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“Maybe next time.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
48
“Quiet on the set.”
Logan Chase put a hand next to his mouth and stage-whispered to Matthew, “I’ll tell you the rest after.”
Matthew smiled and nodded as if eager to hear more of Logan’s story. In truth, the assistant director’s announcement had come none too soon as far as Matthew was concerned. If he had to listen to one more minute of Logan humblebragging about how large a role he’d had in his first film, Matthew might strangle him on the spot.
Over at the camera, Peter gave Tessa and Adriene a few last-minute instructions. When he retreated to hismonitor, the assistant director raised his electronic megaphone again and said, “Places, everyone.”
Matthew’s eyes were glued to Tessa. He loved watching her in the moments before she performed. Loved the way a calmness descended over her. Loved the moment when she would shut her eyes as Tessa Tweed and then open them as Vivica Storm.
Had there ever been a greater actress in the history of film? For Matthew, the answer was an emphatic no.
Peter eyed the set, then shouted, “Action!”
Tessa and Adriene hurried into the frame. They looked anxious and scared, exactly the way people would if worried about the well-being of someone important to them.
The scene had no dialogue. It consisted only of Tessa and Adriene entering the shot and walking quickly away from the camera.
Matthew knew from the script he’d procured that the scene would be part of a montage near the end of the film. The nieces were on what would be a failed quest to save their uncle’s life. But while they would be unsuccessful, it would be Tyler Storm’s sacrifice that would save them from paying the price for his past.
When the two actors turned the corner at the end of the block, Peter yelled, “Cut. Let’s do it again.”
“Reset, everyone,” the AD announced.
Naturally, much to Matthew’s annoyance, Logan tookadvantage of the pause between takes to restart his story. “As you can imagine, I was worried they were going to kick me off when the—”
“Matthew?”
Matthew turned to see Stacy walking up. He smiled, more in relief than anything else.
“Hey, Stacy. I was wondering where you’d gone off to.”
She glanced past him at Logan. In a low voice that only he could hear, she whispered, “We’ve left you all alone with him, haven’t we? Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” he whispered back. “But I think I know more about his life now than I do my own.”
Logan leaned toward them. “Are you two talking about me?”
“Not every conversation is about you,” Stacy ribbed him.
The actor smirked. “I refuse to believe that.” One of the things that kept people from truly disliking Logan was his ability to poke fun at himself.
To Matthew, Stacy said, “I was wondering if you have plans this evening.”
Matthew almost laughed. Boy, did he ever. Tonight was the night he would rid the world of Ben Bacchetti. But he certainly wasn’t going to tell her that.
“Nothing solid yet. Why?”
“Billy Barnett would like to take you to dinner. To thank you for the other night.”
“Why does everyone want to buy me a meal?”
Stacy shrugged. “It’s a Hollywood thing.”
