Chapter 45 No One Else Can Take Your Place
Pressed for time, Jessica used her cellphone to snap a couple of photos of the scene, capturing both vehicles as evidence. She was about to call for a ride when she saw a taxi with passengers inside but with room for more. Judging by its direction, it is heading towards the Film and TV City. Deciding to share the ride, she flagged it down.
Before getting into the cab, she left Nicholas with a message, "I'm leaving my car here. You call for a tow truck to take it away. I've got to go; I have urgent matters to attend to. We'll get in touch later to settle this."
They both had their cell numbers displayed on temporary parking permits on their cars. She had already taken pictures of everything she needed, and after her business was concluded, she would reach out to settle the whole mess.
Jessica got into her car and left without uttering another useless word. She didn't want to waste any more time talking to him.
Nicholas stood in disbelief about where he had been left, first watching the direction in which the cab carrying Jessica vanished, then turning his gaze back to her white Audi.
Were all women like this nowadays? Were they all so fierce in their manner, so ready to abandon a car at a moment's notice, without even discussing compensation for damages, just walking away?
Suddenly, as if a thought struck him, Nicholas unexpectedly chuckled. He pulled out his cellphone and snapped a photo of both cars, then opened Skype to send it to the Harriman family's butler, followed by a voice message.
"Tell Michael something came up on the way, a fender-bender. I'm responsible for the damages to the other car, so I have to get it sent for repairs. I won't be making it to the opening ceremony," he said, closing Skype with a satisfied whistle as he gazed at the two vehicles in front of him.
At the opening ceremony, the director, producer, and two lead actors typically needed to participate; Jessica stood on the right-hand side of the crowd, not required to step forward.
Mackenzie had mentioned assigning an assistant to Jessica a couple of days ago, but she needed more time to meet them. Just earlier, her new assistant called asking where Jessica was.
After watching the ceremony from the sidelines for a while, Jessica finally met her new assistant. It was a young girl fresh from her junior year of college, sporting a neat ponytail and round glasses. She greeted Jessica with a respectful nod, "Hi Jessica, I'm Zoey!"
The new assistant radiated a kind of innocent freshness, unlike the savvy assistants seasoned by the industry. She stepped forward to help Jessica with her belongings, then pointed to a small minivan parked nearby, "This is the vehicle the production has arranged for you. You can rest in it between scenes. I've checked it thoroughly; although it's not big, it's clean and quite comfortable for short breaks!"
The production arranged the vehicles in an order reflecting the actors' status. The lead actor had the largest RV, the second lead—if popular enough—also had a sizable one, and the supporting cast usually got business vans or minivans.
With filming about to commence, one of the opening scenes required Jessica's presence on camera. To get the actors into character quickly, the first scene involved an intense confrontation between the first and second female leads. For Jessica, this scene was crucial.
She slipped into her role with ease. Having memorized her lines well in advance, she was prepared to perform even in the demanding wirework scenes. Many of the actors and crew were worried about this newcomer holding up on her first big scene, but Jessica felt ready to prove herself.
In the same scene, the action instructor and Sebastian Murdock were not concerned at all. Watching the scenes captured on camera, it was clear that Katarina, the character played by Jessica, was fully absorbed in her role as she executed a spell, her enchanted sword cutting through the air. If it wasn't for the leading lady having trouble acclimating to the harness for the flying scenes, the take would have been perfect. However, due to her discomfort, the scene needed to be reshot.
No matter how many takes they reshot, Jessica maintained her composure from the first take.
Director Joseph quietly gave a thumbs-up to Sebastian Murdock from behind the camera.
It was evident why Murdock had placed his trust in Jessica.
It was fortunate that Jessica was kept on board; she was Katarina, irreplaceable by anyone else!
