(For His Pleasure 14) With His Belief (6 page)

“You mean Hunter?”

She laughed. “Hunter isn’t really of huge consequence in my life, you know.”

“Could have fooled me.”

She looked up, trying to see if he was angry, but it was too dark to tell. “Are you being serious? You know Hunter is deeply and madly in love with Kallie.”

“He’s still paying your rent.”

She sat up. “And what—you think he comes here and fucks me sometimes? And I do it because he pays my rent?”

“I never said that, Scarlett. Now come here.” He grabbed her hand again and pulled her back down. “You’re so damn testy.”

“I wonder why.”

“Just enjoy this, why don’t you? Just enjoy being together. Stop trying to control everything and figure me out. If I don’t even understand me, I can’t see how you’re going to figure me out anytime soon.”

She realized then that Bryson was right. There was nothing he could say and nothing she could do to make herself completely okay with what had happened between them. Instead, she decided to relax and just be with him, her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling his warm, strong arms encircling her.

Soon, despite her worried and anxious mind, she managed to fall asleep.

Later on, she awoke and rolled onto her side, and Bryson turned and molded himself against her, his arms around her once more. She was half-asleep, but even then she was able to notice and smile before fading completely to unconsciousness once more.

When she woke up again, light was streaming in through the windows of her bedroom and Bryson was gone. She looked around for him, thinking perhaps he went to the bathroom or something.

Then she found her phone and saw that he’d sent her a text about two hours ago: S
orry I have to go. I got a call from Dale Nolan and didn’t want to wake u. He
insisted I come see him right away. I will see u later. Please don’t turn this into
something to worry about Scarlett.
J

***

She saw him again on set that day.

Her stomach was tight and uncomfortable as she waited for his reaction when he saw her again. But he smiled naturally, and his eyes were kind.

Internally, she sighed with relief.

They were filming the last of the scenes from the amusement park and this time they were setting up near one of those shooting gallery games. There were extras playing carnival workers and people bustling about getting Eliza ready for her shot. As usual, she looked beautiful and bigger than life.

But at least for a moment, Bryson took time away from the demands of his job and talked to Scarlett. “I’m going to need your help today,” he said softly.

“Okay, just tell me what you need.” She grinned.

He grinned back, but his eyes had dark circles beneath them and it was obvious he was operating on very little sleep. “Dale’s having some…difficulty figuring out how he wants to play his role. Sort of a crisis of confidence, I guess.”

She looked around for Dale, but didn’t see him anywhere. “Where is he?”

“Not sure. We aren’t using him until the next scene. But the thing is, I’ve got my hands full so I’ll be depending on you a lot today. Are you up for that?”

“Absolutely.” Her cheeks blazed as she took in what he was saying. This was Bryson telling her she had his trust. It meant the world to her, after last night.

“Good,” he smiled. He softly touched her arm and then turned back to his work.

***

She was by Bryson’s side for the rest of the day. She did everything from running interference with the frantic director of photography to getting on the phone with Max Weisman to reassure him that they were slowly but surely getting back on schedule.

People didn’t like it when they were forced to speak to Scarlett instead of Bryson, but they accepted it. And in a way, she thought, it seemed to calm someone like Max Weisman. At the end of their conversation, after muttering about his being treated like the kid nobody wants at their birthday party, Max laughed. “Maybe Bryson’s just getting the hang of this asshole director gig,” he said.

“I think you’re right,” Scarlett told him.

“Well then, you make sure he stays on course,” Max said. It was a strangely kind thing for the loud, boisterous producer to say to her.

The only negatives were that Bryson was often having to go speak to both Dale and Eliza in their trailers. Dale was apparently having some bizarre crisis of confidence (which everyone seemed to think was normal at this stage of filming), whereas Eliza was simply needy.

Not only was Eliza needy, but when she was around Scarlett, she tended to ignore Scarlett with what felt like pointed indifference.

By the time they stopped filming for the day, they were only a scene behind schedule, which worked out to just a few hours. Everyone agreed this was quite a good showing for Bryson’s first couple of days on set.

Bryson asked Scarlett to share a cab to the train when the day was finished. She was happy and surprised to be asked. He didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of it, either.

As they drove to the station, Bryson let his body relax into the back seat, his eyes closing momentarily. “I almost thought I wasn’t going to make it at one point,” he said.

She looked at him, a little anxious at seeing how tired he was. “When was the last time you got more than four or five hours of sleep?”

He opened his eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, Bryson. I’m serious.”

He laughed. “Four hours of uninterrupted sleep sounds like a fucking vacation to me.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Think about what’s happened to me since Kallie and Hunter took on my screenplay. I went from some nobody bartender to getting a production deal overnight, to directing a big budget film with two of the biggest names in Hollywood…Hunter was shot, I was taken off the film, then put back on the film. People were out to get me. I had to figure out everything from scratch, and get things done in a timeframe that is almost impossible for even the most veteran directors.”

“It’s a lot of pressure,” Scarlett said, seeing the exhaustion in every line of his face.

“And now that filming’s begun, I can’t ever sleep because the wheels never stop turning. All night long, I think about the issues, the problems I need to solve, the worries, the complaints, the constant questions I face throughout the day. The last few nights I’ve probably slept less than four or five hours total.”

“Bryson, that’s crazy. If you keep up like this, you’re going to crash and it won’t be pretty.”

He nodded, and his eyes drooped. “I caught a couple of hours last night with you.

That was amazing. Probably the most relaxed I’ve been in weeks.”

“You want to come over again tonight?” she said, immediately regretting it as the words came out of her mouth. She told herself it wasn’t just a sexual thing – she wanted to protect him, wanted to take care of him, to make sure he was safe and relaxed.

Bryson’s eyes widened. “Well, the thing is—“

She interrupted him, not even wanting to hear his rejection. She was already embarrassed enough. The invitation had just come out -- she hadn’t even really meant it.

“No, no, it’s a dumb idea. I just felt bad that you can’t sleep. But I have so much going on myself,” she lied. “Tonight’s no good.”

He nodded. “Sure. I understand.”

Now she felt like maybe she’d offended him. Scarlett cursed herself for being so panicky and flaky. She should have either never made the offer, or just stuck to it and not worried about his saying yes or no.

But now the car ride was awkward and she wasn’t even completely sure why.

When they got to the train station, they sat in more silence, and then again on the train. The two of them sat next to one another. Bryson nodded off for most of the way to the city.

Scarlett wondered if he really even felt anything for her. The look on his face when she’d asked him to come over again—it made her almost physically ill to remember it. He’d been cornered, trying to think of a way to get out of it without hurting her feelings.

Why do I have to become co-dependent with every man I get involved with?
she wondered.

When they reached Grand Central, the two of them were going different ways.

Bryson gave her a big hug. “Thanks for being my rock today,” he said in her ear.

His body felt warm and strong and amazing. And then the hug was over and Bryson was walking away from her.

A few minutes later, while she was trying to catch a cab back to her apartment, Scarlett got a call from an unknown number. There was that familiar thrill of fear as she wondered what ghost from her past might be reappearing to torment her.

But then she fought through the paranoia and answered.

“Hi, is this Scarlett?” a woman’s voice asked.

“This is.”

“Hi, this is Kallie’s friend, Nicole Jameson.”

“Oh…” She was surprised, not sure what this could be about.

“Sorry, I know this must come as a surprise. I hope I’m not bothering you?”

“Not at all,” Scarlett said. “Not at all, please.”

Nicole laughed good-naturedly. “So, I’ll just get right to the point, Scarlett. I know how much Kallie likes you and I’m trying to find someone who knows Kallie to help me plan a wedding shower for her.”

“Oh,” Scarlett said, suddenly realizing what was going on. “That’s a great idea! I wish I’d thought to do it.”

“I’m glad you think it’s a good idea, because I’m still wondering myself.”

“I’m sure she’ll be flattered you took the time to throw her a party,” Scarlett told her.

Nicole was quiet for a bit. Then she sighed on the other end. “The thing that makes it a little more confusing is that Kallie and I have a bit of tension between us. She thinks I’m very angry at her, because she stopped working as my nanny.”

“Well she’s never said anything but great things about you,” Scarlett said. And that much was true. She’d heard Kallie mention on more than one occasion how Red and Nicole had treated her like family.

“That’s nice to hear. And I do love her very much. I want to show her that there’s no hard feelings on my part. I think throwing this wedding shower will go a long way toward doing that.”

“I’m in,” Scarlett said. “You can count on me.”

“Great!” Nicole said. “So, do you have any time tonight?”

“Tonight?”

“Yes, I’d love to have you over to our house and talk details.”

Scarlett had the unexpected thought that maybe she was going to actually make a friend here. Not a crazy, diabolical “friend” like Lydia, but a real friend who she could actually share something with. The idea filled her with warmth—much needed after the way Bryson had departed earlier.

“I’d love to come over,” Scarlett told her honestly.

“It’s settled then. We’ll send a car around to pick you up at—say—eight o’clock?”

A car? Seriously? Scarlett thought, almost laughing. These people didn’t mess around. “Sounds perfect,” she said, keeping her voice natural and composed.

***

When she saw Nicole’s house for the first time, Scarlett drew a sharp intake of breath. It was big—it looked like something that should house the United Nations or the Queen of England and all of her royal family.

Yes, royalty—that’s what she felt like right now, Scarlett thought, as the driver pulled the car around to the front door of the house. The door was open and Nicole was standing there, waiting for her.

Nicole Jameson was dressed in a beautiful blue dress that was at once understated and also flatteringly gorgeous. Everything about her was dignified and immaculate, Scarlett decided.

She got out of the backseat of the car and Nicole rushed forward, arms outstretched, giving her a warm and sisterly hug. “Thanks for coming on short notice,”

she said. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

“I’m happy to do it,” Scarlett said, returning the hug. She was excited to be in this mansion and see how Nicole and Red Jameson lived, to talk and perhaps become closer with this kind and exuberant woman.

But when they walked inside the house, Scarlett heard other voices, and her heart sank.

“Everyone’s waiting in the living room,” Nicole said, leading her through the grand foyer and down the ornate hallway.

“Everyone?” Scarlett asked, trying to mask her disappointment by sounding overly chipper. “Who else is here?”

“Well, I thought it could only help to have other people who know Kallie, and that way we can have plenty of input and fresh ideas.”

“Of course,” Scarlett lied. The fact was, she’d been hoping and assuming Nicole had invited her and her alone to plan this wedding shower, and instead she was just another person among many.

When they arrived at the living room, Scarlett almost ran out of the house altogether—because standing in front of her were the last two people she wanted to see right now.

“So you made it!” Danielle cried, clapping her hands. “Party time!” She did a little hip shake. “You want a cocktail? I’m having a white cranberry cosmo. Shall I make one for you?”

“Uhhh…sure,” Scarlett stammered, as she made eye contact with the very last person in the world she wanted to see at that moment.

“Bestie!” cried Lydia, running toward her and throwing her arms around Scarlett even more vigorously and enthusiastically than Nicole had just a few minutes ago.

Scarlett hugged her back, feigning excitement. “Wow, I didn’t know you guys were coming here tonight. What an awesome surprise.”

“I know, right?” Lydia said, backing up and looking at her. “Girl, you are looking hot—very sultry. Is it because you’re on set with Bryson all day, working so closely together? Is that why?”

Danielle’s eyebrows rose and her eyes were now twice as big as they’d been a moment before. “Wait a minute. Is she saying what I think she’s saying? You and Bryson Taylor are an item?”

“No, no,” Scarlett insisted, her cheeks flushing. This was getting out of control before she’d even had a chance to get her bearings. They were all looking at her, wanting details, wanting girl talk, and she was determined to shut it down. “Bryson and I are not together—not even a little bit. He’s my boss.”

“That never stopped anyone, did it Nicole?” Danielle laughed raucously.