Page 77 of Guarding the Singer

It wasn't on set, so Flash had come onto the movie set and sat with Selene as she went through her longest day to date.

She was busy filming various shots of the concert scene throughout the day so he knew she'd be busy.

When he arrived at Cooper's home, he was surprised to see the man opening his own door.

"Come in, Gunny. I'm glad you could stop by."

William walked in and waited while Cooper locked the door behind them.

The man's hands didn't shake, but they were paler than he'd remembered.

Cooper looked up at his face and smiled, folding his hands in front of him. "I need a tan. It happens inNew York. Too many concrete buildings and too little sunshine."

They moved out onto the balcony where there was a pot of coffee and some biscuits.

"Sorry," Cooper gestured at the table, "my appetite has been off for a few days."

William sat in his chair and offered to refill Cooper's coffee.

Cooper gestured at the pot. "Thanks. Pour yourself a cup. And eat..." he gestured at the plate, "if you want."

"Selene's worried about you."

Cooper smiled. "I like that about you, Gunny. You cut to the chase."

"No sense in mincing words," he agreed. "I want to get back to set."

Cooper arched a look at him. "Yeah, why are you here when I'm paying you to watch my star!"

"Now you're deflecting." William shook his head enjoying their little fencing match.

"Let me make this simple, hmm?"

William nodded.

"Yes, I'm not feeling well, and yes, it's likely stress related. I'm not as young as I used to be," he sighed. "I wish I was. I remember nights, just a year ago when I could go out and party until after midnight," he chuckled, "and walk into the office functional the next day."

Cooper took a sip of his coffee and looked out over the balcony at the garden beyond.

"But this production is the biggest we've ever done and as sure as I am that this is all going to be a giant blockbuster, I eat like shit most of the time and I definitely don't work out as much as my doctors tell me to. Would you believe I used to jog around Central Park every morning?"

William nodded. "You can again."

"Maybe," Cooper took another long sip of his coffee. "I think I need to hire a few more people."

William thought about Mandy and how she might react to that."

"Oh," Cooper chuckled, "I think I know what you're thinking."

William raised a brow.

"Mandy?"

He nodded in reply.

"She already does so much. I'm going to get 'her' help. And I know she's going to get upset and try to handle more, but I don't need her to get sick like me."

Cooper leaned back in his chair.

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