She picked up the phone and called Bob back. All of the details would have to be taken care of for this. And what did Bryan think?
Someone picked up on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hello. Is Bob there?” Kelly held her breath. Maybe she should have waited to call.
“Hold on. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Kelly Marshall. I’m returning his call.” The phone was put down, and it was a second or two before Bob picked up.
“Hi, Kelly. You received my message?”
“Yes,” she said shortly. “And I would like to know what Bryan and the staff think.”
Bob heard the annoyance in her voice and worked to tread lightly. “They think it’s a wonderful idea. The storyline is huge. You know that. Anything we can do to make it bigger will put us over the top.”
“And that includes using me any way they can?”
“Kelly.” Bob lowered his voice. “You’re the star of the show. Bryan is trying to showcase that. These are all just a means to an end. And when it’s done, you won’t have to go through this again. C’mon. It’s a great idea.”
“I’ll think about it.” Her voice was shrewish even to her own ears. “I’ll talk to you Monday.” She hung up the phone before he could get another word in.
Temper snapped at the edges of her sanity. What more did they want? Hell. They had her right where they wanted her. Sure, it would work better with her permission, but what did they care?
A buzz in her living room announced someone was at her gate. Kelly walked over and pressed the intercom.
“Hello,” she snapped.
“Hello, Kelly. It’s Wilda. May I come up?”
Kelly buzzed her in and walked down the driveway to greet her. She could count on one hand the number of times she had let a coworker come to her house. A red Cadillac rolled up her driveway and stopped about twenty feet from her. And then Wilda stepped out.
She waved at Kelly and reached behind her to pick something up. When she turned, her arms were full of bags. Kelly hurried down to help her, and Wilda smiled.
“I wasn’t sure if you would be home. But I wanted to stop by and see if there’s anything you needed.” Her hair was pulled up on top her head with tendrils falling out and framing her face. She wore a light green sundress that fell to just above her knees. Kelly looked down at her shoes and sighed. Beautiful. They were delicate and strapped around the ankle.
Wilda laughed as she saw the direction of Kelly’s gaze. “I see you’re fond of shoes, also.”
“Fond would be putting it mildly. Come on up. I’ve just made a pie.”
Wilda followed Kelly through the garage and into her house. It was simple and elegant. The artwork on the walls was subtle and muted. Garden portraits mostly. The hallway was lined with them. There was one which stopped her in her tracks.
“Kelly.”
Kelly turned at her name. “Yes?”
“Where did you buy this one?”
Kelly studied the painting Wilda stopped next to. It was a garden overflowing with flowers. There was a path in front of four women who had their arms around each other’s waists. The women were positioned with their backs to the artist. They wore long flowing robes of varying colors. The artist picked up the camaraderie and love. The women had their arms around each other as if it was the only support in the world they had or needed.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I picked it up at a flea market downtown. It was a steal.”
Wilda turned her radiant eyes toward Kelly. “I bet it was.” She stepped away from the portrait and followed Kelly into her living room. Everything in Kelly’s house was organized. There were light bookshelves and an entertainment center. The couches were overstuffed, caramel creations. It was cozy and comforting.
Kelly put down her bag and motioned for Wilda to do the same. “What’s in them?”
“Ah. I thought you could use a few items of luxury for yourself. I would hate for Felicia to have all the fun.” Wilda reached inside the first bag and brought out silvery crystals housed in a glass container. The rocks sparkled in the light.
“They’re beautiful,” she whispered.
“For your bath.” She then proceeded to empty both bags and left Kelly speechless.
There was another glass jar filled with pearl-sized beads that were translucent and polished. Two candles were placed beside the beads, and Kelly picked them up to smell them. The fragrances were soothing and pleasant. And then two sets of silk pajamas. One crimson. One cobalt. Wilda smiled as she pulled out the matching slippers.
“You didn’t have to do this.” Kelly grinned at her personal assistant. “But it’s just what I needed today. I’ve had a bit of irritating news.” Her smile faded.
“What is it?”
Kelly motioned to the couches, and they both sat down. “Bob called. Apparently there’s more to this storyline than I originally thought.” She grimaced. “I’m supposed to help the set designer come up with my castle.”
“But won’t it be nice to help create it?”
“He tried to run me over.”
“What?” Wilda’s eyes grew large.
Kelly shook her head. “It’s complicated.”
“Kelly. You cannot say something like that and expect me to forget it. What happened?”
She started with the bed scene with Matt and finished with the realization that the set design guy wasn’t supposed to be there and witnessed her utter humiliation.
“Won’t the whole world see Felicia with Matt?”
“Yes.” Kelly stood up and began pacing. “And that’s fine. Felicia is a backstabbing, bed-hopping bitch. I know that. But I’m not.”
Wilda studied Kelly and pried a little deeper than the surface. The newspaper article flashed in her mind, and she knew that was part of the problem. And so was Matt. She dug a bit farther, being sure not to press too hard, when she saw another one.
Sloan bothered her.
Wilda hid her grin and tried to concentrate on the problem at hand. “This set guy. Sloan.” She slid his name into the conversation. “If Bob thinks he can handle it, why don’t you let him?”
“He can handle anything he damn well pleases, but he won’t handle me.” Kelly walked into the kitchen and cut the pie into eighths. “Bryan and Bob put their heads together. And you know what brilliant plan they’ve come up with?”
“No.”
“I’m supposed to open myself up to the set guy and tell him what I want. I have to be personal with someone I don’t even know.”
“And you don’t like that?”
“Shit.” Kelly tossed the knife into the kitchen sink and brought two pieces of pie back to the couch. She handed a fork to Wilda and ate a bite of her piece. Her eyes closed in bliss. They opened slowly, and she smiled. “Reminds me of home.”
Wilda took a bite and grinned at Kelly. “It’s delicious. A family recipe?”
“My mother’s. That woman can bake anything.”
They ate in silence, and Kelly tried not to concentrate too closely on her options. The two that she had. Do it. Don’t do it. And wasn’t she a professional? Didn’t she handle stuff like that everyday? Letting people see what she wanted them to see? The answer came to her quickly. She would play a part. The set guy would have what he wanted, and she wouldn’t have to let him in.
“You look pleased,” Wilda observed.
“I’ve found a way to make everyone happy. And I’m going to get my castle.” Wilda stayed until four o’clock and made her excuses. Kelly watched her drive away and walked back inside. One more day of freedom and then back to work. But at least she had a plan now. And it was going to work like a charm.
* * * *
Kelly drove herself to work Monday morning to the tunes of Toby Keith. He was her hometown boy. And anybody with that kind of sense of humor had to be from Oklahoma. She sang along through traffic and finally pulled into the lot.
After she parked her truck, she walked pa
st Mike and into the enormous soundstage. Her good mood quickly dissipated. Bob, Bryan, and the set guy had their heads together by the house set.
Kelly walked over and made her presence known.
“Hi.”
All three heads popped up, and she smiled. “Working out a plan?”
Bryan smiled complacently. “I believe we have. How long has it been since you’ve had a vacation?”
The words took her completely off-guard. “Excuse me?”
“A vacation, Kel. A chance to go back East and see your folks.”
Her mother’s voice rang in her head, but she kept a blank face. “I went last year. Why?”
She studied each of the three men in turn. Bryan looked smug. Bob looked hopeful. And the set guy looked disgusted. His mouth was tightened into a flat line, and his dark eyes were narrowed.
“I don’t want any part of this. I signed up to help with the set design. I didn’t sign on for this.”
“Now, Sloan.” Bob held out his hands. “You know I can’t do it. I have to supervise things here.”
“I have work, too.” Sloan’s voice was deep and irritated. “But that seems to have escaped everyone’s attention. And besides, there has to be hazard pay or something for this.”
“What?” Kelly’s eyes searched each of theirs.
Bryan smiled again. “For taking you home.”
Chapter 6
Kelly heard the words, but at first they didn’t register. She looked in disbelief at her producer, and her words spilled out in a snarl.
“You want me to take some man I don’t know home to my parents? Have you lost your fucking mind? Do you honestly think you can manipulate every aspect of my life?”
Sloan winced at her tone, but he knew the feeling. Being manipulated was no one’s picnic. He watched in fascination as the petite woman in front of him geared up to chew someone’s ass. She appeared to grow before his eyes. He was beginning to understand the presence she had on the television. Thankfully, he was only a bystander.
“You.” She poked Bob in the arm. “You said I only had to go over what I wanted with him. There was no mention of taking him home.” Kelly turned on her producer. “And you? You are unbelievable. Trying to script my personal hours now?”
“And you.” She turned to Sloan with fire in her eyes. “If you think you’re getting a free fucking peep show again, you better think twice.” Kelly whirled around and stalked off to her dressing room.
Bryan smiled cheerfully. “That went better than expected.”
Sloan looked in disbelief at the producer and growled as Kelly’s words hit home. The reference to her scene yesterday lit his fuse, and he started toward her dressing room when Bob took his arm.
“Come on, Sloan. We can discuss it in my office.”
* * * *
“Who in the blue hell does she think she is?” Sloan paced the office. The anger lit in his belly and made him itch to grab a hold of Kelly and make her see the truth. He didn’t need a peep show. Especially from a bitch like herself. Women like that were a dime a dozen.
Bob watched his brother-in-law pace the office and slowly begin to simmer down. He knew Bryan was bound to pull something like this sooner or later. He simply thought he could nip it in the bud before it got out of hand. Guess not.
“Sloan. Please. You know why I brought you into this. You’re one of the best. That’s what Bryan wanted for his soap. And you love doing it.”
Sloan sank into a chair. It wasn’t building the sets that was annoying him. It was spending time with that witch in the other room. She thought she could verbally decimate him like he was one of the characters on the set? Like fucking hell. Given a second chance, he would make her eat every one of those words. His thoughts flashed to the scene on Friday when she was in bed with her boyfriend. It was an image he couldn’t get out of his head all weekend. And that pissed him off, too. What in the hell is this job doing to me?
He ran his hand over his face wearily and looked at Bob. “I don’t like her. She shrieks. She’s unpleasant. And she’s spoiled. Deadly combination. Can’t you do this?”
“I’m sorry. We have three more sets imperative to sweeps. Bryan won’t let anyone else touch them but me.” He watched Sloan brood. “She’s not that bad. You two just don’t seem to get along.”
“You think?” Sloan’s voice was sarcastic and hard.
“Think about it. Give it a week. Bryan won’t want her to go for another of couple of weeks anyway. She has scenes to shoot and a couple of appearances to squeeze in. Just think about it.”
* * * *
Kelly slammed her dressing room door with enough force to rattle its hinges. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! She should have known sweeps would mean rampant stupidity on the lot. Her foot connected with the door, and she cursed. Hobbling to her chair, she sat down and began rubbing her toes.
Wilda knocked lightly and stepped in.
Kelly’s green eyes blazed as she looked at her personal assistant. “People suck,” she announced firmly, still rubbing her toes.
“On occasion.”
The mild tone and bland look made Kelly chuckle. She sat back in her chair with her eyes closed and groaned. “I love acting.”
“Yes.”
“But I hate being told what to do nonstop. Isn’t there a limit?”
Wilda watched Kelly struggle with her problem. She could peek, but she wanted Kelly to tell it herself. “What is wrong?”
“Bryan’s brilliant idea. You know. The one where the set guy and I collaborate?”
“Sloan,” Wilda prodded.
“Yeah. Him. Anyway. That apparently has been widened to include taking him home with me to the farm.”
Ah. Wilda fought her excitement down and focused on her mortal’s feelings. “You find it intrusive?”
“Hell yes.” She groaned. “It’s my family. I don’t take people home to meet my family.”
“Are they that bad?”
Wilda’s question made Kelly chuckle. “They’re that good.” She opened her eyes and met Wilda’s emerald ones. “I don’t want to corrupt them with all this fictitious bullshit. They’re real. They’re the only real things in my life.”
* * * *
They discussed it a little more while Wilda helped Kelly dress for the scene. Today was a blowout with Felicia and Christian again. The young man was her love interest for sweeps week. And he was built like someone was having a good day.
Christian was olive-skinned with beautiful, dark blue eyes. He was almost six feet tall with high cheekbones and flawless skin. His black hair was shoulder length and straight. It was fine and felt glorious on her fingertips. She had actually asked to feel his hair, and he had laughed and told her to go for it. God, he was pretty. And he was young. That was a bonus. A lot of viewers were sick of seeing older men and younger women. They wanted it the other way around. And then Bryan had an idea.
The next thing Kelly knew, there was Christian. He was handsome and strong. And it gave her co-stars something else to be jealous about. Because he was destined to warm Felicia’s bed. And her heart.
Kelly finished wardrobe and make-up. She walked onto the set and waited for her turn. Christian was waiting for her, and she waved and walked over. On the way, Matt stepped up to her and blocked her path. She scowled up at him.
“What?” she hissed.
“I tried to call you this weekend.”
“Matt. I am not attending any functions with you. Period.” The newspaper article flashed before her. She leaned up very close to his ear and whispered, “And if I find out you’re leaking stories to the newspapers about me, you’ll be sorry.” She stepped back and walked around him.
Christian grinned and opened his arms. Kelly walked into them and grinned back. There was no sexual tension between them. He had a girlfriend he adored at home, and Kelly loved that. But they brought chemistry to the scenes they were in. His screen test was incredible. They fed off each other, and Bryan was beside himself. He found
his perfect couple.
Bryan yelled, “Cut!” and the actors in the scene left the stage. They rolled the cameras into place and motioned to Kelly and Christian. “Okay, you two. I want sex. I want need. I want heat pouring off of both of you.”
Kelly licked her lips and gave Christian her most smoldering stare. “Come here, little boy.” She crooked her finger. “Want some candy?”
* * * *
All the men in the room broke into laughter. But Sloan wasn’t one of them.
He was working on dimensions for another set when Kelly walked onto the floor. She walked over to Matt first and pressed herself up against him to whisper in his ear. And then she moved into the bronze boy’s arms.
Her mere presence was distracting him. Not to mention the sight of her strapless tight dress. It was cut low and showed off her assets nicely. The dress was forest green and short. It would have been a shirt on a taller woman. Her red hair was twisted and tucked on top of her head. The shoes on her feet added a couple of inches to her beautiful legs.
Damn Bryan. The last thing Sloan needed was to deal with a Daytime Diva who loved to slide into any bed available. He blocked the image of her semi-naked body in bed before it had a chance to pop up again. She was driving him crazy.
Bryan had everybody take his or her marks, and he began filming.
Sloan watched in spite of himself. Kelly was sitting at a desk doing paperwork when the bronze boy came in. She sniped at him. Asked him how he got past her security. And he moved closer. Sloan could feel the chemistry in the room. Kelly stood up and told him to leave. He strode over and pulled her to him. His fingers plucked the clip out of her hair, and Kelly’s glorious hair tumbled into his hands.
And then he kissed her. It was long, slow, and thorough. And when the boy stepped away, the color rode high in Kelly’s cheeks. She was excited. And furious. There was more shrieking, and she finally called security. By the time they arrived, the boy was gone.
“Cut!” Bryan was almost in ecstasy. “Our viewers are not going to know what hit them. God, that was brilliant.” He rubbed his hands together as if already counting his viewers before they hatched.
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