“Two weeks and a bit.”
“Ah! You see? Ignore me. Saura’s film won’t be out until at least next year. If anyone’s heard of it, like you said, it will probably just make them more curious.”
“Honestly, I’m more worried about our timeline.”
“Feeling the pinch, mister director?” Jago squeezed the sides of his glass, leaving fingerprints.
“I’mfeelingfrustrated. There’s another production hogging the space and…” From the corner of his eye, Alex watched Vicente take off his sunglasses as he strode toward the counter carrying his football kit bag. “Over here!”
“Hey.” Vicente pulled up a seat backwards at the table and straddled it. “Big night? I stopped by but you weren’t home. Didn’t answer the phone.”
“I was out.”
“Getting fucked?”
“Getting robbed.”
“What?”
“I really wish people would stop saying that.”
“Damn, I’m sorry, man. You know, never mind. I’ve got those lighting cue changes you asked for and… Sorry, hi.” Vicente offered his hand to the bemused stranger at their table.
“Jago.”
Alex watched them shake mismatched hands, Jago’s tanned and smooth, Vicente’s pale and shrouded with sandy hair. The combination was kind of sexy. “This is Vicente, our stage manager.”
“You must be good. I know Alex is a perfectionist.”
Vicente raised an eyebrow at Alex.
“He’s also banging our star,” Alex said.
“Banging? Fuck you.” Vicente lightly punched Alex’s arm. “It’s been almost a year.”
“I know.” Alex laughed. “That was for that look. Don’t think I didn’t see it.”
“And where, may I ask, is your star?” asked Jago.
“Resting at home. She wants to give it everything she’s got tonight.”
“Oh? You’re rehearsing?”
“Like I said, two weeks.” Alex watched Victoria approach them with a small platter of meats, cheeses, bread, and several of the gildas. He turned to Vicente. “Did you order?”
“He did not,” answered Victoria. “This is now your lunch break. Twenty more minutes, mister director. Good to see you, handsome.” She patted Vicente on the shoulder.
“Awww, thank you so much,” he beamed, looking over the snacks. “You didn’t have to do this.”
Victoria left them with no further comment. Alex couldn’t deny Vicente’s way with women, and his naivety was one of his sweetest qualities. He’d never quite clued on to Victoria’s attempts to lure him back into Alex’s love life. When they’d broken up, Alex had heard nothing else from her for almost a month.
Jago picked up one of the gildas. “I haven’t had one of these in… must be ten years.”
Alex watching him pop the entire pepper, anchovy, olive monstrosity in his mouth in one bite, then slide the skewer from his lips. He couldn’t. No way. The briny smell of the fish still burned his nostrils. “Ten years? Wait, how old are you?”
“How old do you think?”
Vicente shrugged. “Twenty…. wait.”
