by Eva Moore
She ran the shower as hot as she could stand and held her face beneath the stream, letting the water chase away her fresh tears along with her old mascara. If only the water could wash away the stain on her heart as well. She had really thought that things were going to be different with Adrian. Everything he’d made her feel was sharper and stronger than any man before. Unfortunately, that held true for pain as well as pleasure.
Enough. She had to push this aside and be professional. She soaped up on auto-pilot, towel-dried her body and hair, and put on a clean skirt and blouse. The routine of putting together her outer shell helped her shore up inside, too. Marginally coordinated, neat and tidy, she left her apartment and drove herself to work without waiting to see if Enzo or Frankie wanted a ride. Normally, living so close made it easy to spend time with her siblings, but today she needed the solitude to rebuild her defenses. She drove all the way to the office without turning on the radio, lost in her thoughts of how she would handle working with Adrian today. A day full of shooting filler scenes around the office would be hard, but she would handle it. She handled everything.
She pulled into the lot, aware that she was late, and prepared to make excuses.
“You look like hell.” Jake called her out on her appearance the moment he saw her. “Where the fuck have you been?”
“Sorry, I overslept.” She chose a technical truth over the whole story. If Jake found out about her breakup, he’d probably want to film her about it, and she was just too raw.
“Well, get into makeup. You can’t go on camera looking like that. Luckily, your parents are stuck in traffic, so we are running behind anyway.” He looked up from his clipboard and shot her a glare. “Why are you still standing here? Go!”
“Sheesh! What crawled up his butt this morning?” she muttered to herself as she obediently made her way to the makeup tent set up at the back of the parking lot. Natalie was there, finishing touch-ups on Frankie.
“Hey, I knocked this morning, but you didn’t answer. Spend the weekend at Adrian’s?”
Sofia sat back in her chair, casting a loaded glance at Natalie. She’d just as soon not have her breakup broadcast to the masses.
Natalie caught her meaning before Frankie did and laughed. “Oh, honey. I’m not miked, and unless you see Trina, there are no cameras here. I’m on par with your bartender or priest. We beauticians have an oath of secrecy as well.”
Sofia had to laugh at that, and it broke through her resistance. Natalie had become a fast friend during the last month of filming, and she might as well get it out now before she got her face all fixed.
“No, I didn’t see Adrian this weekend, and I’m not likely to again any time soon.”
Frankie turned to face her, much to the annoyance of the beleaguered makeup artist. “What does that mean?”
“Please, Frankie. Hold still.” Natalie swiveled the chair back to face the mirror.
“I don’t see why I need this crap on my face anyway. I’m a contractor, not some freaking model.”
“It’s so you look normal on camera. Now, I’m almost done. Hold. Still.”
“Fine.” Frankie turned back to the mirror, but didn’t let go of the question. “What do you mean by that, Fi?”
“It means that I think we broke up after dinner Friday.”
“No wonder you look like hell.”
“Thanks a lot.” She flipped off the mirror they were both staring at and immediately felt better, then turned her attention to the makeup genius. “Do you think you can hide it, Natalie?”
“No sweat, honey. I’m a professional. If I can make this mug look normal, yours is no sweat.” Natalie laughed and patted Frankie on the cheek. “That didn’t hurt too much, did it?”
Frankie answered with a smirk and turned back to Sofia, like a dog with a bone. “So why did you break up?”
“Short story—he doesn’t respect my opinions or my work. He expected me to fall in line with his plans just because we were sleeping together, damn the consequences to me or my family. If you want the longer version, you’ll have to wait for the red wine tonight, because I cannot afford to start crying again.”
“Well, if he was that much of an asshole, then good riddance. I wonder what this does to his plans to join the company.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll be damned if I answer to him as my boss. If he’s in, I’m out.”
“Your turn.” Natalie wrapped the paper bib around her neck. “It sounds like you need full armor today.”
“Waterproof everything.”
“You got it. Let’s knock him on his ass.”
Sofia closed her eyes, and relaxed as Natalie painted foundation on her face. She was definitely facing a battle today. It felt good to be pampered a little bit while she prepared her mental and physical armor. Even Frankie was quiet while Natalie worked her magic.
Sofia tried to pull her thoughts to the scenes they’d shoot today. B-roll, they called it, and they’d use it to fill in the transitions between big scenes and commercial breaks now that the pilot had been picked up. She wasn’t used to doing everything out of order, but she was learning fast. She had always picked up on things quickly. She just wished her dad respected that ability more. Instead he just thought that her job was easy, and that’s why she had stepped into the role seamlessly. After all, her mother had done it with ease as well. She hated what that said about her dad’s opinion of both of them. His casual disregard of her achievements burned. To have Adrian talk to her in the same dismissive way was the last straw.
Natalie was working on her eyes when Frankie piped up again. “So, you really think things are over?”
“I do. I won’t give myself to someone who doesn’t respect me.” Natalie’s hand paused briefly before resuming her blending of eye shadow.
“Well, it’s a shame that’s how you see me.” The deep voice rattled through her, and she kept her eyes closed out of mortification.
She’d been set up. She’d kill Frankie for this. Adrian sat in the chair next to her. She scrambled for a response. “What’s a shame is that I didn’t see that our relationship was dependent on your partnership deal.”
“I never hid anything from you.”
“What a crock.”
“You’re the one who went behind my back to convince your dad not to sell me part of the company. How is that not hiding?” Adrian stared her down in the mirror, and she wanted to cry at the anger and disappointment she saw there.
“I didn’t tell him not to accept your proposal. I asked him questions and told him I couldn’t decide one way or another until I had answers.”
“Mascara. Open up.”
Sofia blinked rapidly and raised her eyes to the ceiling, while the tiny artist expertly applied the finishing touches. She would not look at him and screw up all of Natalie’s hard work with tears.
Frankie chimed into the conversation. “She didn’t tell him not to sell, but I did.”
“What?” they both asked in unison.
“I want to run the building side of the business. I have worked damn hard to prove my worth to this company, even if Dad refuses to see it. I’m not going to sit quietly by while he sells away half of my business.”
“Lips.” Sofia held hers still while Natalie painted them, giving her a good reason to refrain from stepping back into the fray. Frankie was doing just fine.
Adrian tried to protest. “That’s not how it would—”
Frankie cut him off. “How would it? How exactly do you see this working?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to get Dom to talk about it.”
“Ha. Good luck with that. I’ve been trying to get him to talk to me about the future for years.”
“Camera in ten,” Jake bellowed from outside the tent.
Sofia pulled the paper bib off her shirt and rose as gracefully as she was able to on shaky knees and stilettos. “I’ll leave you two to hash this out. I’ve got scenes to shoot.” Happy to escape the tension of the tent, she gre
eted Jake at the front door of the office with a firm and fake smile plastered on her face.
Let the circus begin.
Chapter 24
Three weeks later
How long could she keep this up? Her brain was spinning, and her sketches were blurring before her eyes. She’d been at her desk since before eight, only getting up to go through makeup before filming two customer sessions at her desk. Even now, at four in the afternoon on a Wednesday, there was still no end in sight. In the three weeks since the show had started filming in earnest, her world had exploded. All of their active contracts were being converted to the show as the owners signed releases. Three crews would be filmed on separate houses to fill the season fast. New leads were being funneled through production assistants, too.
She was suddenly designing for three different teams, on six projects. They were hiring on an additional crew to handle the increase of work, too. On top of all the additional HR paperwork and design and ordering that needed to go through, she was lucky to see the light of day. It would all calm down. Soon. This was just start-up craziness.
She reminded herself that this was what she’d signed on for. After reworking the contracts to provide better compensation for the crews, better percentages on side-lines, and stipulations about designs in her name, she’d been able to get everyone to agree to the concessions that the production company wouldn’t budge on, like timelines and overrun caps. It had taken all of her negotiating skill, but she’d done it. Three days later an expanded crew had pulled up, and she hadn’t taken a full breath since.
She’d feel a lot better about her workdays if her nights were as blissful as they had been. But going home to an empty apartment had distinctly lost its appeal. She found herself staying later and later just to avoid the loneliness. Even though her heart was broken, she was proud of the way they were handling things. Post-breakup, she and Adrian had taken to avoiding each other as much as possible. She was determined that their split wouldn’t interfere with their working relationship. She refused to prove her father right.
They had barely seen each other since filming started. Adrian was kept as busy filming at the houses as she was here in the office. And tomorrow payroll was due. It was going to be another late night for her. She printed and rolled up the three designs she’d fleshed out today and dropped them in a tube to go to Adrian for inspection. She was worried because she hadn’t been able to wait for him to get to all of the inspections before starting because she had Jake breathing down her neck to film the client sit-downs. She had built more space into the budget and less detail into the plan this time. Hopefully, it would be enough.
When Enzo popped his head into her office, Sofia leaned back with a sigh.
“Now a good time?”
“As good as it’s gonna get.” She stretched her arms out in front of her. “What’s up?”
“Dad wanted me to ask if you had the payroll done yet.”
“Why doesn’t he pick up the phone himself?”
“Because he’s still pissed at you.”
“Did you need something while you’re here? Or are you just today’s whipping boy?”
“I have pictures of the front elevations on the two projects that requested my services, but I wanted to see if you had already decided to make changes to the exteriors before I order the plants and pavers.”
“Sure, which houses?”
“The Ong house and the Pichetti place.”
“Perfect timing.” She tossed him the tube. “I just printed them up. The Mitchell house is in there, too. In fact, if you’re heading out can you take those to Adrian after you look at them? I need his feedback before I order, too.”
“Are you two still not speaking?”
“I speak to him when I have to. I’m a professional. I’d just thought you could save me a step.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.”
“I need to get back to work. Since the answer to Dad’s question is no, I don’t have payroll done yet, it’s doubtful I’ll get out of here before ten.”
“Sure thing, sis. Don’t worry. It’ll calm down soon. I’ve got to say I like your designs so far. You’ve got a real eye.”
Sofia could feel the blush warming her cheeks. “Thanks, Enzo. That means a lot.”
“What do you think you’ll do after the show?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the show won’t run forever, and Dad is going to have to retire sooner or later. Nick and Seth got me thinking.”
“Thinking what?” As usual, pulling ideas from Enzo was like pulling teeth. Painful, and something she tried to avoid until she absolutely needed to.
“Incorporating separately from Valenti Bros. Just something I’m toying with. Thought I’d see what you think.”
“I think that’s a big step. Let me think about it a bit, pull together some data, once things calm down.”
“No rush.”
“No, there never is with you.” Enzo was not known for his impulsive behavior. Always cautious, always wanting to consider all the possibilities, his slowness to action was a long-standing family joke.
“Hey, I resemble that remark.”
Their shared laughter was interrupted by Natalie’s knock at the door. The makeup artist popped her head in without waiting for a reply.
“Oh! I’m so sorry to interrupt.” She blushed a fierce red.
The look on her face as she avoided meeting Enzo’s eye was part embarrassment, part panic, with just a hint of…longing? Interesting.
“I was just on my way out. Sofia, we need to add you for one more scene over at the Mitchell house tomorrow morning. Jake asked me to have you put it on your schedule.”
Almost before she had finished delivering her message, the tiny brunette had backed out of the office.
“Am I that scary?” Enzo’s eyes followed her out of the office.
Very Interesting. “Hmm, maybe to those who don’t know you’re a complete marshmallow on the inside.” Sofia pegged her brother in the arm, and he laughed.
“Very funny. See you tomorrow, sis. Don’t stay too late.”
“I don’t have much of a choice.”
Adrian glanced up as another truck pulled in the driveway of the Ong house. He’d sent the crew from the Hunter project home already. They’d put in a full day of work pouring a new concrete slab that would serve as the foundation for an outdoor living space. He was dirty and exhausted and beyond done with having a camera in his face. He’d decided to try and squeeze in another inspection, so he could get it to Sofia before she started planning on this one. He refused to let their breakup get in the way of him doing the quality work Dom relied on him for. He was mostly finished, but he wanted another look under the house before it got too dark.
When Enzo climbed out of the truck, Adrian happily conscripted him into service. “Hey, man. Here, hold this.” He tossed a powerful LED flashlight at the younger man.
“Sure. How’s this place shaping up?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute.” Adrian lifted the grate from the side of the house and stuck his head into the eighteen inches of space under the house. “Can you shine that light at the back of the house?”
Enzo knelt down next to the hole and complied. “What are you looking for?”
“I saw a suspicious dip over beneath the kitchen when I looked in here earlier but there was a glare from the sun.” Enzo helpfully angled the light toward the footprint of the kitchen. It was so nice to work with someone who knew what they were doing. “Thanks… Son of a bitch!”
“Hey. No need for name-calling. If you need me to move the light…”
“No. There’s a leak. A long-term slow leak, if the area of discoloration is any indication. Who knows how much damage has been caused above it in the walls…”
He crawled back out, and made a note in his pocket journal to add to his report.
“So, what brings you over here after quitting time?”
“I wanted to look at the house one mor
e time, this time with Sofia’s plans, to see what will be changing before we get started ordering things.”
“Sofia’s plans? For this house?”
Enzo tossed the cardboard tube to Adrian, who caught it by reflex since his brain was currently spinning.
“Yeah, she asked me to bring them over to you. She said there are ones for the Mitchell, Ong, and Pichetti houses in there.”
What the hell? They’d talked about this. She had promised not to do any more design plans without consulting with him first. This was why they’d had so many problems on the Shah house. And she’d done it, not once, but three times? He clenched his hands around the tube of prints, trying not to let his anger show and failing miserably.
Enzo held up his hands and backed away toward his truck. “I’m just the messenger.”
“Are you gonna look at these or not?”
“Are you gonna punch me in the nose or not?”
“Not mad at you. Let’s get this over with.” Adrian briskly unrolled the plans for the house in front of him, mentally overlaying the existing structure onto the schematic drawings in front of him. He handed the front of the house drawing to Enzo and focused on what was left. She wanted to take down another wall between the kitchen and dining room and reconfigure the master bedroom to add an en suite bathroom. Damn. Given what he suspected was going to be extensive pipe replacements, changing the plumbing at the back of the house as well was going to be expensive. He really hoped she hadn’t shown these plans to the homeowners yet. There was no way all of this was going to fit in the budget or the timeline for this house. “You good, man?”
“Yeah, I’m all good.” Enzo handed back the front page. “Nothing too dramatic for me out here.”
“That’s good because we are going to be right up against the budget on this project.”
“What’s new?”
“The fact that it’s your sister designing it, and I’m going to have to tell her no.”