by Zoe Wildau
Uggh, she thought as she hung up. I should never talk like that. I sounded ridiculous. But results are what mattered, she thought, when her phone buzzed two minutes later showing Park’s number. She answered as she headed out of the Lab. She had just finished complimenting his work, telling him how Greg had sung his praises and how she thought he was just the man for the job, when she got within view of the oasis and saw Jake sitting in his chair drinking grape Gatorade and looking around for her.
Jogging over, still on the phone, she stopped to stand right in front of Jake. “Well, here’s the thing, we’re running a tight schedule on this film,” she said to Park on the phone, but looking at Jake.
Jake adopted an expression of affronted inquiry, raising his hands as if to say, “What work? I don’t see any work going on,” and looking around for the work that was not going on in the oasis. She grimaced at him and pointed at the phone, trying to convey that this was someone more important than Jake at the moment.
“Park, if you could make it here, say by early evening tomorrow, we could spend some more time talking about it.” She saw Jake frown in irritation at her. “And, if you don’t mind me putting you on the spot, if you think you’re interested, pack enough for the week, and let’s get started.” Pause. “Well, when you see the scope of the project you can decide if you have the time to commit yourself. You can meet Jake and spend some time behind the scenes. Thursday we’ll be filming Jake and Maya Trent.” There was a pause. Nobody could pass up a free trip to Maui with the certainty of meeting Maya, especially not a male.
“Can you take care of getting here, or do I need to put somebody on it? Alright, that’s great. You’re coming to the Fairmont Kea Lani. Text me if you can’t get a reservation and I’ll take care of it on this end.”
Pocketing the phone, Lilly surveyed Jake’s irritated face, trying to ignore his expression and focus just on the colors. She swiftly picked up a lip brush and, leaning in, she pinched his chin gently, pulling his lower lip into a pout. She crinkled her nose, amused at the put-out pouty boy expression he wore. Just before she touched the brush to his lip, he growled, “We’re done.”
Straightening and dropping her hands, she stared at him, open-mouthed. Tears pricked behind her eyes as he continued to scowl at her. “What? Why?” She stammered, “We… we just started.…”
Jake’s expression grew serious. “We’re done for the day. What did you think I meant?”
“Oh. Well, I didn’t know. You seemed so mad.”
“I’ve been sitting in this chair for ten minutes waiting for you and I’m hungry. Really hungry.” Apparently, hungry Jake was easily irritated. Like an adolescent. She smiled inwardly. That explained a lot. Over the previous months, she’d noticed that he did tend to get a bit touchy toward the end of the day. He must be running on fumes.
“Where’s Mary? Why didn’t you get her to take all of this off of you?”
He pouted in earnest this time, “Because I wanted you.”
Feeling ridiculously pleased, Lilly picked up his hand, tugged him out of the chair and moved around behind him to gently shove him toward the makeup trailer. Jake took one step and then stood in place wobbling like a giant rag doll, waiting for her to do something to maneuver him again.
Playing along, she tucked herself under his arm, put her hand around his waist and adopted a motherly tone, “Come on, big guy, let’s get you out of this yucky makeup and get you something to eat.”
Jake draped himself over her as she tried to step forward with him, causing them to stumble side to side, Lilly giggling furiously. She ducked out from under him as soon as they stepped out of the semi-privacy of the oasis, smacking him on the back to signal him to straighten up and stop messing around.
Although she’d barely touched him, Jake looked at her in mock outrage, “What? Why’d you do that?”
She sidestepped when he would have pulled her back under his arm. She rolled her eyes at him in embarrassed exasperation, glancing around at all of the crew milling about. Although they all looked busy packing up and stowing props and equipment, every one of them had their radar half tuned in their direction. It had nothing to do with her, she knew. It was the irresistible draw of star power that actors like Jake and Maya wielded. He was always, always under scrutiny, even by the crew, who ought to be used to him by now. But actors like Jake were so good at what they did because they had a magical draw, a gravitational pull that never let up. Jake’s gaze followed hers around at the milling crew.
When he looked back into her eyes, he was suddenly serious. “Are we in hiding, Lilly?”
Uncertainty washed over her. Did he mean to broadcast the change in their relationship? A sudden flood of images of her and Jake in the tabloids filled her head: her goofy faced with whatever silly expression she always tended to have when the camera snapped, Jake suave, sleek and elegant, towering over her.
She snorted at the ridiculous images, unable to help herself. But at his still serious expression, she said, “I think that’s best, don’t you?”
Shutters came down on his face. Blandly, he said, “Whatever you think, Lilly.”
Had she hurt his feelings? Trying to explain, she said, “I thought maybe we could see how things go before involving the whole world.”
“See how things go,” he was repeating her words, no hint of emotion.
Oh for Pete’s sake. Lilly could barely tolerate bland Jake. “Let’s just go get you cleaned up. We’re both pooped.”
Jake watched her walk before him. She was like water. He had no way to hold her. Every time he thought he had her, she slipped through his fingers.
In the makeup trailer, Jake asked, “Who’s Park and why am I meeting him?” When Lilly explained Alison’s demand that she orchestrate a behind the scenes video featuring Jake, he exploded.
“She what!?”
Wow. Lilly blinked in surprise at the intensity of his reaction. Trying to calm him down, she said, “You said yourself it was a good idea. Alison said you expressed interest.”
“I did,” he ground out. “It is a good idea, but why you?”
Defensive, Lilly matched his angry tone, “Well, why not me?”
“With everything else you’ve got going on, you’ve got to be kidding. You cannot be seriously considering taking this on. Have you ever produced a short film or video, Lilly? Ever?”
“Well, no. But I’m not going to be the one producing it. All I’m doing is putting the pieces in place. That’s where Park comes in. He’ll be producing and directing it. At least, I hope so if you don’t run him off! Look, it’s not like Alison gave me much of a choice.”
Jake glared at her. “When did this plan hatch?”
“Today, I guess. I don’t know how long Alison has been thinking about it. She led me to believe she’d been working on this for a while and just didn’t have anyone to execute it. I called Greg as soon as I could, and, well, you heard my conversation with Park Kim. He came highly recommended.”
Jake frowned. “By Greg? The Get-A-Grip guy?”
She crossed her arms and fumed at him.
Jake didn’t let up, peppering her with questions. “What about studio approval? Financing? Did Alison talk to you about the theme? What kind of product placement does she want?”
Abashed, Lilly’s anger melted away, leaving her just defensive. “Product placement?” she asked uncertainly.
Jake rolled his eyes at her. “You have no idea how much work you just took on, do you? Or how important it is to get it right?”
Anger flaring again, Lilly hissed, “Of course I know how important it is to get it right. What do you think I am? A half-wit?”
Jake raked his fingers through his hair, exasperation turning apologetic. “You know I don’t think that. It’s just a lot of pressure. This kind of project is more than a full time job on its own and you’ve already got more on your plate than you can handle.”
Now she was repeating him. “More than I can handle? You think this job is m
ore than I can handle? Have I let you down? Have I let Monty down? You know, since you fired me, I’ve had tons of opportunities to show what I can do. I’ve been promoted. I even got a raise. Sure, I made a few mistakes starting out, but that was months ago. Maybe you don’t, but people respect me here, Jake. Monty thinks I’m awesome. Do you think Alison would ask me to do this if she didn’t think I could handle it?”
Throwing down the washcloth she had readied to remove Jake’s makeup, she said through clenched teeth. “I’ll just go get Mary. I’m sure she can handle this job.”
Jake grabbed her wrist as she turned to storm out of the trailer. Lilly tried to pull away, but his grip was like a vice.
“Let go of me!” she exclaimed angrily, afraid he was going to pull her on to his lap like this morning, and having none of it. She braced her legs against the base of the chair and pulled.
Jake blasted up, throwing her off balance. He caught her by the shoulders, then spun her and sat her down in his chair. Leaning over, his hands on either armrest, his face close to hers, he bared his teeth menacingly at her. Still made-up as Allegrezza, he growled, “Where do you think you’re going?”
Lilly cowered in the chair, involuntarily shrinking away from him.
Jake’s face registered shock at her recoil. “Ah, Jesus, Lilly,” he said remorsefully. Scooping her up, he swung around and sank back into the chair with her cradled in his arms. Back in his lap.
Stunned by her instinctual fearful reaction to him, Lilly concentrated on just catching her breath and trying to slow her speeding heart. Calming down, she looked up at their reflection in the mirror. Jake/Allegrezza was kissing her hair, stroking her arm and back.
“I’m sorry,” he said, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “That wasn’t funny at all. Not this time. I’m sorry.”
She took a shaky breath and turned away from the mirror to Jake, the real one. Reaching over and picking up the washcloth, she ran it over Jake’s face, revealing his natural skin tone. She peeled back the brow appliance and dropped it on the tray, so that the sinister set of his brows disappeared. Jake watched her intensely until she finished removing everything, still sitting in his lap.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s start this discussion over.”
Jake smiled softly at her and shifted her in his lap. Lilly sucked in a breath as she felt his hard erection pressed against her hip. Giving her plenty of time to push off of him, he slowly lowered his mouth to hers. Her heart sped up again, but not in fear this time. When his lips touched hers, a flood of feeling pooled between her legs, sweet soreness and desire. Dropping the cloth, she fanned her fingers through his hair, kissing him back deeply. When the kiss ended, Jake rested his forehead against hers.
“I didn’t fire you,” he said. When she started to protest, he put a finger over her lips and said, “Let’s talk about this over dinner. Right now, I just want to know that you are okay, that we are okay.”
“We’re okay,” she murmured behind his finger.
“You’re not going to run away from me again?” Jake was shaking his head at her, his eyes searching hers, compelling her to answer the way he wanted. She shook her head.
Standing and taking her hand, Jake said, “Come on, then.”
He didn’t let it go when they left the trailer, or entered the hotel, or got on the elevator. Like a high school football star and his best girl, Jake held her hand all the way up to his room. When they entered, a table had already been laid out for him. Jake picked up a piece of chicken with his one free hand and took a bite. Putting it down, he picked up a strawberry and popped it in her mouth. Lilly looked closer at the table. There was fruit. And bread and sweets. He’d obviously ordered earlier with her in mind.
Swallowing, he said, “It’ll keep,” and led her by the hand to an enormous bathroom. A vaulted stone shower dominated the room and was open to another private balcony overlooking the ocean. Jake finally dropped her hand so that he could turn on the multiple knobs that controlled at least twenty showerheads to let the shower warm up for them. Turning to her, he touched the top button on her cotton blouse, stopping only a moment for her to nod her permission. Smiling like he was unwrapping a Christmas present, Jake took his time unbuttoning her simple blouse. She recognized some of the pauses to touch a tired shoulder, a stiff spine, as her own. She’d touched him so many times just like that. It felt good, warm and wholesome.
Letting her blouse fall to the floor, Jake knelt at her waist and lifted first one foot and then the other so that she could kick off her work togs. Nose almost touching her belly button, he undid and unzipped her slacks, lifting her legs behind the knee to slide them off. He planted a kiss just above the line of her simple bikini underwear and stood.
He was already naked to the waist and still half painted from the day of filming. Leaning into her, he grasped her face in both hands. “I’m sorry I scared you.” He kissed her softly on the lips. “And I’m sorry I hurt you this morning.”
When she would have shaken her head, he held her still. “I’m going to wash, and wash you, and kiss you, and then we’ll eat and talk.” He glanced at his bulging erection pressed against her bare belly. “This,” he said, pressing himself against her slightly, “you can ignore. I’ve gotten so used to it around you, that’s what I do.”
The shower was sweet torture. Jake touched her everywhere. Ruefully, she had to admit that she was too sore to do much else other than enjoy the singing of her nerves as his soapy hands slid over her. She washed Jake, too. After using a washcloth to get off all of the body paint on his chest and arms, she dropped it on the stone floor and used just her soapy hands. When she would have kept stroking his erection until he climaxed in the shower, he shook his head.
“When you can come with me,” he said.
After they dried, Jake would have been happy lounging around in bathrobes, but Lilly, reminded of how he’d said people showed up unexpectedly at all hours, insisted on finding some clothes. Borrowing some of his running shorts and a T-shirt, which engulfed her, she slipped down to her room and grabbed a clean casual skirt, blouse and sandals. When she returned, Jake smiled guiltily at her over his empty plate.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t wait,” he said sheepishly.
“Good Lord, did you eat it all in one gulp?”
“Pretty much. Here,” he said, pulling out a chair for her. “You take your time.”
Sitting, she asked, “Do you have a laptop or computer or something here?”
“Of course,” Jake said, picking up his ultra-slim laptop off of the coffee table in front of the couch.
“Well, while I eat, why don’t you look at some of Park Kim’s work and see if you are as impressed as I was.” She gave Jake the YouTube searches that would produce top of the page hits for Park’s video work.
As Jake clicked and watched, clicked and watched, she grew nervous at his silence. Not all of the videos were in English. Many were Korean, others German and Swedish, but she had thought earlier that Park’s work was so visually interesting and emotive that the viewer didn’t need to know what the actor was saying to salivate over whatever it was they were selling. Slowly munching a salad and watching Jake’s impassive face, she worried that maybe she didn’t know what she was about. Maybe he wasn’t as good as she thought.
Uncertainly, she said, “I know they’re commercial, but isn’t that what the BTSV is? It’s branding for you and for Feast. It’s not supposed to be plot driven, right? Just something to tease the viewer about the film, and showcase you?”
Jake looked up at her. She’d seen that expression before. In Culver City, after she had drawn her re-envisioned Allegrezza. Like he knew her but hadn’t known he knew her until just now.
Lilly smiled at him. “He’s good, right? It’s not just me, or Greg? He’s really good.”
“Yes,” Jake said. Sitting back, he picked up his cell phone and tapped a number. “Alison, it’s Jake.”
Twenty minutes later, Alison, Lilly and Jake were sitt
ing around the coffee table in Jake’s palatial suite. Alison had viewed just one of Park’s spots and immediately enthused, “You got Park Kim? Park Kim? Seriously? You are not shitting me. Tell me you are not shitting me.” She looked at Lilly appraisingly.
“Um, yes. He gets here tomorrow evening.”
“Well, make sure you secure him. I’ll take care of the budget. Let’s talk product showcase.”
Moving to Jake’s bathroom without invitation, Alison scrutinized the bathroom counter and picked up bottles labeled Kiehl’s and Bulgari. On the floor, Calvin Klein boxer briefs and… Lilly pretended not to notice Alison’s raised brow at her own panties and bra strewn across the floor.
Without a word, Alison spun out of the room and headed to the kitchenette. “What about food? Nutrition bars? Smoothies?”
In a half hour, Alison had made a list of all of the items likely to be shown in the BTSV, however briefly. “I’ll get Duncan calling the manufacturers to see who’s in and who’s out. No shooting tomorrow. Just preproduction. We’ll get it sorted by day after.” Turning to Lilly, she said, “Give me your cell number.”
Lilly watched as Alison created a contact for her in her phone. Wow, she had just made Alison’s speed dial.
As the door clicked behind Alison, Lilly turned to Jake. “She’s a one woman hurricane.”
Jake laughed. “Yes, she is. But I think she just met her match.”
She guffawed. “Me? I’m no match for Alison!”
“Maybe not in size… but in energy and ingenuity, you’ve got her beat to hell.”
She warmed at the unexpected praise. Their earlier argument was over, and she had won it resoundingly.
“What would you like to do now?” Jake asked. The unexpected early quit time had left a rare few hours of leisure time that didn’t need to be filled with work or sleep.
Walking to the balcony and looking over at the glistening blue pool below and the ocean beyond, she said, “I’d love to go for a swim, or maybe a walk on the beach. How about you?”
“A walk,” Jake said. Grabbing up his wallet and key card, they headed out to the beach via the Fairmont bar. The usual crew had gathered at the bar, but neither Lilly nor Jake stopped long enough to be hailed.
