Silence stretched between her and Pascal and she wondered if she was about to be fired as the film’s script writer. Surely he wouldn’t do that to her. She was determined to make the writing amazing and she was sure she’d achieved that. Tom had helped her and the parts she’d let him read, he’d told her, her portrayal was spot on.
“Well, that’s good to hear. When it comes to action movies, like the one we’re working on, I want them to be as realistic as possible. I can’t wait to read what you’ve written.”
Relief poured through her and she collapsed against the back of the lounge chair she’d been sitting in. “I’m so glad. I really do think you’re going to love it.”
“Excellent. Why don’t you come to the studio tomorrow at ten. We can look through the script. I’m trying to arrange for one of the actors to come in, so I’d like you to be present in that meeting as well.”
“Definitely.” The disembodied voice of the airline worker announcing her flight was ready for boarding crackled over the loud speak. “I’m sorry to cut this call short, Pascal, but my flight has been called to board.”
“That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You sure will.” Amberley disconnected the call and contained the urge to do a happy dance around the lounge. Pascal seemed very happy she’d taken the initiative when writing her script and she only hoped he loved it. Anything else wouldn’t bear thinking about.
Taking a deep breath, Amberley raised her closed fist and rapped on the wooden door. When she’d arrived at the studio, Pascal’s assistant had greeted her as she was walking out the door and told Amberley to head back to the director’s office.
Tiredness pervaded her bones but she shoved it aside. She’d spent most of the night, after she landed, completing the script. Playing around with things and making sure every single word shone. The finished product, in her opinion, was incomparable to anything she’d ever written before. Her visit with Tom had inspired her, not to mention his insight had helped her create depth to the characters and the story. If Pascal loved it as much as she did, Amberley was positive her screenwriting career was about to take off.
“Come in.”
Twisting the handle Amberley opened the door and walked in. Pascal was seated at a desk that was pristine. For some reason she expected it to be cluttered with scripts and other paperwork. On a shelf behind his desk stood the two Oscars he’d won for Best Director and numerous Golden Globe statutes.
One day she would have a shelf with an Oscar on it. She’d received an Emmy and Golden Globe when she’d been on the sitcom. She’d been one of the youngest stars to ever win the awards. Another reason why her mom continually pushed her to go back into acting.
Just think you could have two or more Oscars by now if you’d stayed in acting.
She heard that line from her mom so many times she was numb to it now. Acting wasn’t her calling anymore, script writing was. This script she was about to hand over was going to make her career.
“Morning, Pascal, how are you?”
Pascal looked up and smiled at her. “Amberley. Great to see you. Take a seat. I’m anxious to see what you’ve got for me. The sample you sent when I was trying to decide who was going to work on the script was amazing. The first scene was exactly what I’m looking for. The movie needs to open big and your scene will achieve that for sure.”
Pride swept through her. She’d been aware Pascal had liked what she’d written, and had known that was the reason she’d gotten the job, but hearing made her feel extremely better. “Wait until you see it now. I’ve made some adjustments to it after talking with my military friend. I think you’ll love it even more.”
Mentally she crossed her fingers that he would. There was no reason for him not to, but there was always a chance he wouldn’t like it.
Pascal frowned and clasped his hands together on the shiny surface of his desk. “I didn’t think it needed to be changed. I already have plans for how I’m going to shoot it.”
Damn, he’d gone from being happy and excited to not so happy. “What I wrote before is still all there, I’ve just added a few more lines of dialogue. Things the teams say to each other. As well as expanded the scene where they’re rescuing the hostages.”
“Well, we’ll see if the changes stay. Have you a got a copy of the script for me?”
Even though she’d already emailed a copy to his assistant and knowing she probably would’ve printed out a copy for Pascal, Amberley had known turning up without a paper copy for him wouldn’t sit well. “Yes, I do.” She reached into her laptop bag and pulled it out, along with her laptop. If Pascal had any changes she planned to make them immediately.
“Good. I’ve also got some casting news.”
Amberley sat a little straighter. From the very beginning he’d told her people were interested but wouldn’t give her names. “Fantastic. On the phone yesterday you mentioned you were hoping one of the actors would be available to meet with today. I hope they’ll love the script when they read it.”
Pascal chuckled. “Well this leading lady is one of the easiest actresses to work with. She’ll take anything and make it gold. I’m looking forward to working with her.”
“That’s great, who is it?”
“Samantha Rayse.”
Amberley barely contained her excitement. She’d seen some of Samantha’s movies and Pascal was right. She shone on the screen. Her star was beginning to rise and this movie could send her career into the stratosphere. “That’s a wonderful addition. I’ll look forward to working with her.”
“She’s meeting us in a half hour.” Pascal commented as he read through her script.
“Okay.” Amberley didn’t know what else to say. When she’d arrived she’d assumed she would present the script, Pascal would read over it, and that would be it. She certainly hadn’t expected to meet one of the stars of the film. “Do you have any ideas on who you’re looking at for the leading male character? Or who will play his teammates?”
Amberley thought back to the picture Tom had shown her of his teammates when they’d been deployed. They all looked as fit as he did. She was disappointed she hadn’t been able to meet any of them when she’d been in Virginia. Of course, if he hadn’t had to ship out a few days after she’d arrived, she may have met them.
For the past twenty-four hours she’d managed to put the thought of Tom being in danger from her mind. But now that she’d thought about him, worry for him and his team was front and center.
“I’m still working on the lead actor, but I’ve got someone in mind. I’m meeting with his agent this afternoon.” He flicked through a few more pages of the script, a pencil skimming along the typewritten lines. The fact he wasn’t making any notations pleased her.
He looked at up and smiled. “I like what you’ve done here, Amberley. There’s definitely more of a connection between the team than there was before. Who did you say your military contact was? Perhaps he could consult on set as well.”
“I didn’t say who he was. He’s a family friend, I’ve known him since my high school days. And I don’t think he’d be able to consult, unfortunately.”
“Why not? Specialist films have always had input from experts. The fact you know someone in the military is perfect.”
Amberley sighed, how much should she tell Pascal? Tom was a SEAL, their missions were dangerous and covert. She was positive they didn’t like to advertise to all and sundry who they were and what they did. The fact of the matter was, she didn’t know all the details about Tom’s team. She knew there were various SEAL team designations. Everyone knew SEAL Team 6 had taken out Bin Laden. Was Tom on SEAL Team 6?
“Look, Pascal, my friend is a SEAL, I don’t think he’d want his identity linked to the movie. He helped me as a favor. He’s also active duty and is out of the country at the moment. Even if I wanted to ask him I couldn’t.”
“Hmm, okay, I can understand that.” A knock on his door prevented any more conversation, and Amberley wa
s grateful for the interruption. Hopefully, whoever it was, would put him off remembering what they’d been talking about.
Amberley turned as the door opened. A tall, slender woman with dark brown hair stood in the doorway.
Samantha Rayse.
“Hi, is it okay if I come in? I’m a little early.” She smiled at Pascal before turning to her. “Oh my God, you’re Amberley Price. I loved watching your show. Are you going to be in this movie as well?”
Amberley laughed. “Well thank you and no I’m not going to be in the movie.”
“Well darn. There goes my dream of working with one of the actors I idolized when I was acting in my high school productions.” Samantha said and sat down in the chair next to her. “If you’re not going to be in the movie, what are you doing here?” Her hand clapped over her mouth. “Oh shit, I didn’t mean to be rude. That came out so wrong.”
Amberley looked over to where Pascal still sat, amusement at the exchange between the two of them shining in his eyes. He leaned forward. “Samantha, it’s good to see you and thank you for coming in at such short notice.”
As if she remembered the reason for where she was, Samantha sat a little straighter and Amberley noticed a slight pink hue dusting her cheeks. “Sorry Pascal, I was just, well,” she waved a hand in Amberley’s direction. “I went a little fan girly.”
Pascal chuckled. “I noticed, and in answer to your question as to why Amberley’s here she’s our screenwriter for the movie.”
Samantha’s eyes widened as she turned to look at her. “Really? I didn’t know you wrote screenplays, Amberley.”
Amberley nodded. “I’ve been writing for a few years now. I’ve done some small indie projects. But this is my first studio feature film.”
“I think you’re going to like it, Samantha. Amberley’s written a strong female character. I know you’ll bring your own unique sense of style to the character that will make her shine even more.”
“Thanks, Pascal, I’m excited and nervous. I know I’m not a big drawcard yet, but I’m going to make sure I bring your vision to life.”
“With what Amberley’s written, I have every faith in you being able bring the character to life.” He glanced at his phone. “Now I’ve got to get to set for another movie. I’ll leave you two to get acquainted. Samantha, if you speak to my assistant on the way out she’ll give you a copy of the script. I’m excited to be working with you both.”
Amberley stood when Pascal did and she noted Samantha did the same as well. They followed him out and she waited while Samantha was handed a copy of her script. Seeing her words in the hands of the actress who was playing the starring role was a surreal moment.
“Oh my God,” Samantha gushed as they walked down the hallway. “I’m going to star in a movie directed by Pascal Hernandez and written by Amberley Price. Pinch me I have to be dreaming.”
“Trust me, you’re not dreaming because I can’t believe it either,” Amberley laughed. “How about we find somewhere to sit down and we can go through the script if you like?”
“Definitely. I can’t wait to see what you’ve written.”
The sunshine and warm Los Angeles air hit her the second she walked out of the building. Looking up at the sky she wondered where Tom was and if he was okay. Was it night where he was? Was he caught up in the middle of a battle? What if he’d been hurt? How would she even know? None of his teammates knew that they had been together. Had Tom even mentioned her to them? The thoughts swarmed through her mind and sobered her excitement at meeting Samantha.
“How about we sit over there?” Samantha’s words were a welcome respite from her inner turmoil. Samantha was pointing to a wooden picnic table beneath a large tree.
“Sure, sounds great.” The last thing she needed to do was give Samantha the impression she was flaky. Amberley sat and laid her laptop back on the bench beside her.
“Are you okay?” Samantha asked, her fingers laced together, resting on the script.
“Sure. Why?”
“Well you kind of looked like you’d lost your best friend a few moments ago.”
Amberley straightened her shoulders and pasted a smile on her face. “No. Not at all. I was thinking about a friend who’s away, but I’m fine.” She pulled the laptop out of her bag and lifted the lid. The machine fired up and her script appeared on the screen. “How about we go through the opening scene. Did Pascal go through the basic premise of the film?”
“He mentioned it was a military film involving a SEAL team and a rescue.” Samantha commented as she turned the pages.
“And that was enough for you to say yes and sign on without reading any part of the script?”
Samantha looked up and Amberley noticed the light had disappeared from her eyes and her whole demeanor became more serious. “Yes, I didn’t need anything else.”
After making the decision to become a screenwriter, Amberley had become adept at reading people and situations. Donning a wig and glasses she’d gone to different malls and sat in the food court and people watched. She’d let her imagination go and came up with scenarios related to couples, families and groups of people. She’d write short plays and honed her skills while doing script writing courses.
Observing Samantha now, Amberley could tell it wasn’t just the story idea that appealed to the actress, there was a personal reason for her signing on to do the movie. She didn’t believe Samantha’s motives were to enhance her career. It was a deeper reason. Question was, would Samantha share it with her, a person she’d just met or keep the reasons to herself and use it to fuel her performance.
If it was Amberley, she’d keep it close and draw on it whenever the need called for it. “I’m glad you took the leap of faith. Once you read the script I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.”
“I know I won’t. After the little I’ve read, I know it’s going to be amazing.” She closed the script and looked at Amberley. “This is not something I share with everyone, but I have a feeling you and I are going to get on well. I have a personal reason for doing this movie.”
Amberley mentally high fived herself for her summation of Samantha’s reasoning. “I suspected.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, it’s the way you spoke when you told me about signing on. I’m pretty good at reading people so I figured there was a personal reason for doing it.” She leaned forward and placed her hand over Samantha’s. “I want to let you know that whatever you say won’t be appearing on the evening gossip shows. I had a SEAL friend help me with this script. I won’t ever reveal his identity to the public, unless he wants me too.”
Or we become an item, but even then I’ll keep Tom’s job quiet unless he’s happy for me to share it.
“I believe you. And thank you.” Samantha reached into her bag, extracted a planner, she opened it up and pulled out a picture, sliding it across the table toward her.
Amberley picked it up. Smiling up at her were two people and looking at the smiles, she picked them as Samantha’s siblings. The man in the picture was dressed in a formal military uniform, Army she thought, and the girl was dressed in what appeared to be a flight attendant uniform. “Brother and sister?” she asked, seeking confirmation of her assumption.
“Yep, they’re my younger siblings. Chase, my brother, is a Lieutenant in the Army. He loves it and I’m proud of how far he’s come in such a short while. He’s married to an amazing woman, Sadie.”
“And your sister?”
Samantha’s smile softened and her finger touched the smiling woman’s face. “Rayne. She’s the strongest woman I know.” Her voice broke as she spoke about her sister. Amberley held her breath, hoping that the next thing out of her mouth wasn’t something like her sister had passed away. “She’s married with a new baby. She’s the reason I’m doing this movie.”
“Really? Why is that?” The question popped out of her. Geez, she was sounding like a journalist, but she was really interested in the actress and her reasons for choosing to sign
to the movie. The more Samantha talked, the more she could visualize her as the lead character. But still she didn’t have to be rude. “Sorry, ignore me. Your reasons for doing the movie are yours alone.”
“It’s fine. A couple years ago, Rayne was in Egypt and got caught up in the middle of a coup attempt. The tourist group she was with were kidnapped and imprisoned in a building.”
“Oh wow, that had to be scary for them all.”
“Yeah, it was. We were unaware of what happened to her until after she got back to the States. A Special Forces team, headed by her now husband, rescued her moments before she was about to be raped. Rayne has recovered and she and Ghost don’t like to talk about it. Which I can totally understand. I wouldn’t either.”
“Ghost?” No one gave their child a name like that, did they?
Samantha chuckled. “That’s the name Rayne calls him.” She pointed to the script. “He’s part of a team like the guys in the script. Although I think he’s in the Army not the Navy like the SEALs in this movie are. He has a name like all of us, but Rayne calls him Ghost and so do I.”
“Ahh that makes sense.” Amberley paused, Samantha was sharing a deep part of her soul with her, she could do the same and trust her to keep it quiet. “The Navy SEAL who helped me with my script. When he talked about the other guys on his team he used nicknames too. Guess it’s what they all do.”
“Yeah I think it’s part of what binds them close together.” Samantha looked up at the sky and then back at Amberley. “Anyway, I’m doing this movie as a way of saying thank you to Ghost and his team for saving my sister. As well as honoring my brother’s service to our country. Not to mention Rayne’s bravery. She fought with everything in her to not let the assholes who kidnapped the tourist group, hurt her.”
The love for her siblings was plain to hear in her voice. “I’m sure they’re going to be thrilled you’re doing this. Do you see them often?”
A shadow crossed her face, so fleeting Amberley thought she’d imagined it. “No. I—uh—couldn’t make it to their weddings. I haven’t met my nephew either. I’ve just been—” She shrugged her shoulders. “—you know busy and they live in Texas. While it’s not far away, it’s just better, for them, if I stay where I am. They understand, but I do miss them a lot.”
Guarding Amberley Page 6
