by Sandi Scott
“How weird.” Georgie shook her head in disbelief.
“Yup.” Stan gripped the steering wheel as he turned off Lake Shore Drive to make his way to Georgie’s neighborhood. “He said he just sprinkled the flower bits on Jason’s kale salad and watched him eat it right down.”
“Well, it may not be a scientific observation, but I’ve noticed anyone who eats kale willingly may not be running on all cylinders. That stuff tastes so bitter.” Georgie made a face, she was not on friendly terms with kale, no matter how many people said it was good for her.
"So is aconite. He probably just gobbled it all up. Didn't notice a thing until he was already flat on his back heading toward ‘The Light’."
When Stan pulled into Georgie’s driveway, she sat with him for a moment.
“You okay?” She touched his face gently.
"Robbie said that Hobbs was going to pull the funding for his next film—the money Jason had promised him when he agreed to fund This Summer. Each time Hobbs suggested a change that Robbie found unacceptable, Jason dangled that million-dollar carrot in front of him. What kind of a man operates like that?”
Georgie didn’t answer, but listened intently.
"What kind of a man plays so casually with another man's future? With his livelihood? To me, that's not a man at all." Stan ran his fingers around the steering wheel thoughtfully.
Georgie knew what Stan was thinking—that maybe Jason Hobbs got what he deserved. If he'd manipulated Robbie to do what he said at the expense of his film and causing everyone else on set to suffer, he'd done it to others. She recalled how Jason had spoken to Lorelei and the arguments Ryn had had with him.
“Would you like to come in for a coffee?” Georgie smiled. “I think I’ve got some pound cake in the freezer.”
Stan smiled broadly and winked at Georgie.
“You know I’d love to, but I’ve got to get to the station to get the paperwork started and you know how that goes. But, I’ll gladly take a rain check.”
“Okay.” Georgie squeezed Stan’s hand and climbed out of the car.
Once inside, with Bodhi yipping happily to see his mistress home at last, Georgie scooped up the dog in her arms and kissed his face.
“How’s my good boy, huh? How are you tonight?” she received several sneezes to the face in response. “Oh, good. How about some pound cake? Yeah? I think that sounds good, too.”
With all that she had been through on the set, Georige still definitely preferred the company of the four-legged friends to those in the film industry. She remembered the chow chows she was still trying to schedule a session with. Their owner, Lori, insisted on a live portrait, but they were never free for more than an hour at a time. Between doggy massages, adventure camps, beauty sleep and training school, they were over-scheduled like the spoiled children of some of the celebrities she had seen on set. Her time with the chows would come, and in the meantime, she had to resist the temptation to spend the entire deposit, just in case.
As Georgie sliced herself a piece of frozen pound cake, she wondered what would happen with the movie, This Summer. It would probably end up on a shelf somewhere, never completed. What a shame.
Chapter 16
"I can't believe they were actually able to finish this movie," Aleta said to Georgie as they strolled into the Roger Ebert Theater in downtown Chicago for the wrap party of This Summer. “It only took them two months. In the movie-business time that’s like three days.”
"I can't believe that Max was nice enough to get us on the VIP list. All I did was rent a movie, you know the one that he said mentioned him in the credits, and send him a quick email. The next thing I know we've got the special invite to the spa treatment, with goodie bags to boot!"
“You know what I really can’t believe? I can’t believe you wore that outfit,” Aleta teased. “At least if there is any kind of blackout, your outfit will glow and you can lead people to safety.”
“I’ll have you know this color is called chartreuse. It is a color that not many people can get away with wearing.”
“I’ll bet,” Aleta jabbed.
“I just didn’t want to look like I was attending a funeral, or off to a midnight board meeting, or something else just as boring,” Georgie shot back as she smoothed out the front of her skirt. “You should have asked me. I have another pair of fishnet stockings that would have looked lovely with your dress and given your whole ensemble a different look.”
“Yeah—early streetwalker!”
“Very funny.” Georgie slipped her arm through Aleta’s as they entered the theater. Once inside, the room was filled with all the people who worked on the movie.
The new director, Collin Boughbeck, was standing proudly with Ryn and Dustin as a couple of the producers and assistant producers shook their hands and talked with them.
“Oh, no,” Aleta quickly looked away. “I think Dustin saw me.”
“I think you should be thinking of it in a different way, Aleta. Dustin didn’t see you, you saw him. He’s got eleven toes. Why should you be the one who is nervous or embarrassed? If anyone should, it should be him.”
“I don’t want either one of us to be embarrassed—that’s the thing.”
“Well, I’m sure we’ll be able to skirt around him the entire evening so you won’t have to worry. Plus, we were invited to this. We aren’t crashing it.”
“GEORGIE!” SHOUTED A tall man, dashing out from a group of people, dressed handsomely in a gray jacket and tie with his beard trimmed and styled.
"Max!" Georgie opened her arms as if Max was her long-lost grandson and gave him a tight hug. "Aleta and I were just saying that we can't thank you enough for the passes to this event. You've got to be thrilled."
"Beck is a fantastic director, that is, Collin Boughbeck. He tells everyone to call him Beck. He encouraged the entire staff to come to the wrap party. Most of us were so glad the whole thing was completed, that anywhere there was free food, music, and a little alcohol," he said behind his hand, "we were going to celebrate." Plus, to have two of the classiest ladies I know as my guests, I'll be the talk of Tinsel Town."
He offered each sister an elbow.
"May I escort you ladies inside and introduce you around to some of the folks you haven't met?"
Georgie and Aleta gushed with excitement.
"I'll catch up to you two." Georgie pushed Aleta gently toward Max. "I'm waiting for someone. Since you gave us four passes I invited someone else to join us."
"Great," Max replied. "Aleta, how about I introduce you around and you can tell me what it has been like to have Georgie as your sister."
“Gladly, Max. I just hope your heart can take it.”
Georgie winced at Aleta’s words and shook her head.
“Don’t believe her, Max. My sister has a hard time differentiating fantasy from reality. She was dropped on her head as a baby and has been a liar ever since.”
Aleta stuck her tongue out as Max laughed. Georgie let them walk away, knowing that Aleta would not hold back when it came time to divulge some of Georgie’s escapades over the years.
She lingered by the entrance to the theater looking at all the people who worked on the film. Some of them were unfamiliar faces; others, she had seen diligently working high up on ladders under hot, heavy lights, or running back and forth with bits of costumes or bottles of water. Everyone had a job and now it was over until the next one.
“Georgie?”
Ryn tapped Georgie on the shoulder.
“Hi, Ryn. Don’t you look pretty?” Georgie smiled and rubbed the young woman’s arms. “This is an exciting party.”
“The wrap parties usually are.” She looked around nervously. “I wanted to apologize for the way I talked to you last time I saw you on the set. I was an absolute horror. You didn’t deserve that.”
“I’ve already forgotten about it, honey.” Georgie winked. “Besides, if I was subjected to what you were dealing with, I would have been wielding a machete.”
<
br /> “Yeah,” Ryn giggled. “When Beck took over you wouldn’t believe how things changed.”
“That’s what I heard.”
“He fixed my lines and really helped me step into my character. It was a wonderful experience. I do hope we’ll be able to work together again.”
“I’m sure you will. You seem like the kind of girl who gets what she wants,” Georgie smiled. “In your business, I think that kind of tenacity is worth more than gold. Good luck with it all.”
“Thanks, Georgie. Good luck to you, too.”
She turned and found her way back to Collin Boughbeck’s side. He handed her a flute of champagne and they talked like old friends.
Georgie didn't want to leave her place just yet. She lingered by the door, but out of the corner of her eye she could see the buffet tables were being loaded with dish after dish of food.
There was nothing on this earth strong enough to keep Georgie from checking out the sweets table. Before she could get to it, she heard her name being called again.
“Hi, Lorelei.” Georgie smiled. “They’ve got you doing the cooking for the wrap party?”
"I insisted." She waved at her as dozens of burgers and hotdogs were brought out on silver trays and laid on the tables. "Beck took a poll at the end of filming and everyone asked for picnic food. You weren't going to get a complaint out of me. I was so sick of the stuff Robbie was requesting that I could have puked. Pardon my language, but it’s true."
“Well, that’s fantastic!” Georgie encouraged.
“You want to hear something else that’s pretty fantastic?”
“Yes. Tell me.” Georgie leaned in closer.
“Since Robbie wouldn’t do anything with my script, I sent it off to a writers’ workshop for a critique. I expected the whole thing to be sent back covered in red ink with a don’t call us we’ll call you note, but they loved it. They are going to have me work with a script doctor, at no charge, and get it polished up. Once that's done, we're GoFunding it for production. With the name of a writers’ conference backing me I've got a really good chance of seeing it on the screen someday."
“Lorelei that is amazing. I am so happy for you.”
“Thanks. I’ve got to get back to work. I think the music is going to start soon. Oh, I don’t know if you are in the mood for sweets—”
“Always,” Georgie interrupted.
"But I've got apple pie, Italian ice in lemon and watermelon flavors, and homemade moorkop in the refrigerator and I'll be happy to set aside a couple for you, if you're interested."
"You mean, those little cream puffs with dark and white chocolate on them?"
"Those are the ones," Lorelei winked. “Just come and tap me on the shoulder when you are ready. The staff knows that the four in the fridge are for my very special guest who helped me out without asking for a dime."
“You are too wonderful, Lorelei. Thanks. I will come back for those. Right now, I’m waiting for someone.”
“Your date?”
“Yeah.” Georgie looked down at her watch. “His job keeps him working late sometimes. He’s missed some really fun things, but what can you do, right?”
Lorelei nodded.
“Well, I don’t know who your date is, but I think that cop over there is staring at you. I hope you didn’t park in a tow-away zone.”
Georgie turned around and saw Stan. He was wearing blue jeans with his beat-up cowboy boots, a crisp stark-white shirt, and a blazer. His salt-and-pepper hair was slicked back and he had a sly grin on his face.
“You look absolutely gorgeous,” he said to Georgie as he moseyed up to her.
“You are late.” She tapped her watch.
“Yeah, I apologize. I had to go to the drugstore and get a new set of razors. I was all out. There was no way I was going to show up looking all scruffy and unkempt.”
“Unkempt? How long have you been waiting to use that word?”
“I’m not a total savage, you know.”
“I know, not totally.” She slipped her arm through his and they began to walk toward where the DJ was setting up and people were milling around the dance floor.
“Any word on how Robbie is doing?”
“Actually, he’s got himself a good lawyer. His confession is pretty compelling, though. I won’t say that he’ll get off without any time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they give him the minimum and maybe a few years’ probation.”
“I guess that’s good, right?”
“I suppose.”
The music started and half the crew jumped on the dance floor laughing, twisting, hopping like kids in their first day of summer vacation.
“He’s going to get some therapy. Probably some help with the drinking he has been doing.”
“Yeah, I saw several empty bottles in his bedroom when I snuck in there.”
Stan stood back and looked searchingly at Georgie.
“Georgie, I have a question for you. How come when we were married you were happy to stay home, cook meals, watch movies on television, and be a homebody and now that we are divorced you are sneaking into strange men’s bedrooms and climbing into windows?”
“Well, you got to go on your adventure digging for gold while I was bringing up our three kids. I couldn’t go anywhere, even if I wanted to. Good thing at the time I didn’t want to.”
“So, it’s my fault?”
“No, Stan. I’m just a different person, like you are a different person. You are seeing what it’s like to love and lose someone. I’m learning what it’s like to spread my wings. See the difference there?”
A slow song came over the speakers. Several of the crew members paired off and danced close together, talking low, and clearly having a good time. Before Georgie could protest, Stan had his strong arm around her waist, practically lifting her up off the ground and over to the dance floor.
He spun her around to face him, pulled her tightly to his chest with one hand on the small of her back and the other holding her hand daintily in the air.
"You always were a good dancer," Georgie replied.
“Why, thank you, ma’am.”
Georgie looked over her ex-husband's shoulder to see Aleta dancing with Dustin Stetson. She was telling him something that was terribly funny for both of them. Georgie assumed it was about herself. Usually, those were the stories that brought Aleta to tears of laughter.
“So, what do you say we give it another try, Georgie?” Stan whispered in her ear giving her shivers.
“Give what another try?” she whispered back, enjoying playing hard to get.
“Us,” He breathed. “You know we are a good team. We just needed to mature a little bit. I’ve matured and I can sure tell you have.”
He started to slide his hand lower down her back to which she quickly took hold of his wrist and placed it back in its proper position.
“You are really too much, Stan.”
“You mean to tell me you don’t miss me at all? Not even a little bit?”
“I can’t miss someone I see a couple of times a week. If I need you, I can just dial 9-1-1.”
“That’s not the same. You know what I mean. Someone to wake up beside. Someone to go to sleep with. Someone to love.”
“That’s very sweet, Stan, but that’s why I’ve got Bodhi,” she teased.
Stan chuckled but looked deeply into Georgie’s eyes as if he was reading her mind.
She’d never tell him the truth that she missed him terribly.
THE END
Letter from the Author
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR reading. I hope you enjoyed this story and will consider writing a review on Amazon.com or lending it to a friend.
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ee books, advanced copies, and other fun stuff.
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Stay cozy,
Sandi
About the Book Cover
I am so grateful to my readers every day for reading my books, making it possible to keep writing. As a gesture of appreciation (and because it is really, really fun) – I feature a reader’s pet on the cover of each book in this series!
For each book, I host a contest where you can enter your fur baby to be the next cover model. I love seeing all your fur babies and reading their stories. The prizes of winning the contest are digital images of any artwork done of the winning pet, a free paperback copy of the book, and the opportunity to write the dedication to the book.
This month’s cover model is Casey. Casey's mom, Margaret, says the following about him:
We adopted Casey from our local humane society. He was so smart. You could almost see the wheels turning as he was trying to figure things out. He was quite the escape artist. He loved to steal your spot in the bed if you got up in the middle of the night. He loved chasing frogs that were around or in our pool but he never hurt them. When he got excited, he would spin in circles until he got his food or his leash on. Casey knew he was very handsome and if he saw a camera, he would run to get into the photo and was always front and center. He was sweet, smart, stubborn, and loved long walks in the freezing cold winters. We lost him in February 2017 at just shy of age 16. He will always be missed.
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT Casey's entry in the contest was that he's a camera hog, always trying to get his picture taken. What a perfect character for a book about making a movie! Plus, he's a stunner, don't you think?
To learn more about the cover model competitions for other books in the series, as well as information on how to enter your fur baby, visit http://www.sandiscottbooks.com/cover-models/
Preview: Cream Puff Murder
The following is a preview of book one in my other series, Seagrass Sweets Cozy Mysteries. It is currently available for free at all major ebook retailers.