Page 42 of Between Takes
Chapter Fifteen
Despite Shaun’s insistence that he didn’t miss me on set, he kept popping in for random things throughout each day. It was rather unfortunate that Brian tasked a runner with shepherding him back to set. At least Adrian would have stood up to Shaun. The panic in the runner’s eyes grew every day as the AD team bombarded the radio with calls for Shaun. Shaun didn’t even have to say anything to the poor kid these days; his disappearing acts generated the stress with little to no input from him. The guilt set in quickly.
It was just easier to focus in the trailer, without the buzz of people rushing around. Plus, if he did decide to sneak off for a drink, I had warning systems in place. Leanne had no idea why she was texting me every time Shaun so much as twitched towards the equipment room, and Tom just thought it was all in the norm for a PA to demand updates every time her boss got in his car. Despite how much time I spent there,I couldn’t always watch his trailer. If he decided to come here and found a stash I’d missed…
Okay, I was avoiding him too.
What else was I supposed to do? My boss had nearly kissed me. Or at least I thought he was going to kiss me.
And I’d wanted him to.
I’d wanted his lips on mine, and the fact it might have been nothing but a ploy to throw me off balance made me want to claw his eyes out. An odd mix of relief, anger and disappointment plagued my thoughts, and I did not want to be around Shaun with that volatile cocktail. One moment I’d convince myself that it was all in my head – the interest or the deviousness, I’m not sure which – and the next, he’d deliver lunch with a huge smile and sit chatting about anything but work. If someone could have a personality transplant, Shaun had done it.
Even so, I begrudgingly conceded that my avoidance had become a distraction. And distractions meant the production fell behind chasing Shaun all over the studio. So, like the good little assistant I was meant to be, I made a point of hanging out on the sidelines again with his coffee ready.
The elated smile on his face wiped the slate clean, but today I had one regret: Why hadn’t I checked the schedule before I returned to set?
Mystery Lines wasn’t a very violent show, but there were still some scenes in the script that got up close and personal. And Shaun had decided to do his own stunts.
I watched the stuntman take a swing at him, and I flinched. Never mind the fact there was no impact, it looked real from where I sat. My eyes prickled and my stomach hurt. After the third hit, I put the coffee down – clutching a cup of hot liquid while he scuffled on the soundstage was not a good idea.
I gripped the edges of my adopted flight case and forced the emotions back.
When Gary called for a break, my face ached from holding a smile in place and my back muscles screamed from the lack of movement. Dragging air into my chest became a priority. And getting out of the studio.
Deep breaths, Baines. It was staged. He doesn’t have a scratch on him… But why the hell do I care?
“How did it look?” Shaun asked, a cheerful lilt peppering his Welsh accent.
“Fine,” I muttered, more focused on surreptitiously working out the kinks in my muscles.
“Just fine?” His voice rose with alarm. “It can’t be just fine, Mona. I have to do it again if it was just fine!”
Oh, please don’t.
“It was great.” I injected as much pep into my voice as possible. He didn’t look convinced by my bright smile. “Do you want coffee? I’ll, em, I’ll go get it.”
I jumped down from my box and marched over to the mercifully empty Crafty table. I dumped the cup of lukewarm coffee in the bin and started preparing two more – not that I needed one; I was far too wired as it was.
What the hell is wrong with me? Panicking that he’d injure himself in a stunt he’d practised for weeks, seriously?
“Are you alright there?” Shaun appeared at my side, startling me to the point that I missed the cup and spilt almond milk all over the table.
Swearing, I crouched down and frantically searched the boxes beneath for a towel of some kind. With two clean tea towels in hand, I set to work mopping up the spill and ignoring Shaun’s bewildered stare.
“I’m perfectly fine, thank you.”
His lifted brows told me he didn’t believe me. Oh well, I didn’t either.
I blocked him out and focused on finishing his coffee. When I glanced up to hand it over, he stood frozen with a cookie inches from his mouth. His eyes were wide and fixed on me like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t, which he had. His personal trainer had been rather specific about cutting sugar from Shaun’s diet.
I couldn’t see anything wrong with a treat now and again. It wasn’t like Shaun tore through junk food on the regular. Plus, he’d drop some serious calories now that he was off the drink. Still, it was a comical scene and I intended to enjoy it. I put the cup down, crossed my arms and welcomed stern Mona into the building.
Shaun lowered the cookie, indecision consuming his features.
He couldn’t win either way. If he ate it, he’d expect me to pipe up with a threat to tell his trainer. If he put it back, it would be disgusting and I’d have to say so. But if he binned it… oh boy, would he open a can of worms he’d regret. There was nothing I hated more than waste, and I’d seen a lot of it on this set.
He met my gaze with an assessing light. He looked like a toddler caught with his hand in a cookie jar. An adorable one with a dimple, a mop of dark brown hair and sad but sly green eyes.
