Chapter 4 | w**********l-1
1333 Words
Chapter 4 Working, Girl
After dropping off Piper's Porsche at her estate, Ines got changed into a shirt and jeans, and swap out contact lenses for her eyeglasses before driving home in her little Honda. She usually worked on Saturdays but luckily she wasn't needed until Monday. Except, of course, Piper had decided yesterday she had several movie scripts she couldn't be bothered to read herself so would Ines be a dear and read it and describe it to Piper?
“Hey, Andrada, get over here!”
Ines smiled and waved to Caprica O'Neil. The tall brunette was standing over a barbecue grill with a glass of wine in one hand and a pair of tongs in another. Around her, a pool party was in full swing. Music blared from speakers on the far end of the deck, and people were chatting and drinking.
“Hi Caprica,” Ines said, walking over. She adjusted the strap of her heavy messenger bag to keep it from slipping off her shoulder. “Looks like the party started early today.”
The residents of Casa de Palmeras usually held a party in the courtyard every Saturday, but it usually didn't start till five. She had thought she would be able to get some work done before that, at least, because it was hard to focus with the loud music. The pool and courtyard were right in the middle of the two four-story apartment buildings.
“Honey, I couldn't stop them,” Caprica said. “I think Casey and Chad are celebrating getting guest parts in a pilot.”
“Oh, that's great!” Ines smiled. The two young men lived one floor below hers. They were stand-up comics from New Jersey, and they'd been trying to break into television for almost a year. “I hope it gets picked up.”
“Hey Ines, you want a beer?” Jimar White said. He sat on a lounge chair behind her, holding up a can of Heineken.
“Uh thanks, Jim,” she said. “Maybe later.”
“Put down that bag, sweetie,” Caprica said. “You want a steak?”
Ines grimaced. “Can't, sorry. I have to get back to work.” She'd have to listen to Mozart on noise-canceling headphones, but that was the only way she could get any writing done that day.
“What's in that thing, anyway?”
“My weekend read. It's a bunch of scripts. Piper needs me to read them so I can tell her what they're about.”
“Scripts for what, a remake of The Lord of the Rings trilogy?” Caprica eyed the brown leather pack. “You look like you're carrying five pounds.”
“I got six iPads in here. It's like nobody sends print scripts anymore.”
“Well, if you finish early, we'll probably be here till late tonight.”
“Thanks. See ya later.”
After waking up in a car that morning, it felt good to be back home. As soon as Ines walked through her front door, she realized she was desperately in need of sleep.
Unsuccessfully stifling a yawn, she set her bag down. There was no time to rest. The weekend was the only time she had to write, and she had to make the most of it. She went to her desk to switch off her wifi router. There. No distractions.
As she made herself a large pot of coffee, she wondered idly if she ought to look up Jamie Kilborne on the internet. It was something she really ought to have done before the meeting, but Mikey had texted her about meeting Kilborne just as she and Piper were getting ready to leave for the party. Piper was barking orders at her stylist and Ines and had changed her outfit four times before deciding on what she was going to wear.
But then, there was no point Googling Kilborne now. It appears that she had no meeting with the producer. Mikey had made a mistake.
However ... it wouldn't hurt, would it? The man was a grade-A beefcake. Smoking hot. As gorgeous a specimen of a man as she'd ever seen — and she'd seen her fair share of gorgeous specimens, being Piper's assistant.
As much as she dreaded ever seeing him again, she couldn't help but wish she'd met him under better circumstances. Not that she thought she could ever get a chance with a man like that.
She grimaced as she poured coffee into a thermal mug. A romance between the overworked assistant and the rich film producer would make for a passably mediocre rom-com, but it was hardly a thing that ever happened in real life.
Was he married? His apartment looked like it belonged to a bachelor. But then if you were as successful and good-looking as he was, you probably already had a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend.
She took her mug of coffee, MacBook, and headphones out on the balcony. It was her favorite spot in her apartment. She technically couldn't afford her one-bedroom apartment on an assistant's salary, but Piper insisted Ines live somewhere close by and happily paid for half the rent. If there was one thing Ines would miss if she ever lost her job, it would be this apartment. The balcony was small but it overlooked the courtyard and the pool. And in the early morning, if you look at just the right spot in the distance, one could catch the sunrise between two buildings.
She had just sat down and turned on her computer when the loud grumbling in her stomach reminded her she had forgotten to eat lunch. And breakfast. Groaning, she got back up and headed to the fridge.
Luckily, she still had some of the chicken adobo her dad cooked and packed for her during her visit the weekend before. She popped the plastic container in the microwave together with some rice in a large bowl. When it was done, she heaped the adobo over the rice, stuck a plastic fork in it, and brought it out to the balcony.
Where was she? Right. Her script. She fitted her headphones on her ears, turned on her writing playlist, and got to work.
IAGO
Shina! Stop!
Shina hears him calling from several feet below but ignores him. Instead, she stabs one pick as far above her as she could. She waits for the sound of the electromagnets connecting with the resitalt under the ice before pulling herself up. Her lips are pale from the icy cold and it was nearly impossible to breathe, but the bigger threat was the boy below her who was also making his way up the mountain.
IAGO
There's something up there! Shina!
The closeness of his voice startles her and she is thrown off-balance. Her left hand slips from her pick. She dangles from one hand for two seconds before she manages to fasten both her feet back on the mountain wall. She reaches up to grasp her left pick, her voice trembling as she utters an incoherent curse.
LO (SPEAKING ON SHINA'S HEADPIECE)
Heads up. Iago's closing in on you.
SHINA
No s**t, Lo.
LO
You see him?
SHINA
I hear him. He's moving too fast.
LO
Just don't let him get near you. If you let him pass you—
SHINA
He won't.
She releases her right pick to reach into her jacket and pull out a thick metal rod. She presses a hidden button and an array of lights glow around the rod. When she releases the button, the lights disappear. With a grin, she slips the rod into the cuff of her left sleeve. The rod doesn't show through the thickness of her jacket.
SHINA
Not if I can help it.
Shina is about to continue her climb, but after a moment's hesitation, she glances below her. Iago's black climbing suit stands out against the snowy cliff. His blond hair whips around his face as he looks up at her.
Ines stopped typing, puzzled. She could swear she'd given Iago black hair. She scrolled up to the beginning of the script to check. Yup, there it was. Hair black as night. Or a raven's wing.
Should he have black hair, though? It was a bit too stereotypical for a vampire. Maybe blond was better. Some kind of dirty blond shade.
Nodding to herself, she scrolled down her document. In a few strokes of her keyboard, she changed Iago Yu's hair color to blond.
Much better, she thought.
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- Writer
