Page 4 of Dangerous Kiss
Chapter Two
“Beebs, come on. A half hour won’t make any difference.” Rich Furlough, one of the movie set’s security guards openly sulked at Biba, who grinned back at him. Rich, and his joined-at-the-hip colleague Gunter, were some of her favorite people on any of the movies she’d worked on. Superb at their jobs, they had an irreverent and sometimes mutinous sense of fun. Rich, whose dark good looks and bright blue eyes could have made him a contender for stardom easily, was the instigator, always looking for ways to bring the more diva-like actors down to earth with a bump, and Gunter, a German-born bodybuilder, tagged along pondering the most random things in life, such as why dragonflies had multi-colored wings (“Zay are fancy-schmancy, no? Like ’zay are going to a party, ja?”).
Biba adored both of them—the two men had been best friends since their college years, and in turn, they had taken her under their wing early on in her career. Gunter had a crush on Stella which remained resolutely unrequited, and so sometimes he would get drunk and wax mournfully about his ‘lost love’.
Rich flirted outrageously with Biba, but they shared an almost fraternal bond, and now he was trying to persuade her to prank Damon, who Rich loathed. “Come on, Biba,” he said again, his voice wheedling. “You know you want to.”
“I’mnotKrazy Gluing his moustache,” Biba said firmly, trying and failing to keep a grin off her face. “Lila will kill me for ruining her makeup job on him.”
Rich snorted. “He needs it.” Biba winked at him and went to find her boss.
Stella was tapping her cigarette on the table in the trailer, her eyes locked in the middle distance. For a moment she didn’t see Biba come in, then, after Biba had gotten tired of saying good morning and being ignored, she rapped on the table loudly.
“Hey, Spacecakes. Makeup in five.”
Stella blinked, then smiled. “I heard you. Have you seen Damon this morning?”
“No, thank God.” Biba stopped and narrowed her eyes at Stella. She knew this look of old. “Oh, no. I know what you’re thinking.”
“What?” Stella was all innocence.
“You get this look on your face when you’re gearing up to dump someone. As much as I detest Damon, you can dump him yourself this time.”
“I didn’t ask you to do anything.”
“No, but you will.” Biba busied herself with the new script pages that had arrived. She frowned. “Are the new pages pink or yellow? Shit, I can’t remember.”
Stella ignored her. “Now that you mention Damon…”
“I didn’t, you did.”
Stella waved her cigarette at Biba, then lit it finally, blowing the smoke away from her assistant. It was one of the few courtesies she showed. “Perhaps it is time we went our separate ways.”
“Hallelujah.”
Stella studied her. “You really don’t like him, do you? What’s the matter, Beebs? Hate sharing me?”
“Always,” Biba grinned sarcastically, and Stella laughed. “No, he’s just a creep. You could do better.”
Stella looked vaguely surprised at the compliment but didn’t say anything. “Well…next time, I will. Our gorgeous director for one thing. Cosimo DeLuca…can you imagine getting reamed by that man? I bet he’s packing, too.”
Biba didn’t answer, but the thought of Cosimo naked wasn’t unpleasant—quite the opposite. Not that she’d ever tell Stella that. She remembered last night when she’d seen him watching her play with the caretaker’s dog. He had looked almost…happy, enjoying watching the fun she was having with the German Shepard. Maybe he was a dog lover? That made him even more appealing. She pushed the thought of him away.Do not get a crush on him. Do not.It was ridiculous, anyway. She’d never spoken a word to him. When she’d given him that awkward wave last night, he’d looked so surprised that she had turned away, embarrassed, and almost run back to the manor house.
“Hey,Spacecakes,” Stella’s tone was annoyed, “Are you listening?”
“Sure.”
“See if you can get a read on DeLuca’s attitude toward me.”
“How?”
“Watch him when I’m acting. See if he reacts…in an admiring way.”
Biba started to grin. “So, if he…” She pretended to grab her crotch and gyrate, making an obscene gesture with her hand. Stella cackled with laughter. She could always be won over with a dirty joke.
“A little subtler than that, but yes.” Stella stretched out her long legs and bunched her long blonde hair up into a ponytail. “Right. Makeup.”
After Stella had left her alone, Biba tidied up the trailer and got out Stella’s clothes for later, hanging them and steaming the wrinkles out of them. When she was done, she went to the craft service trailer and grabbed some granola and coffee.
