Feast of Saints (23 page)

“Wow. How arrogant can you be?
This
is your solution? You think I don’t sleep because I’m obsessed with the idea of… of… being intimate with you?”

Jake looked pointedly around the Jake room. “Aren’t you?”

“Well…” She blustered, trying not to think about her nightmares, her white dream last night. “Well, I… NO!”

Jake stepped toward her again. When he was right in front of her he growled, “Then, what was that this morning? You come in to work every day with your big Pixie eyes, pink lips and put your little hands all over me. How did you think I’d respond?”

She thought about how in the previous weeks, not just this morning, she had touched him, massaged him, always focused on making her work a pleasurable experience for him. She thought of how this morning she had leaned in close, stroked his lips. What had she been doing? Playing with fire.

Lilly bent her head and fussed with the belt of her robe.

“I’ve only come up with two answers for our problem. The one that doesn’t have me all over you – and in you – involves you training a replacement, and quickly. I’m SORRY for that.” With that, he brushed past her and out the door.

She didn’t try to stop him, sagging where she stood as the door clicked behind him, overwrought and torn between fury and complete sexual frustration.

The next morning, Lilly’s new assistant arrived promptly. Clara was about forty years old and slightly plump, with wavy, frizzy, jet-black hair. Lilly was immediately relieved. The last thing she wanted to do was train some young sex kitten – some curvy red head for instance – as her replacement.

And she was going to train Clara to replace her, she decided, although she wasn’t sure how to go about making the transition.

Maybe Jake was right. Maybe there was other work for her on the set, but she’d been so focused on him, she didn’t know what that was. She decided just to wade through the next few days, training Clara until she had a plan.

Lilly heard when Jake arrived. He headed first into the dressing room. When he entered the Lab, costumed as called for in the day’s script, in torn pants and shirtless, Clara was sitting in Lilly’s usual seat. Lilly was walking her through the bloody slaughter palettes and effects, having already gone over with her the standard face, hand and foot applications and palettes. Clara stood as Jake approached, and Lilly introduced her.

“I hear James has great things to say about you, Clara. We’re lucky to have you.”

Well that’s a kick in the pants. Jake sure wasn’t so charming and complimentary the first time he had met her. Lilly’s mouth opened, then closed before she echoed Jake’s compliment that they were lucky to have Clara.

She would have loved to plunk Clara down in her chair and leave them to their mutual admiration society, but she needed to walk Clara through the applications, shadows and highlights. Seating Clara behind her so that she could watch over her shoulder, Lilly picked up the bottle of protective lotion, opened it and held it out.

“Let’s start with hands first, Mr. Durant.”

Jake obediently put his hands out, bland as ever. Lilly tried to accomplish the task as efficiently and clinically as possible. With Clara looking over her shoulder, she was happily too self-conscious to find the process arousing.

Chastened by Clara’s presence, and Jake’s harsh words the night before, and tempered with a bit of spite, she purposefully did not show Clara the things she knew Jake liked. She forsook her usual technique of applying just the right pressure on just the right points on his fingertips, his palm, his temples, his neck, shoulders and back, that never failed to generate a rumble of pleasure from him.

Today, Jake’s whole chest, since it would be bared, needed a coat of lotion then a spray coat of the gray-blue skin tone, as well as a minimal amount of airbrush body sculpting. She turned to Clara, “Okay, you’ve got the idea, why don’t you handle this part?”

Lilly didn’t care that having just met Jake, this could be slightly uncomfortable for both of them. She’d rather it be “we’re lucky to have you” Clara, than herself.

Clara handled it like the pro she was. Jake took one opportunity when Clara’s head was bent to sneer at Lilly. With his face made up, the effect, as usual, was frighteningly sinister. Her eyes widened and she sucked in her breath in an instinctive fear response, causing Clara to jerk her head up to see what was the matter. Jake instantly dropped the sneer, and his face went blank. The quick change caused Lilly to snort and then cover it up with a cough.

Why, oh why, she thought over again, couldn’t they just ignore the attraction between them? It had ruined everything.

Chapter 17

After the first week of training with Clara and Jake, Lilly decided to bow out of the morning hands-on preparations and see how they fared. She would greet Clara in the Lab at four a.m., a half hour before Jake arrived, and spend fifteen minutes answering her questions, then leave her to prepare on her own.

Clara’s work preparing Jake for filming was nearly flawless, albeit with Lilly’s early morning help. Unbeknownst to Clara, Lilly stayed well past the time Clara left at night and arrived an hour before her, creating new molds and appliances as needed and checking and rechecking Clara’s palette and color mixes, making adjustments as necessary. All were magically ready and perfect when Clara arrived each day. Clara had no way of knowing that she hadn’t prepared the effects well in advance. Although Clara was good, and quick to learn, she was relatively inexperienced in hands-on makeup and effects, her specialty being visual graphics. She just didn’t know that it wouldn’t have been possible to predict what would be needed more than a week or two in advance.

During the day filming, Lilly would make herself available as needed, rarely letting Clara or Jake far out of sight, but striving to give Clara room to take control of the character.

Walking away from Clara and Jake as they exited the Lab and headed for the set was one of the hardest things she had ever done. She wasn’t even sure where she was going as she turned the other way, but she knew she needed to walk away and let them handle the work without her.

She found herself loitering next to Nat Lawrence, the Visual Effects Director. Nat was surrounded by monitors, some of which were closed circuit feeds showing the current scene being filmed and some were replays of various previously filmed segments. Nat had more monitors than a security guard at the Trump Tower. Standing behind Nat’s chair, she could see instantly any problems with Jake’s makeup and could tell when his scenes cut, so that she could move to make herself visible to Clara should she be needed.

Nat didn’t seem to find her presence out of the ordinary, and they struck up a working relationship of sorts. With Lilly’s help, Nat quickly identified problem scenes and together they would determine whether reshoots would be necessary or if careful editing and graphic effects could correct the problem.

On the third morning that she appeared, usually good-natured Nat was sullen and kept tapping the arm of his chair in agitation. Lilly moved to stand over his shoulder to see what the problem was. It was yesterday’s scene with Maya, in which Maya played a dual role as Sofia’s ancestor. Beaten and battered, she manages to escape the slaughter of her family and their entire town, perpetrated by a vampire attack lead by Allegrezza.

She could see the problem immediately. Maya’s makeup and costume were pristine, and her indefatigable beauty overwhelmed the shot. Nothing about the scene captured the desperation of her character’s situation.

She could see where Nat had tried to sully the dress and darken the scene with CG overlays, but it looked garish and unreal.

“Eww,” she blurted. “That’s going to have to be redone.”

Nat’s tapping stopped, “You think?” He turned toward her with a scowl. “Yeah, it needs to be redone alright. Problem is, Maya’s agent keeps popping in and intimidating Maya’s stylist into making sure she’s gorgeous in every shot – even when she most definitely should not be. When Frances sees this, she’s going to blow a gasket.”

She tried to imagine the buttoned up Art Director blowing a gasket and decided that the work was horrid enough that it could actually happen. “Does she know how bad it is?”

“She hasn’t seen this yet, but she saw the first half day’s work,” Nat said. “She’s aware of the problem. So is Monty, but he won’t force a solution. He pussyfoots around Maya so much…. I don’t know. Do you know what’s going on there?”

Lilly did suspect there was some history between Monty and Maya but kept her mouth shut.

“Have they wrapped on this yet?” she asked. Meaning, had Monty shot the scene to completion, or were they still open for reshoots.

“They haven’t, but we’re already a day over,” Nat said disgustedly. So, they had already exceeded the number of filming days budgeted for this scene.

“Tell you what, let me see what I can do before they hit the set. Can you buy me some extra time with Maya this morning?”

Nat brightened. “Absolutely! What do you need?”

“Let me take a look at the scenes filmed so far. While I do that can you find Frances?”

Nat sprang out of the chair and waved her into his seat with a flourish. Leaning over, he fiddled with the keyboard to replay the problem scenes and patted her shoulder before going in search of Frances. By the time he returned, Lilly had scrolled through the scenes several times. In them, Maya’s pregnant ancestor is confronted by one of Allegrezza’s minions charged with rounding up all of the Italian town’s leaders and their families for slaughter.

Maya’s character manages to kill her vampire attacker but is badly beaten in the process. In the next scene, she dies delivering her baby in hiding in a filthy barn. In the last scene, the mewling babe and dead mother are discovered by a farm hand the morning after the slaughter. The babe is Sofia’s ancestors’ sole survivor.

Lilly looked over her shoulder at Frances, who had just walked up behind her and was frowning down at the screen. Lilly said, “The last scene may be salvageable. With some subtle CG effects to tone down the dress and some blanching of Maya’s face, she’ll look like a dead Madonna. But the close up fight scene and the birthing scene need to be reshot entirely.”

“I’m surprised any of it is salvageable,” said Frances sourly.

“Can I have free reign with the dress and Maya’s makeup and hair this morning?” She would need the Art Director’s backing if she was going to butt in on Maya’s stylist.

Frances gave her a measured look. “We can’t afford to waste another day on this, Rose.”

For a moment, she thought that meant that she wasn’t going to be allowed to work on Maya’s character, but Frances’ next words restored her belief that she had established a good reputation.

“I’ll walk with you. Weinhold is already in Maya’s room,” she said, referring to Maya’s agent, Tom Weinhold. “I’ll handle Weinhold if you can tackle Maya and the stylist.”

Nat gave Lilly and Frances two thumbs up in encouragement as they walked off in the direction of Maya’s luxurious studio suite. On the way, Frances cautioned her, “This is going to take some diplomacy, so follow my lead. I will try to get Weinhold out of the room so you can work in peace, but take it easy on the stylist. Maya trusts her, which is part of the problem.”

Lilly recognized the syndrome. Established actors like Maya traveled from film to film with the same crew. A stylist who’d had a success with one look could have trouble letting it go, constantly recreating the look and putting the client at risk of being typecast. Maya was used to playing drop-dead beauties, and her stylist definitely had her glowing and at her best. Unfortunately that just wasn’t going to cut it with this film.

Lilly shadowed Frances as she entered Maya’s dressing room and saw that she had her work cut out for her. They were slated to reshoot the fight and flight scene. Surveying Maya’s crisp dress and flawless makeup, Lilly thought surely Maya’s stylist had to know this wouldn’t do at all.

“Tom,
comment allez-vous
?” Frances opened, feigning surprise at the agent’s presence on the set and extending her hand.

Tom Weinhold didn’t become CAA’s top agent for nothing. He knew exactly why Francis had appeared. He looked suspiciously at Lilly. He’d seen her on the set and he knew what she did. She was the monster-maker. Tom managed Maya’s image, and he was not prepared to let Lilly get within ten feet of Maya with so much as a makeup brush.

Tom was shaking his head, “No way, Frances.” He jutted his chin at Lilly. “She’s not touching Maya.”

“Tom,” Maya interjected, “let’s at least hear what Frances and Lilly have to say.”

“Maya, we’re already booked three movies ahead, romantic leading roles all of them. You have an image to uphold. I’m not going to stand by and watch this… this…
girl
ruin it.” Tom pointed accusingly at Lilly.

Lilly instinctively stepped back from the angry agent’s jabbing finger. Frances stepped in, stabbing her own finger into Weinhold’s chest, and seethed, “This
girl
is going to win us the
Palme d’Or
at Cannes if
you
don’t screw it up. And the three movies you think you have booked for Maya haven’t made it past the first stage of studio approval.” Frances didn’t need to say more. None of them would make it to production if she didn’t want them to. So much for diplomacy.

Looking warily at Frances, then at Maya, Weinhold said, “Let’s step outside, Frances.” He was not going to take a further dressing down in front of his star client.

Tom and Frances were barely out the door when Maya turned to her stylist and said, “Janice, leave us for a moment, would you please.” Janice looked nervously at Lilly. She was no dummy. Her job was about to be decided, and apparently she wasn’t going to have a say in it. Lilly felt sorry for her, but not sorry enough to stand down from what she knew was the right thing to do for the film.

“Surely, it can’t be that bad?” Maya asked when Janice had shut the door behind her.

Lilly decided not to pull any punches. It seemed no one had been forthright with Maya. “It’s pretty bad. You stand out like a sore thumb. If we go with what we have, you’ll look foolish.” At Maya’s darkening expression, she added hastily, “We all know how talented you are, Maya. You just need to stop going for the beauty shot.”

Maya looked away from her into the mirror, visibly suppressing her anger. “Show me what you mean,” she said through tight lips.

Lilly walked over and looked at the array of makeups, powers and pencils on Janice’s tray. Selecting a soft charcoal pencil, she moved to stand in front of Maya and began making a series of dots and dashes along the natural creases around Maya’s mouth and nose. Using a finer pencil, she lightly sketched a frown line between Maya’s eyes. When she stepped back to the makeup table Maya frowned into the mirror. She looked like someone had sewn and stitched along the lines of her perfect doll’s face.

Grabbing a soft sponge and liquid foundation which she lightened with white powder, she began blending in the stitches until they created shadows that were barely discernible.

Janice had applied mascara to Maya’s naturally long lashes even though the Victorian character would not have had access to such modern day cosmetics. Lilly picked another sponge and, wetting it, used it to remove the mascara, leaving a small amount smudged under Maya’s eyes to create dark circles.

Lilly stood back to look. Maya looked deathly, too deathly. But it was a good foundation for what she hoped to achieve. She picked up Maya’s expensive pressed power and blush and began making her up again, stepping back occasionally to make sure she did not overdo it.

“I need a few things from the Lab. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Lilly scurried out of Maya’s dressing room and down the several halls to the Lab. Jake was sitting in his makeup chair in the Lab chatting with Clara. Both looked up in surprise when she jogged in and scooped up a few tubes, gels and brushes and, without a word, twirled back out the door.

Tom and Frances were still talking in hushed voices down the hall from Maya’s door when Lilly returned. They broke upon seeing her, then followed her into the dressing room.

“Jesus!” Tom started as soon as he saw Maya.

“Hush!” said Lilly and Maya in chorus.

“There,” Lilly finally said, fifteen minutes later, brushing out the edges of Maya’s bloody, bruised mouth and using her pinky to blend in an edge of the horrible bruise at her temple.

Maya had been watching the entire transformation without a word. “I see,” she said finally, grimly.

“There are plenty of other opportunities to be lovely in this film,” said Lilly in an attempt to console her.

She must have misread Maya’s thoughts, she realized, when Maya looked at her, irritated.

“How much are we reshooting?” she demanded.

Frances answered her smoothly. “The second half of the fight, the chase and the birth. About two to three days. You have license to slap me to get in the mood.”

“I’d rather punch Lilly,” Maya said, then laughed. Lilly smiled at her in the mirror. She was beautifully battered and this was going to be great.

At the end of the day, Lilly, Nat and Frances gathered around Nat’s monitor station.

“You nailed it, Lil,” said Nat, relieved and excited with the work.

Frances looked at Lilly. “Walk with me.”

When they were out of earshot of Nat and anyone else still hanging around the studio, Frances turned to her and said, “So, are you a free agent, or Jake’s private property?” One thing about Frances, Lilly was learning, she didn’t mince words.

She considered her response. Truthfully, she didn’t know what her employment status was at the moment. Her contract was with Mjicon to work on Jake’s character exclusively. With Clara taking over Allegrezza, she guessed technically she’d been fired.

“Well, we’re not glued at the hip since Clara came on board,” she said cautiously.

“Good,” said Frances. “The budget can’t stand a repeat of the last few days of wasted film. I’m meeting with Maya and Monty in thirty minutes to go over the dailies. Maya’s stylist has threatened to quit. I’d like to propose a replacement: You. What do you say?”

“Yes,” Lilly said immediately. “That is, I’m not a stylist, so I don’t want to take Janice’s place, but I’d like to work with Maya on her makeup and effects.” Jake be damned.

“I think I can smooth over Janice’s ruffled feathers,” she said brightly.

Frances gave her a rare smile. “I think you probably can.”

Lilly headed back to the Lab with a renewed spring in her step.
Once again, I’ve managed to land on my feet
, she thought.

As news of her reassignment spread, Lilly found herself consulted more and more on everything from scenery to costumes, and not just for Sofia. Although her responsibility was primarily Maya, Lilly still found time to check in with Clara every morning and she still pulled extra hours before and after filming making sure everything for Allegrezza was perfect.