by Donna Raider
“God never intended man to live a solitary life,” Mika continued. “Even in the beginning, God made Eve for Adam from his own rib so Adam wouldn’t be alone.”
“Father Timothy vehemently disagrees with you.” Darius looked down at his hands. “He says Jesus is our perfect example, and he did not have a wife.”
“St. Peter, the first pope, had a wife. The disciples had wives.” Mika exhaled softly. “You know, I can only truly speak from my personal experience, and my life wouldn’t be worth living without my wife. She literally pulled me out of hell.”
Darius laughed slightly. He knew Mika was exaggerating her wife’s impact on her life. Surely, she didn’t mean her wife had literally pulled her out of hell.
“I am going to try that new Thai place for lunch,” Darius said, changing the subject. “Want to join me?”
“I can’t.” Mika beamed as if she had just thought of something that made her incredibly happy. “I’m having lunch with my wife.”
##
Father Timothy Branch observed Priest Mika and Father Darius. They were in deep conversation. Mika had been a thorn in his side ever since she showed up from some minuscule parish somewhere in Maine. Timothy hadn’t been able to dig up much information on her. She had been a priest in Greece before settling in the United States. It was obvious she was highly educated. Her knowledge far exceeded her age. He knew Mika had married well, a wealthy mayor in her parish.
Women like Priest Mika made his skin crawl. Gorgeous, entitled, self-confident, and spouting Bible verses as if they were the final truth about everything. Mika didn’t understand that the church made the laws. Even if the Bible didn’t support their laws, they were still the church’s laws. Priests had to obey them. Priests like Mika had always destroyed the church from within.
Father Branch knew that many in the church called him a zealot behind his back, but he didn’t care. He was doing God’s work. Not like Mika, who was picking and choosing what scriptures she wanted to obey. Maybe not scriptures per se, but not following the laws of the church. Populate the Earth! The woman was certainly doing her share of that. Very few good Catholics had eleven children. Of course, children couldn’t get one into heaven.
Father Branch had often wondered about the young priest’s wife. Mika was extremely protective of her and never brought her around the meetings. He knew Mika went home every weekend to be with her and their family. He had to admit the young priest was a good family woman. Still, she should be made to choose, either be a married woman or a priest. One shouldn’t have the right to be both.
Mika and Father Darius stood to return to the meetings. They stopped at Father Branch’s table and invited him to walk with them. He declined.
CHAPTER THREE
“Hello, darling.” Mika kissed her wife longingly. “I miss you so much when we’re apart.”
“I know, baby.” Leah kissed Mika’s lips and her cheeks and down her neck. “I thought about canceling Marcus.”
Oh, no.” Mika smiled. “It will be good to see Marcus again.”
“He briefly questioned me about my age,” Leah informed her, “then asked me what age I wanted him to list for me. I told him that technically I was thirty-four.”
“Technically, you are.” Mika laughed. “Technically, you are also the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Oh, my little silver-tongued devil,” Leah teased. “No wonder the ladies love you.”
“My silver tongue is only for you.” Mika grinned. They both laughed as they realized what she had said. “A Freudian slip.” Mika blushed.
Leah gave James the address Marcus had given her then settled against her wife, holding Mika’s hand on her lap.
“I’m not certain where we’re going.” Leah snuggled into Mika. “Marcus said it was a new place that we would like.”
Marcus greeted them at the door and led them to the table he had procured at the back of the restaurant. “Mika, you look wonderful.” He shook hands with the priest.
“As do you,” Mika said honestly.
“Not quite as young as you,” Marcus said, smiling, “but the love of a good woman has certainly made my life happier.”
“You have married?” Leah raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. You remember Dorie, the young woman that was with me when I visited your lovely town?” He grinned joyfully. “I had the good sense to marry her the following year.”
“Good for you.” Mika nodded. “Children?”
“Three daughters.” Marcus beamed. “I understand the two of you better now. I hate it when I must be away from them.
“Obviously, there are things about the two of you I don’t even want to know,” Marcus addressed the elephant in the room. “What I do want is to help in any way I can.”
He turned to address Mika. “I’m sure Leah has told you that Wayman Stiles has demanded that she make the pilot for Marked for Murder. It would be a tremendous coup for me and give your wife something to do while you’re in those titillating meetings.”
“I’m fine with it if Leah would like to try her hand at acting,” Mika agreed. “I’m pretty sure she will be incredible. You will need to manufacture an alias for her. It would be difficult for me to explain to the church that I’m married to a hot TV star. Being married to a hot mayor is difficult enough.”
“I have some strict stipulations and requirements that must go into the contract.” Leah raised her chin slightly as if daring anyone to argue with her.
“Of course you do.” Marcus grinned, recalling how the mayor had out-negotiated him on the contract for her son and his band. “Let’s hear them.”
“No love scenes. No kissing. No suggestion of a nude scene. It must be a show my children can watch.” She listed her demands as both nodded in agreement.
They agreed that she would go by the name Leah Redman and that her personal life would be kept secret. “I can fabricate my background, just in case anyone wants to dig up anything on me. I will drop a resume by your office in the morning.
“We have twins due in April.” Leah smiled shyly. “I will need at least three months off after they are born. I can work right up to the day they are born.
“Last, but not least,” she said, smiling, “I leave the set every day at five, have a two-hour lunch, and always have the weekends off.” There was no way she was giving up time with her wife. “I have summers off to spend with my family. No interruptions or emergencies.”
“I will present this to Stiles.” Marcus frowned. “If he refuses, we just walk away. I know he wants you for this role more than you want the job.”
They were chatting happily when Father Darius entered the restaurant. He spotted Mika and headed for her table. “Mika,” he greeted the priest, “it seems we have ended up at the same restaurant after all.”
Mika stood and introduced everyone. “Darling, this is my friend, Father Darius. Darius, this is my lovely wife, Leah, and our dear friend, Marcus Devon.”
Darius accepted the hand Leah held out to him. He knew he should simply shake it, but something about her regal beauty made him bow and kiss the back of her hand. She accepted the gesture graciously.
“It is a pleasure to meet you.” Her voice sounded like honey and sunshine. “Mika speaks very fondly of you. She says you have great insight into the struggles of humanity.”
Darius blushed slightly at the compliment. Leah was breathtakingly beautiful. She moved her hand slightly and Darius realized he was still holding on to it tightly. He had just received insight into why Mika fought so hard against celibacy.
Marcus held out his hand to the priest, trying to smooth over the man’s obvious enchantment with Leah. Darius quickly shook his hand and smiled a thankful smile.
“It’s a joy to meet you both.” Darius smiled, still stealing glances at Leah. She had a glow about her.
“Please, join us.” The woman scooted her chair closer to her wife to make room for another chair next to her. “We have just completed some business an
d welcome your company.”
Mika laid her hand on top of her wife’s, which was resting on her thigh. Leah was the epitome of graciousness when she wanted to be. Mika was glad she liked Darius.
The four amiably chatted as they dined and lost track of time.
“Oh my.” Darius looked frightened. “We’re going to be late for your presentation,” he told Mika.
Mika quickly glanced at her wife.
“Go, darling.” Leah smiled. “Marcus can see me home.”
Marcus nodded in agreement.
Mika leaned over and kissed her softly. “I will try to get home early,” she promised.
Everyone said their goodbyes. Darius once again found himself bowing to the woman. He wanted to touch her but decided against it.
He breathlessly tried to keep up with Mika as they quickly walked to the meeting. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“I am,” Mika assured him. She didn’t add that she had been fighting this battle for centuries.
After Mika’s presentation, many of the conference attendees lined up to shake her hand and commit their support to her cause.
Darius admired Mika. Today she had used the Ten Commandments to make her case. The priest pointed out that the Commandments were God’s laws for mankind. She noted that the Commandments forbid adultery. They in no way prohibited marriage. They didn’t even mention the word celibacy. “The Commandments tell us what God expects of us. He does not expect abstinence. He does expect us to honor our wedding vows and commitments,” Mika had ended her speech.
Applause had rocked the large auditorium, and the blonde priest had received a standing ovation.
Tomorrow, Father Branch would give his rebuttal argument supporting celibacy. Darius wondered how he could rebut Mika’s Bible-based assertions.
##
Wayman Stiles had agreed to all of Leah’s demands and raised a disbelieving eyebrow when Marcus had informed him that she would deliver twins in less than two months. There is no way that woman is pregnant, Stiles thought, unless one considers those glorious breasts.
Marcus and Leah arrived at the script reading early.
Wayman Stiles and Trey Slater were seated at the conference table. Slater let his eyes roam over the brunette’s body as if assessing it for future reference.
“Leah.” Stiles rushed to the woman’s side and shook her hand. “I am delighted to have you on board. You could have left your gold-digging agent at home, though.”
Leah smiled. “As I explained, I’m no actress. I brought Marcus to give me guidance.”
Slater swaggered to her as if his privates were too big for him to walk properly. She raised a questioning eyebrow and only nodded when introduced. She loathed men who walked like that.
Stiles explained that for their first meeting, he had asked all the actresses, actors, and staff to attend. He also pointed out that New York Detective Carlie Carlyle would join them.
“Our series is loosely based on Miss Carlyle’s personal accomplishments as one of New York’s finest,” he explained. “She is an outstanding detective and has solved numerous headline cases.”
Leah was surprised at how much she looked like Carlie Carlyle. Both were the same height and weight. Both had almost blue-black hair that hung softly to their shoulders, and both were brown-eyed. Carlie lacked the perfect eyebrows and full lips Leah had, but otherwise, could have been her twin sister. No wonder Stiles had singled her out for the role.
“Wow.” Carlie grinned when she was introduced to Leah. “I had no idea I was so beautiful.” Her easy smile and unassuming manner instantly drew Leah to her.
“It’s an honor to be you.” Leah laughed. “I have read three of the scripts, and you’re very impressive.”
“Thank you.” Carlie bowed her head demurely. “Don’t believe everything you read. They take a lot of latitude with their scripts.”
“Is there any chance I can shadow you in your job?” Leah asked. “To get a better feel for your character.”
“Sure,” Carlie nodded. I would love to have you around, Carlie thought.
“If everyone will be seated, we can begin.” Stiles stood at the head of the long table.
Leah sat beside Marcus. She smiled briefly when Carlie scooted into the chair beside her, blocking Slater’s attempt to sit next to her.
“Let’s go around the table and have everyone introduce themselves and tell us what you do,” Stiles instructed. “I’ll begin. I’m Wayman Stiles. I’m the director of the next biggest hit on television, Marked for Murder. If you show up for work on time every day, with your lines memorized, and ready to go, I will be your best friend. If you do not, I will be your worst nightmare. I won’t tolerate tardiness, insolence, or insubordination. I will replace anyone at this table, if necessary, to assure my show runs on time and is exceptional. I intend to win several Emmy awards with this show. None of you will stand in my way.”
That should ensure my quick demise as an actress, Leah thought.
“I am sure you all know me,” Slater said as he rested his elbows on the table. “I’m the star of the series. It’s my third TV show. I have won an Emmy, so I am certain I can contribute to Mr. Stiles’s ambitious undertaking. I play the part of the priest, Stanley Kaufman. Oh, Trey Slater is my name.”
“I’m Randy Clay,” a handsome man in his mid-forties, with distinguishing gray lightly touching his temples, introduced himself. “I play Candice’s captain. I’m looking forward to working with all of you for a very long time.”
“I play Laura London, the madam who is Candice’s confidential informant.” Said a Swedish beauty with a thick mane of blonde hair and big, green doe eyes, flashing startling white teeth against her golden complexion. “My name is Lana Lawson. It’s not my first rodeo.”
Leah watched and listened as the introductions proceeded around the table. Her thoughts had strayed to her wife when a bubbly blonde announced that she was Mrs. Redman’s makeup artist.
“My name is Chanel Haley.” The blonde giggled. “I’m Mrs. Redman’s makeup artist. I have won several Emmys in my field. I’m looking forward to working with Mrs. Redman. She’s a natural beauty, so my work will be challenging. I must give her many faces as she does the undercover work of Carlie. Honestly, does anyone know how much work will go into making this All-American beauty look like a prostitute?”
Everyone laughed and agreed that Chanel had her work cut out for her.
“Mrs. Redman is my sole responsibility, so don’t try to get me to do your makeup,” she said, smiling. “Oh, and by the way, everyone calls me Haley.”
“I’m Carlie Carlyle,” the detective introduced herself. “I’m the officer on which the series is loosely based, and I do mean loosely.” Everyone laughed.
“I will be providing technical advice, and Mrs. Redman will be accompanying me on some of my calls to give her a feel for my job. I am deeply flattered that you have seen fit to make a television series based on my career.”
“I’m Leah…Redman.” Leah smiled hesitantly. “I seem to be the only novice on the series. This drama is my first acting job. I will work hard and carry my weight. Any advice is welcome and will be appreciated. I am looking forward to working with all of you.”
“I’m Marcus Devon, agent for Mrs. Redman, Miss Haley, Miss Lawson, and Mr. Clay. We are all delighted to be a part of what promises to be the hottest new series of the season.”
##
They shot the pilot, which received raves from the network executives. A tremendous promotion effort went into kicking off the new series.
With Stiles’s track record, it had been easy to get a major network committed to the series. They were not disappointed. The pilot garnered over thirty million viewers, a feat unheard of since the nineties.
The network ordered twenty-four episodes to begin running in time for the May rating sweep. Twenty-four episodes meant forty-eight weeks of production, a difficult undertaking for even the veterans on the crew.
Reviewers ha
iled Leah as one of the most beautiful women to grace a television screen and praised her acting ability. Stiles was already picturing where his next Emmy would sit in his office. She was a director’s dream. The star showed up on time, knew her lines, and worked hard. She was a team player.
##
After the success of the pilot, they settled into a nightly routine dedicated to making the show a success. Mika fed Leah her lines, helping her memorize them. It was great working with Mika. She resembled a female Trey Slater, so when Leah filmed with Slater, she just imagined he was Mika. The chemistry between them sizzled on the screen.
Leah and Mika spent every weekend and any free time with their children.
Carlie Carlyle became a regular guest in their New York home as she worked with the budding actress to make her role more realistic.
The studio was trying to shoot as many scenes as possible with Leah before she went out on maternity leave. They desperately wanted seven shows in the can before they lost their star to motherhood.
A died-in-the-wool narcissist, Slater had been distraught, at first, with all the attention his co-star was getting. The studio received daily requests for the beautiful actress to appear on talk shows, in specials, and endorse products in commercials, all of which she turned down. She appeared on time on the set, did her job, and then went home to her wife and children. Slater soon realized that Leah’s refusals to do anything outside the studio resulted in him receiving the invitations.
##
Sitting in her favorite chair, Mika watched her wife dress for bed. She shook her head, thankful that she had such an incredible woman in her life. “So, you are going to ride with Carlie tomorrow?” Mika asked as Leah settled in her lap.
“Yes.” Leah kissed her sweetly, tired of discussing the series. She still wasn’t certain the whole thing was a good idea.
“Be careful,” Mika cautioned as Leah nibbled at her bottom lip. “You aren’t really Detective Carter. You’re a beautiful actress playing the part of a policewoman.”
