Page 82 of Best Served Hot
‘Yes, of course,’ Nicole said easily.
‘Very kind. But we can’t afford you. And don’t say you’d do it for free,’ she said, cutting Nicole off before the words could make it out of her mouth.
Nicole laughed. ‘Well, maybe I could give you one tiny bit of help. I’ve been around the block a few times; I know a lot of people. I might know a special effects house that could do that bear for nothing upfront if they like the project. Just reasonable points on the backend.’
‘Oh my God, Nicole. Are you serious?’ Alex asked.
‘Let me call them on Monday. See what we can do.’
Alex smiled and kissed her. Things heated up very quickly from there, and Alex forgot about movies, bears, and fraudsters. It was like Nicole had never been gone.
Forty-Seven
ONE YEAR LATER
‘What if something happens, though? I mean, will I be unreachable?’ Alex asked anxiously as they pulled cases out of the cab’s trunk outside Heathrow Airport, Terminal Four.
Nicole plonked her case on the tarmac with a light slap. ‘What if you were? What would they need you for now? The movie is with numerous festivals. It’s finished.’
‘Not if they boo it at the screenings,’ Alex replied. ‘Then the distributors could come back and say, “Hey, your film is dogshit, you need to reshoot half of it, redo the edit completely.”’ The cab pulled away. Alex watched it go like she might chase it down and jump back into it.
‘I’ve seen the movie. That’s not gonna happen,’ Nicole told her confidently.
‘And what about you?’ Alex exclaimed. ‘What if you’re needed?’
‘I’m on my holiday. The series is locked,’ Nicole told her.
The series in question wasWormhole. And it had come about as per Alex’s prediction.Foundationshad been cancelled. Channel Seven had let it die. They couldn’t afford to keep it going, what with advertisers dropping off left and right, loathe to be associated with Ethan’s now infamous thievery.
Nicole had promptly gone in to pitch a TV show she’d been trying to get off the ground for a few years, a big, sci-fi epic that no one had the money for. UntilFoundationswas off the roster.
Once Nicole’s show was greenlit, she got the contacts of every last crew member ofFoundations. Any that were not already employed were offered a job, and they all gratefully accepted work onWormhole. They were an efficient and competent team, which was what Nicole had needed to pull off such a big show.
She was proud of the result and excited for it to air. But she was as nervous as Alex, truth be told. It was a big, expensive production and represented the next level for Nicole. She prayed it wouldn’t fail.
But Nicole didn’t worry about that too much. All in all, she felt hope. After all, she’d had a great year, the best of her life. And next year might be even better. She was getting married.
Back in the bad old days, when Nicole had found out her husband was a cheat, she’d been sure that was it. She would take off that ring and never put on another. But when Alex proposed a few months ago, Nicole could barely wait for her to finish the question before she said yes.
She wanted Alex to be her wife. She wanted to be Alex’s wife. She’d never known something so purely. As soon as she could divorce Ethan, they would book a venue for the wedding and celebrate with all and sundry a love that would never be kept secret for a second.
It shouldn’t be too long now; Ethan’s arrest and imprisonment were speeding it up somewhat. They’d found him in France, trying to buy a forged passport from what turned out to be a sting operation. Ethan couldn’t catch a break these days. He wouldn’t be catching any for at least seven years.
The house was up for sale. Ethan’s half of the proceeds would be held in the legal system, probably ending up back with Channel Seven eventually. But when the house did sell, Nicole would use her half to buy a new home with Alex. The old place had a lot of interest, so Nicole had emptied it already, donating most of the stuff to charity. All those expensive suits would fetch a pretty penny for good causes.
And while Nicole was clearing out the house, she’d happened to find a certain USB stick sitting loose in Ethan’s desk drawer. So much for hiding it somewhere she’d never find it. Nicole supposed that was the problem with being devious and lazy at the same time. Some little detail always tripped you up, and it was very far to fall. Nicole burnt the stick in the sink, holding her nose against the stench of melting plastic.
The chaos was behind them. In front of them was a wedding, a new home together, the future.
But before they did any of that, Alex needed a break. She was a stress ball in need of a squeeze. So Nicole had planned a surprise, something to help her wind down from completing her first feature-length movie.
Nicole wanted to wait until the last minute to reveal the nature of the trip, only telling Alex to pack casual clothes for warm weather. But the surprise had to be revealed pretty soon.
Nicole turned to Alex. ‘Hey, let’s get a coffee.’
‘And then you’ll tell me?’ Alex said, looking around the terminal wildly, trying to find clues. But she couldn’t see the departure board from where she was.
Nicole ordered their drinks from a stand. ‘It’s decaf,’ she said with a smile, handing Alex the drink.
