Page 40 of A Hard Sell

“What?” Luka reached for his coffee.

“Hanna says the heat isn’t working. It’s just above freezing on set.”

“Oh, God. Can they fix it?”

Thomas’ fingers flew as he answered the text. “Let’s hope so.”

When they got there, they found Hanna, the AD, on the phone, pacing in the hallway. “I don’t care what time it is, if you’re not here in twenty minutes, I will be at your door to drag you out heremyself.” She hung up, then she saw Thomas and Luka and smiled sweetly. “The building manager is on his way.”

“Great,” Luka said, making a mental note to not piss her off at any point.

The crew was arriving by the handful and the first delivery truck pulled up with the furniture for the restaurant set. Thomas got busy directing the setup while Luka fielded phone calls and checked in with the various department heads. It was still freezing, so everyone had left their coats on.

“The building manager is here!” Hanna called down the hall when she saw Luka. He crossed his fingers for heat. Or he would have, if his fingers weren’t frozen solid.

When the extras began to arrive, he herded them into wardrobe and makeup. He frowned at the room, checking his clipboard and counting them twice. They were short two.

He went out into the hall and saw Thomas striding toward him. “We have another problem,” they said at the same time.

“What’s your problem?” Luka asked as Thomas turned to lead him back to the set.

Thomas waved a hand when they rounded the corner.

Luka stopped short when he saw. “Ummm…”

“I know.”

An elegant ‘restaurant’ was laid out before them, dark wood paneling, tables draped in crisp white linens, bold art on the walls. Except…

“White folding chairs?” Luka exclaimed.

“Yup.”

They stood staring at the set together.

“It’s half fancy restaurant, half summer garden wedding,” Luka said.

“Yup.”

Luka ran a hand through his hair. “What the hell! Where are our chairs?”

“Some sort of mix-up. I already called the rental place, and they said they don’t have anything else.”

“Okay… Where do we get forty brown leather chairs at the last minute?”

Thomas sighed and pulled his phone out. “I’m on it. Wait, what was your problem?”

“We seem to be short two extras.”

“Great.”

“I’ll deal with this one.”

Thomas nodded, already typing.

“Hanna!” Luka called. She was across the room talking to the set decorators as they unpacked the china.

“What’s up?” Her breath was a puff of white in the air.

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