First Word

11 The next day, Kale summoned me to the office – early again. He said he wanted to talk about something important. When I arrived, he was dressed in a button-down, light-blue, short-sleeved shirt that matched his eyes and jeans. He looked happy to see me. We seemed to be making progress – our relationship had mellowed into a comfortable ambiguity. It felt so warm and nice to be around him that I thought I would take what time I could get alone with him and enjoy it. I also suspected he called me in early to ensure quality alone time before the staff arrived. It seemed like Monica had made it her habit lately to interrupt us. I didn’t know if Kale had noticed, but I sure had. I had completely avoided any discussion that would define their relationship because I held out hope that their intimate closeness was in my imagination. A California girl could hold out hope anyway. Kale walked straight over to me and hugged me. To my utter shock, he leaned ove...

Available for Sale on Amazon in print ( click here ) 2.99 in Kindle ( click here ) 9 A few days later, I received a strange “summons” – and when I say summons I mean command – from Curtis. He asked me to meet him at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf the next morning. It was how he said it on my voice mail: “Meet me at nine.” No “please” or “would you” just a demand to meet him. I assumed it was business, and from the tone of his voice, it was serious business. It made me nervous, and my overly active mind went crazy with thoughts. Were they going to fire me? Replace me with another writer? Was Kale too chicken to do it himself? No, Kale was, if nothing else, respectful and decent. He wouldn’t fire me that way. He would do it himself. But wait! Kale had said numerous times how I was talented and all. Why would he fire me? Maybe it was more script notes and production would be delayed. Maybe they were canceling the entire film? “Ah stop!” I said aloud to my...

Purchase a copy on Amazon ( click here )   8 I walked into the production offices. No one had arrived yet – it was 6:00 a.m. Most people in this industry didn’t get up this early unless they were working on set. Kale’s office door was wide open; I assumed to let me know to come in. I walked up and knocked on the open door. Kale was nowhere in sight. I felt a presence come up behind me. I turned around to find Kale smiling at me, and I watched his eyes scan me up and down in my white organdy sundress and flat white sandals. He handed me a latte in a Peet’s cup. “Good morning, sweetheart,” he said and took a sip. “I see you got my message.” I sipped and tasted the latte – my favorite. I was touched that he remembered. “Thanks for the coffee,” I said and nodded in appreciation. “I was surprised you wanted me to scout locations with you.” He looked very relaxed in khaki cargo shorts, a slate-blue T-shirt and brown leather sandals. Kale walke...

3 That night, I went home tired. Denise wasn’t home, as was mostly the case these days. She and her boss spent most nights together, leaving the apartment partially paid for by her but virtually vacant. She kept some of her clothes here still, but it was all for appearances. She had set up camp at her boss’ home in Calabasas. I was fine with it. I was working late and fully consumed in my professional life. I didn’t want any distractions, and Denise was – if anything else – good for distractions. She was either getting dressed to leave or talking about her latest work drama that was heightened by the affair with her boss. I mostly listened and laughed at the dramatic subterfuge she managed to conjure up. I was eating some leftover lasagna when a knock came to my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, so I was surprised to find Letty standing there when I opened the door. She had dyed her hair purple and was wearing chic white sunglasses that were a throwback to ...