Chapter 136 Big Boss
Remarkably, Sarah did nothing all weekend to stir up trouble, at least not that Andrea detected. The race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway went off without a hitch. Case qualified well and ended up getting third place in the race on Sunday. While it wasn’t a win, it was good enough. Andrea was very proud of him, and he was happy with that as well. A racer she didn’t know well named Ted Gilmore was the winner. Stewart Antony had wrecked out early on. Charlie ended up getting tenth, which wasn’t bad at all for him.
Back on the set the next week, Andrea wasn’t sure what to expect. She’d gotten a phone call from Bernie over the weekend saying the studio was sending someone in to evaluate the progress of the film and determine what to do next. That wasn’t a good sign, as far as Andrea was concerned. Would they potentially shut down filming altogether? She felt like they were close to being finished. Even sending in a new director could be problematic if his or her vision was different than the one Cam had had.
She was in her costume, hair and makeup ready, when a group of men in suits walked in. She recognized the man in front right of way. It was the lead producer, Eugene Markson. He looked displeased to say the least. As he walked, he unbuttoned his jacket, as if the work he was about to get into was the type that might require a man to roll his sleeves up.
He looked at Andrea and nodded, but it was Bernie he was there to see. Stephon let out a low rumbly breath between his teeth. “He looks serious.”
“I’m sure he is,” Andrea said, wondering if they’d even get to filming that day. While Eugene spoke to Bernie with his hands on his hips, the rest of the suits stood behind him, arms folded as they listened to the conversation.
“Have you ever spoken to him before?” Stephon asked, casually leaning against the counter behind her where his makeup utensils were sitting.
Andrea nodded, but she didn’t really want to tell him about it. Like a few other things in her life, her experience with Eugene Markson was buried and should stay that way.
He’d been the one to make her sign the nondisclosure. After she’d been released from the hospital, when she could barely talk, he’d called her into his lavish office downtown and explained to her that she needed to sign it—if she ever wanted to work in this town again. Andrea remembered his words distinctly, and as they played back in her mind, her skin crawled, and her stomach twisted into a knot. “No one likes a troublemaker, Ms. Sparks.” He’d tapped the agreement with a thick finger. “If you wanna make sure you’re still a working actress in this town, you’ll sign this document, and we won’t have to worry about this little incident anymore.”
Of course, she hadn’t been included in that “we” because the incident in question had been on Andrea’s mind every day ever since it had happened. It seemed ironic she trusted Sarah more at the moment than she did Eugene.
After several minutes of talking to Bernie, Eugene gave him a stiff nod and then headed over to look at the set. The suits spread out, each of them looking around at the set, costumes, speaking to some of the set designers and other staff members, even some of the actors.
It took several minutes for Eugene himself to saunter over to Andrea. “Ms. Sparks,” he said, in his deep, rumble of a voice. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you. How are you?”
He snickered and then gave a sharp look to Stephon who excused himself. Andrea didn’t want to be left alone with Eugene, but she couldn’t show him her fear. “I should’ve known after the last time I let them hire you that it was bad news.”
“In fairness, Mr. Markson, I’ve made four other movies with your production company since our last problem. This is just the first time Sarah Lockton and I have been cast in the same film since then.”
His eyes moved slightly, which told her he was considering what she said, but he wasn’t about to concede his position. “Congratulations on your nomination. I’ve heard there’s a good chance you’ll win. I hope so. This movie is going to need something to pull it out of the darkness surrounding it. No one is going to want to see a movie riddled with the sort of catastrophes and shenanigans going on around the set like this one.”
Andrea didn’t necessarily think that was true. If anything, Cam’s arrest, and even Sarah’s, had gotten them a lot of free publicity. “I hope to win,” she said. What else could she say?
He gave another sharp nod. “Bernie will be directing for the next few days while Wilma Wallace finishes up another project. She’ll take over soon. I’m hoping we won’t need a lot of reshoots. I hear your film looks good.” He started to walk away. “Keep up the good work.”
“Thank you—Mr. Markson,” she called, not sure what had just happened.
Like cockroaches after the lights went out, the other suits scrambled from all over and followed him toward the door. Andrea felt relieved that he was gone. She was also excited she’d have a chance to work with the amazing Wilma Wallace. But for now, she just needed to concentrate on getting her scenes right. The less there was to finish when Ms. Wallace came on board, the less chances there would be that she’d want to start anything over, and this was one film Andrea was looking ready to ending.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
