“I created three folders,” she said, handing the laptop back. “Critical, Not Time Sensitive, and Trash. See if you agree.”
Smirking at the descriptors, Piper took the machine and scanned through them, noting there was only one email in the critical folder, three in the not time sensitive folder, and the rest labeled trash. A big smile lit her face as she met Zandra’s gaze. “One hundred percent agreed. And you’re really willing to do this?”
“I am,” she said, her enthusiasm almost pulsing. “I want to be a producer someday, but I’ve got to work my way up from the bottom. Every single thing I can learn—about anything—is going to help.”
“Are you hungry?” Charlie asked.
“Well,” Zandra shifted her gaze from Piper to Charlie. “I haven’t had dinner yet.”
“I’m going to order something,” Charlie said. “Stay and eat with us. I’m mad at myself for not learning more about you, Zandra. Let’s fix that, okay?”
“Love to,” she said, her smile nearly as bright as Charlie’s.
Piper watched the pair use the laptop to call up the room service menu, which she’d already memorized. If Zandra could really follow through on her promise, life would get a whole lot sweeter, really soon.
***
It took a few days to work out the wrinkles, a process made slightly more difficult because they were filming on the farthest part of the island, where the walkie-talkies weren’t as reliable.
But Zandra was as sharp as a tack, and she quickly learned who the important people were, and made it her business to get their requests answered first. In a matter of days, Piper had, essentially, a secretary. A woman who’d quickly figured out whom to keep at bay and whom to let in.
On Thursday, Piper and Charlie sat in her tent, waiting to be called to set. Piper and Zandra were on their walkie talkies, going back and forth over a pitch the publicity people for the Aaron Evert movie had made, finally agreeing that Charlie would do it, even though it would take a full day, the only day off they had scheduled for the next month.
When Piper cut the call, she shrugged and said, “Sorry to book you for Sunday. I just blew your only day off.”
“I don’t care,” Charlie said. “But I do care about something.”
“What’s that?” Piper sat in a director’s chair and grabbed a piece of watermelon.
“I think you should let Zandra identify herself. Have her say she’s your assistant.”
Carefully eating around the few seeds, Piper only shared a little of her focus with her sister. “How will that help me?”
“It’ll help her, you jerk,” Charlie said, flinging a rolled up magazine at her. “She’s going out of her way to help, Pip. If you let her get her name out there, it’ll help her land her next job. Be nice,” she said, giving her a scowl.
“I’m nice,” Piper insisted, grudgingly having to admit that Charlie was a lot nicer, or at least a lot more aware. “You really think that’ll help her?”
“Yeah. PAs aren’t unionized. They have to scramble for every job. Give her a leg up.”
“Okay,” Piper said. “I’ll talk to her tonight.” She let out a little laugh. “One day, when she’s a famous producer, she can tell people she started out walking your dog.”
With an impish smile, Charlie said, “Or, more accurately, that she got her break helping Charlie Summers’s manager not lose her mind.”
***
A surprisingly strong shower on Wednesday afternoon had the crew running around like mad, trying to get every piece of equipment covered. Bobby had been working, and he squawked like mad when Haley popped him into his cage and covered him up.
A wind gusted up, shaking the tent that Tim used to look at his monitors. Then a great peal of thunder had everyone stop and stare at each other for a second. A voice called out over a megaphone, “That’s a wrap, everyone. We’ll pick up where we left off in the morning.”
They were only about a quarter mile from the aviary, but Haley wasn’t looking forward to walking. Bobby’s travel cage wasn’t terribly heavy, but she didn’t want to lose another pair of slippers. One of the wardrobe assistants, a cheerful woman named Alejandra, tapped Haley on the shoulder. “Come on,” she said as she raced by.
“Where?”
“Follow me!”
Haley picked up the cage and followed right behind, passing by all of the people draping and taping plastic on everything.
The rain was starting to taper off by the time Haley reached the Jeep Alejandra was sitting in. “Damn it!” Haley panted as she buckled Bobby into the front seat. “It’s clearing, but it’ll take an hour to get set up again if Tim decides to give it another try.”
“He won’t. The weather’s too unpredictable to waste the money,” Alejandra said. “I’ll drive you home.”
“How’d you get the ride?” Haley asked.
“I’ve got my secrets,” she said, adding a wink.
Now that Haley had a minute to look, she saw that this was a security Jeep. Hmm…
The rain had stopped completely by the time Alejandra pulled up in front of the aviary. She got out and helped Haley with the door, then watched as she took off Bobby’s cover and gave him some water. “Want to hang out tonight?”
“Sure,” Haley said. “What’s going on?”
“Kayaking, I think. We could go now if you want.”
“Now? Really?”
“It’s just four. We could go for a while, then have dinner. You in?”
“Yeah. I’m definitely in.”
***
Two hours later, Haley and four members of the wardrobe crew sat on the beach, exhausted from chasing each other around the ocean in their kayaks. She was about to suggest they go have a beer when Kolohe pulled up in a Jeep that looked suspiciously like the one Alejandra had been driving earlier. He jumped out with a little cooler and opened it up when he reached them. “Who wants to kick off the evening?” he asked.
“Me!” Haley called out, raising a fatigued arm.
“You were looking good out there,” Kolohe said, ruffling her hair.
“It was nice knowing you guys were watching us so carefully,” she said. “I’m much more daring when I know I’ve got lifeguards and a powerboat to come fish me out if I capsize.”
“We’ve got your back,” he said, handing the other beers out. Then he gave Alejandra a can of diet Sprite, adding a tender look that Haley silently cheered. Kolohe had a girl!
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ON SATURDAY MORNING, THEY ARRIVED on the island even earlier than normal. Zandra and Piper worked together in the production office until the normal staff came in, then they had to cede the desks to their rightful owners.
The sun was just about to rise as they walked outside, and Piper said, “Have you had breakfast?”
“I never eat at the hotel,” Zandra said. “That’s way too early for me.” She had Delta under her arm, and turned to address him. “Ready to go see your friends?” Chuckling, she said, “He walks around the dining hall like he just won the Super Bowl. He’s the toast of the island.”
Piper scratched his ear, then bent to let him kiss her. “You two have fun. I’m going to stretch my legs for a while.”
“See you later,” Zandra said, grasping Delta’s little paw to make him wave.
As usual, Piper was wearing shorts and flip-flops, not the ideal walking shoe. But when she got to the beach she was going to go barefoot. Getting there involved a few scrapes, however. Tim and Meredith wanted the flora and fauna to be undisturbed where possible, so no one had carved out a wide path to the ocean. She either had to walk all the way around to where the “road” was, or pick her way through some spiky, hearty, low-growing vegetation, most of it with sharp, sticky things that kept nipping at her.
As soon as Piper made it through the last bits of tall foliage, she let out a sigh. Even though she was often near the ocean, she was always with twenty or thirty other people, trying to be quiet while the cameras rolled. This was
so much nicer. As she headed for the water, she realized she’d had almost no time to herself, something she’d come to enjoy while living alone.
Her mood brightened at the thought of wandering around, all on her own, and she started to walk, determined to complete at least one loop of the island. But as soon as she rounded the first major curve, she spotted a person in the distance. Just one, but one was enough to ruin her solitude. She kept going when she saw the woman was sitting down, probably wanting her own quiet time. They’d nod to each other and she’d keep going.
When she was about fifty feet away, she saw that the woman wasn’t sitting at all, then she recognized Haley. She was lying on her belly, with her weight on her hands, her head held up proudly, eyes closed. She looked so serene that Piper almost tiptoed past, trying to make as little noise as possible. But Haley’s eyes opened and locked on her. “Good morning,” Piper said, always slightly skittish about being alone with Haley. It was hard enough to see her wandering around. Being up close and personal was a tiny bit of torture.
“Is it late?” Haley asked, clearly puzzled.
“Compared to what?”
“You’re not usually here until close to Charlie’s call time. Did they change the schedule?”
“I think our call time’s still eleven. Charlie came early to work with one of Tim’s assistants to block a fight scene. Are you on set today?”
“No, but I told the python wrangler I’d give him a hand if he needed it.”
Piper’s mouth dropped open. “There’s no snake in the script!”
Haley brought her legs around and sat in the lotus position. Her hair blew slightly in the breeze, the golden strands looking even lighter than they had in LA. A really cute smile lit her face. The smile that had first made Piper’s heart go pitter-patter. “That’s what they call the guy who has to pull cable. The scene’s complex, and he’s going to be running around like crazy. I thought I’d stay busy and give him a hand.”
“Whew!” She drew a hand across her forehead. “I hate snakes, and Charlie’s worse than I am.”
“No snakes. Promise,” she said soberly. “Even if they’re in the book, which I don’t think they are, they’re not indigenous to Hawaii, so Tim wouldn’t want them.” Cocking her head, Haley said, “Are you just out for a walk?”
“Yeah. I was going to do a loop.” A tiny part of her wanted to take off and escape this little bit of closeness. But a bigger part, a much bigger part, wanted to plop down next to Haley just to be in her orbit. Telling herself they had no future didn’t even make a dent in Piper’s profound attraction.
“Mind some company?” Haley asked.
“Of course not.”
Piper extended a hand, but Haley rose easily on her own. Then she took a look at her mat. “I think I can leave my stuff here.”
“I didn’t know you did yoga,” Piper said, watching Haley brush the sand from her shorts.
“Uh-huh. Started with some of the other trainers up at Spike’s right after I moved to LA.” She let a slow smile bloom. “That’s been a while.”
They started off in silence, continuing in the direction Piper had been going. The sun was just about to break through the scattered clouds on the horizon, making Piper tingle with anticipation. She loved those few seconds where you felt its heat before it actually appeared. Then it materialized, and she stared at it so hard, her eyes started to water. Now that the fireworks were over, she said, “How are things going for you? Are you sick of camp yet?”
“I’m not,” she said, a very contented smile curling her lips. “I was thinking about this last night and decided I’ve got Stockholm Syndrome.” She cocked her head. “I couldn’t get a good cell signal to check, so I might be wrong about the term.”
“Search me,” Piper said.
“Well, I would, but you don’t have a keyboard.”
The cutest teasing smile had curled her lips, making Piper’s heart sink. Why did Haley have to be so damn appealing? Wrenching her thoughts from that enchanting smile, Piper circled back to the comment. “What was that about Stockholm?”
“Oh, right. Um, I think that’s what it’s called when you fall in love with your kidnapper. That’s kind of happening to me, and it’s pretty confounding.”
“Your kidnapper?”
“I didn’t come here voluntarily, Piper,” she said, kindly not putting too fine a point on it.
“But you’re having fun despite the circumstances?”
“I am. Everyone assures me this is the polar opposite of Quote The Raven, so at least I’m seeing the flip side of that disaster.”
“It’s been pretty good for me too, but…” She started to complain about doing two jobs, then had second thoughts. Haley wasn’t the person to have sympathy for her plight. “I’ve been kind of amazed at how many people are here. I can’t even guess what this will cost.”
“It is crazy, isn’t it? Hundreds of millions of dollars to tell a simple story that’s been told dozens of times before. But I trust Tim to make this more than a retread.”
“I think I do, but I honestly don’t know much about making a film. All I’m certain of is that the actors’ hair looks bad. Especially the guys. I want to scrub them all and give them buzz cuts.”
“The settlers should have brought more scissors. How many pairs do they have?”
“They’re down to one,” Piper said, laughing at the minutia she’d picked up from the script. “But it’s rusted and dented and not suited for cutting hair. Of course, they have the straight razor that lets the better looking, young guys shave. Funny how that worked out, isn’t it? Nearly fifty years and the thing’s still sharp.”
“There’s probably a honing stone we haven’t seen. It’s in the book.”
Piper laughed at that. “It’s in the book” had become the crew’s standard response to things that made no sense. She hadn’t yet encountered anyone who’d actually read the book all the way through, but that didn’t stop them all from attributing a wealth of details to it.
They continued to walk, neither speaking for a while. Furtively turning to look at the side of Haley’s face, Piper was once again struck by her simple beauty, highlighted by the morning sun. Her hair was a great color to start with, but the sun made it glow like spun gold. It was longer now, and she’d started to part it to keep it from her eyes. It wasn’t a sharp, precision cut any longer but it looked good, making her look a little younger. Her skin tone was nice, too. She didn’t have a deep tan, by any means, just some extra tint that made her look outdoorsy and healthy.
They’d reached the farthest point of the island, the low tide revealing a big grouping of boulders. Haley wasn’t wearing shoes, and she started to walk gingerly across the rocks, managing to cross about half of them. “Come out,” she called, crooking her finger. “Great tide pooling this morning.”
Piper had been knocked off her feet more than once while tide pooling in Malibu, but she didn’t want to be a wimp, so she kicked off her flip flops and started to walk out, finding her footing fairly secure. “Wish I had my hiking sandals,” she said. “But I only brought flip flops.”
“You’ve got to call them slippers,” Haley said, smiling. “You don’t want to sound like a tourist.”
“I wish. I might break the record for the longest time spent in Hawaii while having seen the least.”
“You’ve been a pretty rare sight, too,” Haley said, turning to lock her gaze on Piper for a moment. It was truly just a moment, but in that tiny bit of time Piper could feel her face warm just from the attention Haley paid to her. “I thought we’d run into each other this week when Bobby was scheduled for a scene with Charlie, but that didn’t happen.”
“The schedule was pretty screwy this week. Just losing a few hours to rain really mucks things up.” She shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t pay much attention to what scenes are coming up. I just make sure Charlie’s hair is the right length for whatever.”
“You do seem pretty busy.”
&nb
sp; Piper showed a quick smile. “Let’s just say I’m beginning to see why talent managers get ten percent.”
“You just fly in, work, and fly back?”
“That’s it. And we don’t go out when we get back, either. Room service every night.”
“Piper,” she said, a hint of fondness revealing itself in the way she said her name. “Don’t let this time pass you by. Go out and explore.”
“Can’t. We have to get up so early I don’t want to waste time leaving the hotel to get a meal. It’s just dinner, email, and bed.”
“I’m having more fun than that, and I haven’t left the island since we started filming. Which is kind of nice, to be honest. I know this isn’t the Hawaii that visitors experience, and it’s a little sanitized, but I can imagine living here two hundred years ago. It’s cool,” she said, with a contented grin. “I’ve only had one bad day, and you know when that was.”
Piper tried to keep a straight face, but Haley wouldn’t let her get away with that.
“You’re a liar if you claim you didn’t laugh when you saw me slogging through the muck that afternoon.”
“I didn’t,” she insisted. “But when I think of it now…” She let out a laugh, feeling like she had when they’d just met. When everything was light and easy between them. “I honestly thought we’d gone through some kind of time/space warp and were near rice paddies. You looked exactly like pictures I’ve seen of women carrying the harvest after a long day’s work.”
“That’s what I felt like. That day sucked, but it’s been all uphill since then.” She pointed to a rock near her left foot. “Bunch of cone snails right there.”
Piper moved closer and bent over to peer at them.
“A whole lot of sea urchin here,” Haley said, continuing to move. “A couple of hermit crabs…ooh…a fireworm. I haven’t seen many of those out here.”
Piper put her hands on her knees, bracing herself as the latest wave broke and cleared. “Oh, yeah. Good stuff. I haven’t done this since we’ve been here.”
Fame Page 37
