Page 20 of Jason
“Still not a good idea,” she said, and with her brow furrowed, she turned back to her list.
“By the way,” Jason said.“I had to rearrange a few things on the production schedule.”
Mallory’s head came up slowly.“Youwhat?”
“Don’t freak out.”
“Don’t freak—what have you done, Jason?”She phrased the question as if she had just discovered him standing over a dead body, holding a gun.“You know how you are with schedules.You don’t know how they work—”
“I know how schedules work.”He began to tear the lettuce and toss it in a bowl.
“Not production schedules.Remember when you changed the shooting sequence for episode ten of season one and the gaffer almost quit?”
“A, that was a misunderstanding, and B, in hindsight, we should have fired him anyway.”
“Yeah, well, some say misunderstanding, some say—”
“Okay, all right,” he interjected before she could repeat what half the crew thought of him for that gaffe.“We went over it at the time.No need to repeat all the opinions.”He believed her exact word had beenmoron.
“My point is, you shouldn’t be messing with schedules.”
He looked at her with incredulity and tried not to be distracted by how cute she looked right now.“You do realize that I have single-handedly created a production company, right?Anyway, I am sure you can work with what I’ve done because youarea genius with schedules.”
She grinned.“Iamgood,” she agreed.“And perceptive, too.I always know when I am being buttered up like an ear of corn.”She arched a brow at him.
Jason laughed and began to toss the salad.
Mallory consulted her watch.
“Will you relax?We’ll be done here in half an hour.”He put the salad aside, took the casserole dish from the insulated bag, and removed the lid.Mallory’s gaze fell to the contents.She looked like she might crawl across the bar for it.
“Looks good, right?”he asked mildly, and turned to a cabinet for plates.
“It looks like something I would be perfectly happy to face-plant in,” Mallory said.“Not that I would.But I could.”
Jason found a serving spoon and dished some of the risotto onto a plate.He added salad, then handed the plate to her.“We could eat on the terrace.”
“Great idea.”She took the plate and walked outside.
He joined her a moment later with his plate, a couple of forks and napkins, and his whisky.
“So tell me about Darien,” she said as they settled in.“What do we need to do?”
“Eat,” he said firmly, pointing at her plate.
“It is possible to accomplish two things at once.”
“It’s also possible to take a break.I’ve been on the phone all day about Darien and even if you won’t take a moment to breathe, I’d like one.Plus, I feel like I haven’t eaten in a month.”
“Same,” she said, and forked risotto into her mouth.She immediately closed her eyes and moaned.“Oh my God.This is so good.Isn’t this good?”She forked another, healthier bite.
“Pam makes the best risotto,” Jason agreed.
“Where does she live?”
“Here, in a cottage on the property.Next door to Nana, actually.”
“Why doesn’t your grandmother live in this house?”Mallory asked curiously.
