A Humble Heart

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Exactly,” he said smugly.

  Deana put her pen down and looked at Rick. “May I ask who is so important that a studio is willing to hire a famous author just to appease him?” That’s what Dana loved about Deana, she didn’t play games. Deana waited for her question to be answered with her arms folded tightly over her chest and a glare aimed at Rick.

  “Are you ready for this?” Rick asked.

  “Sure,” Dana said, not really sure if she was or if she really cared. She was still trying to wrap her head around the idea of her book being made into a movie.

  “Edward Pierce.”

  Dana nodded and shrugged casually. It wasn’t a name she expected. She hadn’t thought of the actor for a year now, not since she found freedom. She found herself not really interested in the selection. It didn’t matter to her who it was. She would do it if it meant she would get more work.

  She loved what she did and never shied away from a challenge.

  “Oh my God!” Deana jumped up out of her seat and bounced around. Apparently she cared if her little happy dance was any indication.

  Rick pointed at Deana. “See, that’s the proper display right there. Come on, Dana. This is a big deal!”

  She smiled. “It is. I’m just trying to wrap my head around it all. When do I have to meet with them?”

  “See,” Rick said, pointing at her. “That’s why they want to work with you. You’re laid back and don’t get star struck.

  There’s no way you’ll scare this guy off, unlike

  ” He looked pointedly at Deana.

  She froze. “I’ll behave! I swear!”

  Dana chuckled at Deana’s swift change in attitude.

  Dana knew Deana was half in love with Edward Pierce like ninety percent of the women out there, and she teased her mercilessly about it. She understood what a big deal this was for Deana. If she wasn’t planning on doing this already she would for Deana. She had done so much for Dana and her two kids in the last year.

  “So, when do I start working?” she asked.

  “If you sign these contracts today then they’ll go ahead and meet with Edward tomorrow. They’re just waiting for your approval, Dana. I’ve read the contract, it’s more than fair. Read it and then sign it.”

  She took the pen and opened the contract. Rick had never led her wrong. He made sure she avoided bad deals and wouldn’t play around with a movie deal. She looked over the contract and had to take a deep breath when she saw the monetary figure they were willing to pay for the right to do the movie. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the separate figure for the book. She signed the contracts ten minutes later and handed them to a grinning Rick.

  “So, when do we get to meet him?” Deana asked as she practically bounced in her seat.

  “Well, if all goes well tomorrow and they cast a leading lady for the role of Bailey, I would say in a month.”

  That was too much for Deana. “Oh my lord, I’m going to meet Edward Pierce!” She giggled and jumped to her feet.

  She ran over to Rick and hugged and kissed his cheeks.

  “Thank you!”

  Dana sat in her seat and watched as poor Rick tried to fight off Deana as she damn near squeezed the life out of him.

  **********

  “Is this where we pull in?” Deana asked.

  Dana looked up from the large packet Rick sent over the night before to see what Deana was talking about. They were in front of a large gate with “Rascal Productions”

  printed on the side panel.

  “I would say so,” Dana said.

  “Fine,” Deana mumbled.

  “Mommy, why is Deana mad?” Cole asked from the back seat. Dana turned around to look at her baby boy. He suckled on a sippy cup of apple juice while looking outside.

  “Deana is just upset because she thought she was going to be stuck with Mommy here all day until this movie was done. Instead, she gets to spend her time with the most handsome man on earth,” Dana said in an upbeat tone she knew Cole would love.

  “That’s me!” Cole said. “She also gets to spend time with Elizabeth after school.”

  “Yes, I do little man.” Deana sighed heavily. “At least I get spend time with a gorgeous man, albeit younger than I thought.” She blew a loose strand of her black hair out of her face.

  “Hey, at least I agreed to let you drive me today. I could have driven myself,” Dana said defensively.

  “I know.” She turned to look at Dana. “Remember you promised we could come here two times during the shooting to grab lunch, you know so um, Cole can see what you do.”

  Dana chuckled softly. “Of course, for Cole.” She winked at her friend.

  Deana pulled up to the security guard and showed him Dana’s Rascal Production employee badge. They drove into the parking lot where Deana drove as slow as possible, looking everywhere in case Edward Pierce was around.

  “Deana, just let me out here. He won’t be here for a few hours,” Dana said, trying not to laugh at the intense expression on her assistant’s face.

  Deana shot her a dirty look. “A little warning would have been nice.”

  Dana laughed at her and said goodbye to Cole. She was still laughing as she made her way into Studio Eight where she was met by two security guards. She showed her pass and made her way inside.

  Immediately she felt out of place. She was dressed in loose fitting cargo khaki pants and a black tee shirt that showed her curves, but not too tight. She didn’t like her clothes feeling like skin. Her trusty laptop was in its bag hung over her shoulder. It was the only thing that made her feel better. It was her security blanket after all.

  All she wanted to do was find a dark corner somewhere, open her laptop, toss her head phones on, blast some music, and work. Standing in the middle of a busy production floor was not something she wanted to do.

  She quickly moved off to the side, out of the way of men and women scrambling here and there.

  “Dana!” Rick called out.

  “Oh, thank God,” she mumbled to herself. She made her way over to Rick who was standing with several executives.

  He put his arm around her shoulders, protectively. Probably afraid she was ready to bolt. She was considering it.

  “They’re preparing for the office scene,” Rick whispered in her ear. She looked past the cameras and saw an office set up. It looked exactly the way she imagined it would when she wrote the book.

  “Dana Mathews!” a woman practically screamed.

  Dana turned around to see a young woman with glasses and big hair running towards her. “Dana Mathews!

  Oh my God!” the young woman began yelling in earnest now. The woman ran over and grabbed Dana, pulling her out of Rick’s protective hold into a tight hug. “Oh my god! I can’t believe it’s you!” the woman squealed.

  “Can’t. Breathe,” Dana gasped.

  The woman stepped back. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” she said, looking Dana over, making sure she hadn’t hurt her.

  “Can we get security over here?” Rick yelled, putting a hand on Dana’s shoulder.

  “It’s okay,” she said, waving away Rick’s concerns.

  “What’s your name?” Dana asked.

  “Me?” the woman asked stunned. “It’s Amy! I’m such a huge fan of yours!”

  “Amy, do you work on set?” Rick asked in a tone of authority.

  “Yes, sir, I work as my brother’s assistant,” Amy said to Rick then turned her attention back to Dana. “I begged him for the last three weeks to let me come with him! You have no idea, day and night!”

  Dana chuckled. “It sounds like it.”

  “I know you hear this all the time but I am your biggest fan!” she squeaked. “I don’t care what my brother says! I’ve read your books more times than he has!”

  “No, I don’t, but thank you,” Dana said, smiling at the woman’s enthusiasm.

  “Who’s your brother?” Rick demanded.

  “Oh, Edward. He’s umm,” she looked around the st
udio.

  “He was around here a minute ago. I think he’s in makeup or something. Anyway,” she looked back at Dana, “I’m supposed to help you, too! That is if you need help.” She didn’t sound so sure of the last part.

  “You’re Edward Pierce’s baby sister?” Rick asked more casually.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Rick smiled. “Figures.” He took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Alright, ladies,” he pointed at the women, “that’s you, Dana and Amy, follow me. I’ll show you to your trailer.”

  “Trailer?” Dana asked.

  “Yes, it’s where you can go and relax and work if you need to when you’re not on set. It will be taken to every location so don’t worry about it.” He walked forward, obviously expecting them to follow.

  Dana followed with Amy right along side of her. “I am so excited! I can’t believe you’re writing a book with my brother!”

  She stopped short and saw Rick visibly wince as he stopped and turned around slowly. “Writing with?” she asked Amy, but looked at Rick.

  He rocked back on his heels. “Yeah, about that. I may have forgotten to mention part of his contract is he gets to help you write the book, kind of as a co-author.”

  Dana ran a hand through her blonde hair. “A little heads up would have been nice, Rick.”

  He gave her a sheepish smile. “I know. You’ll be fine I swear it. It will be fine.”

  “Uh huh,” she said, walking forward again. She was already feeling too overwhelmed to argue. “Just show me this trailer, please.”

  “Well, this is it,” Rick said, leading her inside a tin can.

  She looked around and was surprised to see a spacious interior. At one end were two large built in couches in the shape of an L that looked really comfortable. The trailer was large, roomy, stylish and thankfully air conditioned. She stepped into the small kitchen and spotted a round sturdy working table that looked out of place in the center of the tiled area. It looked sturdy and dull and didn’t match the rest of the trailer. She couldn’t imagine whoever designed the interior of the trailer with such obvious care picking out an ugly piece of furniture that clashed with the trailer. She suspected Rick requested it for her kids knowing how much they loved to color and paint.

  “So, what do you think?” Rick asked.

  Dana nodded her head and looked around. “Nice.”

  “Nice?” he scoffed. “You have the best trailer on set.”

  “It’s true,” Amy agreed. “My brother’s isn’t half as nice or big.”

  “Great,” she muttered. “Rick, you shouldn’t have done this,” Dana said, gesturing to the trailer.

  He waved it off. “It’s really for you and Edward. You need plenty of space if you two are going to be working in here, not to mention space for your assistants and me when I come to visit.”

  She didn’t feel like arguing. “Fine. What do I need to be doing?”

  Rick sat down on one of the couches. “Well, you can do whatever you want as long as you’re close to the set. If you have to leave let them know. They may want to ask for your opinion. Other than that you can do whatever you want when you’re not working with Edward.”

  “Great, down time. Rick, you know I hate that,” she grumbled.

  “Look, you can do whatever you want. Amy will come get you if you’re needed. Just relax here for a while,” Rick said, getting to his feet. “I have to go, but I wanted to make sure you were all set.” He gave Dana a quick hug and then looked at Amy. “Make sure she’s all set, okay?”

  “Oh, absolutely!” Amy said, beaming.

  Dana sighed. She didn’t want to entertain a fan right now. Any other time she would be more than happy to get to know Amy, but what she really wanted to do was work.

  A beeper went off. “Oh, that’s me! I’ll be back later,”

  Amy said, practically running out the trailer. Rick followed her, leaving Dana by herself.

  She walked over to the couch and sat on the floor with her back firmly pressed against the leather couch. She took her laptop out and hesitated with the head phones. After a minute she figured she didn’t need them. She plugged the computer in to keep the battery full.

  After careful consideration she chose a playlist and set to work letting her music be her background, blasting it a little louder than she normally did to help her focus. She was halfway through her new book. She decided to go old school on this one, a project she’d been playing with in her mind for years, a werewolf story. She really enjoyed the characters, not as much as Christian’s character, that was her pride and joy, but close enough.

  “Dana?” Amy said, knocking on the door.

  Dana looked at the little clock on her laptop. It was well after one. She’d worked through the morning and into the afternoon. “Damn,” she muttered. She missed the first scene. She’d been looking forward to that. She actually hoped Amy would come get her, but then again she hadn’t asked. She would need to hire a new assistant just for the set. She’d call Rick and ask him to take care of it.

  “Come in,” Dana said, turning her attention back to her unfinished book. She was in a good spot and didn’t want to stop, fearing the ideas would stop flowing through her.

  She didn’t look up, but heard Amy step into the trailer.

  “Hey, Amy, what can I do for you?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the computer screen.

  “I was hoping we could talk,” a deep voice said.

  Dana tore her eyes away from the screen to look up.

  Edward Pierce stood in the doorway. He smiled confidently as he looked at her. Dana looked past him to see a very excited Amy behind him.

  “You might want to let her in here before she runs you over,” Dana said, pointing to Amy.

  Edward looked back to see his sister was in fact getting ready to push past him. He quickly moved to the side and let her charge past him.

  “Dana, is there anything you need? I noticed you didn’t leave or order in, are you hungry?” she asked eagerly.

  Dana smiled at the young woman’s energy. She looked back at her computer and hit save and backed up her work onto an external hard drive. She shut the computer down and returned it to its case and slung it over her shoulder as she stood up.

  “Did I miss the first scene?” she asked, hoping the answer was no. She really wanted to see it and perhaps take a picture or two.

  Edward’s smile returned. She took a few seconds to look him over. His bronze hair was combed forward in the same way she imagined Christian would style his hair. He wore a dark tee shirt and jeans. His face was just as flawless as it was in pictures and on television. He appeared to be looking her over as well.

  “No, we’re doing that in two hours. So, we have two hours of free time right now. They’re setting everything else up right now and working with Jennifer,” Edward answered.

  “Jennifer Callon is Bailey, right?” she asked, trying to hide her nervousness.

  Edward nodded. He folded his arms across his chest and studied her. “Amy, you can go grab lunch or whatever.

  Just be back in two hours,” he said dismissively.

  Amy looked hurt. “Oh, I was hoping to help.”

  Her brother looked at her and rolled his eyes. “It’s okay, Amy.”

  Dana watched the poor girl. She looked like she was about to cry. “Amy, you’re not busy for the next two hours?”

  “No,” she said, dejectedly.

  “Do you like deli?” she asked Amy.

  Amy looked at her warily. “Do you want me to go grab you some sandwiches or something?”

  Dana shrugged and shook her head. “No, I’m asking if you want to join me for lunch. We’re about ten minutes away from Sam’s Deli and he would kill me if he found out I was this close and didn’t stop by.”

  “Really?” Amy asked, her frown transforming into a beautifully shy smile.