His eyes blinked open. When he saw her, he smiled that sexy smile of his. “G’mornin’.”
“You’re due on set in like nineteen minutes.”
His eyes widened and he bolted up. His hand went to his beard. “Crap. See you there.”
Moments later, he was gone. Tam flopped back down on the bed and set her alarm for forty more minutes of slumber. But when she closed her eyes, all she could see was the gorgeous view of Evan waking up beside her. She smiled. Her life had indeed taken a strange and wonderful turn.
chapter four
Evan worked very hard to keep his hand steady while he ran the razor over his jaw. He was late enough already. Rushing his shave would only delay him that much longer. Marguerite couldn’t work her makeup magic if he were bleeding all over the place. He could not believe he’d overslept like this. More than that, he could not believe how much he cared about what Tam must be thinking of him right now. First, he’d played his diva card to get her here to fix the script, and now he couldn’t even be bothered to show up on time to shoot said script.
He ducked his head under the shower to wash away the remains of the shaving creme. Finally, his jaw was smooth again. Relieved, he turned the water off and stepped from the tiny enclosure to dry himself off. He was still in shock that he’d forgotten to set his alarm. He’d forgotten to do a lot of things last night. Worst of all, he’d forgotten to go back to his own room at the hotel.
When he’d stopped by Tam’s last night, he’d only intended to bring her some food and watch the dailies. A couple hours tops, then he’d head back to his room and get some much needed rest. Apparently, his body had had other plans. He didn’t even remember conking out in her bed like that. How embarrassing. And waking up next to her this morning was doubly so. Except it wasn’t. How in the world could he explain that little conundrum?
He tossed the towel on the back of a chair and pulled out enough clothes to get him from his trailer to wardrobe without getting cited for indecent exposure. Evan shoved his feet in some flip flops, grabbed his script pages and raced out.
Marguerite greeted him with a phony stern look and tapped her watch when he finally made it over to the hair and makeup trailer. He kissed her cheek in apology. “You know you like a challenge,” he teased, and then plopped into her chair. She got right to work.
“Yes, well, even I can’t work miracles. So try to be on time this afternoon when I have to turn you into a werewolf.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Evan closed his eyes while she got to work. He forced his mind away from Tam and focused on getting into character. He was so thankful that he’d run lines with Audra the night before so he wasn’t completely unprepared for the day.
“There you are. Thank God.” Evan opened his eyes when he heard Tanzi’s voice. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Sorry about that. Alarm issues.”
Tanzi sighed. “You’re not the only one.” Evan couldn’t help his involuntary cringe. He shifted in the chair to try to hide it. Were they looking for Tam, too? If so, it wouldn’t be long before they figured out they’d been together all night. Despite what he’d told her, Tam was still an outsider. She needed to get acquainted with the crew before they really trusted her. Assuming she was having an affair with him from the get-go would damage that credibility.
Tanzi didn’t notice his reaction since she was busy on her radio. “I’ve got Evan. He’s in makeup.”
“A PA located Audra. She was still at the hotel. He’s bringing her over.” Evan recognized the voice as that of Kyle. He relaxed a bit when he heard they’d been looking for Audra, not Tam.
“It’s going to take her a bit to get ready. Are we going to wait? We’ve got an abbreviated shoot schedule as it is.”
Tanzi chewed on her nails. “Marc is on hand. We can shoot him and Evan while Audra gets ready.”
“I need a producer to make that call. Have we found Gavin, yet? Can he okay it?” Kyle asked.
Tanzi’s eyes met Evan’s. He nodded. Tam was about to have her first test. “Tam is taking over for Gavin. I’ll run this by her.”
Kyle paused. After a moment, he agreed. “Get back to me.”
Tanzi sighed at Evan and dialed Tam’s cell. She answered on the first ring sounding like she’d been awake and alert for hours. Which he knew for a fact she hadn’t been. He kinda liked being in on that secret with her.
“Hey Tanzi.”
“We’ve got a situation and need you to sign off.”
Evan and Marguerite listened while Tanzi brought her up to speed. Evan was a professional, so he managed to hide his proud smile when Tam gave them the go ahead with such authority in her voice that the casual observer would assume that she’d been producing TV for years.
Tanzi nodded and smiled. “Got it.” She got back on the radio with Kyle. “We’re a go.”
“I’ll get Marc to the set.”
“We should get Tam a radio so it’s faster to reach her.”
“I’m on it,” Kyle agreed and signed off.
“Which scene are we talking?” Marguerite asked a little nervously.
Evan unfolded his pages and showed them to her. “Twenty-two.”
She read the descriptions and relaxed. “Got it. You just need a little blood at the corner of your mouth. That’s doable quickly.”
Tanzi left them alone and true to her word, Marguerite had him camera ready in less than seven minutes. After Paul fussed over his hair for a minute, Evan headed over to wardrobe. Fifteen minutes total had elapsed between Tam’s decision and his arrival on set.
He wasn’t surprised to see Marc already there and raring to go. The man was a freak of nature the way he was always early to everything. Evan kidded him on more than one occasion that he was going to be early to his own funeral if he wasn’t careful.
After a quick greeting, he and Marc ran their lines. Both were completely oblivious to all the hubbub happening around them as cameras were set and lights rigged. It was just a normal day at the office. Rock came over to give them a bit of direction before starting the rehearsal.
“Rehearsal’s up!” Kyle informed the set in his booming voice. Everything got super quiet.
“Action,” Rock called.
From that moment on, the day was a blur of activity. Despite moving at a breakneck pace through the necessary camera set-ups, he was proud of the performance they all turned in. It was a challenge to move so fast through the varied emotional beats, but it was fun, too. Even the ever unflappable Marc got tripped up a bit and contributed to the blooper reel for a change.
Evan wasn’t sure when Tam arrived on set. He just knew she was there in Video Village with Rock when they finally got a break and the crew set the next the scene. They were deep in discussion over the playback and he didn’t want to interrupt. Marguerite appeared at his side.
“It’s time to wolf you up.”
He groaned and stood. So much for having a moment to relax. He looked back toward the monitors and caught Tam’s eye. She smiled and moved toward him, but Justin popped up in her path with what looked to be a life or death question judging by the young man’s nervous demeanor. Tam shot Evan an apologetic look over Justin’s shoulder and mouthed, “Sorry.”
Evan nodded and mouthed back, “Later.” She turned her complete focus on Justin while Evan headed off with Marguerite.
Forty-eight minutes later, in full wolf regalia, Evan made his way back to the stage. For some reason, the teeth were bothering him much more than usual. He worked his jaw, trying to move them to a more comfortable position. Unfortunately, that more comfortable position did not exist.
Rehearsal was a disaster. He tried running lines with Audra while the crew set up around them. He stumbled his way through for the most part, but he could not manage to get out the line that was the highest emotional point of the shot. His frustration continued to build with each pass. He could feel Audra becoming annoyed with him, too.
When Rock kicked off the official rehearsal
, Evan’s self consciousness grew to a level he’d never experienced before. It was due to his concern over how Tam would take his failure to execute her work. It was a great line. He just couldn’t say it and be a werewolf at the same time.
As expected, he stumbled over it again. They were under a time crunch. He needed to set aside his pride and throw in the towel. He pulled the teeth from his mouth. “I’m sorry you guys. I can’t do it.”
“Take it slow. One word at a time,” Rock coached.
Evan shook his head. “All the Fs are killing me. The teeth slide with every one.”
He braced himself and slid his gaze to Tam. Surprisingly, she wasn’t glaring at him. Instead, she was tapping a pencil on her copy of the script. She scribbled something and looked pretty pleased with herself.
“May I?” She directed her question at Rock. He gestured toward Evan and she headed his way. She showed him her revised line. “Try this.”
He took a moment to memorize the line. “You sure?”
She gave him a surprised look. “Of course.”
He took her at her word and slid the teeth back in. Evan tested out the line. He managed to get it out without spitting the teeth on the floor. He gave Tam a gruesome werewolf smile. “Thanks.”
“It’s what I’m here for.” Her eyes darted around before she pretended to scratch her cheek with the hand that held her copy of the script. While her face was hidden from everyone except him, she gave him the pissed off smiley face for a brief moment. His eyebrows shot up in amused surprise. She lowered the script and walked back to Video Village like nothing had happened.
While Tam shared the new line with Suzie, their script supervisor, Evan ran through another Rock run rehearsal with Audra. Satisfied with the results, Rock rolled the cameras. They were in the middle of coverage on Audra when Evan saw Tanzi pull Tam away. Tanzi had on her crisis face so he knew it couldn’t be anything good. He’d find out what it was later. Meanwhile, he needed to concentrate so they could finish up for the day.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Tam was doing everything in her power not to panic. Her decision to move the budget to the screen had just had its first consequence. Craft services had run out of food that day. So far, the crew had been mostly okay about it, but there’d been scattered grumbles. She couldn’t blame them. Food kept everybody going. If she couldn’t find a way to keep everyone fed, she’d end up with an out and out riot on her hands.
She parked her car in the hotel parking lot. She grabbed her laptop and the budget Tanzi had printed out for her. Tam hated leaving the set early. Watching her words come to life like that had been a rush the likes of which she’d never had the privilege to feel. If she wanted it to continue, she had to find some money somewhere. Tanzi had highlighted the possibilities and explained to her the consequences of each one. So far, all her options pretty much sucked. They needed either an influx of cash or some serious savings from somewhere. Doubling up the hotel rooms had already been included and wouldn’t start until the next day anyway.
Aside from that, Rock had approved the ADR sessions for Marc, Audra and Evan to record the additional dialogue. They planned to do it while on location so Rock could hit the ground running with his editors when they returned to L.A. Unfortunately that turned out to be another headache for Tam because the studio was going to charge them an additional fee since they hadn’t booked it up front.
Tam rubbed her tired eyes. And she needed to get some rest that night. Thankfully, the script seemed to be in pretty good shape. She just had a few tiny revisions to knock out which wouldn’t take her too long. If only she could stay awake long enough to do them. She had almost reached the lobby doors when bright green and purple caught her attention.
She’d noticed the deli across the street from the hotel when she’d first arrived and meant to check it out the night before; it just looked so adorable. Tam had gotten so caught up in her work that she’d forgotten to come back down for food. Then she hadn’t needed to because Evan had brought her dinner. Not wanting to take a chance on getting too settled, Tam decided to grab something to go.
She was charmed from the moment she set foot inside the deli. The white wrought iron chairs were a cutesy throwback and a perfect complement to the purple and green gingham table cloths. The restaurant was much longer than it appeared from outside. A long counter stretched from the back almost to the front door. The enclosed glass displayed a well-stocked assortment of pastries, pastas then sandwich fixings.
“What can I get you, sweetheart?” The woman’s friendly voice was tinged with a southern twang and startled the crap out of Tam because once she’d seen the red velvet cake in the display, everything else had pretty much faded away.
“Let’s start with that red velvet cake and I’ll figure out dinner after.” The woman chuckled at Tam’s choice and moved to the dessert case.
“A woman after my own heart.”
Tam set the budget and laptop on a nearby table to accept the generous cake slice the woman handed her. She didn’t even care that she’d planned to take it with her back to the hotel. After a quick blessing, she took her first bite. “Delicious” was the understatement of the year.
“Oh wow!” Tam gave the woman a delighted smile and shoved another forkful of chocolatey goodness in her mouth.
“It is one of my best sellers.”
“No wonder. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything quite as good as this,” Tam gushed.
“That’s only because you haven’t yet tried my carrot cake.” The woman replaced the cake in the case. She gave Tam a sympathetic look. “Tough day?”
Tam sighed. “It’s getting better.”
“I’m glad I can help.” The woman gave Tam a stern look, then teased, “Now. About that dinner. It’s going to be loaded down with veggies, right?”
Tam chuckled. “Not even close.” She made her way along the counter and marveled at the abundance of choices. “Any suggestions?”
“You in the mood for hot or cold?”
“Hot. It’s been forever since I’ve felt like I’ve had a proper meal.”
The woman tsked. “We can’t have that.” She looked Tam over. “You look like you could use some of my spicy southern fried chicken. It comes with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and corn bread. What do you say?”
“Sold!” Tam agreed. Her cell phone buzzed. She checked the caller ID. It was Justin. She’d decided to take Evan’s advice after all and have one of the PAs assist her. Having helped her set up for the rehearsal the previous day, Justin was the only one she knew so he was it. He’d been a godsend, but for right now, she just needed a moment to decompress. Mind made up, she hit Ignore.
“You want some sweet tea to go along with it?” The woman asked when she served up a heaping plate of hot food for Tam.
“Yes, please.” Tam had traveled to the South before, but somehow she’d missed trying their legendary sweet tea. With the cake and fried chicken, she was already in for a penny. May as well be in for a pound - or three - as well.
The woman served Tam with a flourish and smile. “Eat up. Just give a holler if there’s anything else you need.”
Tam inhaled the wonderful aroma and sighed. “Thank you.” After saying a quick grace, she dug in. Without a doubt, this meal was the best thing she’d ever tasted. The chicken was juicy and had just the right amount of spicy kick that made it enjoyable, but didn’t make her break a sweat. The potatoes were creamy and had a hint of garlic. The beans were nicely seasoned with onions while the cornbread was sweet and moist. Overall, her dinner was smack your mama good.
Her phone lit up with missed texts. She was tempted to continue ignoring it until it was silent, but she had a feeling that would not happen. And what if it were something really important? She wiped her hands on the cloth napkin and swiped in her code.
Tanzi wanted to know what she’d like to do about the ADR sessions. With the new schedule, it would be near impossible for Rock to direct them. On another front,
their caterer, Frederico, was throwing a fit because Tanzi had brought up the fact that they had run out of food that day. He was threatening to quit, but Tanzi advised that he was blowing over-dramatic smoke. He could afford to since he was the only caterer serving the area.
Tam narrowed her eyes. She did not like being held hostage like this. She had a feeling that if they were to up his fees, he’d calm down. But there was no way they could afford that. Besides, $800 a day was more than reasonable to feed their cast and crew.
“Charmagne!” A male voice called out from the kitchen, startling Tam out of her thoughts. The owner of the voice stormed in. He was about an inch shorter than Charmagne and stocky. “There have to be twenty pounds of carrots back there. Why are there twenty pounds of carrots? Twenty pounds, Charmagne.”
Charmagne shot an embarrassed look Tam’s way and put a calming hand on the man’s arm. “You’re scaring the customers, Edgar. Be nice.”
Edgar glanced at Tam and gave her a polite nod. “Ma’am.”
“Hello.”
Charmagne tried to guide him back toward the kitchen. “What did we say about buying bulk like that?”
Their voices faded to indecipherable tones when the kitchen door closed behind them. Tam could not imagine twenty pounds of carrots and was thankful that wasn’t her issue. Although, if they had had twenty pounds of carrots, they’d have at least had something to eat during the back half of the day.
Tam froze, a forkful of potatoes halfway to her mouth. She called Tanzi who picked up on the first ring.
“I was just about to email you the studio contract. It says all facilities are included in our initial fee so I think they’re just being assholes.”
“I’ll take a look. But question. What’s our contract like with the caterer? Is he invoicing us? Are we paying cash? Have we paid him for the week? Basically, can we hire someone else?”
“Another production burned him. We pay cash on a daily basis. He’s also burnt some productions. But he’s the only game in town.”
Blurred Boundaries Page 5
