Page 33 of Best Served Hot
Alex gave her a grateful nod. ‘Thanks, Kendall.’ She addressed the room. So, I’m AD’ing for our guest director, Nicole Penrose.’ She paused to gesture at the woman in question.
Alex didn’t say anything more, and Nicole realised she had to start talking now. ‘Hi, I’m Nicole. I’m directing this episode. I know it’s a tight ship, so I’m not here to get in your way, just guide you a little. Let’s make this a fun shoot,’ Nicole said vaguely. Everyone clapped politely. ‘That’s enough from me. Let’s get cracking.’
And on they got, banging out the first scene in about five takes. The crew were a fairly well-oiled machine, as well they should have been after a million years on the air.
The cast was somewhat greener, replaced more often, but hit all their marks. Nicole punched the scene up about as far as she could take it. Only Kendall was genuinely impressive, doing surprisingly well with bad dialogue.
Once the scene was finished and seemed passable, Nicole cut and asked for a reset to get the set ready for the next scene. They moved quickly and smoothly. Nicole was impressed with the efficiency, if not the quality of the product being produced.
Ethan appeared (dressed to kill in his favourite Armani suit) just before Nicole could call action on the second scene. For a moment, Nicole thought she’d got it wrong. Was he more present than she realised?
‘Hi, just thought I’d come down and see how it’s going,’ he said pleasantly to the studio.
Everyone’s reaction told Nicole the truth. They turned to him in shock and awe. It was as though the king had popped into the kitchen for a natter and a biscuit with the skivvies. Yeah, he wasn’t a regular down here.
‘It’s going good, thanks,’ Nicole said, fake smiling.
Alex stepped quickly to her side. ‘Oh. Hi, boss,’ she said to Ethan. She didn’t emphasise any particular word, but she managed to inject the sentence with dark meaning. Just three words, and Ethan looked scared.
‘Hi, Alex. How are you getting on with being on set? New to you, I imagine.’
‘I’ve been on the set before,’ Alex said.
Ethan’s smile widened. ‘No, I just meant… You spent more time in the office, so…’
‘Look, I need to go and check something about the shot list with DOP, so I’ll leave you to it.’ Alex said, bored. She walked off.
Ethan looked like he didn’t quite know how to react, and Nicole enjoyed it immensely.
‘So, is there something you need to know?’ Nicole asked him. ‘Because I’m trying to keep to time.’
Ethan looked at her, and Nicole felt him searching. Checking if anything might have been told to her that might make her want to have an expensive public divorce, for example. ‘Nope. All fine. Just came to say hello,’ Ethan said quickly.
‘Oh. Good. Right then,’ Nicole said and sat back down in her chair. ‘Last looks, please!’ she called, and the makeup artists snapped into action.
Ethan turned and walked away. Nicole discretely watched him go. He was staring at Alex talking to the DP. Nicole didn’t like the energy of that look at all.
***
Later, they broke for lunch. Nicole headed out to the food truck parked right outside the studio, Alex by her side.
‘He texted me,’ Alex said out of the side of her mouth after Nicole ordered her food.
‘What, when? What did he say?’ Nicole asked, grabbing a sandwich from the food truck guy.
Alex asked for a salad, and whilst the guy was getting it, she said, ‘He wants to meet in his office.’
‘When?’
‘Now.’
‘Jesus, Ethan. Give yourself the day off from conniving,’ Nicole muttered. ‘Let’s go sit and figure this out.’ They grabbed a table in the bustling seating area nearby. In amongst the din of everyone eating and chatting, it felt safe to keep talking. ‘Did you agree to meet him?’
‘I haven’t replied yet. He only texted during that last take.’
‘You wanna go? Find out what Mr Machiavelli wants now?’ Nicole asked, tucking into her food.
‘Absolutely,’ Alex said with an encouraging keenness, forking a bit of rocket into her mouth. She was finding her feet in this, and Nicole was glad to see. Alex chewed thoughtfully. ‘I wish…’ She stopped herself. ‘Never mind.’
