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The movie is an action-packed thriller with many stunts and special effects. I’m hooked up to a harness with a green screen as my background. I’m supposedly scaling a mountain to get to the heroine who’s being held captive in a remote location. It’s one of the more grueling days of filming, and I’m surprised this is the first shot Andy wants to do. It’s the reason we’re doing so much of the filming in the Angeles National Forest. Filming on set should be a little easier than this.
“Cut!” yells Andy. “Kris, you’re supposed to be struggling. I want to see angst on your face.” He shakes his head and looks at his watch. “Let’s take an hour and have lunch.” In disgust, Andy throws down his clipboard and stalks away.
My assistant on set runs over to where I’m hanging. “Kris, would you like me to get you lunch?”
“No, I’m good.” I look around the set. “But some help getting out of this would be nice.”
He immediately waves his arms at the lead stuntman, Bruce, who jogs over. “Sorry, Kris. I didn’t realize we’d broken for lunch. It wasn’t supposed to be for another hour.”
“Andy is pissed over something. Feels like I can’t do anything right today.” My assistant and Bruce exchange a look. “Is there something I should know?”
Bruce’s lips turn down at the sides. “There’s a bit of gossip about you in the tabloids and media.”
“Gossip?”
Bruce unhooks me, and I stretch, grateful to be out of the harness. He shrugs and looks at my assistant, whose eyes hit the floor.
“One of you tell me, please,” I say in a clipped tone.
Bruce shrugs again. “Apparently, you have a drug problem.”
“What?” I bark out.
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. It’s on page three of every magazine and newspaper. EvenTMZhas a story about it.”
Nodding, I stalk past them and head for Andy’s trailer, rapping loudly on the door.
“Yes?” says a female voice from inside.
I open the door and find Andy and one of the set designers looking over mockups for upcoming scenes.
“Ah, hey, could you give Andy and me a minute, please?”
She goes to stand up, and Andy puts a hand on her shoulder. “Kris, we need to work this out before tomorrow. What can I do for you?”
Frowning, I put one hand on my hip and lean forward. “You know the tabloids like to lie. It’s a load of bullshit.” Andy raises his eyebrows. “I’ll do a drug test every day if it’ll make you happy, or better yet, you could come to me and tell me why my work is pissing you off so much?”
“Freya, could you give us a minute, please?”
She gives me a tight smile and slides past me, eager to leave us to our discussion.
“Kris, if there’s one or even two of them saying something, it’s nothing but all of them? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. No one in your camp has refuted the claims. What am I supposed to think?”
Anger boils within me. I thought Andy wasn’t only a work associate but a friend.
“Perhaps it’s because I didn’t know? Jesus, Andy, I just got back from my honeymoon.”
“Yes, and because Athena was sick, you took the first day of filming off?”
Taken aback, I splutter, “A-Athena wassick. My new wife wassick. I told you this yesterday. You really think I’m late to the set because I’m some sort of addict? How about I piss in a cup right now, in front of you, and you test it?”
Andy holds up both hands. “That’s not necessary.”
“Clearly, it is if you’re believing the fodder in the press.”
Andy nods and takes a deep breath. “How about we start over?”
