Page 10 of Shooting for his Heart
It wasa good thing that I flew in early to check out production. It was apparent that some people needed to be micromanaged in order to be productive. When I got there, the only people who were working were the designers. That didn’t mean much because they were basically doing what the hell they wanted to do and not respecting the notes the assistant director and I had submitted. I’d already visualized the sets and how everything would look. Their job was simply to bring it all to life.
Thankfully, on my second day on location, I didn’t hear a bunch of music blaring as I headed down to make sure things were progressing as expected. A vaguely familiar cackle tore through the air, snatching my attention as I trekked toward theset. I wanted to make sure that the union headquarters was being created as we discussed.
That irritating laughter continued to grate on my nerves, tearing me away from the task at hand and sending me marching toward the designer’s tent. When I stepped inside, my eyes landed first on Gia, then on the exquisitely designed white pantsuit on a canvas next to her.
“This is amazing, Gia. I can see Clarissa dominating in this one,” I complimented.
It was good to see that somebody around here knew what they were doing. Gia was good at what she did. If given the option, I always liked to work with her.
“So, you’re good with her being in the film now?” she quizzed.
“I’m not over the casting department. Nor do I care to discuss my personal feelings toward anyone in the cast. I’m here to do a job. I know she’s very capable of playing a sadistic, narcissistic leader. Seems that the casting director knew exactly what she was doing.” I shrugged. As I spoke, my eyes moved over the sketches strewn on the table. My eyebrows hiked when I spotted the sketches and a few finished pieces of the minion uniforms. “I thought I was pretty clear when I said no red.”
“It’s not red, Shawn. It’s maroon…” Gia explained.
“Actually, it’s burgundy.” The other girl spoke up.
My head snapped in her direction, and my hiked brows drew together in disgust.
Shit. She is adorable.
She never looked up from the task before her as my eyes bore through her like daggers.
“I thought I fired you.” It was more of a statement than a question. IknewI’d fired her.
“I guess it didn’t stick,” she countered with a smirk but still refused to look up at me.
I wanted to say something to wipe that smirk off her face, but I had more important tasks at hand right now. Besides, the urge to continue my conversation with her wasn’t purely due to her refusal to follow my directions. I wanted to know who she was. Her designs, although not what I expected, were brilliant. The beauty of her designs paled in comparison to what was right before my eyes, live and in living color.
She was gorgeous. Honey-colored skin was highlighted by her hair, a variation of the hue of the uniforms I had forbidden. It was funny how I remembered how her eyes were slightly lighter than her skin. The sleek contrast of reds and browns plagued me all night, and I wasn’t even thinking about the uniforms. After a brief encounter, this sassy being was embedded into my brain. I didn’t know why, but it annoyed the hell out of me.
“Do you not want red because Clarissa always says it’s her color?” Gia asked. “She’s not even the one that’s going to be wearing it. We are putting her in white in every scene.”
See? I was about to fire her ass next. Why did she insist on trying to discuss Clarissa? I’d already said I didn’t care about her being in the film. It was my goal to continue to act as if Clarissa didn’t exist like I had done for the past few years. I didn’t care how good she or her cohort were. I couldn’t stand insubordination. Instead of giving Gia an immediate response, I kept my eyes on the other designer, who was seated in front of a sewing machine, making what appeared to be a hat of some kind. Aside from her interjection, she continued working as if I hadn’t come into the tent questioning her designs.
I knew she could feel the sting of my eyes searing through her, but she refused to give me more of her attention. Why the hell did I want it so badly anyway? It was as if I wanted one more glimpse of those pretty chestnut eyes to fuel me as I went through the rest of the day. I could stay away from her if shelooked my way one more time. I almost asked her if she knew who I was, but who didn’t? Of course, she knew. She just didn’t give a damn. I didn’t know if I was more intrigued or impressed by that.
“What’s your name?” I asked the woman, pretending as if I wasn’t standing right in front of her and questioning her designs.
“Vonnie,” she said, briefly blessing me with a glance.
It was crazy that I felt my mission was complete once I looked into her eyes. I paid close attention to the way her cheekbones hiked when those perfectly bow-shaped lips parted. I didn’t know if it was her skilled hand at makeup that made her features so striking or if she was just that damn beautiful.
“Shawn… it’s too short notice to get someone else who does both makeup and designs. As a matter of fact, I can’t even think of a single person off the top of my head,” Gia stated as I continued to stare Vonnie down.
“Care to explain why you decided to keep this red design I forbade the two of you from using, Ms. Vonnie?”
“Not only is red appealing to the eye, but it causes a sense of urgency. I want the bad guys to be easy to spot for the viewers… as well as the opposing team. Also, I read the script. I felt like the color scheme I selected was fitting for those characters.”
There was no use in continuing the back and forth when she was so passionate about her designs. It wasn’t that they weren’t good as hell; I just didn’t like my request being ignored. As long as I knew that her reasoning was well thought out, I could deal with a few changes to my vision. That didn’t mean I would accept insubordination going forward. There was nobody in the world that pretty.
After a long day of ensuring everyone was on task, I settled into the house I was staying in while on location. Our housing was only about five miles from the set, so it didn’t take long to get back to my spot and settle in with the steak sandwich and broccoli and cheese soup I planned to end my day with. Walking to the refrigerator, I opened it and grabbed a beer before returning to the recliner where I’d left my food. A knock on the door halted me from taking a seat.
Who the hell could be at the door?
I had been in town for a week and had successfully avoided human contact outside of working on the set. Only the cast and crew were staying in this little gated community, and my house, along with the movie cast housing, was secluded from the rest.
I sighed, knowing Larsen or Anton had something they wanted to discuss, which was likely my multiple attempts to fire the wardrobe girl. A second knock had me debating opening the door at all. It wasn’t like whoever was on the other side had a key. I didn’t want company right now. My entire schedule for the rest of the day included catching up onAmerican Horror Storyand not having any human contact.
