Chapter 36
JOSIE
I wake up and I can already tell it’s early morning, but Victor is already wide awake. He’s not even lying down - he’s standing at the end of the bed, throwing a white tee over his firm upper body.
When I stir, he turns to me.
“Showtime,” he whispers with a wink. “First day of shooting.”
I moan as I finally come to my senses, well-rested.
“Amazing,” I mumble sleepily. “Good luck with it all.”
“Do you want to come with me, Josie?” he asks.
Oh, I’m fully awake now.
Go with him?
I haven’t been expecting that.
“Of course,” I answer.
“Here,” Victor says, searching around on the bedside table. He throws me a red-colored lanyard. There’s the name of the movie and a barcode on it. “This is super special. It allows you to access all areas of the movie set. They’re super rare. People would pay a lot of good money to get their hands on something like this.”
“Wow. Access all areas of the set?”
“Yep,” Victor replies seriously. “It’s only for very cool people, so don’t you dare lose it.”
“Nope,” I say. “I won’t. I’m a very cool person.”
“You’ve ever been on a movie set before?” Victor asks me as he finishes getting ready.
“No, Victor, I have never been on a movie set,” I reply bluntly. “Surprisingly, not many Hollywood movies are filmed in Crystal River, as you might guess.”
The man chuckles.
“You’re going to love it, Josie.”
“Okay, I’m going to get up now and get changed. Let’s go. I’m excited. Let’s see some movie magic.”
It really is something – standing on a movie set with everything going on around you. No wonder moviemaking fascinates so many people. It truly is as magical as it’s made out to be. It’s glamorous, but also full of hard-working people making the magic happen.
Lights.
Cameras.
Everyone is in action mode.
We were driven to the set. We were picked up in front of the hotel in a fancy limo. I thought I’d be following my actor around, but as soon as we arrived at the filming location, Victor was quickly whisked off to the makeup and costume trailers. I don’t mind, though. I want to have a look around.
As I’m wandering toward the main set area, I’m stopped by a big, burly security guard. He points at me and steps in front of my path.
“Hey, you,” he growls in a thick Italian accent. “You’re not allowed here.”
Maybe that’s because I don’t look very much like your typical Hollywood starlet on the way to my trailer, or like a member of the crew going about my work. Yeah, I’m part of the usual unglamorous crowd who normally don’t belong anywhere near a film set. I fish around my bag for the red lanyard Victor gave me.
Once found, the security guard immediately snatches the all-access lanyard off me and inspects it for a very long time. He clearly thinks I shouldn’t be here. He thinks I’m carrying a fake.
“It’s real enough,” I tell him.
“This does not look real.”
“I swear it is. My boyfriend gave it to me. He’s Victor Penmayne, the actor.”
The guard scoffs at that.
“Victor Penmayne is not your boyfriend,” he grunts.
“He is.”
“Victor Penmayne does not have a girlfriend. He is a very important person. You must be some kind of stalker.”
“I’m not.”
“Go back home, little girl. You will not be coming onto the movie set today. Go home and watch a Victor Penmayne movie and stop bothering me.”
“Josie?”
I spin around. Hayley is walking up to me.
“Hayley?”
“What’s going on?” she asks, glancing from me to the security guard.
The man takes a step back. He clearly knows who Hayley is.
“This girl is trying to sneak through,” he explains.
Hayley laughs.
“She has a lanyard, doesn’t she? She’s allowed in.”
“But I thought...”
“She’s Victor’s girlfriend, haven’t you seen the news?”
“No...”
“Well, she’s coming through with me,” Hayley says.
“Okay, but...”
But before the guard could mutter another word, Hayley has me by the arm and is escorting me confidently and defiantly past him. The guard watches on in resignation as we stroll away from him and towards the set.
“Thanks for saving my ass,” I whisper to Hayley once we’re clear from the guard. “I would’ve been stuck there all day.”
“No problem. Glad to be of help.”
“Wow,” I say to her. “You look amazing. Totally different.”
She really does - Hayley is no longer the modern woman I met last night but is now dressed as some sort of Regency fantasy lady. She’s wearing a dress that flows to the ground made from pale muslin. A bodice fits to her body. It shows off how skinny she truly is underneath it all. Delicate lace trims the edges of the dress. Short, puffy sleeves. She’s wearing pearls and her chestnut hair is pulled back.
The movie is set in a fantasy world based on our Medieval/Regency history, so it’s no surprise that Hayley is dressed like this, but she still looks incredible.
She pulls it off better than I ever could.
“I’m happy with the look,” she tells me. “I was worried during the costume fitting a few weeks ago that I might look ridiculous, but now we’re in Italy, it feels a lot more natural.”
“Yeah, it’s great. You’re going to look amazing on the big screen.”
As we reach the set, someone dressed in black with a clipboard and a giant pair of headphones calls out the actress’ name.
“Sorry, I gotta run,” she tells me.
“Oh, no problem,” I say. “Good luck today.”
She smiles warmly.
“I’m so freaking nervous, Josie.”
“You’re going to be so good, Hayley.”
And, with that quick admission, she darts off.
It’s so busy around here. Everyone seems to know what they’re doing. I feel very much out of place.
I wander over to the main holding pen behind the cameras. This is where the producers and director sit as the cameras roll. There’s space for crew members and other people behind them. We’re all waiting around.
It seems like there is a hell of a lot of waiting around on a movie set.
Cameras are being tested. There’s a flurry of calling back and forth from crew members as they double-check everything. Lights are being carefully positioned in place.
And then there’s another call. Someone is coming.
I turn my head.
It’s Victor.
He’s left the trailer, and he’s walking toward the set.
And he looks... stunning.
Like Hayley, he’s dressed for a fantasy movie. He’s all leather and metal - an elegantly sculptured breastplate with engravings of lions over a leather cuirass. Royal insignia embroiders his armor. He looks so damn noble in this majestic appearance. He’s got high boots. A flowing cloak billowing behind him. His broad frame striding and his blue eyes shining as he makes his way over to the cameras.
And he does have a big sword. That certainly helps his look.
It’s like he’s stepped out of the pages of a fairytale.
As he confidently strolls over to the cameras, he’s so charming with everyone. People are constantly trying to talk to him. Crew members. Assistant director. Script supervisor. And he engages with each of them in turn with full attention. He talks to everyone. There’s no aloof don’t-look-the-movie-star-in-the-eyes cliché drama shit with Victor Penmayne.
I can’t take my eyes off him.
That’s the man I’m sleeping next to every night?
God, no wonder everyone seems to be jealous.