AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then a sudden chilling thought wormed its way into my head. I’d had my tongue down a production assistant’s throat in full view of the entire parking lot. If he had someone tailing me, it would only be complete fucking luck that it wasn’t caught on camera. But as quickly as the chill descended, it lifted. No, if Fletcher had something like that on me, he wouldn’t waste time goading me about an incident on set. He wasn’t that subtle.
I ignored his question and grabbed my drink. “See you around, Fletcher,” I said as I walked back to my group.
He said something I couldn’t quite make out. Something under his breath. Something that sounded like, ‘maybe sooner than you think.’
But there was no way he really had. He was in the bad movie business, but he wasn’t a cartoon villain. So instead of turning around and demanding he speak up, I kept walking. Normally an encounter with Fletcher left me fuming, but this one just made me think of Willow.
Strange, but then, everything was making me think about her lately.
13
WILLOW
Julian had said he would stay away, that I would have to come to him. I didn’t believe him, though. The next day, every nerve in my body was activated, waiting for him to show up. But the tell-tale prickle never ran down my spine. I went home at the end of the day feeling strange—confused and relieved and let down all at once. The next day went the same way. By the third day, I knew he wasn’t coming. Apparently, his word meant something, unlike most in this town.
How disappointing.
No, I corrected myself. This wasn’t disappointing. This was good. How it should be. My life was complicated enough, thank you. Fletcher had already called twice to see how things were going. That basically doubled the number of times he’d called me in a six-month period.
It gave me perverse pleasure to spoon feed him bullshit. “He’s got an entire task force dedicated to his image,” I told Fletcher tonight when he called while I was making dinner. “I don’t know much about it, but Miller let it slip. You’re going to see him doing more charity outreach. Lewis Productions is going to release an action plan about sustainability. You know, the kind of stuff O’Conner will eat up.”
“That motherfucker,” Fletcher breathed.
I grinned at Camper. Julian might not have been impressed by my acting skills, but when I tried, I really could pull it off.
“You could beat him to the punch,” I suggested. “Make it look like he’s copying you.”
“Already on it,” Fletcher agreed. “Good work, kid. Hey, what are you doing right now?”
“Making dinner.” Macaroni and cheese was on the menu tonight. With my first paycheck, I’d had to pay rent. When I got my next one, though, the grocery store and I were going to get reacquainted.
“I’m still at the office. Want to grab dinner before I head home? I could go for a steak.”
I looked down at my pan full of synthetic yellow and orange spiral-shaped pasta. It smelled like cheesy feet, or maybe I was just feeling sorry for myself because there was no way I was meeting Fletcher for a steak dinner. He’d had his chance to play dad, and he’d made it clear he had no interest. I couldn’t say that, though, so I said instead, “What if it got back to Julian?”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re right.” Fletcher sounded rueful. It didn’t quite cover up his relief. The offer had been impulsive, like so many things Fletcher did. I gave my macaroni and cheese a self-pitying stir. No steak for me tonight. Maybe I’d cut up a hot dog and really revisit my childhood.
* * *
“I’m finishing a rough cut of the trailer this afternoon,” Miller said around lunchtime a few days later, his sour expression making it clear how he felt about this task. “I need you to run it over to Lewis when I’m done.”
My heart stopped. Stuttered back to life. “Lewis Productions?” I asked cautiously.
“No, it won’t be ready in time. You’ll have to take it to Lewis’s house, or he’ll blow a gasket.” Miller pulled at his lip, looking like he enjoyed the thought of it. Then his mouth dropped back into its familiar frown again and he narrowed his eyes at me. “That a problem?”
I shook my head mutely, but it was a lie. It was a huge problem because in the week that had passed since I’d last seen Julian, dread had morphed into anticipation, and anticipation had morphed into…something else. Something that kept me awake at night while I lay in bed. I stared at the dark doorway until the shadows rearranged themselves into the shape of a tall, broad-shouldered man staring in at me. I remembered Julian standing in that very place, and wondered…
During the day, my resolve never to go to him was strong.
The night was another story.
I didn’t know what would happen at twilight, the time when the line between strength and weakness was the thinnest. When things could tip either way.
At just after seven that evening, Miller handed me a USB and said, “Whatever you do, don’t lose this.”
I zipped it into the pocket of my purse. There was no way I would lose it, but a strange, suicidal, never-will-learn part of me thought, just for a second, what would happen if I gave it to Fletcher. He’d recut it. Ruin it. Layer some shitty music over the destruction and send it to O’Conner. Proof that Lewis Productions couldn’t create Oscar-worthy material anymore. It would be game over. Mission accomplished.
And then he’d grin at me in the way I’d seen him grin at his other kids. So much pride and love on his face he looked like a different man.
