All That Lies Within

by Lynn Ames

  “You’d have loved it. The thing is, she wasn’t doing it from her ego. She was arguing because she believed in Constance Darrow’s vision of Harold and she wanted that reflected in the movie. She was fighting for me, Car, even after what I did to her.” Dara choked up. “Who does that?”

  “Someone genuine. Someone very special.”

  Dara nodded and blew her nose. “What do I do now? I’ve screwed this up so badly.”

  “No, you haven’t. We need a game plan.”

  Before Carolyn could say another word, her cell phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Carolyn. This is Rebecca Minton.”

  Carolyn almost laughed out loud. Rebecca’s ears must have been burning. “What can I do for you, Rebecca?”

  When she said the name, Dara nearly jumped out of her seat. Carolyn put up a hand to stop her.

  “Um…I hate to bother you.”

  “It’s no bother. What’s up?” Dara motioned for Carolyn to put her on speaker, and Carolyn waved her away.

  “I know this is silly, but I can’t seem to find an e-mail address for Dara.”

  “An e-mail address for Dara?”

  “Yes. I-I want to send her the pages I revised for tomorrow and I want to be sure she’s okay with how I interpreted the interaction before I send them to the director and assistant director.”

  “I see. Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why aren’t you two working together on the changes in the same place tonight? I thought that was how you were planning to get it done?”

  “Oh, uh, it was just that my condo came available earlier than expected and I got tied up with getting all that squared away and I still don’t have a car, so by the time I could get over to Dara’s, it would be pretty late and everyone is waiting on these pages. I don’t want to let anyone see them before Dara has a look, so…”

  Carolyn shook her head in wonder. Oh, my God. You’re a horrible liar. And that’s a really good thing. “Sure. I can give you Dara’s e-mail. She probably checks darathomas@gmail.com more often than any other e-mail address. That’s your best bet.”

  “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”

  “Do you want her phone num—”

  “No.” Rebecca got the word out before Carolyn had even finished asking the question. “I mean, that won’t be necessary, and I’m pretty sure that’s not something Dara gives out, right? I mean, that’s about her privacy. If she wanted me to have it, she would’ve given it to me.”

  “Maybe she forgot.”

  “Well, if she did, she can give it to me next time I talk to her.”

  “Okay. Do you need anything else?”

  “No. Nope, I’m good.”

  “How’d your first day go?”

  Rebecca chuckled. “It was…interesting.”

  “Is that ‘interesting’ in the Chinese sense?”

  “The director fired the screenwriter right in front of me. Is that the sort of thing that happens around here every day?”

  Carolyn’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. “No. I think it’s pretty safe to say that’s a really, really rare occurrence. What happened?”

  “I don’t want to go into it, really. Let’s call it creative differences and leave it at that.”

  “How very diplomatic of you.”

  “Well, I’ll let you go. I’m sure you’re busy and I really want to get these pages to Dara before it gets any later.”

  “Okay. Hey, Rebecca?”

  “Hmm?”

  “How are you planning to get to the studio in the morning if you don’t have a car?”

  “Oh, I’ll catch a cab.”

  “Don’t do that.”

  “No, it’s okay. Really.”

  “Let me send a car to pick you up.”

  “Like I said—”

  “Please? I’ll feel better.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure. What time do you need to be on set?”

  “I have to teach a class at 5:00 a.m. our time, so I need to be at my trailer before then. Which royally sucks since the cast isn’t going to have be on set until eleven.”

  “Eww.” Carolyn’s wheels were spinning. “I’ll have a car get you at 4:15. Will that be enough time?”

  “Plenty. Thanks. Tomorrow, I’ll work on the car issue.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Let me know if you need any help, and good luck with the script changes tonight.”

  “Thanks. Carolyn?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thanks for everything. You’ve been really great to me.”

  “You’re very welcome. Goodbye, Rebecca.”

  “Good night.”

  When she disconnected the call, Dara practically was in Carolyn’s lap. “Well? What did she say?”

  “My God. You’re worse than a teenager.” Carolyn put the phone down on the table. “You should be getting an e-mail momentarily with Rebecca’s revisions. She didn’t want to send them to the powers that be without your approval first.”

  “Wow. She doesn’t have to do that. I mean, I told her last night that I trusted her judgment, she should just do what she thought was right.”

  “Well, I guess she still wants to include you in the process and make sure you’re on board.”

  “That’s generous.”

  “From what you told me, it certainly is,” Carolyn said.

  “Please don’t make me feel worse than I already do. What else?”

  “She was very circumspect about the reasons why you two aren’t working together in person tonight. She completely covered for you, and you’ll be happy to know, she’s a really, really bad liar.” Carolyn smiled. “I’m pretty sure you’ll never have to worry about whether or not she’s being straight with you about anything. You’ll know.”

  “She didn’t want my phone number?”

  “Interestingly, no. She was very uncomfortable about it. Another plus in her favor. She didn’t want to violate your privacy and although she didn’t come out and say so, I could see that she didn’t think you’d want her to have the number, so she wouldn’t take it.”

  “Wow. That’s…wow. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say that she’s unique and more principled than most people you’ll meet.”

  “Definitely. What did she say about her day today?”

  “Oh, that was interesting. Did you know George fired Cal? Right in front of Rebecca?”

  “What? No. That didn’t happen in the conversation I overheard.”

  “Well, I suspect you’ll get a memo about it soon. Rebecca chalked it up to ‘creative differences’ and asked me if things were always like this on a movie set.”

  “Poor Rebecca. What a day.” Dara leaned forward in her chair. “That brings us back to the question we were solving when she called. We need a plan.”

  “I think I just may have one. But you’re going to have to sacrifice some sleep to make it work.”

  “I’m listening…”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Rebecca reread the same scene for the fourth time, saying the dialogue out loud to herself as she paced back and forth around the family room. Each time, she changed the emphasis on a word, giving the line a different spin. Finally, she marked up the page. She was working on her fourth scene of the night, trying to stay ahead of the curve. Dara had said they generally shot a scene a day or every two days, so Rebecca figured she was making good progress.

  In her mind’s eye, Rebecca saw Dara as she was last night, sitting so close to her she practically could feel the warmth of her skin. This was so much more fun when I was doing it with you.

  Rebecca sighed miserably. Suck it up. That’s never going to happen again.

  Her computer chimed, letting her know she had an incoming e-mail, and Rebecca’s heart skipped. She sent the pages for tomorrow to Dara nearly forty-five minutes ago. She hustled over to the desk and clicked on her inbox.

  Rebecca,

  I really like the direc
tion you’ve taken this scene. It’s far closer now to the original vibe. I appreciate all your efforts. You’re doing great. I made one minor adjustment to Celeste’s line on the third page, only because I have trouble saying the word ‘unequivocally’ in dialogue without screwing it up. Trust me when I tell you, changing that out will save George at least five takes! Otherwise, you’re good to go.

  Thank you for sending the pages to me first for my input. That means a lot to me. Keep up the good work. See you tomorrow.

  D.

  Rebecca reviewed the e-mail three times trying to catch any hidden meaning, anything personal. Sometimes a professional e-mail is just a professional e-mail.

  Yet the tone was more casual than that, and Dara made a point of complimenting Rebecca’s work. That was something, wasn’t it? Plus, relating her issue with “unequivocally” to Rebecca was a friendly aside. Would she have revealed that to Cal? Rebecca didn’t think so.

  “Oh, my God. Get over yourself. She sent you essentially a one-paragraph response. Don’t analyze it to death. Just take it at face value, make the correction, and send the damn e-mail to Audrey and George.”

  When that was done, Rebecca reopened Dara’s e-mail. She should probably answer it, shouldn’t she? That would be proper etiquette, wouldn’t it?

  “How old are you? Do what you would do for any other colleague and stop obsessing.”

  Dara,

  Of course I wanted you to see the changes first. A collaboration was the way we envisioned this process working all along.

  I’m glad you’re okay with my treatment of the scene. I’m sure you’ll play it tomorrow with unequivocal aplomb. I look forward to watching the dialogue come to life.

  See you on the set.

  R.

  She sat back and went over her words. “This is ridiculous. You’ve anguished more over word choice in these few lines than you did on your entire PhD dissertation. She allowed the pointer arrow to hover over the Send button for a second longer, then clicked on it.

  “Let’s get back to more secure ground, shall we? Time to review the material for tomorrow’s classes.” She saved and closed the script file and opened up her notes for the eight o’clock lecture.

  “Just breathe. Everything will be fine. Just breathe.” This sounded like such a good idea when Carolyn proposed it last night. Now, however…

  Dara checked herself in the rearview mirror at a stoplight. Normally, she wouldn’t have applied any makeup, leaving the makeup artists with a blank slate on which to work. But nothing about this situation was normal. She fluffed her hair with one hand.

  At this hour, traffic was fairly light and she made good time. One block left to go. You still have time to pull out.

  The light turned green and Dara saw a car approaching from behind. She stepped on the gas to pull through the intersection and tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Be casual. “No,” she admonished herself, “be real.”

  The sun was not up yet, and a light was on in the master bedroom as she pulled into the driveway. She checked her watch—fifteen minutes early. Dara rested her head on the steering wheel. Should she sit there? Should she ring the doorbell? Maybe you should just go home and go back to bed and pretend you were never here.

  A knock on her window startled her so badly that she almost hit her head on the roof. She put a hand to her chest, where her heart was beating wildly, and lowered the window.

  “Dara?”

  “Ah…hi.”

  “What are you doing here at this hour? I’m waiting for a car Carolyn was sending to take me to the studio. I’ve got my eight a.m. class.”

  “I know. I’m your ride.”

  ”You are?”

  “If that’s okay with you, I mean. If not, I can call you a ca—”

  “No. It’s fine. I’m just surprised, that’s all Just give me a second, I’ll get my things.”

  Appreciating her curves and the way the slacks hugged her ass, Dara stared after Rebecca’s retreating form and swallowed hard. If she was nervous before, the desire welling up inside her only made her more so.

  In short order, Rebecca was back with her briefcase, which she placed on the floor in the back. She settled in the passenger seat and put on her seatbelt, then turned sideways to look at Dara.

  “What?”

  “You know you’re not due on set until eleven, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did the ride Carolyn was getting me fall through and she needed backup?”

  “No.” Dara looked over her shoulder for oncoming cars and pulled away from the curb.

  Rebecca scrunched up her face, clearly perplexed. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, because I’m very, very grateful for the ride. But why are you here? And by you, I mean you, particularly?”

  There it was. Dara took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel more tightly. “I wanted to apologize to you.” She glanced over to see Rebecca staring intently at her.

  “You did? I mean, you do?”

  “I do. I behaved very badly the other night and you deserve so much better than that.”

  “It’s okay, Dara.”

  “No. It’s really not. I made a mistake—”

  “I get it,” Rebecca said, waving her hand as if trying to stop Dara from finishing the sentence. Her voice was tight. “You didn’t mean for what happened to happen. It’s not what you want. You didn’t mean to do it. I get it. As I said in my note, it’s forgotten. You don’t need to worry about it.”

  Dara took a hand off the steering wheel and wrapped her fingers around Rebecca’s forearm. “Stop.” Rebecca’s arm was shaking, and Dara’s heart sank. “Please.” Dara checked her mirrors, pulled to the side of the road, and turned on her hazard lights. She had to make this right. Now.

  “What are you doing?”

  She faced Rebecca fully and took both of her hands. “I did make a mistake that night.” Rebecca’s hands flinched and Dara rushed on. “But the mistake wasn’t what you think.” She squeezed Rebecca’s hands. “I meant to kiss you. I’d been wanting to do that all day. So much so, that I frightened myself.” Dara ran her thumbs across the backs of Rebecca’s hands. “The mistake I made was running away. If it’s okay with you, I want to fix that.” Dara looked in her rearview mirror then checked the rest of their surroundings. They were completely alone on the road. She leaned over and touched her lips to Rebecca’s.

  She meant only for it to be the briefest of caresses, but as soon as she felt the softness of Rebecca’s mouth, she couldn’t stop herself. She leaned in for more. The sweetness of the moment nearly undid her.

  This time it was Rebecca who pulled back. “Dara.”

  “Mmm?”

  “As much as I want this—as much as I want you—we’re out in the open here, exposed. It’s too risky for you.”

  Dara blinked as the world around them came back into focus. Rebecca was right, of course.

  Rebecca freed one hand and ran the backs of her fingers across Dara’s cheek. “I’d really, really like a rain check, though, someplace more private.”

  Dara cleared her throat and sat back properly in the driver’s seat. “Thank you for worrying about my reputation.” She turned again toward Rebecca, although keeping enough distance so that she did not touch her again. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I’d like a do-over. Rebecca Minton, will you have dinner with me tonight?”

  “Just to be clear, are you asking me on a date?”

  Dara shoved down the rising panic. “I am.” She nodded. “Rebecca Minton, will you go on a date with me?”

  “Absolutely. I’d love to have dinner with you tonight.”

  “You would?”

  “I would.”

  “Okay, then.” Dara turned off the hazards, and pulled back onto the road. She snuck a peek at Rebecca, who was smiling broadly. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

  “I’m very sure.”

  “Okay.” Dara nodded and tapped her fingers merrily on
the steering wheel.

  “Dara?”

  “Mm-hmm?”

  “What the heck are you going to do between now and eleven?”

  Dara grinned as a bubble of happiness filled her stomach. “Any chance I can sit in on your classes? I’d love to watch you work.”

  “I’m sorry, what? I could’ve sworn you said you wanted to watch me teach.”

  “That’s because I did. Would that be okay?”

  “I-I guess so.”

  “If you don’t want me to…”

  “It isn’t that. I’m just trying to wrap my mind around teaching a course on Constance Darrow with Constance Darrow sitting alongside me just out of view.”

  “Surreal, eh?”

  “That would be an understatement.”

  “I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”

  “You would.” Rebecca was quiet for a moment. “Are you going to slip me notes if I get something wrong?”

  Dara laughed. “Maybe. Or maybe I’ll learn something new about my own work.” She pulled up to the studio gates and the guard, recognizing her and her car, waved her through. The day was off to a good start.

  “Good morning, everybody.”

  “Good morning, Professor Minton.”

  “I’m glad to see you haven’t found a way to disable the microphones in the room. Yet. You all are looking bright and chipper for a Tuesday.”

  “If you don’t mind my saying, Prof, you look a little worn out.”

  Rebecca checked the monitor on the left. “Yeah, Sky? Well, let’s remember it’s five in the morning here and I’m only on my first cup of coffee.”

  “Noted.”

  “Hey, Prof?”

  “Yes, Dan?”

  “Before you get rolling, how’s it going out in Tinseltown? Are you setting the place on fire yet?”

  Rebecca was hyper-aware of Dara, seated just a few feet away, out of range of the webcam. “I don’t know about that, but I will say it’s been most stimulating and enlightening.”

  Dara’s eyes shone with amusement.

  “Are you, like, going to introduce us to any major stars or anything? I mean, it would be relevant, since you’re working on a movie adaptation of a work we’re studying and all. Call it interactive teaching.”