Page 40 of Glamour and Grit

I instantly shamble along with the others. I fucked up my leg pretty bad when I fell out of a tree stand once, so I draw on that experience to ‘lock’ my joints and move like a living dead type of person.

“Get me a tight shot of that big fucking zombie,” the director says, and one of the boom cameras lowers down and gets within a foot of me. I almost look right at it before I remember myself. I continue to stagger along as if the camera’s not there.

Well, if the extras aren’t pissed already, they certainly are now. I can’t help it if I’m naturally good at this. I actually kind of enjoy it. Who would have thought? Maybe I missed my calling.

Shooting the scene, which is going to be about a sixty-second to ninety-second bit on the actual show, takes hours. It seems like a monstrous amount of work to do for such a small amount of footage, but everyone acts as if it’s all normal.

Eventually, the cast and crew warm up to me. I guess I really am good at being a zombie. They even invite me along for a get-together after the shoot ends after midnight.

“I don’t think we should go,” I whisper in Selene’s ear. “The studio lot is plenty secure, but that might not be the case for this party.”

Selene sighs, and I can see the disappointment welling up in her eyes.

“All right, if you really think so. But we’re having it at Dave’s house, which is in a gated community and sits behind a twelve-foot fence.”

“Selene,” I say with an exasperated sigh. “I’ve been more than fair. But this is a bridge too far. It’s just not safe.”

“But this is important. In my line of work, I need to find new gigs, and I can’t do that if I don’t network. It’s not just a party to have fun, it’s vital to my career.”

“You know what would be really detrimental to your career? Dying.”

Selene sighs. “Can you at least ask your boss what he thinks?”

I start to retort that he’s not my boss, I’m not a member of the firm, but the words die in my throat.

“All right, fair enough.”

I send a text off to Jax. His response is one I should have predicted.

The customer is King. Or in this case Queen. Unless you can see a clear and present danger, take her to the damn party, Dane.

“Looks like we’re going to the party,” I say. Selene’s face lights up. “But, the same rules apply at the party as apply here on the studio lot.”

“Sir, yes, Sir,” she says, snapping off a salute at totally the wrong angle, with the wrong hand, but I don’t think it’s a good time to tell her. “You can boss me around all you want.”

Her eyes widen. “I mean, as my bodyguard, to keep me safe,” she says quickly. “Not that I’m kink shaming…you know what? Let’s just go to the party.”

When we arrive at Dave’s, the executive producer’s house, it indeed seems secure enough. I check the perimeter and eyeball everyone I don’t recognize from the lot anyway.

“Damn, that’s an impressive spread,” I say, nodding to the buffet table. “It’s hard to believe that this got thrown together at the last minute.”

“Welcome to Hollywood,” she says with a snicker. “Trust me, this is nothing. If he really wanted to impress us he’d bring out the five K a pop cans of caviar.”

“You know,” I say after a chuckle, “I’ve never had caviar. Jax’s wife Easton tried to pawn some off on me at a house party, but it looked like little turds to be honest.”

“Gross,” Selene says, rolling her eyes. “I bet I can get you to try caviar before the end of the week.”

“You might lose your money.”

Her brows climb high on her face. Then she gets a wicked grin and leans in close to whisper.

“I don’t think you understand how…persuasive I can be.”

She turns around and greets one of her coworkers, coincidentally brushing her generous bottom against my crotch. Damn it, I’m trying to keep my distance from her, at least emotionally. Why does she have to make it so damn hard?

One of my fellow zombie actors comes up to me while Selene is distracted. He takes a canapé and shoves the whole thing into his mouth, then speaks while chewing.

“So, how long have you and Selene been an item?”