Blurred Boundaries

by Lori Crawford

  Tam gave him a hopeful look. “You think?”

  He paused the video and zoomed in on Ceely’s shoulder. She had a wicked looking tattoo of a butterfly. “So we do not show her face. Focus on this only. Audience will still know her.” He looked at Evan. “You can carry scene, yes?”

  Relief bloomed in Tam’s heart along with a smile on her face. She gave Rock a smacking kiss on the cheek. “You are the best!”

  Evan held up his hands. “Whoa. This is an awful lot of pressure. I still have the Dad’s reveal scene coming up.”

  Rock paused thoughtfully. “We move love scene to tomorrow. You will focus on Dad scene today. Yes?”

  Evan sucked in a breath. Finally nodded. “Yes. Let’s do that.”

  “Good. I will have Kyle clear the set.” Rock handed the phone back to Tam and headed off to find Kyle.

  Tam squeezed Evan’s hand. “Thank you.”

  He turned it palm up so their fingers were linked. “I should be thanking you. One scene with that woman is infinitely more preferable to finishing the season with her.” He stood. “Tell Rock, I’m in my trailer if anyone needs me.”

  “Will do.”

  Evan headed for the trailer’s door where he paused to give her a smile.

  “The cake break? Genius. You’re doing good, kid.”

  Tam blew out a breath. His praise meant more to her than she was willing to let on. She nodded her thanks, “The finish line will be in sight soon, though, right?”

  He gave her his signature sexy smirk. “Absolutely.” Then he was gone.

  Tam sank on the bench and took a minute. Just when she thought she was cut out for this. Her heart whispered reassurances, but her head seem determined to argue. She decisively silenced them both. At the end of the day, her heart was right. She wasn’t about to let a little setback stop her from doing what she loved to do. She just had to make sure that she came out of the shoot with more friends than enemies. Tam smiled. When she thought about it like that, she was in a pretty good position. She’d gained the respect of nearly everyone on the crew and most of the cast as well. Audra was the only outlier. The woman didn’t actively hate her, so she considered that a win.

  Tam’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She checked the incoming text from Tanzi. She and Audra were waiting for her outside Audra’s trailer if she still wanted to go out with them. Tam was not a fan of bars, but that was how relationships were made. She replied to Tanzi that she would head over after relaying Evan’s message to Rock.

  The pep in Tam’s step faltered when she saw Ceely chatting with Audra and Tanzi by the trailer’s door. A silent prayer started in her head. “Please don’t let Ceely be coming with us. Please. Please. Please.” She already had Audra to overcome, the last thing she needed was Ceely in that mix.

  “Hey guys. Ready?” Tam said by way of greeting.

  Tanzi’s smile was overly bright. “Let’s go. I’ve got the address in my GPS, so I’ll drive.”

  “Sounds good.” Tam agreed, but studied the uncharacteristically quiet Audra. What was going on there?

  Ceely clapped her hands with a delighted grin. “Yay. I’ve always wanted to go out with an entourage.”

  And there it was. No wonder Audra look so annoyed. She’d been demoted to entourage when, in reality, she was the star. The evening was gonna be interesting indeed.

  The interesting part started from the moment they arrived at Tanzi’s rental car in the parking lot. First, Ceely called shotgun, but then changed her mind because stars like her should be chauffeured around. Tam and Tanzi shared an, “Oh boy” look.

  Tam deferred to Audra. “Do you have a preference?” She had a weirdly grateful look on her face when she claimed shotgun. Tam was happy to share the backseat with Ceely if it meant she was making some progress with Audra.

  She didn’t have long to savor the victory because Ceely all but pushed her out of the way to claim the passenger side before declaring that she’d always dreamed of the day that she could step out on the curb to greet her adoring public.

  “Okay then,” with a resigned shake of her head, Tam walked around the car to get in behind Tanzi. She could only hope things would get better from there.

  They didn’t.

  Despite having a GPS, Tanzi got them hopelessly twisted because she kept second-guessing it. How she managed to never be in the correct lane to make the turns, Tam was not able to figure out. Combined with an abundance of one-way streets and traffic, the short ten minute drive turned into a forty seven minute nightmare.

  Making matters worse, Ceely chattered incessantly about her career journey to that moment. Tam was having difficulty telling if Ceely was really that clueless or if she believed that she was a star after being cast in her first recurring role. A role she’d already lost before shooting the first scene.

  “Oooh! There it is!” Ceely bounced around in her seat when they finally happened upon the bar. “Can you drop me off in front?”

  The look Tanzi shot Ceely in the rear view mirror led Tam to believe that “out front” was not where Tanzi wanted to drop the woman.

  “I think it’s best we stick together.” Tam still felt responsible for Ceely’s well-being and there was a high probability that Tanzi would just keep driving if they did let her out.

  “Looks like they have a valet,” Audra pointed out. Tam was relieved over the compromise. Tanzi pulled up to the stand. The valet opened both Audra’s and Ceely’s doors. Audra’s exit from the vehicle was downright boring when compared to Ceely’s.

  She put on her sunglasses and hid her face from the paparazzi that only she could see. Neither Tam nor Tanzi waited for the valet to open their doors. They caught the woman’s act and exchanged incredulous looks. Audra waited for them at the curb.

  “Is this woman for real?”

  Tam shrugged. The three of them followed Ceely into the bar.

  chapter nine

  If Tam hadn’t thought this little outing was a mistake before, she was certainly convinced of it now. To say that Ceely was an uninhibited wild child was very diplomatic indeed.

  From the moment they’d arrived at the bar, Ceely had done everything in her power to command the attention of everyone in the room to the exclusion of everything else. That did not go over well with Audra in the least.

  To Audra’s credit, she didn’t make a scene. In fact, she was much more chill about things than Tam would’ve ever imagined. And then a cute guy caught her eye.

  Audra was not in the least bit shy. Once the tall, blond-haired cutie found himself in her cross hairs, she walked right up to him and asked him to dance. Seconds later, they were gyrating together on the dance floor the two of them created.

  Tam admired Audra’s courage. She didn’t think she could ever just walk up on a man like that. Of course, Audra was a stunning beauty so her chances of rejection were seriously lower, but still. She wondered what would happen if she boldly approached Evan that way. Flirt and giggle with him. Wait. Who was she kidding? She didn’t have the first clue about how to flirt with a man. She was much more comfortable keeping things about business. No wonder she was single.

  Tam shook off her train of thought and watched the guy twirl Audra around. Reality hit. They were hanging out at a bar at 3:30 in the afternoon. What kind of loser was this dude anyway? The answer to that question didn’t seem terribly important to Audra. She danced her little heart out.

  Tam looked across the table at Tanzi who was sipping a ginger ale. “I guess she approves.”

  Tanzi nodded. “Thank God.” She jerked her head toward Ceely who was attempting to chat up two guys at the bar. “What’s her deal?”

  Tam shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. Gavin cast her.”

  Tanzi nodded as if that answered everything. Tam guessed that in a way, it did. Anything that had gone wrong this week had Gavin’s smarmy little fingerprints all over it. Ceely proved to be the rule, not the exception.

  Speaking of exceptions, Tam saw the two guys walk off and le
ave Ceely alone at the bar when she turned her attention back that way. Ceely stared after them with a pouty frown. The woman looked at the dance floor. Audra appeared to be having a blast with her blond cutie. Ceely pushed herself off the bar stool and danced their way.

  “Oh, good God,” Tam said and watched Ceely brazenly insert herself between Audra and the cutie.

  “What?” Tanzi turned to look just as Audra stumbled back a bit in her heels to make room for Ceely. The guy looked a bit confused, but he had two hot girls pretty much fighting over him. He went with it.

  “Whoa.” Tanzi said.

  “You can say that again,” Tam agreed.

  Ticked, Audra stomped back over to their table and grabbed the purse they’d been guarding for her. “Let’s go.”

  “We can’t just leave her,” Tanzi said. She looked back at Ceely who was doing a seriously dirty dance with the guy. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but she now had the attention of several other men in the bar.

  “Why not?” Audra asked. And she was serious.

  Tam answered, “Like it or not, I am responsible for her until she finishes shooting tomorrow. If we leave her, we’re all screwed.”

  Audra plopped down at the table with them. Major attitude was only a fraction of what she had. “Thank God, her character is done after that one scene. I can’t take her for much longer than that.”

  Tam clamped her lips closed. She and Audra were finally co-existing in a space where the animosity was not directed at her. Of course that was too good to last. Audra narrowed her eyes at Tam. Either the woman was super perceptive, or Tam had a terrible poker face. She suspected it was a bit of both.

  “It is one scene isn’t it?”

  “For the character, no. For the actress, most likely.” Even though they’d planned to shoot with an eye toward recasting the role, that decision was not set in stone. And it wouldn’t be until Schenecki weighed in.

  “What the hell do you mean, ‘most likely’?” Audra demanded.

  Tam glanced Ceely’s way. She pushed blond guy down on a chair and perched on his lap. The other men fed her shots.

  “We’re shooting so Schenecki has the option to recast her role. But the character is going to be around for a while.” Tam shrugged. “If all goes well.”

  Chants of “Go! Go! Go!” rang out across the room catching their attention. Shots lined the table and Ceely was tossing them back like there was no tomorrow.

  When she’d finished the last one, she pushed off blond guy’s lap and pumped her fists triumphantly over her head. Turned out, the move was too much for her and she face planted back in the guy’s lap. Catcalls rang out.

  Tam stood. That was it. At this rate, Ceely would be in no shape to shoot her one and only scene the next day. “Time to go.” She sized up the situation. “Tanzi, get the car.”

  Neither Audra nor Tanzi argued with her. Tanzi rushed out the door while Tam bravely waded into the crowd of men to retrieve the drunken Ceely.

  “Sorry guys. Time for us to hit the road.”

  “What’s the hurry, sweet thing? It’s still early.” One of the men invaded her space. Apparently sensing the trouble that was on the horizon, the blond guy popped up off the chair and headed for the hills. Tam reacted in just enough time to keep Ceely from crashing to the floor in a drunken heap. So much for chivalry or even some of that good old Southern charm.

  Tam ignored the man and tried to drag Ceely from their midst. Her drunken stupor was just light enough that she had the presence of mind to try to fight Tam off.

  “I fun having,” she slurred. “Here stay.”

  Despite the woman’s protests that made absolutely no sense, Tam hoisted her up the best she could.

  The man stepped in her path again. “I asked you a question. It ain’t polite to not answer. You don’t want to be a bitch do you?”

  Tam shrugged. “I’m a card carrying member of the Bitch Club. So I really don’t give a rat’s ass one way or another.” She invaded his space. “Now back the fuck off.” Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest. She had no idea what she’d do if this asshole didn’t comply. They could be in some real trouble here.

  Her worst nightmare came true. He stood his ground. “Or what?”

  While Tam was still trying to think of a response, the man went stiff as a board for a second and then started shaking uncontrollably. Tears and drool ran down his face, while pee ran down his leg. He dropped at her feet and continued convulsing.

  Tam was shocked to see Audra standing behind him wielding a stun gun like a pro. She was quite a sight to behold in her short, skintight dress and stiletto heeled boots. She had one hip cocked and her free hand rested on it. She kept the stun gun at the ready in case she needed it for round two. Audra glared at the men while channeling the Amazon woman she played on TV.

  “Who’s next?” She asked. As a collective, every single man stepped back. None were eager to become her next victim.

  She posted up on the other side of Ceely. Over the woman’s head, Audra and Tam shared a look of girl power solidarity. Together, they dragged Ceely from the bar. They stuffed her into the car that Tanzi had waiting at the curb and took off.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Tam stepped off the elevator on her floor of the hotel. Only a few more steps and she could collapse in her bed for the night. After the altercation at the bar, she was in a weird state between amped up and exhausted. She wasn’t even sure she wanted Evan to come by. The sleep she intended to get was going to be deep and ugly, that’s how bone tired she was.

  Still, she couldn’t help, but be satisfied with how the day had gone. After surviving the fiasco with Ceely at the bar, she and Audra were well on the way toward becoming friends. Nothing like being in the trenches together to forge a bond.

  During the drive back, Rock sent her word that Evan’s scene was phenomenal. She couldn’t wait to see it, but she would have to because Rock also said he’d show her the dailies first thing in the morning. Considering all the upheaval the night before, she couldn’t say she blamed him for wanting to change things up. The last thing he wanted to do was have another run in with Gavin. She concurred.

  Speaking of the man, he hadn’t even bothered to show up on the set that day. The entire crew had been terrified that he’d come in and shut down what they’d been doing. All for no good reason. Despite his blustering and blabbering, he must’ve decided that he’d given it his best shot and had been defeated.

  That was perfectly fine with Tam. They only had two scenes left to shoot then Rock would head off to work with the editors. She couldn’t imagine what else Gavin could possibly do at that point to stop her episode from getting to air. Tam smiled. The finish line had just appeared in the distance.

  Tam slid her key in the door and stepped inside the dark room. She dumped the laptop bag on the extra bed and reached for the lamp. Before her hand found it, the light turned on by itself. Startled, she whirled to see Gavin sitting in the chair at the desk.

  “Sit.” He gestured at the bed. “We need to talk.”

  “Gavin! What are you doing in here?” Tam’s heart was thumping so hard at his unexpected appearance.

  He gave her a look that was seventy two percent annoyance and twenty-eight percent condescension. It was a look she knew well after spending a couple weeks with him in the writer’s room.

  “What did I just say? We need to talk. Sit.” He commanded her again. It was obvious that he expected her to ask “how high?” when he told her to jump. Well, that was just too damn bad. She was sick of the way he looked down on the show and downright pissed that he’d tried to stop her from realizing the lifelong goal of getting a produced episode on the air.

  “I don’t think I will. Say what you have to say and get out.” Tam was proud of how even her tone sounded. Especially since she was shaking so hard that she could hardly stand. She reconsidered her defiance at his demand that she sit. But she wasn’t about to give in to him. If she had to be on unfamiliar territory, then
so did he.

  “You don’t seem to understand how things are supposed to work here. I am co-executive producer on this show. What I say goes. You are only here as a courtesy. And you work for me.”

  He didn’t say it, but she heard the “little girl” tacked on at the end to firmly put her in her place. However, she wasn’t having it. “I may be here as a courtesy. However, it’s Schenecki’s vision of the show that I will service. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  Gavin sat forward in his chair trying to intimidate her. He needn’t have bothered. She was already beyond freaked out to be having this conversation alone with him in her hotel room that had supposedly been locked. How had he gotten in anyway?

  “You know Alan and I roomed together in college, don’t you? We go back a long way.” Translated to, stop fucking with me because Schenecki will choose me over you.

  “I am aware. Thanks. But that’s why I don’t understand why you’d try to screw him over this way.” Tam was surprised to note that she actually wanted to understand his motivations for sabotaging them the way he had.

  Except her query turned out to be the exact wrong thing to say. Gavin popped up out of the chair. He was on her in only a few strides. Tam was shocked and scared. She pressed her back as far into the door as the unyielding surface would allow.

  “I would never screw Alan over as you so crassly put it. He is so much better than this show and yet it’s going to be his legacy. I owe him far too much to allow that to happen.” He shoved his hands through his stringy brown hair and inched out of her personal space.

  “Alan is the most talented writer I know. He should be published in literary journals or dominating the New York Times bestsellers list. Not playing around with this… nonsense.”

  Tam slid along the wall to put some distance between the two of them. The action had the unfortunate consequence of putting her farther away from the door in case she needed to run, but she simply refused to be that close to Gavin. He looked like he was ready to go apoplectic at any moment. He smiled. Or not?