Going Up

Siren was perturbed at herself.

After months of fruitless effort, she'd managed, at last, to land an audition for her first speaking part in a major motion picture. The scene in which she'd appear, if she was selected, required nudity-and full-frontal nudity, at that-but it might, at long last, be her stepping stone to stardom-well, eventual stardom. For now, she'd settle on gaining a little name recognition from the exposure, which the film's director, Harvey Kurtz, assured her was "virtually certain," if she landed the part. "After all," he'd reminded her, "its not everyday that someone like you-someone with your particular appeal-comes along." Waiting for the elevator to descend to her floor, she had to smile. Mr. Kurtz was certainly right about that, she thought.

She shouldn't have gone to Del's Deli for lunch, though. Although popular, it was far away-and crowded. Still, Mr. Kurtz had suggested she try the place, and had asked her to bring him a sandwich back. After she'd ordered and eaten her meal, she'd had only 25 minutes to scurry the four blocks back to the studio and descend the three floors below the basement level to the costume department for the adjustments she needed to her gown before filming her scene. Mr. Kurtz was a great director, as personable as he was professional, but, the other film's other actors-the established ones-had warned her, he brook neither absences nor tardiness. Her audition was to be filmed in-she glanced at her watch, and a spear of panic stabbed her-only 10 minutes, and she'd better be on her mark and ready to be filmed.

She watched the indicator above the closed doors to the elevator shaft as it announced the descending car's arrival at the floors above her own: 10, 9, 8, 7. Come on! Come on! she pleaded silently. Hurry!

The indicator continued to track the car's agonizingly slow descent: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

At last, the damned indicator read "1." The doors slid apart, and a middle-age man in a handsome, three-piece suit-expensive, by the look of the fabric and its cut-smiled at her. Vaguely, it registered with Siren that he was handsome, if graying, with blue eyes, bright-white teeth, and deep dimples in a tanned face.