3. Chapter 3
Chapter three
Dane
D ane hadn’t been in on the meeting for the first few episodes, but as they fell into a rhythm over the course of several jobs, it became obvious that the more experienced grips belonged in the actual house while they were split. And Dane was not one of the more experienced anything. Maybe if they needed someone to tell them how to build little models of fighting anime robots. Then, he was probably the expert. Not too applicable to the job at hand, though, so he’d gotten to see the last three initial meetings with the clients. This seemed to be about the same as the others. Mason and Eliza covered introductions, then they made sure Caroline had some tea before they got into the meat of things.
Mason leaned back so he could look her in the eye. The cameras adjusted slightly to keep the framing right. “So, we have the basic story. But you’re looking at a fresh start. Big chance to set yourself up however you want.” He nodded. “How do you want to start it?”
Caroline blew out a long, slow breath, her cheeks flushing slightly. “Well, I can’t lie and say that I haven’t thought about it. It’s all I’ve thought about since I got my new job here.” She laughed nervously. “I think I just want something that feels like me . That old house was Robbie’s and he never wanted to change anything. I had to hide everything away. Had to pay for a storage unit because he didn’t want anything of mine clogging up his space.” She rolled her eyes. “So I want everything on display. My makeup, my personality, all my carnival glass.”
Dane’s eyes flickered over to Aras before he even consciously recognized it. He was always so fixated on Aras that, apparently, he’d instinctively caught the slight shift in Aras’s posture. He’d leaned toward Caroline and tapped his pen against his notepad. His legs uncrossed and his eyes sharpened. “Carnival glass?”
Caroline nodded. “Yeah. It’s that rainbow colored glass—”
“I know.” Aras actually smiled, which in Dane’s experience was pretty rare. “I have probably a hundred pieces back home. Mostly contemporary, but I’m always trying to get more of the vintage stuff.”
Caroline’s eyebrows raised. “I wasn’t expecting that. I have…a few more than a hundred.” She shrugged. “I got a lot growing up because I liked it. Contemporary, like yours. Then when my grandparents died, I inherited all of theirs. Which was mostly from the twenties and thirties. Then during my marriage, I would buy it in auctions when I felt bad.”
Aras nodded. “Which I take it was a lot?”
Her cheeks reddened a touch, but she nodded. “I have no idea how to even fit it all in my space. I probably have to sell some of it. Duplicates maybe. I’m sure I have some.”
Aras scribbled something down on his notepad. “We can make it work. First time I’ve run into anyone in the wild who actually cares about carnival glass.” He glanced up and there was a light to his eyes that caught Dane’s breath. Something passionate. Something real . Dane ran his fingers back through his hair just to give himself something to do. He needed to reshave around his mohawk, since he could feel stubble coming back in.
He was so caught up, his brain took a moment to focus back on the conversation. He only got Caroline’s response. “I think that would be good. I’d never have been able to put it on display before. Make it a real focal point.” She smiled at Aras. “Yeah. Let’s make it a focus.”
“Noted.” Aras tapped his pen against the paper. “Literally. I’ll get into it with you more once I’ve seen the place. But I’m already thinking built-in lighting to make the iridescence really pop off.” He scribbled on the notepad, and his tone returned to the normal…well, if scowling made a noise, that would be Aras’s normal tone of voice. “You all can stare at me if you want, I’m not doing a backflip. Focus on the client, yeah?”
“Forgive him,” said Evander. “His charm knows many bounds.” He gestured at Caroline with his phone. “So is there anything you know about the house that we should be aware of before going in? Issues, pain points, anything like that?”
She shook her head. “Not off the top of my head, but I’m also still in the last month of my lease on my apartment. Haven’t moved in yet. It’s new construction.”
Evander clapped a few times, his grin wide. “A blank slate. Bless you for this gift.”
“How much land are we talking about?” Ozzy was looking between her and his phone. “It seems like it’s more of a postage stamp yard.”
“It’s small. I wanted something low maintenance. There’s a back patio, but it’s not very big either.” She cringed and leaned slightly back. “Sorry.”
Ozzy shook his head. “Zero apologies. If I get to do less work, I’m not exactly horrified.”
“We’ll find work for you, Ozzy.” Bunny reached across the table and patted his hand in mock sympathy. “You can float where needed like I do. We could use some bonding time.”
“I’m really thinking more along the lines of relaxing on the patio and doling out orders.”
The meeting felt like it was wrapping up, as they were devolving into general banter. Plus, these outside meetings never lasted long. There was only so much they could reasonably do without seeing the actual house. Sure enough, Mason looked over at Eliza and she nodded. “All right. Caroline, if you’re up for it, we can head to the house?”
She rose. “Perfect. Let me stop by the little girl’s room, then we can head off.” She took a step away, then stopped and turned back around. “Mic. You probably don’t want that recorded.”
Vince and Kyle both signaled to start taking things down as another production assistant scurried over and took off Caroline’s lavalier mic. Dane immediately turned toward the lights and began breaking everything down. Lights, armature, clamps. He fell into the familiar task of the tear-down.
Which was interrupted by another set of hands. He didn’t look back, just said, “Please don’t. Better to leave it to the professionals.”
“I was good enough to help you bring it in.”
Heat raced all across Dane’s body. He turned his head enough to take in the source of the familiar voice, and sure enough, it was Aras. Dane sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re, uh, the exception?”
“Hey, I wouldn’t want these assholes touching anything delicate either.” He held out his arms. “Load me up and I can carry all the metal and shit.”
Dane turned around so Aras wouldn’t see him grinning at the stupid…well, it wasn’t really a joke, but it was unduly amusing to him. “You can carry the softbox if you want. I’ll get the armatures.”
“Armatures. Figured there was some word for it.”
Is it just a coincidence he’s back paying attention to me again? Not like Aras is known for his kind heart and acts of service . Dane knew better than to read into it…consciously.
Subconsciously, he was veering closer and closer to convincing himself that maybe Aras had a thing for him back.