Regretting The Wife He Threw Away

Rosita's weak grasp of the script and her shallow understanding of tradition left

her performance hopelessly superficial.

After a week on set, progress had ground to a halt.

At last, Grover snapped.

"Cut! Cut! Cut!" His shout rang out across the studio for what felt like the hundredth time. "That's it! We're done for today!"

Bill rushed over, hands raised in a placating gesture. "Grover, take it easy. Getting worked up isn't good for you. Ms. Lockwood's just a little out of practice-it's been a while since her last film. She just needs some time to get back into the groove

"It's been a week!" Grover barked, arms akimbo. "We haven't gotten a single usable take! There's a whole crew here, wasting their time because of her. Didn't she even read the character notes I gave her?"

"She did, she did..." Bill said quickly, his smile stretched thin.

"Then why is her acting still such a mess?" Grover rubbed his neck, inhaling deeply, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. "I told you from the start, she wasn't right for this role! But you insisted..."

He let out a heavy sigh, then turned to Bill with finality. "Call the boss. Tell him to replace Ms. Lockwood. Get the girl from our company—what's her name, Mary? Yes, Mary! She's got real talent. She's perfect for this part! Let her do it."

Bill hesitated, looking genuinely troubled. "That's... not possible. Ms. Lockwood's the lead the boss personally chose. We really can't replace her."

"Then I can't direct this film anymore," Grover shot back. "Tell the boss to find someone else to run this circus!"

reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't be hasty. I'll call the boss and let

Grover snorted in disgust.

pulled out his phone

her chair,

Grover had

actually dared to look down on her?

smile

anyone was getting replaced, it certainly wasn't

Bill returned

boss has it covered. Ms. Lockwood will have a week of private coaching. A specialist in traditional arts will work with her. Grover, you can use this week to

his lips together and sighed. "Let's hope Ms. Lockwood shows some improvement after

back, grinning. "She will! You know

so hard he

a foul mood when she learned the boss wanted her off set for

there was no use

start tomorrow. For today,

moment's thought, Rosita decided to visit

she arrived, a nurse informed