Page 2 of Between Takes
Pay at my current job wasn’t great. It was enough to cover the day to day, but I didn’t want to live pay cheque to pay cheque. I hadn’t been able to save very much and that wouldn’t change, not even with my frugal ways. Thankfully, I didn’t have student loans to worry about – one pro of being born Scottish: university was free. Even a slight increase would be huge.
My eyes bulged at the figure she quoted. If I planned it right, I could buy a house outright at the end of the contract with that kind of cash. “When do I start?”
“Oh, thank fucking god!” She sighed, and I could easily imagine her slouching down in an insanely expensive swivel chair. “Monday. You start Monday.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to agree when my brain connected the dots.
My eyes widened. Today was Friday. I would be giving only a few hours’ notice.
True, I’d had a lot of trouble finding a job I actually liked, but I’d never up and quit with no warning before.
“Mona?” Sherry’s cheery voice pulled me out of my panic spiral. She’d been talking, and I’d zoned out.
“Sorry. I missed that.”
“I said, because you’re coming to my rescue at the last minute, I’ll include a relocation bonus.”
I stared at the white wall above the stairs, frowning.
Relocation bonus. Why did I need a relocation bonus?
“The job’s not in Glasgow?” I asked, my words slow and measured as I tried to put the pieces together.
“No, dear. Shaun’s in Cardiff. I need you in Cardiff.”
Silence met her clarification. Quitting a job I hated with a shit supervisor was one thing. But packing up my life and moving four hundred miles down the country without notice? That needed a bit more thought.
And I had to do it all in a weekend.
“On Monday,” she repeated, concern diluting her upbeat tone. “Is that a problem?”
Was it a problem?
Isla had clearly given her stamp of approval. She wouldn’t miss me. My brother was in London and my parents had retired to Cornwall nearly a year ago. In Cardiff, I’d be closer to all of them. The fact was, there was nothing holding me in Edinburgh. I didn’t need to worry about leaving anyone behind. My life here was boring and predictable at the best of times.
“No problem at all. I’ll get everything sorted at my end.”
Once the words left my mouth, a heavy weight lifted off my chest. That is until I realised that I now needed to walk back into the office and give my dickhead of a supervisor three hours’ notice of my departure. I was nervous – hands-shaking nervous. I had no idea how he would take it. He’d either be gleeful or downright mean about it.
“I’ll arrange everything here too,” Sherry said, the edge in her voice raising my eyebrows. “I’m going to contract you with the agency rather than Shaun directly. If you run into any problems working for him, let me know immediately and I’ll jump in if you need help.”
What problems should I be expecting?
“By the time you arrive on Monday, the production team will have your passes ready. I’ll text you the details you need and send over the contract by the end of the day.” She cleared her throat, hesitating over something. “Do you have questions for me?”
Aside from what the hell am I getting myself into?
“What exactly does an assistant do?”
“Keep him on track, dear,” Sherry said, some of the tension draining from her voice now. “He’s in a weird place and following through with his commitments is sometimes challenging for him. Keep his schedule up to date, make sure he’s attending all his meetings – especially with the producers – get him to set on time, remind him to memorise his lines, manage his communications, run errands. Try not to piss him off.” Sherry chuckled at that. “But that’ll be nigh on impossible, so I’d ignore his complaining if I were you.”
The process sounded easy enough on its own, but throw in a volatile actor and it might not be as straightforward as it appeared.
I swallowed hard. It would be fine.
Besides, I was a badass now. I could handle anything.
“Congratulations!” Isla cried a couple of hours later.
