Part 28
Just Another Day
~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@
"Potter and Leery are in makeup; they'll be ready on set in five minutes. The
lighting crew insists that they're in under budget, but when you take into
account how many light bulbs, fluorescent tubes and halogen bulbs we're likely
to go through on the shoot, there's no way they will be by the end. They're more
likely to break budget by 200,000 or so. Makeup is throwing a hissy fit over
Lindley being here - they refuse to put her on their payroll because she costs
so damn much - how are we paying for her anyway? This is causing a problem
because your precious starlet won't let any of our tech's do her makeup. Where
did you find that little diva? Anyway, they're at odds. The sound crew -"
"Andraia?" I interrupt my assistant and she pauses mid-sentence. "What are the
chances that anything you have to tell me right now is good news?"
She scrunched her face, running silently through her list. "Coffee is hot?" she
tried.
I sighed and covered my face with my hands dejectedly. "Great. That's great!
Would you mind getting me a coffee - and if the heads of the crews have any
problems they want me to know about - tell them to talk to me. You don't need
that shit any more than I do, but it is my job, so I'll deal with it."
"Thank you Mr. Witter!" she said, scurrying off.
"It's PACEY!" I yelled at her retreating back. When did I turn into Mr. Witter?
That's my father. Not me. I'm only 22 years old for fuck's sake. How many times
do I have to tell that girl that my name is Pacey? I've known her since I moved
to California with Dawson. She used to call me Pacey. And then I gave her a job.
Now I'm freaking Mr. Witter. Mr. Witter is my father. I saw Joey and Dawson take
seats in their director's chairs just off set and breathed a sigh of relief. At
least wardrobe didn't have a stick up its ass. They looked perfect. The money
I'd poured into wardrobe had not gone to waste.
I became the director then, a hat I'd come to love in the past three years. No
longer was I Dawson's sidekick; here I was the boss. "Alright people. Here's the
thing. We're only about a hair short of breaking budget - and it's the first
day. Let's try to get this right the first time. The more delays we have; the
more this costs." I sat down in my chair. "Let's can some film today if we get
the chance. I want three good takes of each scene for camera angles, if I can
avoid taking anymore that would be fantastic. Everyone, you know the scene. Dan
McKinley's wife just died."
"Joey, and you've taken over all accounts that require a senior partner -
including the Coughlan account. Everything else has been delegated to the junior
partners with you as a consultant. You're running late from a meeting with one
of your clients to meet one of McKinley's clients, who you've heard hates
dealing with women; but you're part owner of the firm; hell your name is on the
stationary. It never even occurred to you that the client would be your ex, let
alone The Ex. You never thought you would see Noah Coughlan again. Got it?"
Joey nodded and took her place.
"Dawson. You've been dealing with McKinley & Logan for eight years now. You like
the firm - you don't want to leave. You have an exclusive contract with them
that specifically states that a senior partner is to be in charge of every
single campaign. You know that there are only two senior partners, but you never
bothered to find out who Logan was. You have dealt solely with McKinley since
day one, but you've kept it strictly business. You made it clear at the start
that you didn't really care for company socials or if he was having problems, as
long as you got your copy on time. All you know is that the meeting should have
started 15 minutes ago and now you're pissed - until you see that it's her. Same
reaction as Joey's, you're stunned. She's the reason everyone you deal with is
male. Yes, you have women working for you, yes, they move up in the company; but
everyone knows that you will never associate with them outside of the conference
room. They don't know why though. It's because of HER. The Ex. Stacey Logan, the
woman who took your heart and holds it still."
"I know this Pace. We've gone over it. She wrecked him - and now he has no
choice but to accept that she's back because he can't very well put his
advertising on hold until McKinley is ready to go back to work. She's the only
other senior partner. She's learned the file. She knows the client." Dawson
smirked as he took his place on set, followed by the actors playing the various
associates and junior partners as well as the Coughlan assistants.
"Let's just get this in the can D." I paused. "Action."
Noah tapped his pen impatiently, glancing at the clock. 10:15. The associates
looked at him nervously and he twirled the pen a few times.
"Cue Stacey" I whispered.
The door opened and Stacey Logan entered the room. "Sorry I'm late Mr. Coughlan,
I was in another meeting." she said, slightly distracted. She looked at him and
their gazes locked. Stacey froze in place.
Noah sat up straight. "Stacey?" he asked, bewildered. "What are you doing here?"
She placed her attaché case on the table calmly. "Laura McKinley passed away;
Daniel and I decided it best he take a leave of absence. I'm covering the major
client files until he gets back." she sat and removed a thick file from her
case, opening it to glance at the figures. "You've done well for yourself Noah,
she said softly. "These numbers are incredible."
"They're just numbers." Noah sidestepped carefully.
"They're fantastic numbers."
Noah shook his head. "Enough numbers. You have the latest story boards Miss
Logan?"
She looked hurt, but came out of her daze. "Yes Mr. Coughlan, we do. Dan
finished them about four days ago. Whitney, would you mind?"
A nervous looking junior partner stood. "Of course Miss Logan." she said, and
began the presentation. Noah looked over at Stacey, who was staring out the
window, then turned his attention to the storyboards with a sigh.
"Cut and print!" I shouted gleefully. "God I missed working with you Potter!"
Joey looked at me flatly. "Just doing my job Witter. Just doing my job."
"Keep it up."
Something is very wrong with her.
I intend to find out what.
~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@
Part 29
Schemes
~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@
Something is up with Joey. We've been on set for two days now, and she has not
flubbed a single word or cue. She's like a machine. Pacey is raving. Of course,
he's in love with her, so he might be biased. What am I talking about? She's
doing a fantastic job. If it weren't for how much she's throwing me off, we'd be
done with an eighth of the movie by now. But she's freaking me out.
She's not fighting him.
Even when they were together it was a constant battle for them. Always in good
spirits, but always battling for dominance.
It's like she just gave up; decided he won.
It's nuts.
I have to talk to Jen.
Jen passes me. "Hey Dawson. What's up?"
I fall into step next to her. "Not much. How's Joey doing? I'm worried about
her."
She runs her fingers through her hair. "I can't tell from one minute to the
next. She seems fine on set though. That's what's important right now; that she
can work with him."
"I suppose so." I pause, unsure of what to say next. I want to ask her out. "So
how are you then?" I try.
She laughs a little. "If the makeup department tries to kick me out one more
time I'm going to shit, but other than that I'm pretty good. They don't get that
Jo is paying me herself, they keep trying to explain that they can't afford me.
I know they can't afford me. That's why I don't contract out to projects, I
contract out to the stars. That way the director doesn't have to worry about how
big his makeup budget would have to be in order to pay me."
I laugh because I know it's true. "I missed you Jen."
"I missed you too Dawson. And don't worry about Joey so much. Jack is keeping an
eye on her; he's who she needs right now."
"I know that, but I hate not being able to do anything." I pause. "What if you
and I went to dinner tonight? Just the two of us? We could catch up and maybe
even plot to get those two back into a friendship groove. They're certainly not
ready for more right now, at least, she's not."
"I'd like that. If we could get her to fight him again, even a little, it might
help her get past it all. I'm in."
"Should we leave as soon as he calls it quits for the day?"
"Sounds great."
I smile, and she smiles back, heading to the makeup trailer as I make my way to
my apartment set for the final scenes of the day.
~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@
Just Another Day
~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@
"Potter and Leery are in makeup; they'll be ready on set in five minutes. The
lighting crew insists that they're in under budget, but when you take into
account how many light bulbs, fluorescent tubes and halogen bulbs we're likely
to go through on the shoot, there's no way they will be by the end. They're more
likely to break budget by 200,000 or so. Makeup is throwing a hissy fit over
Lindley being here - they refuse to put her on their payroll because she costs
so damn much - how are we paying for her anyway? This is causing a problem
because your precious starlet won't let any of our tech's do her makeup. Where
did you find that little diva? Anyway, they're at odds. The sound crew -"
"Andraia?" I interrupt my assistant and she pauses mid-sentence. "What are the
chances that anything you have to tell me right now is good news?"
She scrunched her face, running silently through her list. "Coffee is hot?" she
tried.
I sighed and covered my face with my hands dejectedly. "Great. That's great!
Would you mind getting me a coffee - and if the heads of the crews have any
problems they want me to know about - tell them to talk to me. You don't need
that shit any more than I do, but it is my job, so I'll deal with it."
"Thank you Mr. Witter!" she said, scurrying off.
"It's PACEY!" I yelled at her retreating back. When did I turn into Mr. Witter?
That's my father. Not me. I'm only 22 years old for fuck's sake. How many times
do I have to tell that girl that my name is Pacey? I've known her since I moved
to California with Dawson. She used to call me Pacey. And then I gave her a job.
Now I'm freaking Mr. Witter. Mr. Witter is my father. I saw Joey and Dawson take
seats in their director's chairs just off set and breathed a sigh of relief. At
least wardrobe didn't have a stick up its ass. They looked perfect. The money
I'd poured into wardrobe had not gone to waste.
I became the director then, a hat I'd come to love in the past three years. No
longer was I Dawson's sidekick; here I was the boss. "Alright people. Here's the
thing. We're only about a hair short of breaking budget - and it's the first
day. Let's try to get this right the first time. The more delays we have; the
more this costs." I sat down in my chair. "Let's can some film today if we get
the chance. I want three good takes of each scene for camera angles, if I can
avoid taking anymore that would be fantastic. Everyone, you know the scene. Dan
McKinley's wife just died."
"Joey, and you've taken over all accounts that require a senior partner -
including the Coughlan account. Everything else has been delegated to the junior
partners with you as a consultant. You're running late from a meeting with one
of your clients to meet one of McKinley's clients, who you've heard hates
dealing with women; but you're part owner of the firm; hell your name is on the
stationary. It never even occurred to you that the client would be your ex, let
alone The Ex. You never thought you would see Noah Coughlan again. Got it?"
Joey nodded and took her place.
"Dawson. You've been dealing with McKinley & Logan for eight years now. You like
the firm - you don't want to leave. You have an exclusive contract with them
that specifically states that a senior partner is to be in charge of every
single campaign. You know that there are only two senior partners, but you never
bothered to find out who Logan was. You have dealt solely with McKinley since
day one, but you've kept it strictly business. You made it clear at the start
that you didn't really care for company socials or if he was having problems, as
long as you got your copy on time. All you know is that the meeting should have
started 15 minutes ago and now you're pissed - until you see that it's her. Same
reaction as Joey's, you're stunned. She's the reason everyone you deal with is
male. Yes, you have women working for you, yes, they move up in the company; but
everyone knows that you will never associate with them outside of the conference
room. They don't know why though. It's because of HER. The Ex. Stacey Logan, the
woman who took your heart and holds it still."
"I know this Pace. We've gone over it. She wrecked him - and now he has no
choice but to accept that she's back because he can't very well put his
advertising on hold until McKinley is ready to go back to work. She's the only
other senior partner. She's learned the file. She knows the client." Dawson
smirked as he took his place on set, followed by the actors playing the various
associates and junior partners as well as the Coughlan assistants.
"Let's just get this in the can D." I paused. "Action."
Noah tapped his pen impatiently, glancing at the clock. 10:15. The associates
looked at him nervously and he twirled the pen a few times.
"Cue Stacey" I whispered.
The door opened and Stacey Logan entered the room. "Sorry I'm late Mr. Coughlan,
I was in another meeting." she said, slightly distracted. She looked at him and
their gazes locked. Stacey froze in place.
Noah sat up straight. "Stacey?" he asked, bewildered. "What are you doing here?"
She placed her attaché case on the table calmly. "Laura McKinley passed away;
Daniel and I decided it best he take a leave of absence. I'm covering the major
client files until he gets back." she sat and removed a thick file from her
case, opening it to glance at the figures. "You've done well for yourself Noah,
she said softly. "These numbers are incredible."
"They're just numbers." Noah sidestepped carefully.
"They're fantastic numbers."
Noah shook his head. "Enough numbers. You have the latest story boards Miss
Logan?"
She looked hurt, but came out of her daze. "Yes Mr. Coughlan, we do. Dan
finished them about four days ago. Whitney, would you mind?"
A nervous looking junior partner stood. "Of course Miss Logan." she said, and
began the presentation. Noah looked over at Stacey, who was staring out the
window, then turned his attention to the storyboards with a sigh.
"Cut and print!" I shouted gleefully. "God I missed working with you Potter!"
Joey looked at me flatly. "Just doing my job Witter. Just doing my job."
"Keep it up."
Something is very wrong with her.
I intend to find out what.
~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@
Part 29
Schemes
~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@
Something is up with Joey. We've been on set for two days now, and she has not
flubbed a single word or cue. She's like a machine. Pacey is raving. Of course,
he's in love with her, so he might be biased. What am I talking about? She's
doing a fantastic job. If it weren't for how much she's throwing me off, we'd be
done with an eighth of the movie by now. But she's freaking me out.
She's not fighting him.
Even when they were together it was a constant battle for them. Always in good
spirits, but always battling for dominance.
It's like she just gave up; decided he won.
It's nuts.
I have to talk to Jen.
Jen passes me. "Hey Dawson. What's up?"
I fall into step next to her. "Not much. How's Joey doing? I'm worried about
her."
She runs her fingers through her hair. "I can't tell from one minute to the
next. She seems fine on set though. That's what's important right now; that she
can work with him."
"I suppose so." I pause, unsure of what to say next. I want to ask her out. "So
how are you then?" I try.
She laughs a little. "If the makeup department tries to kick me out one more
time I'm going to shit, but other than that I'm pretty good. They don't get that
Jo is paying me herself, they keep trying to explain that they can't afford me.
I know they can't afford me. That's why I don't contract out to projects, I
contract out to the stars. That way the director doesn't have to worry about how
big his makeup budget would have to be in order to pay me."
I laugh because I know it's true. "I missed you Jen."
"I missed you too Dawson. And don't worry about Joey so much. Jack is keeping an
eye on her; he's who she needs right now."
"I know that, but I hate not being able to do anything." I pause. "What if you
and I went to dinner tonight? Just the two of us? We could catch up and maybe
even plot to get those two back into a friendship groove. They're certainly not
ready for more right now, at least, she's not."
"I'd like that. If we could get her to fight him again, even a little, it might
help her get past it all. I'm in."
"Should we leave as soon as he calls it quits for the day?"
"Sounds great."
I smile, and she smiles back, heading to the makeup trailer as I make my way to
my apartment set for the final scenes of the day.
~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@~~~@