Authors: Karen White-Owens

Now Until Forever (12 page)

BOOK: Now Until Forever

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Chapter 17

Saturday loomed in the near future like a bright beacon after a week filled with a hard and fast shooting schedule. Tired and ready to escape the demands of her job for the day, Ryan was strolling across the set on her way to her office when she halted near camera three, giving full attention to the man holding court. She remained in the shadows, listening to the director drone on. Surrounded by the crew and actors, Josef Brennen was describing his philosophy, directing style, and vision for the next scene.

Dressed in a pair of denims, a green short-sleeve T-shirt, and sneakers, a woman detached herself from the group and approached the camera. With a coffee cup in her hand, she stepped close to the platform and said, “Excuse me, Ryan.”

“Sorry, Sandi,” said Ryan.

“No problem.” Sandi, a camerawoman, climbed onto the stand holding the camera and accompanying equipment, sat down, and placed her cup in the holder before adjusting the lens.

As one of the few female camera people hired by the studio, Sandi handled the stationary cameras and equipment. The loud, jovial camerawoman got along with everyone. It never bothered her the way the men ogled her attributes. Sandi's engaging personality made it almost impossible to be around her without getting caught up by her infectious jokes and laughter.

Unfortunately for the male population of One Leaf Studio, Sandi lived in a committed relationship with her partner, one of the show's extras. She confessed to anyone who listened, and to a few that didn't, how fulfilling her life was. If Ryan's memory served her correctly, Sandi and her partner were planning to register as domestic partners this fall and have a baby.

Curious to see how Sandi handled the heavy equipment, Ryan took a step closer. Years of experience were apparent in how the camerawoman maneuvered the camera. As Sandi twisted one of the levels, adjusting the lens angle, the multiple bracelets hanging on her right wrist clanged together, creating a musical jingle, which drew Ryan's interested gaze.

Ryan's heavy lashes flew up, and she took in a gulp of air.
It couldn't be,
she thought frantically, watching Sandi wave her hand in the air.

Sandi glanced at Ryan. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I forgot something I need to do,” Ryan explained lamely, dismissing the incident as her imagination playing tricks. She turned away and started for her office. But the nagging voice in her head forced her to do a U-turn to take a closer, second look. She knew of only one way to find out who the bracelet truly belonged to.

The question gnawed at her insides. Filled with a sense of dread and uneasiness, Ryan retraced her steps.

She tapped the camerawoman on the shoulder. Sandi turned. Surprise registered on her face. “I thought you had left,” Sandi said.

Ryan drew in a deep breath.
Here we go
. “No. Your jewelry caught my eye. That gold bracelet is really unusual.”

Smiling, Sandi wriggled her wrist, displaying all of her bangles and chains. “It is different, isn't it? Believe it or not, I found it in the trash.”

Shocked, Ryan's mouth dropped open.
Come on, girl. Pull yourself together
. “No way!”

“Yeah.” The camerawoman poked a finger at the hallway. “I worked the late shift Wednesday night, and I went down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. I accidentally dropped my change from the vending machine in the trash. So, I had to go Dumpster diving to search for my money. Instead, I pulled this bracelet from the can. After I got it home and cleaned it up, I realized I'd hit the jackpot.”

Voice trembling, Ryan asked, “May I see it?”

“Sure.” Sandi unhooked the clasp and handed the bracelet over.

With fear in her heart, Ryan ran her finger across the hieroglyphics on the curved outer surface. She turned the piece of jewelry over and glanced inside, checking out the inscription, written in Greek letters.

Ryan felt like crying. Unfortunately, breaking down in front of a bunch of One Leaf stage employees didn't seem appropriate. Gossip always concerned Ryan. She didn't want her colleagues to suspect the depths of her emotions. Ryan forced a smile from somewhere deep within her and handed the bracelet back to Sandi. “Thanks. It's really unique.”

The camerawoman hooked the clasp and shrugged. “Yeah. I put a note up on the board in the lounge, but nobody has claimed it so far. I figured I'd wear it and see what happens.”

Ryan glanced at her watch and started to back away from the set. “Wow! Look at the time. It's time for me to get back to my office before I'm missed. Talk to you later.”

Dazed, Ryan moved along the hallway to her office. Why had Glo tossed the gift in the trash? She didn't strike Ryan as a cruel or malicious person, but this went beyond anything she could understand.

The obvious answer rested with Glo. What was bothering her?

Ryan had questions, plenty of questions. Only one person had the answers. With purposeful strides, she marched down the hall to her office. When she entered the small space, her gaze immediately flew to her boss's desk. It stood empty.

Maybe Glo was in Phil's office. They seemed to be together a great deal these days. The rumor mill had proclaimed the two were in the thick of a torrid affair. As usual, folks got things wrong, but that didn't stop them from adding to the growing list of gossip tidbits they shared.

Glo strolled into the office, with her cell phone attached to her ear, as if Ryan had conjured her boss from her imagination. She gingerly stepped around Ryan and moved to her desk, sinking into her chair and spinning it away from the door toward the window. Her conversation turned low and soft.

Ryan waited silently at her desk. Although she didn't like conflict, especially at work, today's turn of events needed an immediate explanation.

After she hung up, Glo sat watching Ryan, with an inquiring lift of her eyebrow. “Are you all right?”

Ryan focused on Glo “Actually, no, I'm not.”

Surprise flared in Glo's blue eyes and then quickly disappeared. “Really? What's going on? Is there something I can help with?”

“I think so.”

Ryan stood, hooked her thumbs inside the front pockets of her slacks, and moved across the tightly packed office to Glo's desk. Perching on the edge of the wood surface, Ryan rubbed a hand across her face, working out the proper words in her head. “I just came from the set.”

“Everything okay?”

“The set is fine. I was talking with Sandi. You know her, don't you?”

“The camerawoman?”

Ryan nodded.

“What about her?”

“She had on a bracelet similar to the one Keir and I gave you.”

Glo's eyes darted away, and she ran a nervous hand through her hair while maintaining her silence.

“When I asked her about it,” Ryan continued, “she said she found it in the cafeteria trash can.”

“Oh! That's too bad. Someone must've lost their jewelry.”

Tension built between the two women. Ryan didn't like making accusations like this, but she had to know the truth.

“Are you sure it's the same? Maybe it's a duplicate,” added Glo.

“I'm sure. Sandi let me see it. It had your name inscribed on the inside.”

“Well, I don't know how that happened.”

“Actually, I think you do.” Standing, Ryan gazed steadily at her boss. “Why did you throw your gift in the trash, Glo?”

Glo rose from the chair and towered over Ryan. “How could you say something like that to me? Of course, I didn't throw your present away.”

“Then explain to me how it ended up on Sandi's wrist. I can understand it not being to your taste, but to toss it in the trash, you must have hated it.”

“Oh, what the hell! Maybe I can finally get rid of you and get the department moving in the right direction.”

“What?” Shocked, Ryan blinked. Glo's switch from her boss to a shrew caught Ryan off guard.

“I'm tired of playing nice with you. Hate is too strong a word to describe my feelings for you. You're a pain that I want gone.”

“Gone! Why?”

“Because you come with a boatload of problems, starting with Keir and ending with your lies.”

Confused, Ryan shook her head. “What are you talking about? I haven't done anything.”

“Yeah. Right. We had to rearrange the whole shooting schedule so that you could have three extra days of vacation.”

“Three days didn't kill anybody.”

Glo chuckled unpleasantly. “Spoken like a person who didn't have to do the work. When I tried to explain how losing you would effect the department, Keir didn't care. It's all about you.”

Ryan tossed her hands in the air and then let them fall to her sides in a tired, frustrated gesture. “Now this is all my fault because I'm involved with Keir? I thought we had resolved that problem.”

Glo laughed. The harsh, biting sound ground against Ryan's ears. “Since you hooked up with Keir, there's been one problem after another. Yeah, I put your bracelet in the trash. I don't want anything from you. It almost gagged me to accept it, and I wanted that bracelet out of my sight as soon as I could get rid of it.”

Now that the admission had been made, Ryan found it almost impossible to accept. A small part of Ryan wanted to believe it had all been a mistake, a misunderstanding that required a simple explanation. Glo had been angry with her when she first learned of the relationship between her and Keir, but Ryan believed all of that had been resolved.

“Glo, I thought we were okay.”

“You were wrong.”

“I don't understand. Why did you take the gift if you didn't want it?”

Snorting, Glo said, “I acted nice because of Keir. I need my job like everyone else.”

It felt as if someone had taken a sword and shoved it through Ryan's heart. “I don't understand,” Ryan began. “What have I done to make you hate me so much?”

“Miss Goody Two-Shoes. I've had it with you. You want the truth. Let me give it to you. Every rule that applies to the studio employees had to be broken to accommodate you.”

“What?”

Laughing bitterly, Glo shook her head. “Come on, girl. You can't be that naÃ¯ve. You've worked at, at least one other studio. We do shut down every year. And all of the employees come back at the same time. When has anyone rearranged the shooting schedule for a set designer?”

Cringing, Ryan was beginning to realize how bad this situation must look to her coworkers.

“And Keir made you do it?”

“Finally, the lightbulb switched on,” Glo stated.

“So all of your goodwill gestures were just an act for the boss?”

“Didn't you ever wonder why he always seems to pop up? Be close?” Glo shook her head. “Pitiful.”

For the second time today, Ryan felt like crying. But she needed to know everything. “What did I walk in on the Saturday Keir's kids were here?”

Glo scoffed. “Oh, that day. Keir made it clear that you were supposed to get whatever you asked for. Extra days off, if you requested it. He wanted to keep you happy.”

Ryan's head hung in shame. There were no words to express her feelings.

“When you came back with your little present, I tossed it in the trash because I couldn't bear to take anything from you,” Glo added.

There were so many emotions swirling inside Ryan. Betrayal led the pack. Keir had lied. He'd promised to steer clear of any involvement with Ryan on the job. Good or bad, Ryan didn't want him sticking his nose in her business.

No wonder her boss hated her. Every request Glo had made had been countered by Keir. What a nightmare. Ryan was caught in the middle of it, with no way out.

Chapter 18

Swamped with paperwork, Keir sat behind his desk, with a cup of cooling coffee. The Bose stereo system played mellow jazz while he skimmed through a stack of future scripts. Grunting, he closed one of the scripts and leaned back in his leather chair, running a frustrated hand back and forth across his forehead. Lips pursed, he considered the writers' concept of how to wrap up the season. Keir's vision of the first season's cliff-hanger bumped heads with the teams'.

From the hot mess the writing team had handed him, it didn't look as if the team knew or shared Keir's dream. It was time to step in, take charge, and get the writing team back on track. If his schedule permitted, Keir planned to write and direct the final episode himself.

Refocusing on the work, Keir picked up his ink pen. He was running a large red
X
through several pages of screwed-up dialogue when the telephone rang. Annoyed with the interruption, Keir grabbed the receiver and growled out, “Southhall!”

After a slight pause, Ryan asked hesitantly, “Keir?”

Stunned, Keir's head snapped back as he sat up straighter in his chair. Ryan never made contact with him in the office, preferring to catch him at home or on his cell phone. Heart pounding against his chest, Keir thought, “
Something's wrong. Very wrong
.”

“Ryan?” he asked.

“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Do you have a minute? I need to see you.”

Her question added an additional element of concern to his growing list. She never came to him for help. Whatever the problem, she stood alone and found a way to handle it.

Without a doubt, Keir planned to make this time different. If she trusted him with her concerns, he'd find a solution. Whatever the situation, he intended to provide help and meaningful support.

It must be important; Ryan never drew attention to herself in any way at the studio. She kept meetings between them businesslike and to a minimum to reduce any murmur of impropriety the rumor mill might latch onto. Needless to say, the eagle-eyed gossipmongers hated it when they were thwarted so effectively.

He swallowed loudly and asked, “Everything all right?”

“We should talk. Is this a good time?” The slight quiver in her voice deepened his anxiety.

Keir closed the script and tossed it into his out-box. “Yes.”

After hanging up the phone, Keir rose from his chair and strolled to the window, searching for Ryan's animated form. An image flashed in his head of the first time he noticed her from this vantage point. As Keir waited, he surfed through a mental list of issues Ryan might have encountered that required his attention. Immediately, his thoughts turned the investigative spotlight on Glo Kramer. That was where most of the tension in Ryan's life fell. Ever since Keir and Ryan had gone public with their relationship, Glo and Keir had been on opposite sides of every matter involving Ryan. Glo countered each request, making it necessary for him to pull rank.

He rejected the idea almost as quickly as it filled his head. Glo knew better. She'd been in the entertainment business for decades, and Glo knew when to keep her mouth shut. No, it wasn't her. It must be something else.

Leaving the window, Keir formulated a plan. He strolled to the coffee station and tossed the used grounds into the trash before adding a new filter and fresh coffee. Once he made her feel comfortable in his office, he'd get to the heart of the matter.

So what could it be? Keir wondered as he poured water into the coffeemaker. The strong aroma of coffee filled the room. Whatever the issue, he'd put things right. Maybe someone on the set was hassling her. Smiling, he nodded, confident he'd hit on the problem.

Once Ryan got to his office, Keir intended to be understanding and kind. After he learned who or what had upset her, he'd find the culprit, summon him or her to the Eiffel Tower, and resolve the problem “Keir Southhall” style.

With that plan firmly in hand, Keir poured a fresh cup of coffee and returned to his desk. Minutes later, Ryan knocked on the door. He rose, crossed the carpeted floor, and opened the door.

Ryan stepped into the office and shut the door after herself, leaning against the wood panel as if her strength had been zapped. Her face was drawn. It nearly broke his heart to see her this way.

Disappointment and rage stared back at him. Ryan looked as if her world had crumbled into dust. Her sparkling brown eyes were empty, staring past him instead of at him. Normally, Ryan's eyes sparkled with merriment. The natural curve of her beautiful, delicate mouth was set into a grim line.

“Hi,” said Keir. Keir's hand cupped her elbow to lead her to a chair. She stiffened and hunched her shoulder to dislodge his hand and then moved away from him. Brows crinkled into a frown, he studied her. “Would you like coffee or anything?”

Ryan shook her head and took the visitor's chair opposite Keir's.

Slowly moving back to his desk, he said, “This is the first time you've called my office. What's going on?”

Silently, Ryan examined the floor, wringing her hands together. After a moment, she seemed to notice and placed them in her lap. “I, uh, was down on the set a little earlier.” She seemed to gather her strength and continued. “Sandi, you know her, don't you?”

A mental picture of a tall, red-haired camerawoman came to mind. He needed more information, so he nodded at the appropriate pause and waited.

“Anyway, she was near the set, working on one of the cameras,” said Ryan. “You remember the bracelet we bought Glo in Hawaii?”

Okay, so how did these two topics come together? He'd expected to hear something totally different. Humoring her, Keir answered, “Yes.”

“Sandi was wearing it.”

Confused, he shook his head. “What?”

“You heard me. The woman had it on her wrist! When I asked her where she got it, Sandi told me a story about finding it in the cafeteria trash can.”

Again, he asked, “What?”

“The bottom line is Glo threw it away. I went back to our office. When Glo came in, I asked her about it. At first, she denied knowing anything about the bracelet. After a few minutes, she admitted throwing it away.” Ryan's voice broke, and she studied the ceiling, fighting back tears. “I asked her why. She admitted she was sick of dealing with me. Everything had to be changed to accommodate me. Extra days for our trip to Hawaii and the rearranging of the shooting schedule were all done for me. Keir, is that true?”

Keir maintained a calm exterior, but his insides were in turmoil. He'd figured wrong. Dead wrong. This was
all
about Glo. What was wrong with that woman? She'd always come through when he needed her, except this time.

Keir swept his tongue across his dry lips. “Ry.”

For the first time since entering the room, she looked directly at him. “Is it true?”

Hedging, he ran a hand across his forehead. “Well ...”

“Is it true?” she asked in a solid, determined tone.

“I only did it so that we could have our vacation. Remember? The trip of a lifetime.” Instinctively, Keir knew he couldn't hide what he'd done any longer. He focused on the belief that he could fix things. If Ryan gave him a chance, he felt certain he'd put things right between them.

Nodding, she rose and started for the door. “That's what I thought.”

Keir jumped from his chair, following her across the room. At the door, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Wait.”

Ryan stiffened, shoving his hand away. “For what? You lied to me.”

“It's not as bad as it seems. Come back, sit down, and we'll talk about it.”

Ryan swirled around. Anger and pain flashed across her beautiful face. Her voice was tight and low. “Talk about what? How you fixed everything? You made Glo and Phil Berger rearrange the whole week's shooting schedule so that I wouldn't have to come back with the rest of the crew. I work here. Do you know how much trouble this little arrangement caused? Is that what you want to talk about?”

He'd never seen her like this before. Keir didn't know how to explain the situation so Ryan would understand that he'd done this for them.

“Listen,” he muttered urgently, taking her hand and trying to lead her back to the desk.

Ryan shook off his hand. “No. I can't trust you ever again. You made a promise to me, and you broke it. You said that you would never interfere with my job. We could have a relationship, and my job and reputation would be safe. You lied. You did cause trouble. Big trouble! How could you?”

“Are you willing to throw away everything that we have because I made a mistake?”

“You did.”

“I was only trying to help.”

She sighed heavily. “You overstepped your authority. I didn't need or want it.”

Feeling desperate, he tried a different approach. “I did it for you, to make your life easier.”

A nasty, almost hysterical chuckle rose from her throat. Ryan shook her head. “What you did was crap in my backyard. You undermined my credibility and made me look like a fool. Is that how you make my life easier?”

“That's not it at all.”

“Really? Then what is it?”

“I care about you, Ryan. Us as a couple and you as an individual. Next to my kids, you are the single most important person in my life. I didn't want anything to affect your job here.”

She leaned her forehead against the door and whispered so low, he barely heard her. “You affected my job. You caused all kinds of grief, and now you want me to believe you did it for me? The truth of the matter is you interfered in my life to make yours easier.”

“It wasn't just mine. You benefited from everything I did,” he said.

“Yes, I did. But you didn't offer me any choices. You took it upon yourself to just take over and make decisions in my life.”

“You enjoyed it at the time,” Keir reminded her in a low, almost accusatory tone.

“You are correct. But it doesn't change the fact that you lied.” Ryan whipped open the door and left.

BOOK: Now Until Forever

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