The agent tells her that he received the invitation from the director himself, eager to meet Amy after seeing her demo reel. Eager to accept, she tells the agent to set up a time and she’ll be there. ‘Do you think you could make it to Los Verdes by 5pm?’ The agent asks. Amy looks down at herself. ‘As long as they don’t mind my work uniform,’ she jokes. The agent tells her he’ll set it up and send the address. Amy puts the phone back in her purse and sits quietly for a moment, before jumping up and down in excitement at the bus stop.

CUT TO TITLE PLATE

Inside a staged living room, several crew members finish setting up lights and preparing their cameras. A small bespectacled man, the director (Jake Adams), comes on to the set and barks orders at several of them. Despite his slight stature, he commands a presence and the crew work obediently under him. He walks over to a separate area, where a makeup artist is finishing up with the male lead (Seth Gamble)’s hair. ‘Tony Romeo,’ the director says, clasping the man’s hand. ‘Do I have a fun audition for you today!’ The actor flashes a toothy grin. ‘Like last time?’ he asks. The director smirks at him, adjusting his glasses, before telling the makeup artist to wrap it up. The actress will be here any moment. And he wants a closed set.

Outside the building, Amy paces by the door. It is already after 5pm and she doesn’t want to make a bad impression. A PA lets her in, paging the director on his walkie-talkie. Amy steps inside to view the set. It looks so professional … like a real living room! She nervously sits down on the couch when the director storms in. With a strong handshake, he introduces himself. ‘I’m Steven Rothschild, welcome to my set!’ Amy recognizes the name instantly. Rothschild is one of cable’s most successful showrunners. ‘You’re the guy behind Red, White, and Bad!’ she exclaims. ‘That’s one of the best shows on television right now!’

Tony struts into the room. ‘OR ever!’ he says, jokingly sliding into their conversation. Amy looks doubly starstruck. Tony Romeo is the hottest young actor in Hollywood right now. ‘Oh my god, Tony Romeo. Are you in this?’ He smiles, looking at the director. ‘Are you kidding? Stevie wrote this for me!’ He clasps his director friend on the back before sitting down on the couch. The director puts his arm around Amy and tells her that Tony is going to be helping read lines for her audition today. Is she ready to get started? Amy nods, then asks if he got her portfolio the agent sent over. Steven looks her up and down. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve seen everything I need to see about you already,’ he says with a smile before turning to tell the crew to leave the room. This is a closed audition.

The director sits down beside Tony and asks Amy to stand before them. He asks her age, height, weight and then to spin around for him. Amy looks a little confused. ‘Do we have a script?’ she asks. The director smiles and repeats his request, with Tony chiming in. ‘Stevie likes to freestyle his auditions,’ he adds. ‘Starting off with how you look!’ Amy slowly turns around, trying to keep her composure. She feels awkward. The director likes what he sees and pays several compliments to Amy’s physique. ‘You look like you take very good care of yourself,’ he says, jotting down a note. ‘Have you done a lot of physical roles in the past?’ Amy feels even more awkward. ‘Um … I work out,’ she replies.

The two men look at each other and nod, before Tony gets up and walks over beside her. The director compliments how good they look together. ‘Now, that’s an attractive cast!’ he remarks. Tony comes in close to Amy and puts his arm around her. He smells great and is very handsome. Amy blushes at the thought of him touching her. ‘Thanks,’ she squeaks. ‘Now, are you sure you don’t want me to read anything in specific?’

The director stands up and walks over to them, scoping them out. ‘Are you comfortable with romantic roles?’ he asks Amy. Amy nods. ‘Good,’ the director continues. ‘Because this new project is a love story and it’s going to feature several very intimate scenes.’ The camera lingers on Amy’s face, as she tries to remain confident and professional despite her unease. Tony playfully teases her by saying not to worry, he brushed his teeth. ‘I’m sure that won’t be a problem,’ she replies quietly.

The director goes on to explain that there is one pivotal scene in the project that involves nudity. It is very important that she feels comfortable with being nude on camera. Amy’s smile wavers. ‘Um … ok, I guess,’ she replies. The director’s tone changes sharply. ‘Well, are you ok with being nude on camera or not?’ he barks. Tony releases his grip and looks at her. Feeling cornered, Amy nods nervously. ‘Yes, of course. I’m an actress,’ she says. The director relaxes. ‘Great,’ he says, clasping his hands together. ‘So, let’s see you out of these clothes then. I want to make sure you don’t have any tattoos or blemishes that would take away from the innocence of your character.’

Amy stares at the men in shock, before slowly looking across the room. It is empty. The crew have left. She is completely alone. ‘I don’t have any tattoos,’ she whispers. The director crosses his arms and motions again for her to undress. ‘He just wants to make sure,’ Tony adds reassuringly. There is a long pause before Amy slowly begins to remove her work uniform. She strips down to her bra and panties. ‘See, no tattoos,’ she says, eager to redress. The director stops her. ‘Let me take a good look,’ he says scanning her body. ‘Please remove your undergarments.’ Amy wraps her arms around her chest. ‘I don’t think that’s necessary, do you?’ she asks. Tony chimes in again, joking that she might have something hidden under there. They just need to take a quick look. It’s not a big deal. ‘You are an actress, right?’ he says, his joking attitude turning serious. Feeling intimidated, Amy nods and slowly slips off the rest of her clothing.

She stands before the two men fully nude and vulnerable. They exchange knowing looks before the director compliments her body again, saying how lovely she looks and what great shape she is in. She is a natural born star. Amy fakes a smile. ‘Thank you,’ she says. ‘Shall I get dressed now?’ The director says sure and goes back to sit on the couch when Tony interjects. ‘Wait, wait, wait!’ he says enthusiastically. ‘Stevie, I have a great idea! Since we are all here and there is such a good vibe going on, why don’t we just rehearse that scene you told us about to see what the chemistry is like? You can work out the angles you’d like for when we actually film it!’ The director smiles. ‘That is a FANTASTIC idea!’ he replies as Amy covers herself up and the director leaves the room to grab his camera.

Tony starts to remove his clothing, staring intently at the nervous woman. ‘You should really relax,’ he says coldly. ‘Stevie hates difficult women!’ He pulls down his pants to reveal his semi-erect cock, as she turns away embarrassed. The director returns with his camera and begins to guide them into position. ‘I imagine that this scene starts with a long, intimate kiss,’ he says. ‘Standing just about where you are now. When you’re ready, please begin.’ He kneels to get a nice low angle look at Amy as Tony closes in on her. ‘Are you ready, beautiful?’ he says, inches from her lips. Looking down at his cock on her thigh, she closes her eyes and says ‘ok.’

The director yells action and Tony kisses her. She nervously kisses him back, not sure what to do with her hands, but the leading man grabs them and wraps them around his muscular frame. ‘Closer,’ the director whispers eagerly. ‘More passionate!’ Throughout the awkward make out session, the director moves around the couple to view his various angles. When he is not satisfied with something, he sharply asks Amy to bend and contort herself. The requests become increasingly exploitative and she tries to protest but both men remind her that this is an audition and she shouldn’t break character. ‘If you do what the director asks, you will get the part,’ Tony whispers aggressively in her ear. ‘So, don’t be a diva about it!’ She feels horribly conflicted but doesn’t want to lose the role of a lifetime so, mustering up her courage, she tries her best to do everything the director says, no matter how invasive. She ends up spread eagle on the couch for both men to see, as the director sticks his lens right up to to her pussy and breathes heavily. ‘This will make a perfect transition,’ he mutters to himself as he hands his camera to Tony.

‘Tony, I want your character to begin the sex scene with oral first, followed by penetration,’ he says, matter-of-factly as he undoes his zipper. ‘But, it needs to feel authentic, so let me show you how I’d like you to do it first.’ Tony nods, pointing the camera. Amy looks at the director. ‘I’m sorry … What?!’ she stammers. Looking at her coldly, the director arches an eyebrow. ‘You don’t have any issue with me showing him, right? I like to get into the minds of my characters through roleplay. It’s just my style.’ She closes her legs and starts to get up. ‘I don’t think I feel comfortable with that, I’m sorry.’ She rushes over to her clothes and starts to gather them on the ground when she hears the men laughing behind her. Angry, she stands up and turns around. ‘What is so funny?’ She asks, her anger welling up alongside her anxiety. The men stop snickering and face her. ‘You chicks are all the same,’ Tony says. ‘You take an opportunity and you ruin it with your attitude! Nobody wants to work with a bitch like that.’

Amy tries to defend herself. She doesn’t have an issue with nudity or even a sex scene, she just wished she’d be informed. ‘I thoroughly explained this all to your agent,’ the director adds. ‘He assured me that you were professional and experienced.’ Amy walks back over to them, pleading. ‘I am,’ she says, exasperated. ‘And I want this role, I really do! I just wasn’t expecting this much pressure!’

Tony puts his arm around her and slowly pushes her back down on the couch. ‘Look, I’m sorry if I offended you, I just hate it when actors aren’t respectful on set. It’s my biggest pet peeve … right, Stevie?’ The director nods, pulling his dick out. ‘Nobody is here to pressure you sweetheart,’ he says. ‘We just want to make sure we create the most authentic scene possible!’ She stares at the penis in his hands, her lips quivering. ‘So, are you willing to continue?’ he says. ‘Because I’ve got girls lined up if you don’t think you’re strong enough for this role!’ Amy closes her eyes. This isn’t what she expected. But, if she doesn’t do it, she won’t get the role. Slowly, she spreads her legs wide again and stares at him. ‘Yes,’ she says quietly.

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