Smile Number Seven

by Melissa Price

  Rina took the reins, mounted Smokey, and Mike adjusted her stirrups.

  “That looks right,” said Mike. “How’s it feel?”

  “It’s good,” Rina replied. She nudged the horse gently. “Come on, boy.” After one full lap at a walk, Rina pushed him to go a little faster until they found their rhythm in a trot. She held him at that pace for a few minutes and slowed him back down into a walk. Settling into the lazy sway, she reached forward to pat his neck. “We’re going to do fine, Smokey.”

  Mike leaned on the fence and watched until Rina returned. “You two looked good out there. I like how you ride him. Whatever Mr. Collingworth wants, if it’s something you need my help with, say the word. I’ll be right here.”

  “Thanks, Mike.” Rina dismounted and handed him the reins. “Just those few laps made all the difference in my day.”

  Rina walked to the chair that awaited her and sat.

  “Not too bad,” said the hair stylist. “A little primping and spray and you’ll be ready to go. Makeup is on the way for last minute touchups.”

  “Great,” Rina said. In a matter of minutes she would need all her concentration to sell the world on being a horsewoman in the world of horse racing. She closed her eyes and channeled Julia—the best coach she could have ever had. She breathed in her love of the Y2 and the horses and felt Julia’s rhythm when they were on Thunder together.

  “Good morning, Rina.” She looked up at Reese with his Palm Springs tan, wavy hair, and broad white smile.

  “Morning, Reese.”

  “So, I like what you and Britney came up with last night. Where is she, anyway?”

  “Makeup needed her. She should be back any time now.”

  “All right. I’ll see you at the corral when you’re done.”

  As Rina waited for the makeup artist to finish powdering and shading her face, she watched Britney pass her.

  “There, that’s much better,” said the makeup woman.

  Rina handed the woman the cape that had been draped over her. “Thanks.” She walked to the corral and joined Reese and Britney at the fence.

  “Okay,” said Reese. “Rina, you’re going to ride around the ring in that sexy trot you were doing earlier.”

  “You saw me? Sexy?”

  “Yes—Julia has taught you really well. That looked incredible. So good in fact, I’m going to let you ride while I keep the camera rolling before we shoot the scene. There might be some things I’ll want to use later.”

  “Whoever Julia is, maybe I should take riding lessons from her, too.”

  “Brit, I need your focus,” Reese said seriously. “I don’t want Rina or you getting hurt.”

  Rina remained stoic. You get anywhere near Julia and we’ll both see a side of me we’ve never seen before.

  They followed Reese inside the corral. He pointed behind Britney. “Britney, you’ll come out from the barn to the fence, right of the gate when Rina is across the corral. Rina, you see her and trot to the fence—and do that little quick stop-and-turn thing you did a little while ago. Britney, you storm through the gate and up to the horse on this side—right here.” He stepped onto the mark. “You’ll do your dialogue.”

  “Rina, really escalate so that when Britney pretends to slap the horse it looks real. I want to see that dynamic Verralta-Cavell chemistry.”

  Reese pointed in another direction. “From that angle, Britney, it will look like you’re actually hitting the horse, so make it look really convincing. And Rina, when she pretends to hit the horse, I want you to ride fast all the way to the other side so that I have enough to edit into the stunt. When I call ‘cut,’ you’ll change places with the stunt woman for the runaway horse scene. Any questions?”

  “I’m good, Reese,” said Rina.

  “Me too,” Britney added.

  When Reese left to take his place behind the camera, Britney couldn’t help herself. “So who’s that riding teacher, Rina? What else did you ride there?”

  Rina’s earlobes tingled and burned, but she saved up her anger, ready for her character to unleash it on Britney’s character. She mounted Smokey and continued to repeat her mantras to drown out Britney’s words. Breathe. Focus. Breathe. Focus.

  “Rina,” Reese called out, “start riding. Keep riding.” He waited until Rina had circled the corral several times before he called out: “Okay, that’s good.”

  Rina returned Smokey to her mark, from where they would begin shooting.

  The First Assistant Director called out, “Actors ready. Quiet on the set. Roll sound.”

  “Speed,” said the Sound Recordist.

  The First Assistant Director nodded. “Roll camera.”

  “Camera speeds. Rolling,” the cinematographer added.

  Rina and Britney nodded to each other when the Second Assistant Camera came with the clapperboard that showed the film’s name, scene, and the number of the take.

  “Scene five, take one,” he shouted before he slated the clapperboard and smacked it closed. They waited for the audio and video media to sync.

  The cinematographer let everyone know the camera was in position and focused properly. “Set.”

  “Action!” Reese called out.

  Rina rode fast, letting Smokey have a little fun in the process. She increased her speed, felt the breeze lift the hair from her neck. She gave the horse his head and let him out into his natural gait. Britney stormed out from the barn, and Rina raced up to her at the fence, stopping Smokey abruptly and doing the little turn Reese wanted.

  Britney’s character erupted into the scene in a huff. “If you think for one minute I’m going to let you get away with stealing my company out from under me, you’ve got another think coming!” She flung open the gate and pounded into the ring.

  Rina’s character stared her down while steadying the horse.

  Smokey snorted at Britney as if on cue.

  Rina delivered her lines with command: “You’re certifiable, Tess! You know that?” Verralta-Stare-Down Number Eight. “You stole this ranch out from under my family in the dirtiest deal in the horse racing industry. And now you think I’m going to let you get away with it? You’ll never get your hands on this ranch again!” Rina lowered her voice and flared her eyes. “Ever. Now Get. Off. My. Land.”

  “I’ll get it back all right, and I’m taking that horse you’re on with it!” Britney turned in the direction Reese had directed her to and stepped on her mark. She raised her arm and took an open-handed swing at the horse’s rear flank.

  Rina shrieked when the horse bucked and then bolted. She squeezed her knees as tightly as she could, hooked her feet behind his front legs, and gripped the saddle with one hand, reins in the other. Smokey nearly threw her off three times. No matter how hard or low she pulled on his reins, once he had taken hold of the bit, he wouldn’t respond no matter what she did. Rina’s feet slipped out of the stirrups as she lost control, and she crashed onto the dirt, barely a step away from getting stomped on. She rolled away on the ground, and Mike ran into the ring and grabbed Smokey.

  “Cut! Cut!” Reese screamed, running toward her. “Get the medic! Now!”

  He and Britney raced to the other end of the ring, and Britney fell to her knees at Rina’s side.

  “Oh my god! Rina, are you all right?”

  Rina began to sit up and immediately laid back down on the ground.

  Britney leaned over her and held her hand. “Jesus! I’m so sorry. The horse moved. I didn’t hit him on purpose! Say something!”

  Rina looked up at her and then at Reese. “Get her away from me, Reese.” Then she pulled her hand away and screamed it. “Get away from me, Britney!”

  “I swear it wasn’t me!” Britney pleaded.

  The medic raced to the scene. “You need to move, ma’am,” he said to Britney as he bent down and opened his EMT bag.

  Reese pulled Britney to her feet. “Let the medic do what he needs to do. Come on.”

  “But…” Britney began. Her hands shook and h
er breathing became erratic. “Oh, my god, is she okay?” she said looking over her shoulder as Reese led her away.

  “Look at me, Brit,” said Reese. “Are you okay?” He put his arm around her and guided her to a chair on the set.

  “I’m freaking out, Reese. The horse moved at the moment my hand came down. I swear!”

  Reese stared at her and ran his fingers through his thick hair. “Stay here.” He turned to an assistant. “Bring Miss Cavell some water while I check on Miss Verralta.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Gigi sat waiting at Clay’s kitchen table, drumming her nails in succession, from thumb to pinky and back again.

  “I’m here,” she called out when she heard Clay come through the door.

  “I see that.” He set down his suitcase and walked toward her.

  “How are you doing?” she asked. “You look exhausted. How’s Rina?”

  He let out an exasperated sigh. “Man, what a twenty-four hours it’s been.”

  “Were the X-rays normal?”

  “She’s very lucky that nothing’s broken. The doctor said she sustained a mild concussion, but she’ll be okay.” He tossed a glance at the photo collage on his table. “What’s all this?”

  “The photos from the private investigator.”

  Clay leaned on the back of Gigi’s chair and stared down at them. He leaned farther over her shoulder. “Is that Julia?” he asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Making out with a guy?”

  Gigi looked up at him. “So you see it, too.”

  “Ugh! I can’t handle two nightmares today.” Clay took a seat, reached for a photo in the middle of the table and studied it. “I know Rina doesn’t know about these or I’d have had to restrain her on the flight home. She’s been trying to reach Julia all day. When were these taken?”

  “Two days ago.”

  Clay slumped back in his chair and exhaled a hard sigh. He rubbed his eyes and then looked over at Gigi. “Worst timing ever.”

  “I know, right?”

  His face twisted. “Et tu, Julia?”

  “This on the heels of the Britney fiasco! What’s going to happen now that Rina isn’t on set?”

  “They’re shooting around her for the rest of the week. The doctor wants her at home to heal. I could strangle Britney Cavell for causing this—Rina could have been permanently injured or killed.”

  “What exactly happened?”

  “Britney was supposed to pretend to hit the horse’s rear, but she says that the horse moved at the last second causing her to actually hit him. Her hand just happened to land on a sore spot, causing him to buck and then bolt.”

  “Is she telling the truth?”

  “Who knows at this point? The cameras were rolling so there may be another view where you can see what happened if and when the horse moved. But the scene was shot to make it look like she was hitting the horse. In the meantime, you know Britney as well as I do.” He stared at her. “What do you think?”

  Gigi rolled her eyes. “That woman is capable of anything.” And I can use that to my advantage. “What does Rina say?”

  “Rina told me that when they went to dinner the night before, Britney came onto her like gangbusters.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Now that I have the photos of Julia, this is almost too easy. “So did Rina take her up on the offer?”

  “No, she physically pushed her away—more than once. How could you ask that knowing how she feels about Julia?”

  Gigi held up a random incriminating photo and surpressed a grin. “She’s not going to feel that way much longer, is she?”

  Clay rested his forehead in his palm. “This is already a big fucking mess.”

  “Just because Rina denies anything happened with Britney doesn’t mean it didn’t. Maybe they did have a fling in Vancouver. Do you know for a fact they didn’t spend the night together? I mean, without me there it was a perfect opportunity, and it’s happened before.”

  “No, no, no. If that happened, I’d need to start taking medication and take up serious drinking.”

  Gigi chuckled.

  Clay stared at her and then at the photos on his table.

  “Clay, you don’t think Rina should see these pictures of her lover hooking up with some dude?” Say yes.

  “God no, Gigi. Not now. I can’t believe my eyes.” He held up the photo of Julia embracing the man. “I’m shocked. I would never have thought that Julia…”

  “Now aren’t you glad I hired the investigator?”

  “Rina will be devastated.” He sighed. “Before I put my pillow over my face and scream, is there any more bad news?”

  “Nothing but a stack of photos of Rina’s lover all over this guy.”

  “Put them away. Rina’s very fragile right now, not to mention her head hurts and she still feels foggy.”

  Gigi shook her head. “Has Rina been in touch with Julia since the incident?”

  “She said she tried to reach Julia all day but couldn’t get through.”

  Gigi waved one of the photos like a fan. “Maybe Julia was occupied,” she said in a snide tone.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t press her for answers about anything. You’d be wise to do the same. She said she’ll call you when she wakes up tomorrow.”

  “How do I face her knowing about Julia?”

  Clay borrowed Rina’s Blank Expression Number Two and stared at Gigi. “Lie!”

  “Don’t think I don’t know you’re flashing me Blank Expression Number Two. What about when she goes back to Vancouver? They’ve just started filming so there’s a long way to go. How is she ever going to work with Britney after this?”

  He raised his hands in the air. “Haven’t a clue. I don’t know what the fuck is going on!”

  “What about Susie?”

  “What about her?”

  “If there was ever a time for her to earn her keep as Rina’s publicist, it’s now,” said Gigi.

  “Susie is doing what Susie does. Spinning it. She released a statement to the press saying that Rina had to leave the set because of a riding accident. But she’s not mentioning how it happened. Honestly, while all the attention is on this mess, I don’t want the press to get even a hint of her relationship with Julia. If that’s going south too—and then…ugh! I need sleep.”

  “With all the speculation about why production was virtually halted, it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out, Clay.”

  He smirked. “It’s all a matter of which version of the truth speaks loudest.”

  Mine! Gigi nodded thoughtfully. “You really think Britney intended to do Rina harm? I mean, why?”

  “Who knows? Britney swore to me she didn’t intend to swat the horse’s butt. However, Rina said that when they walked out through the barn to do the scene, Britney was trying to persuade Rina to give her another chance. Rina was pissed. She basically told Britney that there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d ever subject herself to her again.”

  Gigi chuckled. “You sound just like her. You don’t think that Rina and Britney…you know…hooked up before this?”

  “Rina said no. Which means Britney short-circuited. Again.”

  “Here, this one’s my favorite.” Gigi tossed over a picture taken with a telephoto lens. Julia was lying on top of the man on a porch lounge. “I told you in the beginning that I didn’t trust this girl.”

  Clay shook his head remorsefully. “This is going to destroy Rina. I’ve never seen her so devoted to anyone. I really thought they had something special.” He sighed. “I guess I was wrong.”

  “Maybe Julia’s lies will take care of this situation for us and we won’t have to worry about showing Rina these photos after all.”

  “One crisis at a time, Gigi.”

  “As if that’s going to make one shit of a difference!”

  * * *

  Alone in her suite, Rina put on her favorite pair of drawstring pants and a long-sleeve jersey top to warm her. She brewed a cup of hot
tea and limped to the sofa. She placed the cup on the table in front of the plush sofa and winced when her left butt cheek met the seat. “Where are you, Julia?” Again there was no answer.

  Rina was holding the hot cup with both hands to warm her when her phone rang.

  “Julia, I’ve been trying to reach you for a day!”

  “I never received any calls from you. Are you okay? I just heard something happened to you!”

  “It was a riding accident.”

  “But you’ve been so good on the horses. What happened?”

  “I’m foggy and my ass is sore. The doctors sent me home to rest this week. But it wasn’t my fault I got thrown—or the horse’s for that matter.”

  “Well, whose fault was it?”

  “I don’t even want to tell you because I know it will make you crazy.”

  Julia paused. “It was Britney, wasn’t it?” she said in a low voice.

  “Yes.”

  “Answer me honestly, Rina. Have you two…?”

  “Don’t you dare finish that question! Why would you ask me that?”

  “Because it’s been a while since you and I have been together, and I’m looking at photos of you two on my computer right now. Britney has her arms around you in the first one, and while you were on the ground she was holding your hand. In fact, she’s all over you.”

  “I don’t even remember that.”

  “Convenient.”

  “What are you implying?”

  “I’m calling because I want to know if you’re okay. Since I haven’t heard from you, I thought maybe you and she—on location together…”

  “You know we went out for dinner two nights ago. That’s all.”

  There was a prolonged and deep silence. “I know. I saw the pictures of you together online, afterward. I hate to say it but you look good together.” More silence fell between them. “Were you alone with her afterward?”

  “Only on the ride home.” And then in the elevator. Rina thought of the kiss Britney had given her. “I wish you were here,” said Rina.

  “I’d come up there if I could.”

  “It’s okay, I need some alone time to think.”

  “Think about what?”