Behind the Scenes(5)

“You’re gonna kill someone,” I say over my shoulder to Crystal, who’s standing in the kitchen stirring something on the stove. The main area is an open space, with the living room bleeding into the kitchen. There’s a mess of pots, plastic wrap and onion peelings strewn all over the counter. Her waist length, blonde hair is piled into a messy bun on top of her head and she’s wearing her usual apartment outfit of yoga pants and a tank top.

“I’ve got a date coming over,” she says, winking at me.

“Ooh la la. Who is it this time? The guy you met at Target?” I walk into the kitchen and take a peek at her veggie stir-fry before opening the fridge and grabbing a beer.

“Nope. Turns out Target Man is married.”

I spin around from the fridge and look at her. “What? Damn.”

“I know. But at least, I found out from him, and not his wife.”

“You’re gonna have to tell me the whole story.”

“I will, but not right now.” She grins at me. “I’m too excited about Joleen coming over. I met her at Runyon when I was pretending to work out. She’s got abs of steel.” She starts dicing pepper, then abruptly turns around to squeal at me. “Oh my God, how was your first day?”

I lean against the counter and pop the beer bottle’s top. “Don’t get too excited. My career in film is as good as over. Wait till you hear this.”

“Hear what?” a voice asks as Eryk, our other roommate, walks into the kitchen. His messy blond hair is slightly darker than Crystal’s, making me the only brunette in the apartment. He’s also inarguably handsome, but the real untypical thing about him is his height — several inches above six feet. At this moment, he’s even taller than usual, towering over us like a literal giant.

“Um, why are you wearing heels?” I ask, momentarily distracted by the six-inch stilettos he’s teetering on. The top of his head is nearly brushing the ceiling.

“Because I’m doing my first night of drag next month, and I have to practice walking like a queen to own it like a queen. What do you think?”

“You look like a five-minute old giraffe,” Crystal offers.

“Haha,” Eryk dryly snaps at her before turning to me. “What’s your story? Spill.”

I take a big swig of beer. “Okay, well, first of all, the head of Mulroney Pictures? As in, the man who is my new boss? Hot. Like, melt your panties off with a look hot.”

“Yesss,” both my roommates say at the same time.

I hold my finger up to signal for them to wait for the best part. “But I almost ran into him with my car. Then I walked in on him spanking some lady that was bent over his desk.”

Crystal shrieks and covers her mouth with her hands.

“You naughty girl!” Eryk croons as he playfully slaps my shoulder. “So what did you do? Ask to join?”

“What? Oh my God, Eryk, you’re not serious, are you?”

“Of course I am.”

“I think he is,” Crystal giggles, moving back to the stove to turn the heat down.

“No, I did not ask to join. But what am I going to do? I’m totally going to get fired.”

“Nuh-uh.” Eryk shakes his head. “He’s not going to fire you.”

I tilt my head back to look up at him. “Why not?”

“Because now you’ve got the power, girl. You walked in on him doing the naughty-naughty. If he fires you, he risks you running around town and talking about what you saw.”

I bite my lip and take a moment to think about this. It does make sense, after all…

“Okay, well… should I apologize for walking in on him?”

“Apologize for what?” he asks, baring his teeth at me. “You’re not getting my point.”

I sigh, finally conceding. “Okay, I’m just going to forget about it.”

“Or don’t,” he grins, the dimples in his cheeks popping out. “If he’s as hot as you say, it sounds like you’ve got a memory to cherish till the end of time.”

My stomach jumps at his words and I take another drink, trying to cool down the rush of fire that’s suddenly coursing through my body.

“I want to see his picture,” Eryk says. “Do you think he’s on Facebook?”

I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t know.”

“Hmm,” Crystal says from the stove. “Isn’t Facebook bourgeois?”

Eryk peers at her. “Meaning?”

“Meaning the man is, like, a CEO, right? If he were on Facebook, women would be hitting him up nonstop.”

“Maybe that’s where he found the woman in his office,” I say.