Page 26 of Best Served Hot
‘It just says, “We need to talk,”’ Alex said, holding up her phone.
Nicole read those four words and tutted. ‘Drama queen.’
‘What shall I say back?’
‘We’ve got a meeting in five. It’s gonna have to wait,’ Nicole said, checking her watch. ‘Let him stare at his phone all afternoon, waiting to see.’
Alex nodded. ‘Yeah, OK. He can keep that sweat pouring till we’re ready.’
Nicole grinned at Alex, feeling fortunate that she was by her side in this. ‘Alright, let’s get to this meeting. We can talk afterwards about the next move.’
Alex got up and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. ‘I can’t believe we have to make an episode of television amidst all this.’
‘That reminds me, fair warning, I might be getting into it with the lighting department. Every episode of this show I’ve ever seen is completely overlit. I can’t let them do that. Not this ep. It’s ridiculously oversaturated.’
‘You might run into some difficulties there,’ Alex said. ‘The lighting department has very strong feelings about brightness levels. The gaffer, Clyde? He’s always banging on about how he’s sick of all shows being too dark these days, so he’s made it his mission to blow everyone’s eyeballs out.’
Nicole's shoulders dropped. ‘That sounds like a fight waiting to happen.’
Alex and Nicole walked out together. ‘One thing I do know about Clyde is that he’s obsessed with timekeeping,’ Alex told her. ‘Argue with him right until the meeting ends, and he might make some concessions just so he can leave. You won’t get exactly what you want, but we might be able to make this ep look a bit less like it needs a laugh track.’
Nicole smiled. ‘The old filibuster, eh? Thanks for the tip.’
***
‘Jesus, that was tiring,’ Nicole said as they walked out of the meeting. ‘I don’t like that man a bit. I could practically feel him trying not to call me “Young lady” the entire meeting.’
‘Ethan calls him old school,’ Alex said sourly. ‘But you beat his ass today. It was lovely to watch.’
Nicole grinned. ‘I’m not sure I’d call it a full smackdown. It was a marginal victory at best.’
‘You take what you can get on this show,’ Alex said knowingly.
Nicole gave her a warm look. ‘Luckily, I have a secret weapon.’
Alex gave Nicole a half-smile. ‘And here’s me thinking I’m just useful for setting scumbag husband traps,’ Alex said.
‘Speaking of which…’
‘Yeah,’ Alex said, keener than the start of the day. She was finding her feet in this. ‘Let’s talk strategy.’
Eighteen
Alex felt a little funny having Nicole in her flat. Standing in the living room, looking around at her decor, she looked out of place.
Alex was meeting Ethan to talk in person about “things,” convening at her flat for the showdown. Nicole would be listening from the bedroom, which made it feel even odder. Because Alex slept with Nicole’s husband in that very room. Surely that would be on Nicole’s mind?
She considered telling Nicole how mediocre it had been. ‘I know I accidentally destroyed your marriage, but I want you to know it wasn’t even that fun.’ Yeah, maybe not.
But if Nicole was thinking about all that, she wasn’t showing it. ‘Nice place.’
‘It’s tiny.’
‘It’snice,’ Nicole repeated. ‘I like the artwork.’
The place was covered in film noir movie posters. Alex had never felt silly about that before today. But having Nicole in her flat made it feel pretentious. Nicole’s compliments were making it worse.
She felt like she was getting a pat on the head from a grown-up and told her shitty little crayon picture was lovely. Which was weird because there were only ten years between them. So why did it feel like she was the kid?
