Page 77 of The Boss I Can't Stand
“Mm-hmm,” Mom said. “That’s what I’m worried about. That he’s thinking about something he’s not telling me.”
“Well, how was the conversation during dinner?” I asked, trying to be as supportive as I could while also wondering if any of these things were red flags I should actually be worried about. Was it possible Larry reallywashaving second thoughts about the marriage? Mom had been the one to propose, after all. Did that mean she was more committed to the relationship than he was?
“Fine,” Mom huffed. “Larry isn’t exactly a chatterbox on a good day. But something just felt…off.”
My stomach sank as Mom kept talking, and my mind drifted to the way things felt slightly off with Finn lately, also. After watching the ruined footage, I’d chased after a distraught Cathleen, trying to calm her down, trying to explain that Finn was simply stressed about the project andthatwas the reason he was lashing out.
As I’d looked into her watery eyes, I’d told her Finn hadn’t meant any of the things he’d said, but she’d simply shook her head. It was clear she didn’t believe me. I’d tried to get Finn to call her that first evening, to talk things out, but he’d been so wound up that I’d figured forcing the issue would just make things worse. I’d decided to wait for him to calm down…but that never happened. I’d been walking on eggshells with him since.
“—every time I try to ask him about it, he just assures me nothing is wrong,” Mom said, sounding bothered and uncertain.
I sighed. “Well, maybe?—”
My office door flew open—mylockeddoor—and Finn stood there, one hand on the doorknob, the other wrapped around the doorframe, nostrils flaring like he’d just run a mile. Since when did he have the key tomyoffice? Since when did he come barging inside?
“Why aren’t you on set?” he snapped.
“Gotta go, Mom. I’m sure everything is fine. I’ll call you later,” I said, hanging up. I got to my feet, one eyebrow arching at his tone. “I was on my way, just had to take a quick call.”
“We don’t have time for calls. I need a wardrobe supervisor on set before we?—”
“Paisley is already there,” I assured him. “I sent her ahead of me to finalize the background actors. And I’ve got Kaiden’s shirt ready to go. We’re right on time.”
Finn grumbled something about being late if we weren’t ten minutes early. It didn’t seem worth it to argue, so I just grabbed the shirt and followed him to our driver.
We drove to set, and I pressed my hand to Fin’s knee, squeezing, trying to bring him a modicum of comfort, but I wasn’t sure if he even noticed it. He spent the drive over on the phone, snapping at Brenna about why the armorer was late.
“How the hell are we supposed to film a shootout when the guy in charge of weapon safety isn’t even on set yet?”
By the time we reached the soundstage, I’d given up trying to calm him down and instead focused on my own tasks, taking over as wardrobe supervisor from Paisley and sending her home before helping Kaiden into his shirt, getting it buttoned and tucked into his suspenders.
“Hey!” he said, flashing me a charming grin. “You’d never know I’d already bled out in this thing before. That’s some sort of costuming magic.”
I smiled back. At least someone appreciated all my hard work. I knew Finn wanted everything to be perfect, and itwouldbe, because everyone here was dedicated to making that happen. I just wish he’d calm down long enough to realize that.
We’d alreadyhadthe worst-case scenario.
He didn’t need to keep planning for more.
But as the actors were corralled onto the soundstage, the camera team took their positions, and X started directing, it became clear that Finn had no intention of stepping back and letting us all do our jobs without interference.
“Let’s try to be a little less cardboard!” Finn called over to background actors. “You’re blending in with the bricks.”
“Are you going to stand in every shot?” X snapped at him.
“Someone needs to make sure people are doing what they’rehiredto do,” Finn shot back.
“Get the hell off my soundstage, Lockhart.”
“Yoursoundstage?” Finn growled.
X glared at him before shifting his headphones back over his ears and shouting, “ACTION!”
Finn scowled and paced behind X, snapping his own directions after every take. As the two of them sniped at each other, the energy grew tense and uncomfortable. I wanted to be anywhere but here. Frankly, I didn’t know how the actors could handle it while still delivering on their performances.
“CUT!” X shouted as Finn barked a correction at Kaiden, interrupting a spray of fake gunfire and sending the actors into a flurry of confusion, crashing into each other and stumbling over props.
“Shit!” Kaiden cried, holding up his torn sleeve. It had ripped along a seam I’d repaired earlier.
