Chapter 9
Punch, punch, punch!
As sweat poured down his face, Finn attacked the bag he’d gotten from Oliver. His hands hurt like hell, but he didn’t stop.
Eventually, Oliver came up to him. “It’s time to stop. I let you use the bag out here in the coffee area, but you’ve had enough.”
Finn stepped back. Oliver didn’t even know he’d run today till he couldn’t breathe and lifted free weights he’d found in the back of a closet in his office.
He was exhausted. He dropped down in a chair and Oliver helped him take off his gloves then went to the fridge, got bottles of water then sat with him.
“Want to tell me about it?”
“I’m trying to keep myself from doing something stupid.”
“Does it concern Elise?”
Finn blinked hard. “I’m in love with her. I let myself fall in love with her.”
“Usually, that’s good news.”
“What about my eth—”
“Fuck your ethics, Finn.” His friend was losing patience with him and Oliver Ricardi never lost his temper. “They’re cold comfort.”
Finn held up his index finger and thumb parallel to each other. “I’m this close to giving in to my feelings.”
“Listen, buddy. You’re going to give up the love of your life for a little guilt you might feel? Boy, I wouldn’t do that.”
His brows skyrocketed. “You wouldn’t?”
“Of course not. You’re not seeing this clearly.” They talked a bit more then Oliver stood. “Now get up. You stink and you need a shower. You got clothes in your locker?”
“Yeah.”
“Then go clean up and find Elise.”
Finn started toward the door. He turned back though. “I forgot to ask you how your visit with your mother went.”
“We can talk about later when your stuff is settled.”
In half an hour, Finn headed to the set. He guessed that’s where she’d be for some reshoots. The filming was about a mile down from his house on the canal. He made a stop on the way and when he got there, the security guards let him in because Elise had okayed it long ago.
The cameras were rolling and Elise sat staring out at the water. She put her head in her hands and the director yelled, “Cut!”
He approached Elise and apparently gave her a few notes.
Then she started to her trailer. Finn gave her a few minutes then crossed to it, climbed the steps and went inside without knocking.
He was afraid she wouldn’t let him in. The place was flooded with natural light and Elise stretched out on the couch. He said softly, “Elise.”
She came up on her elbows. “What are you doing here?” Her eyes widened like saucers. “And why are you carrying that?”
“I’m came to tell you I love you and want to be with you. I brought you a teddy bear because you said you liked them that day we were at Fiona’s house.”
Her face reddened. “How do you know?”
“How do I know that I love you? Because—”
“Not that. How do you know?” She looked around wildly. “Did you go see the film doctor?”
“The film doctor? No, of course not. I came right here to see you. To apologize for hurting you and tell you I want to be with you no matter what.”
She opened her mouth then slapped her hand over it, bolted up and rushed past him.
He followed her and again, he held her hair back when she vomited. He was worried about this symptom. It had gone on a long time. Why didn’t she get it checked out…Wait a sec.
Vomiting.
Medical trailer.
The teddy bear and How do you know…
Oh my God!
He helped her get to her feet. Her face was pale and her hands shaky. “Come on, let’s go talk.” He led her out to the couch and sat next to her. “What’s going on, honey?”
“As if you don’t know.”
“Now, I have an idea. Not before I came. You have to say it.”
“I’m pregnant.”
Finn’s heart swelled in his chest for her. “You’ve tried for years with no luck.”
“Yeah, just not with you, apparently.”
A baby. Tears filled his eyes. She got her dream. And he was going to be a father. But she was frowning “Aren’t you happy?”
“I am. I am. But things are a mess between us.”
“Not anymore.”
Her eyes widened like the full moon. “You want me now because of the baby?”
He tipped her chin. “I want you because I love you.”
“What about your ethics?”
“I’m ignoring the guilt. It’ll go away and if it doesn’t, I’ll get help or even live with it if I have to.”
She shook her head, sending beautiful brown hair everywhere. “No, Finn. If you only want to marry me because of the baby, I won’t do that.”
“That assumption is not true.”
“I live in Los Angeles. I’m at the top of my game.”
“Y-you’re not thinking about getting rid of it.”
“No, of course not. After trying for so long, I’d never do that. Lots of movie stars have babies. Their films work around a pregnancy. I was trying to make the point that we live in two different worlds. The reshoots are nearly over. We’ll all be leaving Rockford soon.”
Finn knew he had to handle this right. “Do you love me, Elise?”
She held his gaze. “I do. I love you, Finn.”
“Then we’ll work everything out.”
“How?”
Maybe if he was practical about this, he could convince her they could make it work. “Let’s start with now. What happens after the reshoots?”
“Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects and Color Grading.”
“Do they need the actors for that?”
“Yes, for some of it. Mostly reshoots. But I’ll have a lot of free time.”
“How long does it take?”
“It varies. It can take several weeks or months. Our film will probably be shorter though.”
“Surely the actors don’t have to remain on the set for a several months.”
“No. There’s a schedule.”
“And are you booked for future films?”
“I’m getting pickier so I’m not contracted yet. But I’m considering signing a deal with Paramount.”
“Then you have a say in how you spend your time.”
“I can’t take seven months off without losing my career, Finn.”
“Well, honey, like you said, filming can work around a pregnancy.”
She laid her head back against the cushion. Closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Maybe. I’m so tired.”
“Then you’ll rest.”
He helped her stretch out and she was asleep in seconds.
* * *
Scarlet swerved into the collective at six p.m. in her snazzy new Tesla. She was stopped by the security guard, who looked at the label in the corner of her windshield and said, “I’m Cary Jacobs, Ms. Smith. I’ll be the nighttime guard this week.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Go ahead and park. I’ll watch you get inside.”
Now that spooked her. It was still hard to believe members of this collective were in danger by simply showing up at work, but Finn was proof that they were. “I’m expecting a client in about a half hour.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for him.”
Scarlet walked in through the door to her practice. She opened her studio, which consisted of her office, her therapy room and another room for meeting with groups.
She set her coffee down on her desk, settled in and called up the new patient’s application on her tablet.
She only asked for basics on the forms because she preferred to hear from the individuals themselves what their issues were and why they chose hypnotherapy.
Today, she’d booked a man in his thirties, single, and vice president of ComputerTech, a local company.
Soon, the outer door opened. Scarlet got up and went to the reception area. “Mr. Perkins?”
The man nodded. He was tall and skinny with dark wavy hair and a scar on his cheek. No mention of that in the file. He was dressed in pressed jeans and a collared shirt.
“Come into my office so we can talk.”
He didn’t move. “Won’t I get a treatment today? I want a treatment.”
“That’s exactly what we’re going to discuss.”
Her office was efficient and cozy at the same time. A practitioner needed to be approachable and her own space was an example of that. Scarlet had chosen taupe and peach colors with pretty Impressionist prints.
They sat across from each other. She looked at the file. “I’m afraid you left a lot off of your application. Is there a reason for that?”
“I was in a hurry.”
“Then let’s fill in the blanks.”
“Nah. I don’t want to. Put me under and cure me.”
“Hypnotherapists don’t cure people, Mr. Perkins. We help them to understand themselves better through metaphor, indirect suggestion and storytelling. Clients can isolate their issues and find ways to deal with them while they’re under hypnosis.”
“Whatever. Just do it.”
She held his gaze. “Not unless you answer these questions.”
He rolled his eyes. She rarely got such belligerent clients. Usually, people wanted to help themselves. “You didn’t list anything about a family. Are you married, Mr. Perkins?”
“No. Yes. I have a kid, too.”
She typed in his information on her tablet.
“Do you work outside the home?”
He snorted. “I did. Then I got laid off.”
“Why was that?”
“The boss was an asshole. So what if I was late sometimes.”
“Hmm.”
He frowned. “You know what? This is bullshit. I’m goin’.” He bolted up.
“I wish you wouldn’t. You already paid the registration fee which goes toward the first treatment.” And hypnotherapy wasn’t cheap.
“Fuck it.” He got to the doorway of the office then he turned back. “You’ll regret this, Scarlet,” and walked out.
A chill ran down her spine. She was used to some kooky clients in this kind of practice, but not aggressive or nasty ones. She filed away his application in her archives.
A bit later, there was a knock on her open door. She startled. Cary Jacobs was standing before her. He was a big guy, with broad shoulders, but his stance was odd. Somehow, it was aggressive. “Didn’t mean to scare you. You doin’ all right, Ms. Smith?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“The guy that left your office tore out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell.”
“He was a piece of work, Mr. Jacobs.”
“Call me Cary.” He had a broad smile.
“I’m Scarlet.”
“Scarlet. I’ll bet you get a lot of strange people in what you do.”
“Not so strange.”
“Whatever you say. I’ll be going. You take care now.”
“You, too.”
As he walked she realized she was disconcerted by him. He may be keeping an eye on her, but she’d keep one on him, too.
* * *
“That’s a wrap ladies and gentlemen. Fantastic work.” In the balmy sunlight, John gestured to Elise and added, “How about a round of applause for our very talented lead.”
Blushing, she was surprised at the enthusiasm of the cast. Maybe because they were a small group of actors in this film.
“Thank you,” she said, “Let’s give Max Price some kudos too.”
More clapping.
“And another round for our excellent behind the scenes crew.” She smiled at John. “And last but not least, for our terrific director. I love working with you, John Gorman!”
When they broke, she approached him. “Thank you so much, John. You’ve been wonderful…and very patient.”
“You’re welcome, love.” He clasped her hand in both of his. He was a handsome guy with dark blond hair and brown eyes. “And take care of those headaches.”
“You know, I’m hopeful about that.”
“I’ll see you next week.”
They had a couple of days off then post-production would start.
She headed to her trailer where she changed out of her dress and heels to cropped leggings and a yellow blouse with sandals.
Because of the heat, she drew her hair back into a ponytail and walked back outside, thinking of Finn.
After two hours of sleep yesterday, she’d awakened in the trailer and he’d driven her home where she’d gone directly to bed.
And he’d called her this morning to see how she was doing. He sounded so…happy.
As she walked to the limo which waited on the street, she knew she wanted to see him. Nothing had been settled but she felt closer to him. Duh! Of course she did. She was carrying his baby.
“Well, hello.” Finn leaned against the limo, his legs outstretched in front of him, his arms folded over his chest. He wore navy shorts and a yellow T-shirt, with that lock of hair falling onto his forehead.
“Hello. What are you doing here?”
“I was hoping to give you a lift home. I checked with Jimmy. He said he wouldn’t mind.”
Jimmy popped up on the other side of the limo. “I told him we had to check with you, Ms. Preston.”
“Take the night off, Jimmy.”
Finn turned to him. “I’ll drive her back tomorrow morning, too.”
She arched a brow. “You will?”
“Oops. May I?”
“Yes.” She laughed out loud.
They crossed to his car and he held the door open for her.
As they drove away from the site, he asked, “How’d it go today?”
“You know, I usually feel sad when the movie wraps. But I don’t this time.”
Reaching over, he put his hand on her stomach. “You have happy things to think about.”
“Yeah. And I only got sick once today.”
“I suppose that’s good, given how ill you’ve been. We need to have a reiki session today.”
“Have you done reiki on pregnant women?”
“Uh-huh. They said it took away some of the stress and anxiety associated with pregnancy. And it stopped nausea too.”
“Wow, you should have led with that.”
* * *
Finn set up for the reiki session while she waited on the side of the room.
He dimmed the lights, set up the air mister and the space began to fill with a lavender scent.
He pulled up the chair arm and put a clean pad on it.
She slid onto it and closed her eyes. “I’m going to touch you today, if that’s all right. ”
“Of course it is.”
Finn felt the warmth in his hands almost immediately when he placed them on her ears. The sensation remained consistent as he moved to her forehead, her jaw and down her arms. But when he put his hands to her torso, the sensation got stronger. Tingling began. He went lower to her abdomen.
The heat escalated. And a sense of joy he’d never experienced in a session before flowed through him. Oh, Dear Lord, it was because his baby nestled there. He had to keep himself from gasping. When he could, he lifted his hands off of her and said, “I’m going to turn up the lights a bit.”
He elevated the chair and she smiled. Finally, she looked at him. “That was absolutely lovely.”
“For me too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, God, Elise, when I put my hands on your belly, I had a reaction I’ve never had before while practicing my craft.”
“What?”
“Tingling and heat, lots of it. But then a sense of utter joy filled me.”
“And that hasn’t happened with other pregnant women you treated?”
“Never.” He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on her mouth. “Just with you, love.”