Page 18 of Between Takes
I was nearly out of his bedroom door when I thought I heard him mutter my name, but that couldn’t be right because he’d agreed this was it. He’d promised me the day off. Hadn’t he?
“Did you have any big plans?” Shaun asked, his voice louder.
I paused in the doorway and slowly turned back to him. “What does it matter? It’s my day off. I can do whatever I want with it.”
He dragged his hand through his hair. “Remember when I said you don’t get a day off until I do?”
I scowled. That was not a thing.
“I’m not getting a day off and I need my assistant’s help with this interview.”
“Why?” I drawled, suspicion dripping from every letter as I eyed him. Shaun didn’t give praise. That sounded like lowball praise. I wasn’t buying it.
“It’s a big interview and it would help if I wasn’t worrying about other stuff.”
“Stuff like what?”
He blinked at me, clearly unprepared for a battle. Too bad for him I could switch it on with little effort.
“Answering the door, coffees.” He scrubbed his hand down his cheek. “I don’t know – stuff. Things come up. I can’t plan for everything.”
I snorted. “I wouldn’t say you plan for anything.”
He nodded. “That’s… fair.”
It was my turn to blink. He’d agreed with me without a fight. What the fuck was going on here? I was missing something, surely.
“Is there a reason you don’t want to be alone with this reporter?” I kept my voice level and free of any kind of judgement. If he’d hit on her and led her on, he wouldn’t catch flak from me. Not out loud, at least.
He bit his lip, indecision playing over his features. “Lily used to help me with them.”
His quiet words were like a sharp turn on a rollercoaster. I didn’t know what to do with them. We were just arguing, right?
“Did you tell Sherry?” Surely, she’d have stepped in if she thought it was that simple. “Maybe she could be here to help you with interviews.”
A sneer distorted the curve of his lips, shattering the momentary vulnerability. “Last I checked, you were my assistant, not my handler. Just do your job, Mona.” Pushing past me, he jogged down the stairs, and I followed, my steps slow and reluctant.
My scowl returned. I hadn’t agreed yet, but could I even say no now? Pretty sure this wasn’t the kind of issue Sherry wanted to hear about, and really, at the rate of pay, could I refuse? He was more than paying for overtime, and I wasn’t ready for this new chapter to end too soon.
“I think we should set up here. Can you clear all of this away?” Shaun asked, gesturing to a pile of books, throws and general debris that littered his sofa and coffee table.
Or maybe I want it to end right now.
“I’m not your cleaner.”
“I’m aware, but they aren’t due until Monday.” Shaun’s expression was unreadable, fixed in a masterful display of arrogant boredom as if he hadn’t dropped an image-altering bomb upstairs. “So, you’re all I’ve got. Audrey and her crew will be here in twenty minutes.”
If there was one thing I seriously hated, it was time limits, and in the same vein, deadlines. The people who set them always underestimated how long a task would take, which always resulted in my panicking as the clock ticked down. Something similar occurred at Shaun’s. I cleaned his living room for my sanity, not because he told me. Maybe I should have refused and left, but then he’d just call Sherry, and she’d already taken enough of a chance on me. I really didn’t want to give her a reason to question that, even if I was pretty sure my contract didn’t list cleaning as part of my duties.
I greeted the reporter’s crew, made drinks and backed out of the way until it was all done. How an interview could roll on longer than an hour was beyond me. By the time I shut the door on Audrey Harper and her camera crew, it was after 2PM. At least an hour had been lost to her blatant attempts to flirt with Shaun, and another hour on questions Shaun refused to answer. Next time he booked one of these interviews, I’d be in control and it wouldn’t happen on a Sunday during my day off.
I escaped his flat without further comments or demands. At least I’d get some of my day to myself.
Monday - 2200
HotShot: Bring PT ses fwd tomoz.
Mona: Done
