Of course he is.
The guys whoop and Dana glances at me, sharing a look the other two don’t notice. My shoulders slump and I take a seat.
I’m unhappy when Simon’s here and I’m unhappy when he’s not. I just can’t freaking win.
Dana scoots her chair over to mine. “How was your weekend?”
“Great,” I lie. “What did you do?”
“Went to the movies with my friend Amy. That’s kind of it.”
I play with a pen laying on the desk. “Where did Mr. Mulroney go?”
She lowers her voice even more. “He didn’t say.”
“Oh.”
It’s her job to know exactly where Simon Mulroney is at all times. Which means it’s probably not a “business” trip at all. He just can’t bear the thought of coming in and seeing my face.
I grit my teeth and push back the pathetic dry heave threatening to come up and sneak a glance across the room. Chuck and Daniel are too busy on YouTube to pay any attention to what Dana and I are doing.
“His trip doesn’t have to do with work, does it?”
She lightly shakes her head. “No. He called it ‘business’, but it’s not. I know about everything going on, and nothing needs his attention outside of L.A. I think he just wanted to take a vacation.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“For what? For stirring things up?”
I nod.
“Eh. Whatever.” She shrugs. “It doesn’t put my job in danger, and that’s about all that matters to me.”
I fumble with the pen, accidentally dropping it on the floor.
She straightens back up. “You want to get to work?”
“Sounds good.”
Anything sounds better than sitting around worrying about my personal life.
Busy work almost helps. In the midst of emails and phone calls, I actually manage to make it through half the morning without Simon on my mind. When the phone rings near noon, Dana gives an unexpected response.
“She’s right here,” she says into the receiver. “One moment, please.”
Ice shoots through my veins and I stare at her. “Who is it?” I ask, hoping it’s Simon and also praying it’s not.
“It’s David Mulroney’s assistant.” She hands me the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Miss Andrews? I’m Steve Tiff. I work for David Mulroney.”
“Hello,” I repeat.
“Mr. Mulroney wanted me to call you about a job opportunity.”
My head begins to spin. “Which job?”
“It’s about a production assistant spot on the back lot. On The Dawn Companion.”
“Oh.” I search for words. “Um, that’s nice of him.”
“He wanted to make it clear that you don’t have to take it. It’s just an offer. They can easily find someone else to fill the position. Mr. Mulroney was taken with your enthusiasm when he visited the office, and he thought you might like a job on set.”
“I would love a job on set,” I admit.
Dana watches me, absorbing the conversation.
“Great. I’ll email you the call sheet for tomorrow.”
“Wow. That fast?”
“They just lost a PA this morning and need someone right away. Mr. Mulroney told production that once something was available, they should call us.”
“What about my job here?” I quickly ask. “I can’t leave it last minute.”
“Mr. Mulroney is taking care of that as well. I’ll send a temp in to replace you.”
“Okay,” I rasp.
“Great. I’ll let Mr. Mulroney know you’re taking the position, and that production should expect you on set tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I repeat, more of a broken record than a human being.
“Have a great day.”
“You too.”
He hangs up and I slowly hand the phone to Dana.
“What was it?” she asks.
“David Mulroney got me a PA job on set,” I say, processing the information as I present it.
Her jaw drops. “Why did he do that?”
“I guess he could tell how much I liked being on The Dawn Companion last week, so he got me a spot on it.”
“Oh.” Dana looks slightly disappointed. “I’ll miss you.”
It’s the sweetest thing Dana has ever said to me, and I’m touched. “Thanks. I’ll miss you.” And I meant it.
“But no one else here, right?” she whispers, her eyes darting towards Simon’s office door.
I exhale loudly. “I think it’s for the best. I need to… separate myself.”
Dana nods. “Makes sense. So when do you start?”
“Tomorrow. A temp is coming in to cover for me.”