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‘Yes?' she asked in a cautious whisper.
‘Is there a problem?’
‘No, of course not,’ she said quickly. ‘I’m just waiting.’
‘For what? A visit to the dentist?’
She cringed at the acid tone of his voice.
‘Passion, Miss Padgett, passion! I want to see longing on your face, not resignation. Is that so much to ask? And where’s Make-up, damn it? Haven’t you got something you can use to kill the shine on her nose? Her nose looks like my mother’s freshly waxed floor!’
Shannon cleared her throat. ‘I... I asked him to go easy on the powder, Jerry. I was afraid I might have another allergic reaction. You see, sometimes these things are cumulative. Once I couldn’t wear make-up for a week, and...’
Crawford threw his arms up in disgust. ‘OK,’ he roared, ‘OK, that’s it. Everybody, go home. Go on, get out of here! What is this, a conspiracy? It’s bad enough I’m freezing my tail off, working in this barn they call a studio while it collapses around me, without having you tell me that we may have to tape tomorrow’s show with you looking like an ad for a bottle of spot remover.’
‘I’m sure I’ll be fine by tomorrow, Jerry. I’ll take an antihistamine as soon as—‘
‘Spare me the details, OK? Just get yourself in shape for an early start. I want you here at six a.m., Miss Padgett. We’ll work straight through until late afternoon and then we’ll tape the damned thing. Is there ' an outside chance you can manage to turn into an actress by then?’
She swallowed hard. ‘Yes, sir. I know I can..’
‘I hope so. Otherwise, I’ll have to assume I made a mistake in casting you. Maybe those sparks were a one-shot. Maybe I’m better off hoping for competency. Maybe I should call casting...’
‘I’ll be fine tomorrow,’ she said quickly. ‘You’ll see.’
‘I’d better see, because I damned well don’t have any more time to waste. You got that?’
Shannon nodded and watched silence as the director tossed his script aside and stalked off the set.
Oh, God, she thought, lacing her trembling hands together in her lap, oh, God, he’s going to replace me. He’s going to fire me. He’s...
‘He’s not blaming anything on you, you know. He’s just frustrated.’
Her head sprang up at the sound of that familiar, husky whisper. ‘Cade?’.
He stepped out of the shadows and sat down on the bed beside her. ‘Stop looking as if Jerry handed you your notice. It was just a bad day for everybody. I think we’ll all feel better when we get this damned scene out of the way.’
‘If we ever do,’ she said glumly. Slowly, she got to her feet. ‘Well, here’s hoping I’ll see you tomorrow.’.
‘Don’t you plan on being here?’
‘Not if Crawford decides to replace me before then.’
‘Don’t be silly. He wanted us as a team, remember? You’re the reason he signed me for this part. He’s just angry.’
‘Sure,’ she said tonelessly. Suddenly, her eyes widened. ‘I wonder if there’s time to catch Eli at the workshop.’
‘Didn’t he say he was going to be in Boston this week with the new Shepherd play? What did you want to do? Read lines with him?’
She shook her head. ‘I know my lines.’
‘Well, then, what’s the problem? If you know them...’
A touch of pink rose to her cheeks and she turned away from Cade’s puzzled face.
‘There’s no problem,’ she said quickly, snatching up her jacket and starting across the studio. ‘I’ll be fine, Cade. Don’t worry. I’ll spend t
he night going over the scene and...*
