Behind the Scenes(96)
“I have you on speaker phone, by the way,” Crystal says. “In case you couldn’t tell.”
I giggle. “I think I should go. Simon’s making dinner.”
“Okay. Have fun!”
“Have sex!” Eryk yells.
I hang up and bounce off the grass, propelling myself back towards the kitchen and the man waiting there for me.
He’s standing in front of the table, setting a pan of some kind of casserole next to the salad bowl.
“Smells good,” I say. And it does. Really good. And just like that, I’m starving.
“Hopefully, it will be good. How is he?”
I enthusiastically nod my head, not meaning to look like a bobble head, but not being able to contain my joy over everything being so perfect. “He’s great.”
“Good.” His eyes lock on mine and he steps forward for another kiss. I let myself go loose in his arms, and he pushes his weight against me. The kiss grows deeper and I bump into a chair.
Chuckling, he breaks off. “We could forget about dinner.”
I pretend to pout. “I’m hungry.”
I’m ravenous, actually, and I try my best not to scarf down the whole dinner in two minutes. As we’re finishing up, Simon looks over at me.
“You write on Saturdays.”
I swallow a bite of carrot. “I do…”
“You told my father. That’s how I know.”
“Oh.” I nod.
“Screenplays.”
“Yep.”
“Did you today?”
I laugh. “Today was awfully full, so no. I actually took Brendan to the airport this morning.” I wait for his reaction. His lips purse slightly, but his face doesn’t give much away. “He didn’t have as much fun here as he thought he was going to.”
“With you?”
I run a hand across the top of my hair. “He was kind of hoping we might get back together.”
“Hm.” He stiffly nods his head.
“We’re not,” I say, my voice deep, serious.
He barks out a laugh. “I should hope not.”
I grin and tap my foot against his leg under the table.
“What are you writing now?” he asks as I take another bite.
The question takes me by surprise. I don’t usually talk about my projects, preferring to just keep them mostly to myself. “It’s… nothing special.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“I kind of am.” I study him. “Have you ever written anything?”
He guffaws, his eyes lighting up with the laugh. “Anything good? I don’t think so. Bad? Yes. Absolutely.”
I grin. “Then you have no right to tell me not to be embarrassed.”
“You have an eye for things I don’t have, as well as a sensitivity most people don’t.”
I blink heavily, staring back at him. “Wow. Thanks.”
“It’s a simple observation. I think anyone might be able to see it. You have the qualities of a great writer written all over you.”
I stare down at the table, aware of the flush creeping across my body. “What about Star Trek fanfic?” I ask. “Were you responsible for any of those in your fan boy days?”
He lifts a brow. “How do you know I’m not still writing them?”
“Wow. Finally, the enigma of Simon Mulroney begins to unravel.” I grin at him. “So that’s what you do behind that closed door all day.”
He runs his hand along the edge of the table. “There was a time when I wanted to make films.”
“Huh?” I say in honest confusion. “You do make films.”
He shakes his head. “Not the kind I want to.”
“The Dawn Companion,” I say. “Isn’t that kind of like Star Trek? They both have a lot of unbelievable action in them.”
“That trilogy’s story line is shit.”
I snort. “It’s definitely not Tolstoy. Millions of people love it, though.”
“You know that doesn’t mean it’s actually good.”
“Of course I know that. So what is good? I mean, you’re the head of the studio. You can do what you want, right?”
“Not entirely. But to a certain degree, I can make executive decisions, just as long as what I decide to do makes money — or at the very least doesn’t lose money.”
I nod and smile. “Right.”
“Can I see what you’re working on?”
The smile falls off my face. “I don’t know.”
“Why?”
I wrinkle my nose. “It’s not close to finished yet.”
He folds his arms on the table and gazes at me. “What does it need?”
I give that some thought. “I don’t really know. I’ve been struggling with it for a while, and I can’t quite figure out what it’s missing. I’m kind of stuck.” I shake my head. “Maybe I should just give up on it.”