He cleared his throat, rubbing his eyes. “Shit. Sorry about the hand.”
“No worries.” I knew I was risking people noticing by doing what I’d just done, but there was nothing I wouldn’t do for this movie to succeed. For Mike. My own convenience was a trivial price to pay. “Can you do that to Celine, please?” I spun at Nadine. “Did you get that?”
Nadine nodded slowly, blushing, her beady eyes strangely wide. “That was really hot.”
My brows hooked. “O-kay.” I looked around at the gaping faces of the cameramen not behind their cameras. “What the fuck? Take your places.”
“Maybeweshould take a break,” the DP suggested, snickering.
“Why? So you can jerk the fuck off?”
He bent his head and went behind his camera. “Sorry, boss.”
“From tucking her hair behind her ear. On your fucking marks.”
Scene60
Maggie
Seventh take, yet he touched Celine like she was a bloody corpse. “Cut!” I growled. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Mike’s eyes flicked at me. “Don’t yell.”
“Then do your fucking job.” My hands flew in the air. “This is supposed to be easy. Kiss. Touch. Take off her shirt. Get on top. Strip. Pretend to fuck. You’ve done this a thousand times before. Why the fuck can’t you do it now?”
He gritted his teeth, his index finger retracting in my face. Then his mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but he snapped it shut and stalked off set.
“Where’s he going?” My eyes darted to Nadine and the DP, and they both shrugged. “Where are you going?!” I shouted after Mike.
He continued, not answering or looking back.
“Gennaro? Get your ass back here!”
His head jerked in my direction, his eyes giving me one audacious look, as if he was giving me the finger.
Motherfucker.A tap on my shoulder set my head to whip back. Celine was in my view, in a robe over her T-shirt.
“Do you want me to go talk to him?” the blonde suggested. “It’s my first day on set, and we haven’t rehearsed this scene. Maybe we need to—”
Nadine dashed toward her, gesturing for her to stop talking.
“You need to what? Rehearse it? Alone?” My eyes narrowed, examining Celine’s expression, the ugliest thoughts crawling in my head.
Celine shrugged with a frown on her face. “Sorry. I thought I could help.”
“Just go, Celine,” Nadine said. “Get ready for 33.”
The blonde was about to turn away when I held her arm and leaned in. “I’m gonna ask you one question, and don’t you even think about lying.” My piercing gaze leveled with Celine’s. “Are you fucking him?”
“No.”
“Do you wanna fuck him?”
Celine curved her mouth in response.
The woman in me wanted to break the arm I was holding. The director had to let go of that arm and banish all the murderous ideas springing in my mind.
Yet suspicion was eating me up. I didn’t know Celine well enough to trust she was telling the truth. But I knew Mike. His word was the only one that mattered. The question was, could I take it if the truth was as horrific as the feeling in my chest right now?
