“That’s me!” Simone pointed at herself.
Gregori watched amazed as Simone completed both commercials without falling over or injuring herself.
Maggie turned to Gregori when the commercials were done. “Well, what do you think?”
“I like them! You did a great job, Maggie.” He gave her a high five. “Thank you.”
“I did well, too!” Simone cried.
He smiled at her. “Yes, you did. I was very impressed.” He looked around the studio. “Is Pennington still here?”
“We told him he was done for the night,” Maggie said. “We’ve been debating whether we should try another guy.”
“I think you’re right,” Gregori admitted. “He didn’t quite pull it off.”
“I know who could do it!” Madison grabbed Phineas’s arm. “Dr. Phang! He would be excellent.”
Everyone turned to look at Phineas.
He shrugged.
“And I want to do it, too!” Madison clasped her hands together. “Please! I’ve always wanted to be in front of a camera.”
What a surprise, Gregori thought. He caught Gordon’s attention and nodded his head.
“Why, yes, of course.” Gordon smiled at Madison. “We would be delighted to have you in a commercial.”
“Wheeee!” Madison bounced for joy. “I’ll do the first one with Dr. Phang, and Abby can do the second one with Gregori!”
Abigail gasped. “What?”
“Oh, come on, Abby.” Madison leaned against her sister and gave her a soulful look. “It’ll be fun. When’s the last time you ever had any fun?”
“Good question,” Gregori muttered. Abigail scowled at him, but he simply lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll do it if you’ll do it with me.”
She snorted. “You’ve probably done it in front of a camera before.”
He chuckled. “No, sweetheart. You’re my first.”
“Yes!” Madison punched the air with her fists. “Then it’s all settled.”
“Madison,” Abigail whispered. “We can’t make commercials. We’re not allowed to endorse anything.”
“It’s not for real.” Madison waved a hand impatiently. “It’s just for fun. And it’ll make me happy.”
“Then you do it.” Abigail frowned. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Of course you can.” Madison patted her on the shoulder. “You only have one line. ‘Take me.’ It’s easy.”
“Take me,” Abigail repeated, then cast a nervous glance at Gregori.
He smiled slowly, enjoying the blush that crept up her cheeks.
After twenty minutes of makeup and practicing their lines, Phineas and Madison were ready to tape Blardonnay commercial number one.
“Roll ’em,” Gordon said.
Standing alone in a bathroom set, wearing a towel fastened around his hips, Phineas began in a deep voice, “Hello, ladies. Come closer. Look at my eyes.”
The camera zoomed in.
“You’re hypnotized now, aren’t you? Look at my chest. That’s right. Do as I say. You’re under my command.”
The camera moved back as Phineas walked into a bedroom set.
“This is my bedroom. Wouldn’t you like to join me? Look at the man next to you. Now look at me. Yes, you want to be with me.”
The camera moved right to catch Madison running toward him. Meanwhile, Phineas was handed a bottle of Blardonnay.
“Oh yes, Dr. Phang!” Madison exclaimed as she reached his side. “I want to be with you.”
“Of course you do.” Phineas lifted the wine bottle. “And if you want me, you’ll want my Blardonnay.”
“Oh yes, Dr. Phang!” Madison leaned against him and placed a hand on his bare chest. “Can I pop your cork?”
“Anytime, baby. I have a corkscrew under my towel.” He winked at the camera. “If you love me, you’ll love my Blardonnay.”
The camera zeroed in on the bottle of Blardonnay, then Gordon said, “Cut.”
“Yes!” Madison squealed, then threw her arms around Phineas. “You were fantastic!”
He laughed. “So were you!”
Maggie strode toward them, grinning. “You guys were great!”
Gordon looked at Gregori. “What do you think?”
Gregori chuckled. “It was good.”
“It was damned good!” Gordon yelled.
Everyone clapped and cheered except Simone, who shrieked, “But what about me?”
“All right!” Gordon shouted. “Let’s do commercial number two.”
The crew rolled the bedroom/bathroom sets out of the way, then brought in a brick wall and lamppost. Crinkled newspapers were scattered on the floor to make the scene look like an inner city alleyway. The lights were dimmed, so the only light appeared to come from the lamppost.