Behind the Scenes(97)
“No,” he quickly says, a strange ferociousness in the word. “Don’t quit. Let me see it. Maybe I can help.”
I suck in a sharp breath, still half uncertain. “All right,” I finally say. “I email it to myself whenever I make changes, so I could pull it up now from any computer.”
His eyes sparkle and he sits up straighter. “Let’s do it.”
A bit of nausea comes over me. “What about cleaning up?”
“I’ll just put them in the dishwasher and worry about the rest later. There’s a computer across the hall, in the study.”
“Okay.” Now I’m really starting to regret agreeing to this. Slowly, I stand up and edge across the hallway and in the direction he pointed me to.
The computer is at a long wooden desk. Simon’s library doesn’t have as many books as his father’s, but it’s cozier, with a love seat holding lots of throw pillows.
Hm… maybe if I call him in here and just start seducing him on that couch, he’ll forget all about the screenplay…
I boot the computer up, gnawing on my thumbnail while I wait. Sucking in a deep breath, I pull up my email and open the document holding the screenplay. The empty title page glares at me. I hardly ever show people my writing. Just the thought of doing so with Simon is a big deal.
Planting my palms against the desk, I push myself up.
Here we go.
He’s washing his hands at the kitchen sink. “It’s pulled up,” I say, standing self-consciously in the doorway.
“Great.”
“Are you going to read it now?”
He gives me a coy look. “Unless there’s something else you would rather do.”
I nervously tap the doorway. “Just go ahead and read it so we can get it over with.”
He playfully grabs my waist as he walks by. I turn and watch him go into the study, but can’t find it in myself to follow.
“I’ll be… doing something else,” I call to him.
I start to walk down the hallway, thinking maybe I’ll find the TV, but stop when headlights flash through the windows next to the front door. Curious, I edge towards the lights. The curtains are drawn in the study, so Simon doesn’t know someone’s here.
A Jeep pulls up and Dana gets out of the car, a folder in her hand. She walks across the small front patio illuminated by porch light. I freeze. Maybe I should go hide. Does Simon even want Dana knowing I’m here?
I indecisively hover for a second, and then, for some reason I can’t explain, go to the door. Opening it, I quickly step outside, making sure to firmly close the door behind me.
“Oh,” Dana says, her eyes wide. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
We look at each other for a second.
“Is this weird?” I ask, twisting my fingers in front of me.
She smirks and shifts from one foot to the next, tucking a pink strand of hair behind her ear. “Maybe. But not too much.” She looks over my shoulder. “Is… Mr. Mulroney inside?”
“Yeah. Should I get him?”
She licks her lips and looks down at what she’s holding, then thrusts it toward me. “You don’t have to. Can you just give him this?”
“What is it?” I ask, taking it.
“It’s my written two-week notice.”
The ground seems to shift beneath my feet. “Why?”
She cocks her head. “Probably not for the reason you think. It’s not his attitude. Actually… that’s been improving, although ever so slightly.”
I purse my lips together. “I’m sorry.”
She looks straight at me. “You’re making things better. You really are.” Her voice falls to a soft hush. “I think he’s falling in love with you.”
I duck my head, trying not to smile. “So what’s the reason?”
“You.”
I look back up at her, interest mixed with a large dose of dread.
“You left the office because it wasn’t what you wanted to be doing. You took that other job because it’s where your heart was. That’s really inspired me, Sydney.”
“Wow,” I whisper. “Really?”
She nods. “Yeah.”
“Where are you going?”
She takes a deep breath. “I got a job stage managing a play.”
I can feel how wide my eyes go. “What?”
“I know,” she nods with a soft, embarrassed laugh. “I never even talk about plays. I guess… I was just so caught up in climbing the ranks at the studio that it started to feel like its own reward, you know? I forgot all about what I really wanted to do once I got out of school.”
“Dana, that’s so cool.”
She nods again. “Yeah, it is.”