Page 8 of Role Play
She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. Her fingers flew to her glasses, pushing them higher on her nose as she glanced to her right at Kelly. Then, almost as if watching a wave overtake someone, she changed. Right before my eyes. Lucy sat taller, stopped fidgeting and answered calmly. “Well, for the gala scene, I think we could stay in budget by finding some local boutique designers. A lot of times, clothing that’s tailored to an actor’s body will look richer, more so than off the rack, but also more in our price range than a well-known designerwecan’t afford and the characters also wouldn’t be able to afford. There are so many young and hungry new designers in LA who would be thrilled for the chance for their designs to be in a movie and would be more affordable than say, Prada—” Lucy’s gaze dipped to Kelly’s Prada pumps, and Kelly’s cheeks turned a fiery red as Lucy bit down on her bottom lip and shrunk back in her seat. The change was noticeable as she melted back into shy and uncertain, whereas seconds before she had been strong and assertive. And somehow this flip-flopping personality shift was intriguing ashell.
“I think that’s a brilliant idea,” I said.See?I wanted to say.Your assistant fucking gets it faster than you. This is what happens when nepotism supersedes talent. And it’s fucking annoying. I had to hand it to Richard, though. He was one hundred percent right. Lucy had something. Shit, based on that little speech alone, apparently we should have hired her as the lead designer, not Kelly. She was young, but knew her shit. “A new designer who’s up and coming should fit right into the budget and they’ll be thrilled for the exposure. They could do most of the wardrobe as well, not just the gala scene. Do either of you know anyone who might fit the billhere?”
“I’ll do some research and let you know,” Kelly said, her nostrils flaring.I glanced at Lucy, watching the nervous way she nibbled that plump bottom lip. And then, those eyes. Those striking, dark eyes lifted and met mine, stealing me of my breath. Fuck, I wanted to kiss her. Claim her.Teach her. The non-fraternization clause popped into my thoughts, but… well, Richard was the one whoissuedthis damn challenge in the first place. Besides, there’s also a consent contract—if Lucy was a consensualpartner…
I swallowed, shaking the thought from my head.Nope. No.There was no way to even approach that without a massive power play. And then what if she wasn’t interested? If she said no? IknowI wouldn’t hold that against her, but then she could be uncomfortable for the remaining three months of filming. I couldn’t do that toher.
“What about you, Lucy?” I asked, finding my words. “Do you know of any localdesigners?”
She moved to look at Kelly, but I tapped my pen to my desk. “No need to look at Kelly first. We all want the same thing here… A well-planned, under budget film that looks gorgeous. And characters who are stylish and chic. Isn’t that right,Kelly?”
Kelly gave me a tight smile. “Yes, ofcourse.”
“Well,” Lucy said. “I do know of one designer. She’s young and new but her collection for this season just recently got bought by a little boutique in West Hollywood. She’s well on her way to becoming a name, I’m sure ofit.”
Kelly snorted and rolled her eyes. “What is she… yourroommate?”
It was Lucy’s turn to flush bright red. The adorable blush spanned from cheek to cheek and across the bridge of her nose, emphasizing a spray of light-colored freckles. “Actually…yeah.”
“I think that’s great,” I said, smiling. “You know, Jude and I started out as roommates. We used to always help each other out when we could. I love seeing that camaraderie. Especially in this industry that has such a reputation for being cut-throat.”
Kelly plastered a thin and brittle smile on her face, like the top of crème brûlée. One little tap and it might shatter and crack. “Of course,” Kelly said, eyelashes batting in my direction. “I just meant that perhaps we should go with someone a bit moreexperienced—”
“Let’s give Lucy’s friend a tryfirst.”
Kelly’s smile dropped, but she nodded. “Absolutely.” Then, turning, she looked to Lucy. “Can your friend come in Monday with some of herdesigns?”
“Three days?” I interjected. I was the farthest thing from a fashion designer, but evenIknew that was ridiculously short notice. “Look, it’s Thursday night and we’ve all been working nonstop, with no breaks in the schedule until next weekend. You even said yourself that we’ve got a couple weeks of costumes already prepped and ready. Why don’t we plan on a week from Monday so that we’re all looking at her designs with rested eyes? And that will give her an adequate amount of time toprepare.”
“Um… sure,” Lucy said, her eyes darting back and forth between Kelly and me. “I mean, I’ll call her andcheck.”
“Kelly?” I asked. “We have the costumes in order for the next two weeks,right?”
She gave me a tight nod in return. “Yes.”
“For the next three weeks, actually,” Lucy interjected, eyeing her notes. She glanced up at me, then turned her gaze to Kelly’s fiery glare and immediately shrunk back down in herseat.
“Great.” I leaned back in my chair and tapped my fingers to the top of the lacquered desk. “Thanks so much,ladies.”
Kelly was the first to stand, her high heels sinking into the carpet. “Thanks for your help, Ash,” she said, draping her hand over the back of the chair for balance on her spiky heels. “I’ll find a wardrobe for you that you’ll be stunnedwith.”
“I’m sure youwill.”
Kelly didn’t wait for Lucy to follow her, but lifted her nose in the air and headed for the door. Lucy stood, tucking her dark brown hair behind her ear, the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile. “Thanks.”
“Lucy,” I said, and my voice stopped both her and Kelly in the doorway. “Nice work today. I’m glad to have you on the team. Richard was right when he said there’s a spark inyou.”
Normally, when you tell a member of your crew that the CEO of the studio saw something in them, they react in some semblance of surprise or happiness. Or humility. Lucy on the other hand, lost what little smile she had. Her face went white, her hands clenched the notebook she was holding tighter to her chest, and for a second, I thought she might passout.
“Rich—uh, Mr. Blair saidthat?”
I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I studied Lucy… an odd, adorable little thing. I’ve seen crew members like her come and go before. Sometimes, the behind the camera folks were so introverted that they themselves sunk into the set pieces—the costumes, the lighting. Not to be seen. Not to be commended or applauded for their work. I appreciated this, but also in this business? You don’t have to be a Hollywood starlet or even conform to the ridiculous ideas of beauty in this industry… but you do need to be confident in who you are. You can’t shrivel and disappear every time someone pays you a compliment. Los Angeles would eat heralive.
I stood and slid my hands into my pockets. “Yeah, he did. He meant it too. I’ve known Richard Blair a long time. He doesn’t give out praise very easily. Hell… It took me two years of working with him as a production assistant before he ever acknowledged Iexisted.”
Which made this attention he was paying Lucy even odder. Was she fucking him? The thought sent heat spiraling through my blood and pulsing in my veins. Irrational as shit. First of all, after Rich made such a damn big deal about this non-fraternization policy? Then told me to keep my dick in my pants at the start of this film? Holy hypocrite. That said, she could fuck whomever she wanted—as could Richard. Butshit, the thought made mejealous.
Her mouth twitched and she stood a little taller, her hands relaxing around the notebook. “I’m sure he barely knows myname.”
