CHAPTER 2 #2
“Okay. Sarah’s out there. Why are you in here?” Maisie asked, walking inside through the back door. “You said you’d come out and take over for me and India.”
“And I am on my way,” Lainey replied. “Talk to Dana here.”
“What? Why? I’ve got to go, too,” Dana said.
“Then, I’ll see you later,” Lainey said and walked out the back just as India walked into the shop.
“Here,” India spoke.
“Hi, babe,” Maisie replied, smiling at her girlfriend.
“Where do you want me?”
“Do not answer that,” Dana said, pointing at Maisie. “I don’t want to know.”
Maisie laughed and rubbed India’s back.
“Front register. Thank you.”
“I cannot wait until we’re on our trip. You’ve been working me day and night,” India said, kissing Maisie’s lips sweetly.
“Again, I don’t need to hear that,” Dana said, shaking her head. Then, she picked up her purse from the table in the back of the shop they had pulled out to put extra boxes of books on and asked, “And what trip?”
“We’re going skiing again this year,” Maisie explained. “Our second annual ski trip. And I can’t wait, either. I need a break.”
“As well as some relaxation and better luck on your skis this year,” India said.
“Hey, you were my instructor,” Maisie tossed back.
“And you were the student who kept trying to make out with me and stay inside the room instead of spending the time actually learning.”
“We’d just started dating back then, and you’re gorgeous. What did you expect to happen in a fancy resort in front of a fireplace?” Maisie asked.
“And I’m going to go now,” Dana replied. “Have great sex on your ski trip, though.”
Maisie laughed again and said, “I’m sure we’ll see you before then.”
“I don’t know. I’m about to get really busy with this movie.”
“I can’t believe that’s happening,” India said. “I feel like I’ve been hearing about it forever now, even though it’s only been about a year for me. It’s great that you get to be a part of it. Sophie promised us all tickets to a premiere if there is one. She’s still not sure yet.”
“I’m on Samara Barber duty.”
“Samara Barber duty? The woman playing Sophie?”
“That’s the one,” Dana replied, slinging her purse over her shoulder.
“I heard Libby August is nice and doesn’t have a bad set reputation, but I’m a caterer, and since she doesn’t seem to have any dietary restrictions or weird rules, I don’t get to work with her.
I’ve been assigned, as one of the more senior members of the company’s staff, to work with Samara, who, I’ve been told, is kind of a nightmare, so I’m not exactly looking forward to heading into work right now to get more details than the fifteen-page email I got this morning about this. ”
“Fifteen pages?” India asked.
“Single or double-spaced?” Maisie asked.
“Mostly, a lot of lists,” Dana replied. “And I have to go report in, so I’ll see you both later, I guess.”
“Good luck,” Maisie said. “Hey, as a thank you, want to grab a book? Or, I can make India get you free food from Southern.”
“You can, huh?” India joked.
“Will you please get my friend free food from your café?” Maisie asked her girlfriend with a puppy-dog expression.
“Use your powers for good, not evil, my love,” India said. “And yes, I can go over with you and use my badge to get you whatever you want with my discount.”
“I’m okay. Thank you. But I’ll be back for the book one day,” she said to Maisie.
◆◆◆
“Dana, you’re here. Great. We’re running behind,” Josh, her boss, said. “I need you to triple-check those lists and inventory everything we bought for Samara. It’s all over there on the counter. That’s just for today and tomorrow.”
Dana looked at the stainless-steel counter covered completely in newly purchased food.
“That’s for two days?”
“Well, obviously, some of it will last longer, but I only bought enough for the two days’ worth of recipes she provided so that I can make sure she likes everything before I buy more.
Plus, rumor has it, she can tell fresh from a mile away, so I’ll need you or someone else to go to the shop daily, most likely, and maybe hit up the farmer’s market for certain things.
She seems to have a thing for kale and spinach, so we’ll need tons of that. ”
“Okay,” she replied, dropping her purse on a table. “No problem, I guess. Where’s your list?”
“Over there.” He pointed with a knife he’d been using to chop onions. “That will be her counter.”
“Her counter?”
“She said she doesn’t want her food to touch anyone else’s.”
“I think she just meant she didn’t want to have to eat out of the chafing dishes we use. She’s got a weird temperature thing, according to the email I got.”
“Well, I’m not taking any chances.”
“We’ve worked with some big-time celebs before, and I’ve never seen you look this worried.”
“They’ve never been this demanding,” he replied. “And this is our first job with this production company. I don’t want to screw it up by having their lead complain.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll get started.”
“Thank you. Oh, if you see anything out of place, move it to the other counter and make a note. I have to go check on everything else.”
“Sounds good,” Dana said, thinking that it really didn’t sound good, but she didn’t have much of a choice, either.