Page 7 of Role Play
Ash
Ilooked around the set at the various people hustling. Like worker ants, they moved quickly and efficiently, cleaning up as we wrapped the shoot today. It was the first day all week that actually stayed relatively on schedule, leaving us only forty-five minutes later than I had planned. Damn, that feltgood.
Lucy crossed past me, rolling a wardrobe draped with a of variety outfits. I smiled at her as her gaze lifted, meeting mine. Her eyes widened, her spiky black eyelashes nearly brushing her eyebrows they went so wide. She finally gave me a weak smile in return before scurrying off with the freshly dry-cleanedcostumes.
I stole a quick glance at my phone. “Okay, everyone,” I shouted. “That’s a wrap for today. Tomorrow, we shoot on location and it’s going to be a long day. We have thirty extras coming, and we need to get both daytime shots and nighttime shots. Call is at six a.m. Actors go into makeup and wardrobe at seven sharp, and I want the stand-ins on set for lighting at seven as well, so we’re ready to roll as soon as all the actors are ready. But the good news is most of you have off Saturday and Sunday since it’s a closed set. Those who are needed this weekend—you know who you are.” I had shifted the scenes around tomorrow and next week so that we weren’t shooting any supporting character scenes with Chase—just in case Pierce finally got back to me. Word on the street was that he was out of the country. I leaned into my assistant director, Jon. “You get allthat?”
“Yep. I’m typing it up now and will send it to everyone on thecrew.”
“Great.” I hit the button on my headset that linked to wardrobe. “Kelly,” I said. “I’ll see you in my office in ten minutes for ourmeeting.”
Her breathy chuckle on the other end of the line made me halt in my tracks. “You got it, Ash.” I gritted my teeth, hearing Jude’s warnings in my head over and over.Don't shit where you eat, man. Most of the time, Jude was overly cautious. He’d been burned by that bitch ex-wife of his, and as Rich always said,like any fire—you can smell the smoke long after the flames had beenextinguished.
But this time? He was right. And Richard would annihilate me if I was caught alone in my office with the one woman I fucked before pre-production. It had ‘lawsuit’ written all over it. Warning bells fired off in my brain. “Why don’t you bring your assistant,too.”
“Lucy?” She snapped in my ear, suddenly louder and far less sexy sounding than a momentearlier.
“Yes,” I said, keeping my voice tight. Business-like. “Lucy can take notes of themeeting.”
There was the briefest pause before she answered, “Yes. Of course. I’ll see you in abit.”
I clicked the button to my headset, turning it off and pulling it from my ear. Whatever else needed to be said to me would have to wait…or more realistically, beemailed.
“Did I hear you say Lucy?” Richard said, surprising me by being right behindme.
Startled, I nodded. “Yeah. New girl in the costume department. Dark hair,glasses—”
Richard smiled. “Oh yes, I know her. I hired her. That girl is goingplaces.”
Since when does the CEO of Silhouette Studios waste time hiring a wardrobe assistant?I pulled back, examining my boss. This cynical bastard didn’t take notice of anyone. He was a great guy and in some ways, we were like family, but he barely knew Jon, my assistant director who had worked on three Silhouette films, by name. Suddenly, he knew who the new wardrobe assistant was? “What makes you saythat?”
“You don’tagree?”
I folded my arms, considering the question carefully. “I honestly don’t know. I only just met her. She seems nice, but it’s hard to know if the talent isthere.”
“You’ll see. There’s a spark in that girl.” With that, Richard exited smoothly off the set, the yellow lights hitting his salt and pepperhair.
Well, that was weird. Richard fought this project tooth and nail—he didn’t want to make this film at all, despite the fact that apparently, he himself, is a Dominant. And now here he was on set; reviewing last week’s footage, admitting to being a Dom, not only invested in my BDSM experience, but also focusing on mycrew?
Something wasn’t sitting righthere.
Ten minutes later, both Kelly and Lucy were in my office, sitting across from me. The difference between the two of them was drastic. Kelly was tall and lean with the sort of muscles I knew all too well were sculpted from hours of time invested in yoga and spin class. Lucy was thin, but with soft curves that looked lush and silky. Kelly wore tight black skinny dress pants and a leather blazer that hugged her waist and hips, almost tailored to be a second skin with a sheer lace camisole beneath. Lucy wore loose-fitting jeans and a fittedwhite t-shirt that seemed to have some sort of coffee stain at the top of hercleavage.
And she was fuckingadorable.
I cleared my throat while Kelly tucked her white-blonde hair behind one ear. “So,” Kelly said. “This budget cut—it’s not a big deal for the next week or so because we’ve already received those costumes. But what about the gala Leo and Holly are supposed to attend? The scene we’re shooting in three weeks. Do you want them in JCPenny promattire?”
Damn, Kelly was a driven little thing. I’d give her that. Driven and also really fucking annoying. I rubbed my hand down my face, scrubbing at my stubble. “It doesn’t need to be JCPenny, but we just need to be mindful. Jude’s character is wealthy—but he isn’t a millionaire. And Holly… she’s an administrative assistant. Her lifestyle has to reflectthat.”
“Hollywood is about giving viewers something to strive for. It’s fiction,” Kelly continued. “It’s not like Leo or Holly could afford these apartments they live in either, but you don’t seem to mind thatthat’snot as realistic for their salarylevels.”
She had a point there. But it didn’t change the fact that this was Silhouette’s smallest budgeted production for the year. The executives didn’t have a lot of faith in a film that wasn’t centered around a superhero or best-selling novel. I looked to Lucy who had her gaze cast down in her notebook, scribbling notes furiously. “What do you think,Lucy?”
Her head jerked up and she drew in a sharp breath. “Me?”
“Her?” Kellyrepeated.
“Yes, her. She’s your assistant. She must be knowledgeable. Lucy, what are yourthoughts?”
