Chapter 1

Sitting comfortably, swinging in her chair as she contently read her book, Sophia jumped at hearing her sister explode through the front door. “Nothing like shutting the door quietly is there, sis?” Sophia asked sarcastically with a hint of a smile. She knew her sister well enough to know that any unexpected noise meant she was excited about something. Moving from her seat she made her way to the kitchen where her sister was standing. “I’m coming with you tomorrow!” Victoria squeaked in excitement as she hugged her big sister. Sophia looked puzzled and Victoria happily told her what had happened while she was out shopping. It had turned out that one of the personal assistants due to start work on the set the next day had backed out leaving the company that Victoria worked for to find someone at the last minute. This would be the first time Victoria had to deal with assisting one of the cast and Sophia was pleased at her having the opportunity, but couldn’t help but think she might be getting in over her head. Sophia had seen first hand what it takes to be a good personal assistant to these people and she wasn’t sure Victoria had the confidence in herself to get things done to their standards, she had always been the shy one in the family. Refusing to dampen her spirits, Sophia pushed away her worries and congratulated her.


Sophia Tallarico was one of the many make-up artists that would be needed on the set of a new war film that would be starring some of the biggest names in Hollywood. The fact that there were going to be so many make-up artists on one movie, Sophia had learned from experience, meant that they were expecting a cast with the classic diva attitude. This didn’t help matters when she thought of how her sister was going to survive the experience. It wasn’t that she was useless at her job, her sister just happened to pick a career that was more suited to outgoing personality types while she had the presence of a mouse amongst the other workers at her company. She was one of the hardest working people Sophia knew but no matter how hard she tried she hadn’t made it to become a personal assistant to the famous, until now. Sophia couldn’t push the worry from her mind as they sat down to dinner together. “So can you finally tell me who will be starring in this movie now that I’m part of the crew?” Victoria had been nagging at her to find out who would be in the movie for most of the week since Sophia arrived home. Checking the cast list was something Sophia hated to do, it always took away the element of surprise when she turned up for work. Deciding that she would get more peace from her sister if she just gave in, she departed from the table to find the list that her boss had given her weeks before.


Emerging from her bedroom with a piece of paper in hand and a grin on her face Sophia made her way towards Victoria, teasingly waving it in front of her then pulling it away so as she couldn’t grab it from her. Eventually tiring of annoying her she set the paper down and pointed, “There’s only one name your going to be interested in.” Victoria glanced through the list of names recognising most of them as popular actors and actresses but stopped dead halfway down the row. She had spotted Jon Bon Jovi, her favourite singer of all time, she was a great fan of Bon Jovi but especially of Jon. Sophia laughed at her sister’s reaction. Her chin was on the floor and her eyes were wide. Taking a couple of minutes to let it settle in, she then bounced from the chair and pulled Sophia to her feet as they danced around the room. Sophia couldn’t help but laugh and join in. This was the way she liked her sister to be, she was one of the few people who ever got to see this side of which Sophia thought was a shame as her sister was so funny and intelligent but for some unknown reason she went to mush around people she didn’t know well. It didn’t help that her previous boyfriend had only been with her to use her contacts in Hollywood and then dumped her the minute he smelt fame. Sophia often wondered why her sister was still single as she was beautiful with her long blonde hair and tall figure to rival any models, she eventually just put it down to her lack of confidence and the nice men not giving her a chance to come out of her shell. Settling back down at the table, Victoria began to quiz her on what it was like to be working for these famous stars.


The time went by all too fast with them having to rush their packing and make their way to the airport. Victoria had become obsessed with what she would wear in order to look like she meant business and yet still look good. This was where Sophia came in handy. Before she worked as a make-up artist she had been involved in the wardrobe department and knew exactly how to get the best out of a persons figure with the right clothes. She felt it was a good skill to have especially when she often accompanied her sister on night’s out. Looking as good as her was impossible with Sophia being a good bit shorter than her sister with brown hair, people often found it hard to believe they were related since they looked so different. Sophia herself was a good looking woman with a great figure, she just couldn’t compete with the glamorous looks of her sister. Together they boarded the plane, Sophia sensing the excitement building in her sister as she eagerly anticipated meeting the stars.