Stranded (6 page)

“I think so,” he answered and left the office. The car was still parked outside, and the driver opened the door so Kendall could climb inside.

“Back to the hotel, sir?” the driver asked.

“Do you have to be somewhere?” Kendall asked the driver.

“No. I’m at your disposal for the day,” he answered.

“Then could you—” Kendall began, but he was interrupted by a knock on the window. Kendall opened the door and saw Juan standing outside. Kendall motioned him inside and then turned back to the driver. “Could you show me around town?”

“Certainly, what would you like to see?” he asked, and Kendall turned to Juan.

“Take us to Hollywood,” Juan said, and the driver turned around and the car began to move. “How did it go?” Juan asked.

“I’m not sure,” Kendall answered, and Juan looked like he expected Kendall to say more. “Did you get everything done you needed to?”

“I guess,” Juan said, pulling an iPhone from his pocket. He answered a text and then shoved it back into his pants.

Kendall’s phone rang, and he fished it out. “Hi, Sal,” he said.

“I heard you made quite an impression,” Sal told him without any of his usual pleasantries.

“The director was being a total ass, so I used the leverage we talked about. I really owe you one for that,” Kendall said. “I think we’ve come to some sort of understanding, even if it is a cold war. At least he knows I won’t roll over or kiss his boots.” Kendall glanced at Juan and saw him hanging on every word. “How did you find out already?”

“Barty and I are old friends. He found the two of you interesting,” Sal explained. “Watch out for those two. Robert does all the talking, but it’s Barty who has the money and the real power. You impressed him. So, well done, but remember you need to work with Davidson, and he can be a vindictive bastard when he wants to be.”

“I understand,” Kendall said as the limousine stopped momentarily for a light. “I’m supposed to look at locations tomorrow morning. So I suspect I’ll find out then.”

“I suppose you will,” Sal said and then hung up. Kendall disconnected as well and placed his phone back in his pocket, then looked out the window and watched the scenery slide by.

The driver stopped on Hollywood Boulevard, and Kendall jumped out of the limousine. Juan took care of the arrangements with the driver, and then they wandered up and down the Walk of Fame. Kendall couldn’t help reading all the names on all the stars embedded in the sidewalk. At one point he pulled out his phone and dialed Johnny. “Guess what, I’m standing right next to Lucille Ball,” Kendall said as soon as the connection had been made.

“Johnny, I must have picked up your phone,” he heard a strange man say, and Kendall’s heart plunged into his stomach.

“Hello,” Johnny said.

“Who was that?” Kendall asked a little more snappily than he intended.

“Just a research assistant from Columbia,” Johnny whispered. “Did you get there okay?”

“Yes,” Kendall answered. “I met with the director and producers today. Tomorrow I’m supposed to go with the director to look at locations.” He wanted to say that he missed him and needed him, but couldn’t, the nagging doubts inside stopping him. “I didn’t want to call too late.”

“I’ll be up working for most of the evening,” Johnny said. “Have a good trip scouting locations, and I’ll talk to you real soon.”

“Okay,” Kendall said and hung up the phone. When he did, he caught sight of the time. It took him a few seconds to remember that the clock on his phone had reset to local time. He did some quick math and realized it was eight thirty back home. “Research, my….”

“Is something wrong?” Juan said from behind him.

“No,” he lied, placing his phone in his pocket. “Do you think we could get something to eat? I’m hungry, and then I want to go back to the hotel. This time change has me all out of sorts, and I need to be ready and awake in the morning.” Everything told Kendall that he needed to be at the top of his game around the director.

“You don’t want to eat and then go to some of the clubs? Sunset Boulevard is just a few blocks away, and there are some of the best clubs in the city,” Juan told him.

“No, thanks. They’re sending over the revised script, so I’ll have work I need to get done.” What Kendall needed was some time alone to think, not a loud club full of strangers. “Maybe another night, though.” Kendall looked up and down the boulevard, and as the sun sank behind the surrounding mountains, the lights from the signs added a garish quality to everything around him. “Can we go to a place that’s quiet where I can get a good cut of beef?”

“Okay,” Juan said skeptically and called for the car. It arrived a few minutes later, and Juan gave the driver the information about dinner as Kendall settled back in the plush seat. They arrived at a restaurant and had a nice dinner. He and Juan chatted a bit. “Johnny would love this place,” Kendall said at one point and then quickly steered the conversation in another direction.

After dinner, he rode back to the hotel and said good night to Juan. “The car will be here at seven,” Juan reminded him. Kendall thanked him for all his help and then walked into the hotel. He stopped at the desk, where he was given a large envelope, and then headed up to his room, where he settled on the sofa with the script.

After an hour he found it hard to concentrate and realized what it was. Always when he read a new script, he settled on the sofa at home, curled near Johnny while he worked. There was nothing he could do about that now, and he wasn’t certain he would have a Johnny to go home to. Pushing his fears and doubts from his mind, Kendall concentrated on the script so he could be ready in the morning.

K
ENDALL
tossed and turned for most of the night. The bed didn’t feel right no matter which way he lay, and more than once he rolled over to put an arm around Johnny and only came up with an empty bed. Of course, he woke at that point and tried to get comfortable again. But his mind would start running through his suspicions and he’d end up wide awake once again. Once during the night he even went so far as to pick up his phone to call Johnny, just to hear his voice and to ask what he needed to know. But he didn’t. The time change allowed him to sleep in a bit, and he was downstairs waiting when the car arrived.

He joined Juan in the backseat and rode, half asleep, to wherever they were meeting the director. Kendall had suspected they were going to the studio, but the limousine pulled into a diner parking lot. Kendall got out and saw Lyman standing with another man near a huge SUV. Kendall was relieved he’d dressed in older clothes when he saw the other man. “That’s the cinematographer, Guy Reynolds,” Juan said when he got out as well.

Kendall nodded. The two men seemed deep in conversation around a map, and he didn’t want to interrupt them. “Do actors usually go when they scout out locations?”

Juan shrugged. “I don’t really know. Every director does things their own way, but my guess would be no.”

“Wonderful,” Kendall muttered, resisting the urge to fan himself, sweat breaking out on his skin. It was hot already, and from the strength of the sun, it was going to get even hotter. The others looked up from their conversation, and Kendall walked over.

“Excellent,” Lyman said as Kendall approached. “We have the necessities in the back.” Lyman handed the map to the other man who folded it. “Kendall, this is Guy, he’ll be our chief cinematographer. Guy Reynolds, this is our lead, Kendall Monroe.”

They shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you,” Guy said and then turned to the director. He seemed to have the same question Kendall had.

“This is going to be a very involved role,” Lyman said to both of them. “The desolate landscape and harsh conditions will play almost as big a part in the movie as the characters, so I want Kendall to really experience it before we start shooting.” That seemed to satisfy Guy, and they all headed for the vehicle. “We’ll be back here about seven,” Lyman told Juan, who nodded and headed back toward the comfort of the air-conditioned limousine. Kendall walked toward the SUV and climbed in the backseat. The others got in as well, and soon they were barreling down the highway.

“We’ve already had people scouting these locations, and Guy has seen most of them,” Lyman said as they rode. Kendall noticed the director’s accent seemed to come and go, and he wondered how much of it was an affectation.

“So you need to see them and make a final decision,” Kendall supplied.

“Exactly. Guy’s narrowed down the list to five places. We'll see three of them today. The other two are farther away and would be more costly to use. So if we don’t see anything right today, Guy and I will wrap this up tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you leaving this a bit late?” Kendall asked.

Lyman sighed. “Everything on this film seems a bit late. But once the money got approved and the checks written, we needed to move. So today and tomorrow we check out the locations. Then we’ll make final preparations, and next week we’ll start the studio work while the road teams get everything ready at the location.”

Kendall nodded and sat back, listening as the two men talked about the kinds of shots they’d need and the feeling they wanted for each one. He tried to pay attention, but couldn’t follow a lot of what they said, so he stared out the window. After five minutes, the scene outside the window held no further interest. He pulled out his phone and was surprised to see he still had service. He dialed Johnny’s number, but the call went to voice mail, so he left a message. “Hi, it’s me. I just wanted to talk to you. I’ll be scouting locations today and I don’t know how long we’ll be in cell range. I hope the writing is going well. I miss you.” Kendall added the last part quickly and then ended the call. The conversation up front hadn’t stopped, and since they weren’t paying any attention to him, Kendall settled back on the seat. His thoughts instantly turned to Johnny, a younger Johnny…. He and Johnny had met at a friend’s holiday party. Kendall closed his eyes, and he could see Johnny as he walked in, the embodiment of the poor college student.

J
OHNNY
had worn his best clothes to the party, but they’d definitely seen better days. The party had started in the afternoon and would probably go well into the wee hours of the morning, but Kendall had a show to do in a few hours, so he drank Diet Coke and talked to people. Kendall saw Johnny as soon as he walked into the room. Tall, with a shock of blond hair that seemed to go everywhere at once, bedhead before bedhead was fashionable. He appeared lost and out of sorts as he moved through the other people, not making eye contact with anyone, and he would have passed Kendall if he hadn’t accidently on purpose stepped in his way. What Kendall hadn’t been planning on was Johnny knocking him onto his butt.

“Oh, God, I’m sorry,” Johnny had said, taking Kendall’s hand to help him to his feet.

“It was my fault,” Kendall said honestly as their hostess quickly mopped up. Thankfully, his glass had been nearly empty. “I’m sorry,” he said to June as she finished up.

“No problem, sweetheart,” she said. June called everyone “sweetheart” or “darling” in the cutest Hungarian accent. God, he loved the diversity of this city. “Johnny, you made it,” she said, throwing her arms around the shocked man. Kendall would find out later that Johnny’s family hadn’t been demonstrative in any way and those kinds of displays had always shocked him. Sometimes they still did.

K
ENDALL
smiled as he rode in the SUV, but didn’t open his eyes.

“H
AVE
you met Kendall?” June asked with a naughty giggle. “He’s a real sweetheart and is currently on Broadway in some show I can never remember, but he’s brilliant.” She smiled at both of them and hurried off.

“So you’re brilliant, huh,” Johnny said and smiled a smile Kendall would remember always.

“If she says so,” Kendall replied. “I don’t think she’s ever actually seen the show. But take it from me
—
I’m brilliant.” He added the last part in June’s accent, and Johnny nearly snorted his drink out his nose.

“You’re not supposed to be funny when I’m drinking,” Johnny told him, and Kendall grabbed a napkin and wiped Johnny’s shirt. He even wiped spots that weren’t there, and by Johnny’s chuckle he knew it too. “Tell me about this show of yours,” Johnny said as he threw the damp napkins in the trash. Kendall regaled Johnny with stories about the show and his part in it. Then Johnny told him all about his graduate work in history, specifically the Renaissance, which moved them into a discussion of art, something they both loved.

Before Kendall knew it, the afternoon was nearly gone. He set down his glass. “I have to go right now,” Kendall said in a bit of a panic, “or I’m going to be late.” He said good-bye to Johnny and June before hurrying out of the apartment and down the stairs.

“Kendall,” Johnny called from the stairs as he hurried down, stumbling and catching himself as he reached the landing. “Can I call you?” he asked nervously.