Page 15 of Witch You Would
“Come back here if you need us to fix anything,” Bruno said, flapping a hand at me.
“Good luck, mija,” Fina added.
I would certainly need it. Between the cold and my nerves, I’d gone from three shaky, peeing chihuahuas to a whole kennel.
Rachel came to collect me this time, a finger pressed to her earpiece like she was half-listening to someone. “Liam is readyto mic you,” she said, hauling me back to the greenroom. On the way, we passed Little Manny, Felicia, and Amy going in theother direction.
Liam turned out to be a smiling dude about nine feet tall with a pair of headphones around his neck. He looked at my shirtand sighed like he wasn’t mad, just disappointed.
“Is that polyester?” he asked.
“Maybe?”
“Can you change?”
“Not without messing up my hair.”
“How would you feel about wearing a big hat?”
Rachel cut the air with her hand. “Absolutely not.”
They launched into an argument about clothing noise and mic placement. At some point Little Manny returned with Felicia, andRachel sent Quentin and Dylan off with him. She and Liam kept going until Liam said something about a hollowed-out pen andI got an idea.
“Would this help?” I pulled an apron out of my backpack. Loosening the neck strap so I wouldn’t mess up my hair, I carefullyslid it over my head, tightened it, and tied it around my waist. My pencil and notebook went into a side pocket.
Liam stared at my chest with a puzzled half smile. Rachel raised her eyebrows.
Rosy bought me this apron for my birthday two years ago. It was a cute retro style, with red ruffled edges and nice big pockets.I loved the print: white fabric with orange and red llamas and flaming hearts. “Las llamas de mi amor” was stitched in whitecursive font on the red heart-shaped chest pocket.
“Is that... inappropriate?” Rachel asked.
“No, it says ‘the flames of my love,’” I explained. “It’s a pun? The word for ‘flames’ is spelled the same as ‘llamas,’ butit’s pronounced ‘yamas’—”
“As long as it isn’t bad. Liam, can you work with this?”
“I guess.” Liam taped a tiny microphone to the top of my apron, then tucked a transmitter thingy inside the top pocket. “Don’ttouch it,” he warned.
“I’ll guard it with my life,” I said solemnly.
He cracked a smile and moved on to Felicia, sitting stiffly on the couch, phone in hand. Another deep sigh escaped him as he muttered about silk being impossible. Eventually Amy came back,then Dylan and Quentin arrived together just as Liam finished with Amy.
“We’re getting close to camera time,” Rachel announced. “As soon as everyone is wired, I’ll be around to collect your phones,tablets, laptops, and any other devices prohibited by the NDA. If you have any last messages to send, do it now.”
I whipped out my phone so fast, I nearly dropped it. I’d put it on do-not-disturb mode, which meant I hadn’t noticed a bunchof calls and texts coming in. Rosy, my sister, and... oh no.
The voicemail from my boss was surprisingly short. “Penny, this is Ofelia. Since you’re not here, and you’re not taking mycalls, you’ve clearly made your choice. You can pick up your final paycheck when you return your keys. If anything goes missing,I’ll tell the police you’re responsible.”
My mouth hung open in shock and disbelief. She’d actually done it. She’d fired me.
Seven years. For seven years, I busted my ass working for Ofelia, teaching myself everything I could to be a good spell technician,quitting college so I could be full-time. Seven years and she’d just... dumped me in the trash like a used tissue.
“Are you okay?” Amy asked. “You look sick.”
What could I say? That my boss—former boss—was a spiteful jerk? That now I definitely had to win this show, or at least hopeCharlotte Sharp gave me a job that started literally as soon as we stopped filming or I wouldn’t be able to make rent nextmonth?
“I’m fine,” I lied.
Chapter 4
