What the hell was he supposed to do next?
And why did finding this mystery girl suddenly feel more important?
Chapter 3
Amanda walked a little faster toward the makeup trailer, her bright orange umbrella patterned with tiny flamingos shielding her from the rain. A little less than a week had gone by and Amanda had fully settled back into her life as lowly servant, far from the glitz and glamour of award season. She stopped just near the steps, then reached up to grab the door latch just as Dru and Henrik, the production assistant holding the black umbrella over her head, made their way across the parking lot. Amanda loved the rain, especially in LA. It cleared the air, refreshed the earth. Made it a little easier to breathe, if only for a few hours. It was much better than filming in Atlanta, where Dru’s last show had been on location. Amanda understood the producers had chosen Georgia for the tax breaks, but she did not miss the humidity.
“We’ll see you on Monday,” Henrik said as Dru stepped under Amanda’s umbrella and up the stairs. Dru didn’t respond.
“Thanks, Henrik,” Amanda said.
“Hurry up,” Dru grumbled.
“Oh, sorry.” Amanda opened the door and followed her inside where Dru’s attitude immediately changed. She couldn’t muster a single word for the production assistants, but Tally and Patience had been hired just to keep Dru happy. The wig the previous hair person had slapped on her had been dragged up and down the Internet for weeks, and Dru’s mom had quietly raised hell until they brought in a Black woman who knew how to build and install a proper lace front. Tally was one of the best in the industry, and the studio learned pretty quickly that hiring her had been the right move. Everyone on the show was now sporting a sleeker head of hair, wig or natural. Since Kaidence got her way, Dru figured why not push for a makeup artist who understood how the camera picked up Dru’s light brown skin tone without making her look oddly washed out.
Yes, Dru was playing a space vampire, but that was all the more reason for her to look amazing. Vampires in the next galaxy did not let their looks go. Tally and Patience made Dru look sexy as hell, and she was too smart to get on their bad side.
“Hi,” Dru said bashfully as she shuffled toward Patience. Tally was busy taking down Dru’s costar Webber’s elaborate updo at the far end of the trailer.
“Hey, doll. You killed it out there today,” Patience said, and she pulled Dru into a light hug.
“Thank you. It’s not every day you have to banish your most loyal servants to a deserted outpost. It was a very emotional day.”
“I bet it was. Have a seat and let’s get you out of here.”
Amanda brought over fresh bottled water and set it down at the station, then took the empty seat near the door. She had to finalize Dru’s schedule for the next few days before she left for Helene’s wedding.
She checked her email again, half paying attention as Webber started talking.
“It’s so weird seeing people like that out in the wild. She’s that glamorous. No makeup, nothing. She was an absolute ten.”
“Who are we talking about?” Dru asked just as she popped her fake fangs out of her mouth. Amanda didn’t miss the hint of jealousy in her voice.
“Helene Sawyer. I saw her last night grabbing takeout from Lux. It was a real Celebs Are Just Like Us moment.”
“Oh, yeah,” Dru said. It was a struggle for her to sound gracious. Even with years of professional training. “She is so beautiful. Great actress too.”
“Head-to-toe athleisure wear and she looked like she’d just come off the runway.”
“Oh that reminds me,” Tally piped up. “You will never guess who I saw the other day, walking down Melrose.”
“Who?” Webber replied.
“Sam Pleasant.”
Amanda froze, glancing up from her phone. It wasn’t strange to hear people talk about her best friend. Helene was a huge star now and she was gorgeous. People talked about her all the time.
They talked about Sam Pleasant all the time too, and a week ago, Amanda wouldn’t have batted an eyelash at the mention of his name. But that was before the mind-blowing night they’d spent together. Since then, Sam Pleasant had done nothing but invade her thoughts. She was mature enough to handle a one-night stand, but that didn’t stop every detail of their time together from playing over and over again in her mind. Hadn’t stopped her from conjuring thoughts of Sam’s body moving over hers before she slipped her hand between her legs every night since it happened.
The whole thing had been a fluke, and she knew in a few months the memories would fade, leaving her with her own You’ll Never Guess Who I Slept With a Hundred Years Ago story to blurt out in front of her grandkids one day. In the meantime, Amanda was desperately in need of a real vacation, and Sam Pleasant had made her realize how much sex had been missing from her life too. That’s all this bizarre infatuation was. Exhaustion and sex deprivation. She’d get over both eventually. Eventually. For now though . . .
Amanda fixed her face and looked back down at her phone, ignoring the way her ears had suddenly gotten hot.
“He is so fine,” Patience went on.
“Helene’s wedding is this weekend and I heard the top-secret location is Sam Pleasant’s ranch. Well, his family’s ranch,” Webber said. A knot gripped Amanda’s belly. She knew the wedding was going to be held at Big Rock Ranch in Charming, California, about two and a half hours away from the city if traffic was on your side. She’d heard in passing that it was Black-owned, but she had no clue the ranch was owned by Sam’s family.
She almost started beating herself up for not researching the ranch more, but why would she? All Helene needed her to do was show up and be emotionally supportive and happy for the lovely couple. She wasn’t working and she wasn’t in the wedding party. What wedding guest researched the owners of any venue? And what person researched a person’s family before they had a spontaneous one-night stand with them? She swallowed and pretended to focus back on her phone.