex?” Grace inquired of her older brother.

“He’s doing just fine at the job. Apparently Alex has been asked to become a partner for that law firm he’s been working for.” Grace was surprised by that news. Her brother was a lawyer and pretty great one at that. Having a lawyer in the family was also very nice, especially when you were a person of some notoriety. Alex had leant Grace his services during her divorce and he was usually present for most of the contracts she signed although she hadn’t needed to sign a contract since she signed the one for this film.

“That’s fantastic although he never mentioned anything to me during our phone call last week.”

“He was feeling very anxious about the offer but didn’t want to say anything until it was a done deal. I’m sure he’ll be livid that I told you. Alex was going to call you later this week.”

“I’ll pretend to be surprised for your sake.” She paused as she thought of something else. “How are Luke and Charlotte by the way?”

“Luke is doing fine at school. He’s actually doing a school play and has been bragging that his aunt is a famous actress. Charlotte’s been doing great too which is a wonder since she has to handle both Luke and Alex.” Grace laughed as she heard the bit about Luke doing a school play. Luke was her seven year old nephew who was also craziest little boy she knew. Charlotte was her sister-in-law who seemed like she was meant to be a mother. Charlotte with her amazing cooking and kind spirit, she made all the other mothers look like amateurs.

“Well, that’s great. I’m glad everyone is doing so well.”

“And are you doing well, Gracie?” The smile fell off her face at her father’s innocent question.

“Dad, I’m doing fine. I’m about to start working again and I couldn’t be any more excited than I already am. This project is very close to my heart as I’m sure you’re aware of.”

“Of course, darling, I just worry about you sometimes.” Grace felt a bit bad for reassuring her father that she was fine because a small part of her was still sad. She may have known that Tom and her had been over a long time ago but the betrayal of him and her former friend still had a heavy weight over her heart. It was still going to take time to heal from that blow of betrayal and the hurt it had caused her.

“I’ll be okay, dad, no need to worry.”

“Well, if you’re sure then. I should probably let you go since you have such a big day tomorrow.” Grace smiled again although this time it felt more forced.

“Alright, dad. I’ll call you later in the week.”

“I’ll be expecting you.” He told her, his tone making it known to Grace that he didn’t want her to forget like she did today. Grace suddenly felt like she was sixteen all over again as her father worried about her going off to film a movie. “Goodbye, Gracie.”

“Bye, dad.” She then proceeded to hang up the phone. It had been over a week since she had last talked to her father but she was glad that she had. Her father reminded her that she shouldn’t be thinking about men at this point in her life. Working on the new film would provide her with more than enough time to occupy her mind. It was then that Grace realized that it was beginning to get dark and therefore time to go out with Pedro like she promised. She texted him to meet her outside their hotel rooms in an hour in which he quickly replied with a brief yes.

It took Grace maybe forty five minutes of that hour to actually get ready. She honestly wasn’t sure why she was putting forth such an effort. It wasn’t as if she was going on a date with Pedro because she wasn’t. This was just her simply going out for a night of fun with a new costar to get more of that bonding time in for their chemistry. Grace had done the same thing with Ryan when they first met although she and Ryan only went out for frozen yogurt and coffee a few times during those first couple of months after meeting. It was also different because she had already been in a relationship when she first met Ryan but that was no longer the case. Grace shook off any apprehensive feelings about the night out and reminded herself that it was all the for the sake of the film.

Her make-up was done with more of an effort than she had ever put in within the past few months. She applied her eyeliner with a thicker layer than normal, giving her eyes a winged look. Grace’s eyeshadow was done with that smoky effect. She decided to just settle for mascara without the addition of false eyelashes. Those tended to be a hassle that Grace only reserved for award shows when her publicist told her it was absolutely necessary. She completed the look with a pale pink shade of lipstick applied to her already pink lips. Grace decided to leave her hair down as she had left it earlier during the day. Grace put on a cerulean blue, strapless peplum dress that was quite a bit different from her usual vintage skirts and sundresses. It was form fitting and shorter than what she normally wore, ending well above her knees but wasn’t uncomfortably short. Despite the dress being strapless, it wasn’t very revealing as far as her cleavage was concerned although Grace was never sure if she had enough cleavage to show off anyways. She paired the dress with a pair of matching blue platform stilettos that made her height of 5’7 climb to 5’11.

Grace didn’t know what had gotten into her that she was actually willing to go out in public especially to a club. This wasn’t like her at all. Well… It used to be for her a long time ago but Grace was different now. She didn’t travel along in Taylor’s Swift entourage of famous actresses, musicians, and models. The truth was that Grace never went clubbing like normal twenty something year olds but it went beyond how she was raised. She was never the most rebellious of teenagers but Grace knew that the unwillingness to go clubbing was mostly due to Tom. While Tom may have been the perfect gentlemen, he never liked the idea of her going out alone. He loathed the thought of other men around her and even became annoyed at the amount of films she did with handsome leading men. Michael Fassbender, Logan Lerman, Colin Firth, Sam Claflin, Richard Madden, and most of all… Ryan Gosling.

Tom always hated that Grace continuously worked with Ryan and always starred in movies with him where they played love interests. When their on screen chemistry started receiving public and critical appraisal it only frustrated Tom more. Grace and Tom argued all the time about Ryan although Grace never admitted that to the Canadian actor. It didn’t seem to matter to Tom that Ryan was settled down with Eva and had two beautiful daughters with the Latina actress. Grace thought that one of the contributing factors to their separation was the fact that she signed onto to do ‘La La Land’ without telling him that Ryan was also starring in it. It just became an insecurity that seemed to eat at Tom for no reason at all.

Tom was okay with her hanging out with Taylor and her devoted group of followers and fame seekers but that was only because the famous squad contained no men whatsoever… Unless you counted Ed Sheeran who was an unofficial squad member. Maybe she needed to go out like this and act like a normal twenty something year old. All these years of being in a committed relationship didn’t allow her any normalcy like her friends were always talking her about. Emma and Bonnie didn’t understand Grace’s desire to get married so young and have a family but they couldn’t possibly understand. Grace had lost her mother at an age where she needed her mother the most. It was a long forming desire in her heart to start her own family and be the mother to her children that Grace had lost at such a young age. It was a perfectly normal thing to want although maybe it wasn’t so normal in this day and age. Her grandmother had gotten married to her grandfather at Grace’s age anyways. It wasn’t so odd back then.

While getting married and starting a family may have once been Grace’s dream, a lot had changed since then. Grace had been through an awful lot and she didn’t think that she was looking to fulfill that long lost dream anytime soon. In all honesty, Grace had been very naïve and foolish but she thought that she had matured quite a bit since then so going to one club wasn’t going to hurt. She would be lying if she was saying that the prospect of going out wasn’t exciting to her. Besides… It was only one night. Tomorrow it would be back to work and back to getting her life back to normal. Grace could hardly wait for the opportunity.