Page 68 of He's The Reason Why

Tamar glanced up. “That’s a little harsh.”

Paul waved her comment away. “It was weak. We knew it was weak, but we had to do something. Her original version was a little too dark for our brand and every time we tried to brighten it up, it wound up being some sort of shouting match. We hoped with the right talent it would work out in the end.”

He gave them a broad smile. “You two brought thefun. It’s exactly the tone we were looking for but couldn’t quite seem to nail down. Of course we need to reshape the entire first half to fit this new take, and I don’t think the last scene works at all, now. We’ll have to get the whole group back in, which could be a bit of a scheduling nightmare but it’ll be worth it. Thechemistrybetween you two is absolutely perfect. You nailed it. Diane is going to bethrilled.”

Piper caught the word reshape in that verbal tsunami and cringed. She didn’t dare look at Blake.

“I didn’t know you hated the script,” she managed to say. “I thought it was cute. An animatedRomancing the Stone, with magic and dragons. How could that be dark?”

“Exactly,” Paul said with a decisive nod. “That’s what I said. Magic and dragons arefun, not dark. At least, in my movies they are. Right, Tamar?”

Tamar joined them, cradling the tablet in one arm. “Modernfun. Yes.”

“Right. Right,” Paul agreed. “Modern. Totally modern, but with swashbuckly flair. I want Indiana Jones and Kathleen Turnerteaming up with Smaug…okay not Smaug, but you get the idea. That’s why we had Jewel shouting at Jesse in the opening scene. I like what you did so much better. I can’t wait to see the rest of the scenes with this new approach.”

She chanced a glance at Blake. His face was smooth and polite, without a trace of the stress he had to be feeling, but he had his hands shoved in his pockets. Was it to appear cool, or was it to hide his clenched fists?

“How long will it take to reshape the script?” Piper asked.

Tamar looked at her tablet. Piper could see a calendar with so many appointments it looked like a rainbow. “I’d say two, maybe three weeks if we rush. That puts us in the third week of October.”

“We won’t pick up recording again until late October?” Blake said. “This is a Christmas premiere, right?”

Tamar waved his concern away. “It’s tight, sure, but I think it can work and it will be fabulous. We’ll want to rethink the initial duet, too. We might be able to get to that next week. It would be nice to get your take on the new direction before we record it again. How’s your schedule, my dear?”

Piper glanced at Blake. “It’s open. I have a concert in a couple of weeks but that’s it. I’m happy to help with the lyrics, just let me know when you need me. The sooner the better, right?”

“Thank you, dear. Be sure to send me the date of your concert so I can make a note of it.”

The idea that it would take weeks to get back on track flitted through her brain and settled into her gut where a nice garden of guilt had sprouted. “What will this do to the deadline? Will we still make the premiere?”

Tamar looked a little doubtful, but Paul jumped in.

“Wehaveto make that deadline,” Paul said. “Trustme, we’ll make it happen. We might be squeezed toward the end, but what movie isn’t, right?”

Tamar looked at Blake. “Are you available next Wednesday or Thursday?”

“Whatever you need, Tamar. I’m yours.” Blake’s smile was now warm and accommodating, when seconds ago he’d looked like a man on the brink of a high cliff. How did he do that? “Just text me the new schedule when you have it.”

“Thank you.” Tamar looked from Blake to Piper. “Both of you. Marvelous work today. We’re done for now. I’ll be in touch.”

They said their goodbyes to everyone in the booth, then headed out into the late-morning heat together. Blake moved with an easy stride and smiled at everyone they passed, while Piper wrestled with her conscience.

On the one hand, she was flying high from Paul and Tamar’s overwhelming approval of their silly warm-up take on the scene. This was all new for her, and it felt fantastic to know she’d done something so well they wanted more.

On the other, she felt bad about what that success meant to Blake.

To her, it was everything.

To him, it was another speed bump, another rough spot to smooth out, and another hassle to deal with.

She didn’t know why that thought bothered her so much, but it did. Very much.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I didn’t realize when we were playing around that it would throw everything off like that.”

She hadn’t known him very long, but she liked Blake a lot more than she probably should, and she hated that she’d done something to add to his already ridiculous workload.

“It’s not your fault. I was the one who suggested it.”

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