Billionaire's Threat (2 page)

MADDIE

With rehearsals ending the week before, we’d finally reached the point where filming was set to begin. To celebrate, Grey organized a big party to kick things off. Everyone was there, including Grey, of course, and Katy, along with my co-stars, most of the crew, the director and producers. Grey was of the mindset that making a movie was just like running a successful business and events like this would bring us closer as a team.

And speaking of business, I was able to turn the day-to-day operations of the concierge business over to Carmen with the additional understanding Grey would handle emergency decisions, if required. Grey also agreed we would postpone any further talk of expansion until filming wrapped. At least I didn’t have any of that to be concerned about for the moment, which was good, because I was under enough pressure and, ugh, still not feeling well.

In fact, it was about an hour into the party when the nausea hit me again. After my talk with Katy when I discussed my pregnancy fears, I got so busy with trying to get everything ready for my transition to the movie, it slipped to the wayside. I won’t say I
forgot.
But I decided to see if my condition would improve on its own as opposed to doing what I would normally do in a situation like this, which is to
freak out
.

Anyway, Katy and I were talking with film’s director, Susan Milton, when I felt the first wave of it. Saliva began to collect in the corners of my mouth as the familiar sour taste I’d dealt with recently rushed back into my awareness.

“Excuse me,” I said, as I turned to go the ladies’ room.

“Maddie,” Katy said as I turned to walk away. “Do you need me to come with you?”

“No.” I replied, with last shred of calm I could summon. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Do you want us to get you anything when the hors d'oeuvres come around?” Susan asked. “It looked like there were some yummy Swedish meatballs and foie gras on tiny toasts. I can save you some.”

Oh God.

“No. No, no, no.” I said, as I took off in a near trot to the women’s room.

“Maddie… Maddie!” I heard Katy call out from behind.

Ignoring her and feeling more lightheaded with each step I took, I raised my hand to my lips to stifle the inevitable until, hopefully, I could reach a stall. I touched my face, which had turned clammy and cool and prayed to God I could make it before I vomited in the hall.

Somehow my luck held out until I made it to the stall in an unoccupied bathroom, which uh, I was so grateful. Without going into all the gory details, it was a particularly bad episode. My right hand shook so much when I tried to open the stall door, I had to cover it with my left hand to keep it steady enough to open the latch.

Still lightheaded, I ambled to the bathroom sink to wash up and got a look at myself in the mirror. I touched my face, just beneath my eyes, and leaned in for a closer look.

“Jesus,” I muttered. “I look like hell.”

Just then, I heard the bathroom door open with a groan. Casting a quick glance, I noticed it was Katy. I pretended to be fine, reached in my purse to grab my lipstick and popped a breath mint. Don’t even get me started on how many of those I went through in a week now. They were practically a food group at this point.

Katy walked up behind me. “Maddie, are you okay? Are you still getting sick?”

Peppermint cooled my tongue as I swallowed. Clutching both sides of the sink, I replied, “I’m fine. Yes.”

“Oh honey.” She walked over to the paper towel dispenser and grabbed a handful. Afterward, she came over to the sink, moistened a couple of them with cold water and then dabbed them across my forehead. It felt so good I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it myself.

“Why are you procrastinating about this, Maddie? No good can come of it.”

“About what?”

“You know
about what,
” she whispered. She paused and glanced around the restroom.

“No one else is here.”

“Okay,” she began, as she returned her attention to me. “About, well, you know.
The baby.
”

Not wanting to go there with her, I ignored Katy, shook my head and leaned in close to the mirror to apply my lipstick.

“There’s no way I’m pregnant, Katy. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m on the pill for God’s sake!”

“They aren’t foolproof, Maddie. You know better. And anyway, you said yourself you couldn’t remember the last time you had your period.”

I put my lipstick back in my purse. After zipping it up, I shrugged.  “Well, that still doesn’t mean anything. You know I don’t have the most regular periods in the world. Look, I need to get back out to the party.”

Unconvinced, Katy pursed her lips and crossed her arms at her chest.

“Oh, no you don’t,” she said. “Don’t shut me out. We’re not done talking about this, Maddie!”

“I’m not shutting you out!” I replied in a loud whisper. I glanced past her towards the bathroom door to make sure no one was coming inside. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because you don’t believe
yourself
, Maddie. If you’re so sure you aren’t, then why don’t you go to the doctor and find out? I mean, you’re about to start filming a
movie
now. You don’t expect to work in this… state, do you?”

“What do you mean?
This state?
” I fired back. “For your information, there haven’t been any problems at all while I’m working. Rehearsals have been fine and besides, I usually get sick earlier in the day. We’re not scheduled to start filming until ten or eleven most days.”

“Uh huh,” Katy began as she checked the time on her phone. “Well it’s a little past eight o’clock at night right now and here we stand. Look at you! Your color is awful, you’re sweating. Do I need to keep going?”

“No, Katy. You don’t. Okay? I get it. You want me to go the doctor.”

“What I don’t understand is why you won’t. Maddie, if you are pregnant and there’s something wrong with you… A part in a movie isn’t worth your health. You’re acting crazy!”

“There’s nothing wrong!” I exclaimed. “Uh, I don’t have the time right now to go running to the doctor. Jesus, Katy, it could be anything. Stress, I haven’t been sleeping all that great, stuff like that. In fact, I’m almost sure that’s what it is, since all of this began right after we finished rehearsals.”

Katy pursed her lips and shook her head but didn’t respond.

“Look, for the first time in over
five years
, things are finally, finally,
finally
going my way. I’ve got a freaking lead role in a movie, which, with any luck, will turn into more work in the future. And even Grey and I, we’re getting along. We haven’t argued in a while. I don’t get why you are so intent on ruining that for me.”

Katie grimaced. “Maddie, that’s ridiculous. You know I would never do that. You’re my best friend. I’m concerned about you. I’m not trying to ruin your dreams of acting.”

“Well, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh because of what I said about acting being foolish?”

I shrugged.

“Maddie, that’s stupid. Take that back right now.”

“Why should I?”

“Fine.” Katy said as she turned to leave. “Whatever, Maddie.”

My eyes widened.
Uh! What is wrong with me?!

“Katy, wait,” I begged. “Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please!”

She stopped short of the door. Without turning back to face me, she exhaled and said, “I don’t want to fight with you, Maddie. Right now, I’m the only friend you’ve got.”

Full of shame, I listened but didn’t reply.

She turned back around to face me.

“Here’s the deal.” She walked back in my direction. Pointing at my stomach she continued, “Sooner, rather than later,
that
will give you away. If it’s true. Then what are you going to do?”

Katy gestured at the bathroom door behind her.

“What are you going to do when you show up on the set with a baby bump? What then? What are you gonna tell your co-stars, the crew, Susan?”

Just as she finished speaking, Susan pushed the door open.

“Tell me?” she said, as she looked at both of us. “Is there something I need to know?”

I swallowed.

“What? Hmm?” I sputtered. “No.”

Susan looked at me with suspicion as she held the door to the restroom open. “Okay… Are you feeling better, Maddie? You don’t look well.”

“Oh it’s nothing.” I lied. “I’m still dealing with issues from the food poisoning. The doctors said it can take time for the bacteria to work its way out of my body. Katy and I were just talking about that when you came in.”

The door squeaked closed as Susan walked inside.

“All right,” she said, as she passed by.

Katy and I exchanged nervous glances.

“Oh Maddie?” Susan asked.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Sinclair asked to see you.”

“Okay, thanks Susan.”

With that, Katy and I hustled our way out of the ladies’ room and back to the party, successfully avoiding a major disaster.

For now.

MADDIE

As much as I’d hoped and believed things would go smoothly once shooting started, it didn’t take long before they went from bad to worse.

Much,
much
worse.

In the week since shooting began, I’d been so sick on the three occasions, I couldn’t perform. My director, Susan, was understanding, not to mention patient, with me about it. Luckily, she was able to shoot a number of scenes that didn’t involve me, but it wouldn’t be long before those were finished and I’d have to perform. Anyway, during the dinner break one night, I sat in my trailer eating my meal of eggplant parmesan and going over my next scene when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!”

The door opened and at the same time I heard a knock against the inside of it.

“Maddie?”

I saw Susan as I looked up from my script. She closed the door behind her and it clicked shut. “Hey. Got a second?”

“Yes.” I replied, as I stood from my chair and gestured towards the kitchenette. “You want something to eat or drink?”

Susan waved my invitation off as she walked in my direction and instead, sat down across from me at one of the trailer’s built-in dining tables.

My director was a slim, middle-aged brunette. A former bit-part actress, she’d worked her way up in the industry over the years and was just now coming into her own as a director. Even so, getting her on board hadn’t been easy. I’d heard she turned down two other projects to work on this picture because she loved the script so much. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit intimidated by her. But until now anyway, she’d been terrific and made me feel at ease. Still, in the time we’d been working together, she’d never come to my trailer like this before.

“Maddie, how are you feeling?” Susan said, as she placed her hands on the table, interlacing her fingers as she did. Lifting her chin up at me in a pose of suspicion she continued, “Do you think you’ll be ready for your scene tonight?”

The tang from the tomato sauce on top of my eggplant parmesan still lingered in my mouth as I swallowed hard and opened my lips to respond. But before I could get a single word out, she raised the index finger of her right hand.

“Maddie,” she began. “I have a job to do. As do you. But you see, I’m not able to do my job if I can’t rely on you to be here and when you are here, to be well. Now, I think you’re a talented actress but talent only gets you so far in this town. To succeed, you’ve got to be consistent and dedicated. Do you agree?”

Unsure of where she was headed with her statements, I nodded. “Yes, of course. I mean, I know I haven’t been feeling well and I’m sorry for that but you have my word I’m dedicated to this project. All I’ve ever wanted to do is act. This is a dream come true for me.”

Susan nodded her head as I spoke. “And I believe you Maddie, which is why this conversation is all the more difficult for me to have.”