by Zoe Wildau
“Trust your own instincts. You knew the problem that was developing with Sofia before I ever set foot in here a few weeks ago. Janice is a good stylist, but when you feel you need extra help, call in extra help. I won’t be far.
“I hope we will be friends for a long, long time. As your friend, I’ll always be available to you whenever you need me, no matter where I am.”
Maya pulled her hand out of Lilly’s, and for a moment, Lilly thought she was going to be dismissed. Maya plucked a Kleenex from the box on the counter and dabbed the corners of her eyes.
“Fine. Fine. You’re right. I’ll call that fink Janice later this morning. But at the first sign of flack, she’s out.”
“Okay. Deal,” said Lilly, touching the corners of her own eyes to banish her tears. She’d accomplished the necessary goal, but she feared she had lost a precious friend in the process.
To give them both a chance to catch their breath before making the finishing touches for the studio work, she said, “I’ll just go tell Frances. I’ll be right back.”
As much as Lilly had enjoyed working primarily on Allegrezza and Sofia, it was thrilling to be able to execute her vision for the film in a larger way. In the costume room with James, the chief wardrobe designer, she unwrapped and examined the nearly completed vestments for the procession, including the extravagant robes and hat for the bishop.
“What’s Raoul Bova like?” asked James. “He is so hot. I can’t believe I’m going to get to meet him in person.”
She smiled at James. He only let his guard down in the costume room. When it came time to actually dress Raoul he’d be impeccably polite.
“He’s hotter in person,” she said, egging on his ardor, and provoking a faux swoon from James.
James’ enthusiasm for Raoul was infectious. Raoul’s scenes were barely more than cameos, occurring only in Assisi and Spello. Next week in New York might be her last opportunity to see him. James had her looking forward to it. Quite a bit.
“Actually, he’s extremely nice,” she said, remembering the care he’d taken to teach Maya and her Italian cooking. “He’s got a warm personality. And he’s a good cook.”
“Now, that’s promising. Is he gay?” asked James, hopefully.
Lilly laughed. “Somehow that subject never came up.”
Her light-hearted conversation with James was a bright spot in what was otherwise an emotional roller coaster of a day, starting with her conversation with Maya at the morning makeup call. That was followed by a tense telephone discussion between Lilly and the New York set decorator who was unhappy with the evolving plan.
Then, when Janice arrived midday, she exuded exactly the wrong attitude, wearing her hurt pride on her sleeve and not even trying to fake interest in what Lilly was trying to teach her. Thank goodness Lilly had met her in the Lab first, before taking her to Maya’s dressing room.
Janice needed a tune up, or she was going to be fired that afternoon. Grabbing Janice by the elbow, she steered her out of the Lab, through the studio to Nat’s vacant chair. Most everyone was grabbing a quick lunch.
On side-by-side HiDef monitors, Lilly pulled up the ancestral scenes that had resulted in her taking over Janice’s job. They spoke for themselves, but when Janice feigned ignorance to the obvious problem and sneered, “I see you’ve put ten years on Maya’s face,” she hit the roof.
“This is no light-hearted romance, Janice. If that’s the depth of your talent, you can walk away right now.”
Janice stood, fuming, and although she stared in the direction of the exit, she made no move toward it.
Lilly stepped in front of her. She didn’t want to drive her away. She needed to salvage the situation.
“I know you’re better than this,” she said more calmly. “Maya and Francis both want you for this project. And so do I. But you’re going to need to drop the attitude, Janice, and show enthusiasm for what we’re doing here.”
A half hour later, back in the Lab and going over the palates for scrapes and bruising, Lilly finally understood why Maya had been so upset when she felt like Janice had abandoned her. Janice was a quick learner and talented, with a quirky sense of humor.
Holding up the palate of mixed reds and blues, she said, “It’s like a Rorschach of Weinhold’s purple face, screaming at Frances.”
Lilly squinted at the tray and snorted. It was.
That evening, Lilly tiredly pulled out her Allegrezza molds. Next week in New York, she wouldn’t have to worry about juggling her nightly work on Jake’s prep with everything else on her plate. Jake wouldn’t be coming to New York because Allegrezza didn’t appear in the Spello scenes.
Not having him around would be a welcome relief. Clara, too, as much as Lilly liked her. As long as she wasn’t around them, she could keep a lid on her disappointment and frustration over the Jonathan Strange job that threatened to bubble up each time she set eyes on them. After Wednesday, she wouldn’t have to see or speak to Jake or Clara until they were on location in Hawaii.
As she stirred gelatin over the Lab’s sink, she thought through the next three weeks’ schedule. She’d leave Thursday and be in New York through the following week. She’d only have a Saturday back in LA between locations. She’d have to spend that day packing the supplies she and Clara needed for the Hawaii shoot.
She filled the molds and picked up her inventory sheet. She’d have to make sure she had everything she needed for Hawaii before she left for New York. Here in LA, her supplier could fill her orders the same day, in an hour in emergencies. But there’d be no supplier on the island.
Her white-knuckled, frantic midnight run to Riverton, Wyoming, flashed through her mind. When the appliances had failed in the cold mountain air, the proximity of the Dow Chemical plant to their location had been a stroke of luck. There’d be no such salvation on Maui if she didn’t bring everything they needed. Her stomach turned as she imagined coming up short in Hawaii.
She took a deep, calming breath and told herself that she’d just have to be extra thoughtful, prepare for contingencies, and take two or three times what she thought she might need. Preparation was crucial.
She thought through the effects they’d be using for Jake’s character in Hawaii. They were shooting the dream sequence, a scene in which Jake’s character appears in Sofia’s dream in a much more humanly form. Sofia is transfixed by the vision of a redeemed, human Allegrezza. The applications for the dreamy, human Allegrezza would be essentially the same, but his coloring would be different. The blue undertones would be replaced with warmer colors.
She pictured the new colors on his chest, his hands, his face, his lips, and groaned. Jake hadn’t even tried them out yet.
She’d have to schedule some time this week to make him up. Maybe even do a quick screen test. The way she was feeling right now, she wasn’t sure she could keep it together if she had to work directly with him. Maybe she could try them out on someone else.
Lilly was pondering that possibility when her cell phone rang. It was Phillip.
“This is Lilly,” she said coolly by way of greeting. With her mixed up feelings over Jake, it was inevitable that Phillip would suffer from some backlash.
“Hello to you, Lilly. I’ve missed you. How was Italy?”
Unlike most folks she worked with in LA, Phillip never got straight to the point. For Phillip, that would have been rude. He always took time to ask about her and how she was doing. He sounded genuine, never perfunctory, even though she knew he had a host of important people vying for his time.
Feeling herself soften toward him, she described the villa and the countryside. Since Phillip was a foodie, she promised to pass on the secrets of making homemade rosemary gnocchi that Raoul had imparted during their cooking lesson. Phillip would have let her go on forever.
“What can I do for you this evening, Phillip?”
“It’s more about what I can do for you, Lilly. I received a call today from Duncan.” Duncan was Alison’s assistant. “The studio is o
ffering you an assistant production credit and an increase on your contract.”
Wow. This had to be Frances’ doing.
“I…. That’s great,” she stuttered. “Do I need to sign a new contract?”
“Yes, I’ve got that here, but there is more. Are you free to join me any day for lunch this week?” Phillip asked.
“I’d like that, Phillip,” she said honestly.
She’d be grateful to have Phillip’s help figuring out what to do next. Although Jake may not be interested in her working on his next project, others were. With the accolades she’d received for Fox Hollow, and as word got out about her ever-expanding role on Feast, the trickle of offers had turned into a flood. Kyle had come home the night before bringing in Madcap and a huge stack of mail he’d collected for her while she was in Italy. It still sat on her kitchen table, and her inbox was cluttered with emails from people she didn’t know.
The week’s call sheets showed Monty and Frances in budget meetings until eleven the next day. They wouldn’t be filming until midday. She and Phillip agreed to meet for brunch by the pool at the W Hotel in Westwood.
Parking her Vespa beside the sun-speckled sidewalk in front of the W, Lilly saw Phillip waiting for her at the foot of the aqua glass steps that marked the entrance to the trendy hotel, chatting with a handsome young doorman in a dark purple pressed shirt and black slacks. Midmorning on a weekday, the crowd at the W was sedate, but by Friday evening the bouncers would be out front, and a line of well-heeled LA talent—models, hip-hopsters and aspiring actors and actresses—would twist around the block.
As she stowed her helmet, she found herself looking around for Jake. Getting ready for the brunch, she’d chosen her outfit with extra care, just in case he showed up. She was awash in cheerful color, wearing a vintage floral Arnold Scaasi halter dress. It had a crisp white faux collar and a full swing skirt. The back was bare. The lively look was completed with peep-toe, patent white four-inch heels with navy piping. Bolstered by the bright dress, she was not about to let his presence bring her down.
But when she and Phillip were seated at the poolside restaurant, the table was set for just two. Lilly looked around the pool, a popular spot for celebrity photo-shoots, refusing to admit to her disappointment.
“Let’s celebrate,” said Phillip, ordering a bottle of champagne.
“I don’t think showing up drunk for work is the wisest way to celebrate my promotion,” she said with a laughing shake of her head.
Phillip threw up his hands. “You haven’t heard?” he exclaimed.
“Heard what?” she asked, taken aback.
“The nominations were announced last night. Fox Hollow is in every category that was submitted,” Phillip informed her.
She sat speechless as the waiter popped the cork on a bottle of Cristal. She comprehended what Phillip was saying, she just was having trouble processing it.
Phillip raised his glass to her. “Here’s to adding ‘Oscar Nominee’ to your resume.”
“Tyler, too?” she asked. “And Gwen?”
“Yes. It’s a sweep. Best Director, Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Makeup and nine other categories.
“I can’t believe Gwen didn’t call me,” she said, taking a gulp of her champagne.
“Gwen is in London. She didn’t learn about it until this morning, London time.” That would have been the middle of the night here in LA.
Although she considered it rude to look at her phone during shared meals, she couldn’t resist. She opened her pocket book to peek at her phone. There were three missed calls, each one from Gwen. They’d come in on the ride over to the W.
Smiling, she held up the screen to show Phillip the missed calls. “Good old Gwen,” she said giddily.
Throwing discretion to the wind, she raised her glass again and again as she and Phillip toasted by name each of the Fox nominees.
When they’d named them all, Phillip set down his glass and reached into his bag, pulling out a thick packet in a familiar white envelope.
“Wow, that’s a much bigger contract than the other two,” she said. “Did the production credit Frances offered me change it that much?”
“No. It is a big change, no doubt, but the new contract for Feast is virtually the same.” Opening the envelope, Phillip pulled out a stapled document that looked like the two contracts she’d previously signed and handed it to her. “Just a couple of new paragraphs. The production credit is on page two.”
“The rest of this,” said Phillip, taking out a much larger document and a color Mjicon brochure and handing it to her, “is a multi-year agency contract with Mjicon.”
Sobering, she silently accepted the brochure and the much thicker Mjicon contract.
“Let me tell you about the benefits of being a permanent resident on our talent roster.” said Phillip. For the next hour, over a delicious brunch that she barely tasted, Phillip proceeded to actively court her for Mjicon.
It wasn’t just about getting her jobs and taking a commission. He was offering her the deluxe package, including personal administrative support. Mjicon’s philosophy was that artists needed to be free to be artists. Let Mjicon handle the rest.
When dessert came, Lilly put aside for a moment her queasiness over the continued entanglement with Jake that the offer represented. She desperately needed the help Phillip was offering. The unopened offers that had come in while she was in Italy were a drop in the bucket compared to what was coming in the wake of the Oscars nominations.
Finding her voice, she started asking questions. Phillip smoothly answered all of them. As she listened, she recognized that she’d be foolish to say no.
Phillip’s pitch faltered only once, when Lilly asked a question that she never would have asked had it not been for all the champagne.
He had just started explaining the limousine service, when she interrupted him.
“Okay, Phillip, you can stop trying to sell me, but I’m not giving up my Vespa. Is Jake putting you up to this?”
Phillip set down a forkful of sticky toffee pudding and fingered the stem of his fluted glass. As he lifted the glass to his lips, she saw for the first time a glint of hardness beneath his jolly exterior.
“No. I’m doing what’s best for the company.” Lilly felt the fudge covered pieces of Captain Crunch in the spoonful of ice cream she’d just swallowed stick in her throat.
“I’ve told Jake, and now I’m asking you: Put aside what’s gone on between the two of you during this picture, and just do this. You both know it’s for the best.”
The Captain Crunch wouldn’t move. Her ensuing fit of coughing brought the waiter rushing to her side to refill her water glass.
She took a big gulp and swallowed hard. She couldn’t hold back the obvious question Phillip’s admonishment meant.
“Jake doesn’t want Mjicon to sign me?”
“No, no, I didn’t say that. Of course he wants you to sign on. He’s just staying out of it.” Phillip was regarding her with concern. “He vowed to stay out of it.”
“Did he tell you what’s… gone on?” she croaked, her throat still smarting.
“He didn’t have to. I’ve known Jake since before he was old enough to order a pint. I can make a guess, unless you’d like to tell me?”
She did want to dissect the situation with someone who had insight, but Phillip’s advice would be in her best interests only to the extent her interests coincided with Jake’s. He’d have to have that heartless side, wouldn’t he? That glint of hardness was what enabled him to run a company like Mjicon, bossing around personalities like the Tom Weinholds of the world, cutting deals for Jake.
Besides, Phillip wouldn’t be able to keep their conversation confidential. Everything she said would be reported back.
“Nothing much has gone on,” she evaded. “We just don’t like each other much, I guess.”
Phillip guffawed rather loudly, startling her and the table nearby.
“Think as you will,” he said, shakin
g his head at her.
Lilly suppressed the urge to ask him what he meant. Phillip wouldn’t betray Jake’s confidence and her question would only reveal her own turbulent feelings.
Instead she said, “Thank you for celebrating with me and taking the time to explain everything to me. Of course I know I’d be foolish not to sign….”
“That’s exactly what I told him,” interrupted Phillip, distracted by the arrival of the bill. It sounded like Jake had argued against the wisdom of her accepting the offer before he vowed to stay out of it.
A rude little devil took over her mouth and body. Her white napkin hitting the table caught Phillip’s attention as she stood to make her exit. Knowing full well their luncheon meeting would be reported verbatim, she said, “I appreciate Jake staying out of it. I’ll let you know.”
Lilly left her Vespa in front of the W and asked the bellman to hail her a cab to Warner. Between the champagne and her agitation, she had no business driving.
At the studio entrance, she ran into Alan Hume. Inspiration struck her.
“Alan, may I ask you a favor? Can I borrow you before you start today? I need to screen test some of the Hawaii effects.”
“But I’ve only got a bit part in Hawaii,” he said, quickening his pace like an eighth-grader trying to avoid an invitation to a Sadie Hawkins dance.
Lilly hurried to keep up with him. “All I need to do is test the highlights and shadows for the beach scenes. Just the colors.”
All she really needed was a male body, preferably one used to being spray painted. And she needed it quickly, today if possible.
“Why don’t you ask Jake?” Alan asked.
Correction, all she needed was a male body that wasn’t Jake’s.
“I don’t know where he is,” she said. That was true, although she hadn’t looked for him.
“You’ve got the perfect build… and handsome features,” she said, trying flattery. She’d been around Alan enough to know that he had a true artistic temperament, complete with overwhelming vanity and a fragile male ego.
But Alan looked more alarmed, than complimented at her words.
Practically jogging to keep up with him, she said, “It’ll just take a few moments and it will wash right off. You’ll be glad you did it when you see yourself on screen. Your bone structure and physique are ideal for what I have in mind.”
