Useful Girl by Marcus Stevens

Author:Marcus Stevens [Stevens, Marcus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General
ISBN: 9781565129016
Google: BaKPzLs-E0AC
Amazon: B00ABHMPXC
Barnesnoble: B00ABHMPXC
Goodreads: 17075023
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 2004-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

Seven

By the time the Director and the small crew reached Bakersfield at two in the afternoon, even the Actress knew that the day was wasted. A flat tire had delayed them on the drive over from Los Angeles, and the whole reason for coming—a quick day trip for rear-projection road shots and site scouting—had to be rethought. They would have to shoot the scene first thing in the morning and, if time allowed, have the photographer set out on his own with specific instructions about what to look for.

The Director phoned her room. “Would you have an early dinner with me, say about five thirty or so?”

She agreed, and when she met the Director downstairs, she was surprised when the clerk stepped from behind the desk and showed them to a small room off the lobby—a meeting room, she realized, for the oilmen who came through town. A few round tables sat unadorned, but one was covered with a simple tablecloth and place settings, and the clerk led them to the chairs, pulling one out for the Actress.

“You can take away the third setting,” said the Director. “My wife decided to rest instead.”

“We can have a plate sent upstairs if you’d like.”

“Just soup,” said the Director. “And salad and bread. Very light. She’s not feeling well from the trip.”

“Is she all right?” asked the Actress.

“Perfectly fine. More agitated than anything else after sitting in the car all morning.”

The clerk poured them each a glass of wine, but the Actress put her hand up before hers was full. “I didn’t know the hotel had a kitchen,” she said to the clerk.

“We don’t, actually,” he responded. “A few dishes are coming over from Ruby’s Steak House, just down the street.”

“I hope you don’t mind,” said the Director, “but I went ahead and ordered for you. A steak, medium well, and a little salad with dressing on the side in case it’s too tart, as some dressings tend to be.”

“It sounds lovely,” said the Actress, nodding at the clerk.

“Send my wife a bottle of this,” said the Director, having sipped the wine.

“Very well,” said the clerk. “The food will be here shortly,” he said, and exited the room.

The Director unfolded his napkin and sighed, clearly agitated. “What a waste of a day.”

“It must be frustrating.”

“We won’t have a lot of time. Or money. When the full production starts, I’ll have little patience for setbacks like this.”

“I was explaining to the driver during lunch that our shoot had to take place in the morning because of the quality of the light.”

“You had lunch with your driver?”

“Yes,” she answered. “At the café just across the street.”

“He did nothing untoward, did he?”

“Of course not!” She smiled at his suggestion.

“Of course not,” he said. “That’s a good man, after all. It’s not polite to let a lady eat alone.” He seemed to recall the loss of the day’s work and shook his head. “If we’d been here on time, we could have had a lovely lunch somewhere with my wife.

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