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‘Don’t tell me your troubles,’ he snapped. ‘I’ve got enough of my own.’
‘I’m sure you do, Jerry...’
“‘I’m sure you do, Jerry”,’ he mimicked. ‘You’re in an amazingly good mood, all things considered.’
Lord, she thought, now he’s angry because he thinks I’m not taking him seriously. ‘Look, I know you’re not pleased with the way things are going this morning. Believe me, I wouldn’t ask for a break if I didn’t really need one.’
Crawford threw his hands up in disgust. ‘Skip the speech, OK? All right, everybody, take ten.’
‘Thank you. I won’t be a second longer.’
‘You’d better not be, or I’ll tell the writers to arrange Alana Dunbar’s fatal accident ahead of time.’
An embarrassed silence fell over the technicians and crew as the director turned and stalked off the set.
‘Well,’ the make-up man said finally, ‘anybody for a quick coffee?’
‘Great idea,’ somebody said quickly.
Within seconds, the set was deserted. Shannon blinked back a sudden welling of tears as she started slowly towards the shadowed perimeter.
‘It isn’t your fault,’ a breathy voice said from the darkness. ‘Don’t let him upset you.’
‘Who’s there? Rima, is that you?’ Shannon asked. She frowned and rubbed her hand across her eyes as Rima stepped into the light. ‘I didn’t know anyone was still here.’
Rima held out a packet of Kleenex. ‘Here,’ she said pleasantly, ‘you look as if you need a tissue.’
Shannon looked at the older woman suspiciously and then she nodded.
‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘That’s very kind.’
Rima smiled and tilted her head to the side. ‘Rough day, hmm?’
‘Yes, I guess you could say that. Jerry’s been furious with me all morning.’
Rima nodded. ‘Such a pity,’ she said sweetly. Shannon looked up sharply, but Rima’s face was a study in innocence. ‘I thought we could run through our little scene,’ she said. ‘See if we can get something extra into it.’
Three months, Shannon thought, staring at the other woman, three months of working together and she’s never said more than a half-dozen words to me until now.
‘That’s a good idea,’ she said finally. ‘But why? I mean, you’ve never wanted to before.’
‘Well, this is such an important few pages, Sharon. What happens in this scene lays the groundwork for the new storyline. My s
toryline.’
‘Shannon,’ Shannon said automatically. ‘My name is Shannon.’
‘Sorry.’
‘That’s all right, Rima. Well, sure, it’s fine with me if you want to do a reading. But I think you’re wrong about this scene—it doesn’t set up anything new.’
‘But it does. The writers are going to focus on my attempts to regain control of my dead husband’s fortune.’
‘The legal battle between Alana and her stepmother, you mean. That’s not new.’
‘The legal thing’s out, Shanna.’
‘It’s Shannon, Rima. What do you mean, it’s out? Jerry said we were going to do some exterior shots outside a courthouse in Westchester.’
