Blurred Boundaries

by Lori Crawford

  Evan opened his eyes and rolled over to face her. He propped his head up with his hand. For the first time, she noticed the lines of exhaustion that crowed out from the corners of his eyes. He looked nothing like the polished and ageless werewolf he played on TV. Instead, he looked every bit of the tired workaholic he actually was. “I wanted to hear your thoughts on today.”

  The workaholic in her was drawn to the workaholic in him. That was the only explanation she was willing to concede to when she found herself stretching out beside him on the bed. That and the fact that he’d never once even let on that he knew what she’d been up to in the bathroom. And don’t even get her started on the sexy five o’clock shadow covering his jaw.

  “I thought things went well. The dailies looked great.”

  “They did, didn’t they?” He resumed his position on his back with a smile. “Marc always brings it.”

  Tam closed her eyes. Of course he had to go and compliment someone else first. Not that she wasn’t already attracted to him enough as it was or anything.

  “Speaking of Marc, he wanted to know if we were being canceled.” Tam felt the bed move when Evan turned his head to look at her. She met his gaze.

  “What did you tell him?”

  “What could I tell him? I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I didn’t mention Gavin, though.”

  “Good call. No need to give Marc anything more to worry about.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Tam agreed and rolled her side. She turned her laptop toward her and tried to focus on opening her script program. Anything to take her mind off the way his muscles rippled under the t shirt when he stretched his arms up then clasped his fingers together under his head. Seeing the way the short shirt inched up to reveal the inviting patch of skin just above his pajama bottoms almost made the battle a futile one. But she held on. Barely.

  Tam made her way to the bookmarked section of the script she needed to get through. Evan rolled to face her. “You disagree?”

  She met his gaze with a puzzled frown. Why couldn’t she remember what they’d been talking about? “No. Of course not. I just…” Her excuse was sounding flat even in her own ears. She sighed. “Truthfully?”

  He nodded.

  “I don’t remember what we were talking about. Sorry. I’m a little distracted.” She gestured toward the laptop’s screen. There. Just enough truth to hopefully get her out of trouble.

  “You’re working more? Tonight?”

  “You want some lines to say tomorrow, right?”

  “Anything I can do to help?” He asked around a yawn.

  “If only. I don’t think it’ll be too bad. I’m more worried about craft services. I found a new caterer. She’s never done a production before. I’m hoping A) that she can handle it, and B) that everyone likes her food.”

  “Yeah, what was that today? With Frederico closing up the truck right after lunch?”

  “He claimed to have run out of food because we had to cut the budget.” Tam rolled her eyes. “No way he just suddenly ran out like that. I could see if we were a few days in, but on day one? Not buying it.”

  “He is a smarmy one. And what’s up with his name? Fredereeeco.” Evan trilled the R’s and gave the E’s a high pitch in a perfect imitation of the man when he’d corrected folks several times throughout the day. She giggled.

  “Heaven forbid someone gets it wrong. That attitude. I can’t even.”

  “Exactly. He’s a white boy from Alabama. His mama did not name him Fredereeeco. He knows his name is Fred.” Evan rolled his eyes.

  “Oh wow. You really just went there.” Tam snorted and covered her mouth. She was so glad she hadn’t been drinking anything just then. She’d have sprayed Evan real good. He looked at her, amusement ticking up one corner of his mouth.

  “But am I wrong?”

  Tam worked to control her laughter. “I’d say your observation has some merit.” She lost the battle and started cracking up. Evan chuckled with her and launched into a Frederico-inspired tirade that was a spot on impression of the man. Before she knew it, she had tears of laughter streaming down her temples. She was so thankful that they were finished with the caterer because she seriously doubted her ability to speak to him without remembering Evan’s impersonation of him and cracking up in his face.

  From that point on, she and Evan chatted about some of everything under the sun. The more she got to know him, the more she liked. He was surprisingly well grounded. He’d graduated from Yale where he’d developed a keen interest in various subjects. He was drawn to variety so much that he hadn’t been able to decide on one career path. So he’d picked acting. That way, he’d have the opportunity to live out all of his interests in the form of the characters he chose to play.

  Tam was surprised. That was the same reason she’d chosen to write. There were so many fascinating careers out there that she’d never have the time to try them all. Instead, she created characters who worked in those professions and lived through them for a little bit. When she got bored, she simply moved on to the next character.

  She wasn’t quite sure when it had happened, but she felt like she’d known Evan forever. Not just two days. Tam turned off her computer, resigned that she was done working for the night. She could do the changes on the fly tomorrow.

  chapter six

  Tam checked her watch. It was only 6:18 in the morning, and she’d already been proved wrong. Frederico continued his ranting list of all the reasons that she didn’t have the authority to fire him while Charmagne served breakfast at the table they’d set up for her only a few feet away. Last night, while Evan had done his best impressions of the man, Tam had been convinced that she wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face if she ever had to face him again. She hadn’t accounted for the deep well of anger that he could inspire.

  “I came all the way out here at this Godforsaken hour and this is the thanks I get.”

  “The e-mails and voicemails were very clear that your services were no longer required,” Tam informed him. She was shocked that her tone remained as calm as it was. Still, she was keenly aware of the crew members who had a front row seat to witness these shenanigans. Both she and Tanzi had tried to get the man to take the conversation to a more private spot. He’d refused.

  “I never received any emails or voicemails from you. How dare you outright lie to my face like this!”

  “Really?” Tam lifted an eyebrow and scrolled through her email on her phone. “That’s funny. According to this read receipt, you opened the email at 7:22 last evening.” She showed him the screen.

  The man’s face turned beet red having been caught in his own lie. Still, he was unwilling to let it go. “I do not know what that is. I do not care what it says. I am telling you that I never got any email.”

  Tam shrugged. “Regardless, the content still stands. Your services are no longer required.”

  Frederico huffed and pouted and jammed his hands on his hips. He tried to look down his nose at her. “I demand full payment for today. To compensate me for my troubles for even showing up here.”

  “Feel free to demand all you want. We will not be paying you another dime.” Tam gestured toward the studio gates. “Since you are being so disruptive, I think it’s best that you leave.”

  “Oh you do, do you?” He crossed his arms defiantly across his chest like a child on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum. “I’m not going anywhere without the money you owe me.”

  At the end of her patience, Tam pasted a cold smile on her face. She stepped close to him, intentionally invading his personal space. She wanted him to understand that she was not to be trifled with in her current serious mental state.

  “Our bill was paid in full. Yesterday. And that’s despite the fact that you allowed my people to go hungry after receiving said payment.” Frederico inched away from her, but she continued to close the distance. “I don’t like it when my people go hungry.”

  The man kept backing away so there was no way he
could see the trailer hitch until he’d fallen over it and landed on his ass. Tam didn’t back down. She stood over him. “This discussion is closed. I suggest you leave my set and don’t you even dare think about coming back.”

  With that pronouncement, Tam pointed toward the gate again. Frederico untangled himself from the hitch and climbed to his feet. “This isn’t over,” he claimed before scrambling away fast as his spindly little legs would carry him.

  Tam stood watching him go for a moment. Just to be sure. Head held high, she spun on her heel and marched off toward the production trailer. She was shaking with anger and didn’t want the crew to witness her breakdown any more than they already had.

  She deliberately closed the door with a quiet click. She barely made it to the bench to sit before her legs buckled. Holy crap! She’d just fired someone. Badly. Tam dropped her head between her knees and tried to breathe. With an audience.

  She wasn’t sure how long she sat there going over all the ways she could have handled things better when she heard the door open and close. Tam looked up to see Tanzi grinning from ear to ear and carrying two plates loaded down with breakfast.

  “Oh, my God! You are my hero.”

  “What are you talking about? That was horrible. And it was public. Talk about humiliating. For him and me.”

  After depositing the food on the desk, Tanzi pulled a rolling chair over and sat in front of her. “Are you kidding? I can’t think of anyone who deserves a little humiliation more than that jackass.”

  “Still. What must the crew think of me? I’ve been trying to earn their respect and then I go yell at one of them publicly.” Tam sighed and shook her head. “That was not cool.”

  Tanzi tsked and handed Tam a plate and some plastic utensils. “No, what’s cool is that they all know that you are looking out for them. Have you tried this yet?”

  Tam put the plate aside and shook her head. “I can’t. Not right now.”

  Tanzi shoved a forkful of eggs in her mouth. “Too bad, because it’s amazing. Everyone thinks so. Annnndddd they all know that you’re the one who hired Charmagne. Girl, you are winning on all kinds of levels today.”

  Tam gave her a skeptical look. She pulled the plate closer and tasted the potatoes. Once again, Charmagne’s cooking was like Heaven in her mouth. “Oh my. That is good.”

  “I would’ve come in here to cheer you up earlier, but this is my second plate.” Tanzi confessed then chomped on some bacon. “I’m extra motivated to find some more money in the budget now. We’ve gotta tip this woman.”

  Tam smiled. “I think she’d like that.” A thought crossed her mind. “What about the folks who don’t have time to sit with a plate. Are they okay to eat on the go?”

  Tanzi nodded. “Charmagne hooked them up with burritos.”

  Tam finally relaxed since things seemed to be back on track. “Everything is taken care of.”

  “Yep. So just enjoy the minute. Something else is going to come crashing down sooner or later.”

  Tam nodded her agreement then enjoyed breakfast with Tanzi. Good thing, too. It was the last bit of peace she had for the rest of the very long day.

  The moment she stepped from the trailer, she was met by Angelisa from wardrobe. She held up two of Audra’s Amazon woman costumes. One green, one red.

  “George dressed the set in earth tones. She’s going to blend right in if she wears this.” Angelisa gestured with the green costume. “Should I put her in the red?”

  Tam spoke without thinking it all the way through. “Whatever you think is best.”

  Angelisa nodded, but she had a bit of a smirk on her face. Tam didn’t know what that was about until she’d turned and walked a few steps away. That’s when realization struck. She was being tested. According to the show’s lore, Audra’s character, Emmaline, only wore red when she turned evil.

  “Angelisa! Sorry. Don’t know where my head’s at. Put her in the green. I’ll talk to George about some contrast with the dressing.” Tam fought to keep her own smirk off her face when she caught the woman’s surprised look.

  “Done.”

  Feeling pretty good about having passed that little challenge, Tam headed off to speak with George as promised. The rest of the day flew by in a similar manner. No fewer than six fires all burned at once. Tam handled what she could, delegated what she could and kept an eye on the rest. No sooner had one been extinguished than another started. She should’ve been catatonic and curled in a fetal position somewhere by the end of the day, but instead, she was jazzed. Tam was born for this.

  That’s not to say that by the time she dragged herself through the sliding lobby doors at the hotel that evening that she wasn’t exhausted beyond belief. Charmagne sent her off with a to go container of what she was sure would be a fantastic dinner. All she wanted to do was eat it and collapse in her bed for the next ten hours or so.

  Tam smiled and selected her floor in the elevator. Charmagne had come through for her. In spades. They’d had more than enough food for everyone that day and more than once, Tam had overheard someone comment on how tasty it was. Feeling very accomplished, Tam stepped out of the elevator and headed for her room. She stopped short when she spotted Marc sitting on the floor near her door. He looked to be running lines.

  “Marc? Is everything okay?” Tam asked when she approached.

  He awkwardly hopped to his feet. “No one was here yet. I’m always early.”

  “Early for what?” Tam searched her memory, but came up with nothing.

  “The viewing. Rock said he would bring them by again.” He frowned. “Did I misunderstand?”

  “Oh. Umm… I don’t know. No one said—”

  “Good. You are back.” Tam and Marc turned to see Rock striding toward them with Audra and Evan in tow.

  It took everything in her not to groan when Rock held up another stack of DVDs. The last thing she felt up for at the moment was a repeat of last night’s viewing party. For a change, she was actually caught up with everything and was looking forward to a solid night’s sleep.

  So naturally she said, “Great!” and pulled out her room key. Marc held her bag and dinner for her so she wouldn’t drop any of the things she’d been juggling. She smiled her thanks. Not for the first time, she struggled with reconciling the vicious and violent character he played on the show with the shy gentleman he actually was.

  The quintet filed into the room. She was thankful that she’d been kept too busy on set to turn the place into her usual disaster area. Rock made a beeline for the TV and DVD player while Audra plopped on one of the beds. Marc deposited Tam’s laptop bag on the table and sat on the edge of Tam’s bed that Evan usually claimed. Without missing a beat, Evan scooched Audra over and made himself comfortable. Resigned to her fate, Tam sorrowfully stuffed her dinner in the refrigerator so it would keep for later.

  No preliminaries needed, Rock started the DVD. Tam recognized the footage that was shot before she got there.

  “Is this the result of the ADR sessions?”

  Rock nodded. “You had good idea. Is not perfect, but we can work with this.”

  The sound didn’t quite match up because it was still just a raw cut, but Tam could definitely see the potential. She shared Rock’s sentiment.

  Rock pointed at the screen. “I will like to shoot Audra’s reaction here, however. Kyle has on schedule first thing tomorrow. Then we strike set.”

  “Whatever you need to make it work,” Tam agreed.

  Rock looked to Evan. “The afternoon will be big for you. Last scene of the day. The set will be cleared of unnecessary persons. It will be nice for crew to have some blow steam off time.”

  Tam looked at Evan when he nodded. He looked the most somber she’d ever seen since her arrival. It wasn’t hard to guess why. That scene was his character’s first meeting with his father after it had been revealed the man was actually alive. Tam couldn’t wait to see the results. It had made her cry when she’d written it and Evan would bring up similar emoti
on when he played it. If the set needed to be clear for him to give an astounding performance, so be it.

  “What do you need from me to make it happen?” Tam asked. “Should I arrange some kind of group outing?”

  Audra snickered. “We’re all adults and this isn’t some cruise ship. There’s a bar downtown that I keep hearing about. I’m going to check it out.”

  Tam’s kept her expression neutral. Not the easiest thing to do after that cruise ship crack. “I should go with you.”

  Audra sighed. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “What makes you think I won’t be the one who needs a babysitter?” Tam challenged.

  Audra lifted one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows and smiled. Challenge accepted. “Looking forward to seeing what you’ve got.”

  Rock held his hands up. “I expect neither of you to be hung over following day. I will be cross if you are.”

  “No problem.”

  “I know my limits.”

  Tam and Audra stared one another down. The men wisely stayed out of the fray. Rock switched the DVDs, breaking the tense moment.

  “But for today,” Rock said. Everyone turned their attention to the day’s dailies.

  Like the previous evening, more people trickled in to watch as well. This time, folks brought snacks with them and the atmosphere became more like a party than work. Feeling silly for putting her dinner on hold, Tam retrieved her to go box.

  When she settled back in her spot on the bed, Marc asked, “Is that from Charmagne?”

  “Yeah. How’d you’d like craft services today?”

  “If we were here much longer Angelisa would have to have my wardrobe refitted.” Marc’s voice held a note of complaint, but his eyes kept dropping to the roasted chicken she’d just stabbed with her fork. With an amused sigh, she got up to retrieve the fork that was still with the carrot cake she had yet to sample. She handed it to Marc and put the dinner between them on the bed.

  “You don’t mind?”

  “Sharing is caring, right?”

  “Maybe I’ll just have a little taste.”