Page 74 of Best Served Hot
‘You’re gonna need a lot of help. All hands on deck,’ Alex said. ‘But I think if you feel it can be done, we should go for it.’ She gave Kendall a look of question.
Kendall shrugged. ‘If Alex agrees, I’m on board.’
Alex liked working with Kendall so far. They had a good groove going. Alex felt good about this shoot, all the way around. It was coming together. But Alex fretted. She was desperate to get this movie right, to make something that wouldn’t let Kendall down. It was a moment when Alex might have turned to…
No. She wasn’t thinking about her. Not now. Work was good. That subject hurt too much, still. She’d waited and waited and hoped and hoped and nothing. Nicole was still silent.
Still, some tiny part of Alex couldn’t quite let it go.
‘So, what’s the next step?’ Alex asked Ashley.
‘I’ve been talking to the forestry people for permission, but they need a bit more info before they grant it. I need to provide a detailed blueprint for a start.’
‘Cool, well, please go ahead and work that up,’ Alex smiled. ‘Looking forward to seeing it.’
Ashley looked down at her sketch. ‘Me too. You wait and see. This is gonna rock.’
Kendall’s phone rang. ‘Hold on, that might be the CGI artist I’ve been trying to pin down. If we’ve got any chance of getting a brown bear on our budget that doesn’t look like Winnie the bloody Pooh, we’re gonna need…’ She trailed off as she read the name on her phone. ‘Oh. That’s weird.’
‘Who is it?’ Alex asked.
‘Err, you remember that runner from the show? Lena?’
Alex’s mood flattened quickly. ‘I do recall that individual, yes. You gonna take the call?’
‘She can leave a message,’ Kendall said, cancelling the call. ‘So, shall we talk about—’ The phone vibrated again. She cancelled again. ‘She’s persistent.’ It rang a third time. Kendall sighed. ‘Might take it if she’s gonna blow my phone up. Hello?’ she said into the receiver. She paused, frowning. ‘Yeah, she is. What’s the—’ She broke off. ‘OK, I’ll check.’ She held out the phone to Alex. ‘She wants to speak to you.’
Alex burst into surprised laughter. ‘Me?’
‘Yeah. She sounds a bit… She’s pretty insistent,’ Kendall said, confused.
Alex took the phone out of sheer curiosity. ‘Alex speaking, how can I help you, Lena?’ she asked, her voice dripping with mockery.
Lena’s contempt-filled voice poured into Alex’s ear. ‘Look, I know we hate each other. But this is bigger than that.’
‘What’sbigger than that?’ Alex asked, baffled.
‘I’m calling you because we’re in the same club.’
‘Lena, are you drunk? What the hell are you talking about?’ Alex asked, watching Kendall and Ashley checking their emails while Lena wasted Alex’s time.
‘Ethan,’ Lena said simply.
Alex’s blood ran cold. ‘Lena, I don’t know what this is, but I’m done. Don’t call Kendall again to get to me. I warned you about him, and you didn’t listen. If it’s gone wrong, find someone else to cry to.’
‘No, no, no, wait! I need to say…’
‘Lena, fuck off, would you?’
Alex handed the phone back to Kendall, Lena’s tinny voice still begging to be heard.
Kendall cancelled the call on her behalf. ‘Do I want to know?’
Alex grimaced. ‘You really don’t. Now, about that CGI bear.’
***
Alex left the office with a to-do list the length of her forearm. They were still trying to put together a full crew. First thing first, they needed a production manager. After they had a PM, they could handle a lot of the hiring.
