Page 34 of Steamy on Set

“No?”

“I am not having this fight at work, it’s unprofessional.”

“Well, I’m not going to wait forever for closure. I’m sick of people not being able to communicate properly. We are meeting up tonight.”

“I can’t. We are now short staffed and have a whole new wardrobe to make for you. We will be working long days for the next few weeks.”

“Sorry, but I’m not waiting that long. If not tonight, then tomorrow.”

She shifts from foot to foot, before nodding once. Ending it there, she moves racks of clothes meant for Fiona closer to the center of the room.

We pass the rest of the time in silence. Once finished, she dismisses me with a wave and a quick word. With nothing else to say, I turn and make my way towards the set to meet up with Errol.

He’s talking on the phone when I approach. A nod of his head is the only acknowledgement he gives me while he finishes up the call. When he hangs up, he turns to me and offers that smile that makes me feel like he is so happy to see me. It inspires my own, letting him know I feel the same.

“Before we head to my place to run lines, I have to check in with Priyanka.” She is the production manager, the one in charge of making sure this whole thing runs smoothly. I follow behind him as we make our way over to the front of the studio. Standing by the entrance, she is talking to one of her assistants.

“What’s up?” She says, turning to us, while waving for her assistant to walk off.

She then looks down at her phone.

“I want to check in about the schedule. Jeff just called me and confirmed Farrah, but I want to see if we can push by a day or two to give her time to learn lines,” Errol says.

This catches her full attention. She lifts her head to look into his eyes.

“You want to push the entire schedule? Are you crazy?”

I feel like the subject of the conversation shouldn’t be standing here, so I take a step back. As if sensing my retreat, he pulls me forward, drawing her to look at me.

“She just agreed to the role four days ago. We are set to start filming next Tuesday, which gives her only eight days total to learn the whole script.” While he puts the timeline in perspective for her, he is also shifting the panic inside of me. Four more days, and then I’m supposed to be on camera. Holy crap.

“I can’t do it. I’m sorry,” she says, meeting my gaze. I can see that she means it. “I am sorry Farrah, but the turnaround time for this film is already long.”

Willing to take her apology and let it drop, it’s clear Errol has different plans.

“So we push forward, we make her do it unprepared, and the schedule gets shifted with constant reshoots? That is worse for the budget, and you know it.”

His hand is still on my arm, and he brings me even closer, like the distance is causing her to miss the panic clear on my face. I try to stop the unsettling feelings that rise up from his touch by focusing on the fear lacing my body.

“Tell her Farrah, you aren’t ready.”

Hating that I agree with him on anything, I can’t help but speak my truth.

“I’m not ready.”

Priyanka rolls her eyes and takes in a deep breath.

“Fine. Best I can do is have the scenes rearranged. We will start shooting scenes with her a few days after we start with everyone else. That work?”

He leans forward and pats her arm, confirming it does. Finally letting me go, they hug before she walks away. We agree to meet up at his place again, and I take off to my car.

As I pull up to his home, I finally gain control of my senses enough to calm myself. After talking myself up for a few more minutes, I make my way to his front door. He opens it before I get to the steps and waves for me to come in.

Having been to his house a few times now, comfort allows me to ease onto the couch.

We fall into the routine we’ve created for the past few days of dissecting lines as we read them. When we get to the end of the script, I throw my head back on the couch.

“This is insanity.” I close my eyes while my thumbs work circles beside them. I can feel a pressure headache coming on, and the thoughts bubbling up in my mind aren’t helping.

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