Feast of Saints (45 page)

“
Really
?” she cut in, incredulously. “Exactly how worried about me were you Jake, while you were hanging out on the beach with Sierra?”

“Extremely,” he said, his lips pressed in a firm line. “I came home early, on Monday, to check on you.”

“Check on me? Or spy on me?” she accused.

Jake looked away from her, guilty. “I wasn’t spying on you because I thought you had anything to do with Campbell.”

That threw her. “Campbell?”

“Yes. He’s why I was so worried about you. The police arrested him on Sunday night. He broke into Sierra’s apartment, and he’s been trying to blackmail her.

“He’s driven by your house before, not long after I caught the fucker pawing you in the Lab.”

Lilly felt an involuntary shiver. “That man you hired to break into my house thinks I conspired with
Campbell
?”

“No,” he said, unconvincingly. She knew it was true, and she bet at least a part of Jake suspected her, too. She would, if she were Jake. The kernel of truth in the thought that she did seem like the stalker type made her even angrier. What was it that Cheapshirt had said as he snapped pictures of her Jake room?

“Your investigator, he thinks I’m unbalanced. Whacked. And you know what? I was, thinking it was a good idea to… to….” she broke off. She couldn’t say what she and Jake had done in Hawaii in front of Greg.

“Go back to your girlfriend, Jake. I don’t need you worrying about me, and I don’t want you in my life,” she said, voicing the worst lie she’d ever told.

“Sierra’s not my girlfriend,” Jake said firmly.

“What is she then?” Lilly felt a tiny spark of hope, but it flickered and threatened to go out when Jake didn’t answer. She walked into the kitchen and picked up the gossip magazine that Kyle had brought home last night. Opening it to the page with Sierra and Jennis sunning themselves, she walked back and handed it to Jake.

“She’s clearly a big part of your life,” she said.

Jake ran his hand through his hair, looking at the magazine, then at Greg.

“It’s complicated,” he said.

Lilly felt her blood run cold as the tiny spark blinked out completely.

“Yes, I imagine it is. Please leave now.”

Greg stepped forward, prepared to throw him out.

Jake ignored him, studying her cold, closed expression. “Okay,” he sighed. “But I’m coming back tomorrow. You will talk to me.”

“Please don’t. There’s nothing you can say.” Lilly was afraid she’d cave in, continue their affair, until there was nothing left of her to salvage.

“I have a lot to say, but I need to talk to Sierra.”

No, no, no. She didn’t want any part of this anymore. She needed to get away.

“You can’t come tomorrow,” she said, thinking fast. “I’ve got things to do. You can come on Friday.” Lilly would be well on her way to New Zealand by then. She’d have to warn Kyle to clear out early.

“Alright. Friday,” he nodded, placated for now. “Look after her,” he said to Greg, who scowled after him all the way out the door.

Chapter 31

In New Zealand, Lilly buried her broken heart and anger in rotting body parts, sloughing skin and gnashing teeth. The special effects on Quentin’s zombie-centric, post-apocalyptic disaster film far outnumbered those on
Feast
, and she only had two days to get her bearings before the first day of filming. The budget did allow for a team of five assistants, two of whom were experienced, which eased the burden. Easing it further was the fact that zombie themes had been a mainstay in film and television for years. Pre-formed zombie appliances were readily available. Her team didn’t have to cast the performers or make molds and appliances from scratch. All manner of decaying human and animal parts – gaping mouths, popping eyes, bashed in skulls complete with clotted hair – had been ordered and were ready to use.

Still, it was a big production, and the sheer amount of work had Lilly and her team constantly scurrying, filling the Wellington studio with zombies until it really felt overrun. On Friday, the crew moved to Queenstown, where they’d be filming on location the following week. Lilly slept like the dead for the entire thirteen-hour bus trip. She was glad to be busy, happy for the exhaustion that allowed her to sleep. To not think about Jake. She was so tired at the end of each day, she didn’t even dream.

Jake had called her every night since she’d fled LA. When she wouldn’t answer, he would text her, “Pls pick up.”

By Thursday night, as she was packing for the trip to Queenstown, she thought she just might be able to handle his nightly call. She had watched him on the nearly complete behind the scenes video so many times that she was becoming numb to him. Since leaving the States, she had received a steady stream of emails from Park’s assistant, Davina, seeking her approval on the final edits. The last big decision was the song that would overlay the piece. Davina had imported different soundtracks and uploaded the videos with music to Mjicon’s secure weblink so that Lilly could view and listen to them remotely.

“New Zealand? You ran to New Zealand?” Jake exclaimed when she finally picked up.

“I’m working,” she’d said coolly. “What do you want?”

“You said we could talk.”

“So talk,” she said, belligerently. This was much better, she decided. She was much more comfortable hearing what he had to say from a distance.

“When are you coming home?” he asked.

He had her contract by now. He knew the job was at least a month long commitment.

“If you have something to say, then say it. Otherwise, I’ve got a lot of packing to do here.”

“Are you going to accept the Art Director position on
Strange
? They’re waiting on your answer up here.” Jake must be in Vancouver.

“No.” There. She’d said it out loud. She was not going to take her dream job.

“Lilly, why? Please be sensible.”

“I am being sensible, Jake. I have no interest in working with you.”

“You can’t say no to this. Tell me what to say, what I can do to convince you.”

“No more questions. Say what you have to say, or I’m hanging up.”

“I need to see you,” he said.

Oh no. She could feel the pull of him even over the cell phone.

“I don’t think so,” she said, but her voice quavered. She hung up.

He called four more times and texted her twice. “I am saying yes for you” and, “I am not giving up.”

She opened her laptop and responded to the last of Ravi’s ten urgent red-flagged emails. “Ravi: Please express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Gilliam. However, I am unable to accept his generous offers. Thank you for all of your hard work. I’ll call you when I’m back from New Zealand.”

In Queenstown on Saturday morning, Lilly and her crew were working with the one hundred extras who would be filmed on Monday for a mob zombie scene on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. She’d scheduled a series of group meetings so that she and her team could meet with each and every one of the extras. In staggered sessions, working in groups of ten, she and her crew test-fit and pre-painted all of the applications that would be used in the scene. Without a systematic approach, the setup Monday morning would have been impossible.

At the end of the long day, Lilly saw Sergei Taranovo making his way toward her. She had just about finished packing up the last of the pre-made appliances and paint. She couldn’t quite figure out Sergei’s position on the film, but it was a powerful one. As the second “T” in TnT Productions, Sergei’s hand was in every part of the production. He filled the AD’s role that Alison had on
Feast
, but he also single-handedly directed the mass crowd scenes, including the scenes being shot in Queenstown.

Sergei’s progress was slow as he stopped on the way to thank various extras and crewmembers for their hard work, but his trajectory toward her was clear. He was a pleasant change from Alison in the way that he effusively doled out compliments, but a part of Lilly longed for Alison’s directness. She was pretty sure Sergei was hitting on her, and that she wasn’t the only female crewmember to get the same treatment, but he was subtle in his advances. Lilly suspected that the “relationship trouble” Alison had alluded to had something to do with Sergei’s trolling tendencies. If he would just come out with it, she could shut him down and be done with it. As it was, she felt off balance and unsure how to handle his attention.

On top of the weirdness of the maybe/maybe not hitting on her, she found exchanging pleasantries with Sergei, for whom English was a second language, a bit tiring. With his strong Bulgarian accent, Sergei’s speech pattern was so moose and squirrel that she at first thought it was a put-on. Even his close-cropped black hair and tiny mustache was strongly reminiscent of Boris Badenov of
Rocky and Bullwinkle
.

“Lilly, it has been my enormous pleasure working with you this week.” Sergei said, finally reaching her. He pronounced her name, “Lee-lee,” and “working” was “vorking.”

“Thanks, Sergei. This has been fun. I’m glad I came.” Half-truths, if that. Just in case he was thinking of asking her out, she added, “Whew, I’m beat. I’m just going to pack it in here and hit the hay. Thanks for the day off tomorrow. I’ll be well-rested and ready by Monday.”

In fact, she had no intention of spending Sunday resting. She was already mentally going over the map of the Otago Region she’d perused on the flight to New Zealand. Queenstown was a stone’s throw from a mountain range called The Remarkables. She didn’t have to go far to find the peace of mind that hiking in the mountains gave her.

Glancing at her watch, she thought she just had enough time to make it to the guide service in town before they closed. She could get a trail map and some advice on the best day hikes. Looking up, she registered a flash of irritation on Sergei’s face at her checking her watch while he was speaking to her.

“I hope we have not been working you too hard.” His tone confirmed his irritation.

Lilly bit the inside of her cheek. It was never a good idea for a below liner like herself to complain. Changing her tune, she stopped packing and straightened up to smile broadly at him. “No, no, this has been great. Everyone’s been great,” she said, smiling and waving around her, including him in her sweeping gesture.

Mollified, Sergei met her smile and stepped forward, much too close.
Uh oh
. This time, there was no mistaking his male interest.

Licking his lips, he said, “We are taking out the yacht tomorrow.” She had seen the luxurious boat at the dock this morning. It would be used for filming the shores from the water. “Perhaps you would like to come and be my, how do you say, first mate?”

Uggh. Nothing subtle about that
. Lilly cast around for a plausible excuse.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m not going to be able to take the time. I’ve got a ton of supplies to sort tomorrow,” she lied. She and her team were ready for Monday. They’d packed everything they needed for each zombie in individual boxed kits labeled with the performer’s name, including a photo snapped at the day’s prep session. But Sergei didn’t know how ready they were. Her excuse struck him as highly believable.

“Another time, then?” he said, sucking his teeth regretfully.

Lilly, striving to cover her aggravation, said with false cheer, “Enjoy the beauty of Lake Wakatipu – before we fill your head with images of dead bodies floating in it!” Grabbing up the last box, she skittered away toward the New Zealand version of her Lab.

It was after nine before Lilly finally settled down in her room. Unfolding her crisp new trail map, she used a red marker to put stars on the scenic spots the guide had told her about. She also packed the small pack she’d bought at the shop with some snacks, water bottles and a basic first aid kit.

Her pack ready and her day off planned, she popped open her laptop. She opened an email from Park asking her to sign off on the final BTSV and clicked on the link to the secure website.

Davina had finally hit the mark. The smoky beat of Ringside filled the room. It was perfect. A lot of the shots were of Jake working out, running and explaining his routine. The theme of the BTSV was how hard it was to prepare for a role like Allegrezza: the diet, the workout, the makeup. They had needed this sexy, driving male beat.

As she watched and listened, Lilly was able to adopt a clinical view of the piece. She’d seen all of the clips many times. Her feelings and frustration over Jake were boxed up tight. Maybe after New Zealand she’d go somewhere where she could let them out, curl up in a ball around them and cry for a week. Or a month. Right now, there was too much to do and too many people depending on her. She needed to keep it together.

Jake behind the scenes was much different than Jake playing Allegrezza in the film. In the motion picture, except when he was trying to charm Sofia and in the short dream sequence, Jake’s character was cold and unapproachable. Allegrezza’s rare smiles were sinister. With the exception of Hawaii, he was usually shot in shadow.

There were no such constraints in the BTSV, which featured a much lighter Jake, literally and figuratively. The workouts and interviews produced by Park were simultaneously grueling, funny and inspiring. But the real draw was the abundant candid shots of Jake at every location, often half naked, in the full light of day.

Davina had painstakingly sorted through hours and hours of outtakes and overruns. In these candid shots, out of the shadows, his tall, slim beauty and natural fluidity of movement were magnetic and white-hot.

He was captured laughing at Alison’s more outrageous comments, listening intently to Monty’s direction, silently repeating his lines in concentration. There were bloopers, too. Jake flubbing lines or laughing as his fellow actors did. In one hilarious outtake, Alan kept cracking Jake up in what was supposed to be a chilling prelude to a vicious and bloody fight.

And, of course, there were clips with Lilly in them. On their last morning in Hawaii, Park had filmed her transforming Jake into Allegrezza. He’d edited the clip into a slick, stop action segment. When the transformation was complete, Park caught Jake as he growled and snapped at her behind her back, then immediately morphed to wide-eyed innocence when she turned back toward him.

In one strikingly gorgeous shot, Jake was standing in the oasis in Maui with his arms held up loosely in the air like a recalcitrant arrestee. Lilly, who was kneeling, nearly out of view of the camera, was touching up Jake’s torso with the airbrush. The early morning Maui sun caught the paint mist particles, illuminating each one so that it looked like Jake was standing in a shower of tiny sparks. Park had slow-mo’d the shot to a three second segment. It was simply mesmerizing. When she had first seen it, she had played it over and over, knowing millions of women, and men, would do the same.

Closing the program, Lilly composed an email sending her heartfelt thanks to Park and Davina and telling them that they just needed Phillip and Jake’s final approvals to go live. The studio had already signed off. The final cut lasted just under ten minutes and was riveting. Anyone who wasn’t already a fan of Jake’s would be after watching.

She sent a silent prayer of thanks to Greg for recommending Park to her when she’d called him, desperate, from Hawaii. She sent an email to Greg saying simply: “I owe you a lot, and love you even more.” It included the Mjicon weblink and password to access the BTSV of Jake.

She was just about to shut down and get some sleep when she received a response from Park. The other two recipients were Phillip and Jake.

Park wrote: “All have approved. We launch tomorrow. I think people are going to want to see more of Lilly. There’s a link below to another video for the studio to consider. Let me know what you think.” At the end of the message was a second weblink with a different password.

Lilly clicked with trepidation on the link and entered the password for the video to start playing. The piece started with a clip of her and Janice, Maya’s stylist. The husky timber of Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody overlay the video. Lilly was instructing Janice how to blend in the appliance she’d stayed up all night making for burning Sofia. The clip was followed by several more of her working with different people. Some were performers, including Jake, but the focus was always on her.

She was pleasantly surprised that she looked professional and that the crew appeared attentive to her, deferential even, when she gave a tip here or made an adjustment there. As she watched the first half of the video roll, she couldn’t get her mind around how so many shots had been filmed of her, or by whom. They had been taken at every location.

The work clips were interspersed with other short videos that Park must have requested from her friends, taken by cell phones. Park had applied a grainy and flickered affect to the amateur videos, creating the feel of old home movies. The contrast between the amateur shots interspersed with the slick, professionally filmed segments was engaging. She marveled again at Park’s talent for manipulating light.

One amateur video she recognized as having been taken by Greg the night before she had agreed to work on
Feast
. Lilly was all dolled up for clubbing in teetering heels and a sequined mini dress. Her twenty-fifth birthday celebration. Her memory was somewhat fuzzy about events later that night, but at the beginning of the evening, she had been all smiles, excited and blowing kisses at Greg.