24

Miles stood beside Blake Herrington's trailer and watched as the actor spoke with the director. They had their heads close together, and both of them kept looking in his direction. Unfortunately, he was too far away to hear what they were saying.

"I hate it when they do that," Laura said softly as she walked up behind Miles. The young man jumped as he turned to see who had snuck up on him. "Sorry," she added with a laugh. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," Miles said, looking back towards the other two men. "Do they talk like that often?"

"You mean do they talk about you almost like you're not there? Yeah, they all do that a lot around here."

Miles tried to stifle a sigh. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for this," he said. "There seems to be a lot of... I don't know. Cattiness?"

Laura looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Cattiness on a movie set is a surprise for you? Miles, have you been living under a rock?"

He laughed a little at that. "No. I mean, I'd heard stories, but I figured they were just stories."

Laura smiled sympathetically at him. "You get used to it," she told him. "And you get a nice, thick skin."

Across the lot, Blake threw his hands up, as if defeated. The director nodded once, then turned and left. A moment later, Blake started towards his trailer.

"And that's my cue to leave," Laura said quickly, watching the actor's approach. "I'll be around if you need me."

Before Miles could say anything, he was alone. That didn't last, however, as Blake walked up to him.

"You're my assistant," the actor said without prelude.

"Yes, sir," Miles replied, looking the other man in the eye.

"Fine. Get me a coffee."

"How do you take-"

"Get. Coffee." Blake turned and walked into his trailer.

"Yes, sir," Miles said to the air.

23

Hours later, Ricardo and Laura managed to escape from the rest of their family and find a place to sit outside. They settled into their favorite chairs and sat without speaking for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and quiet.

"Seriously, Ricky, I wish you would have told me," Laura finally said, rocking slowly back and forth in the chair on the porch. "Anna said that you told her."

"I told her this morning, when she came to ask me about something. I didn't search her out. Besides, I only just found him yesterday, and we didn't get to talk last night. If we had, I would have told you."

Laura sighed. "I know. I just felt, well, out of sorts, you know?"

"I know," Ricardo replied. "But if it helps, Miles didn't notice."

"Really?"

"Really. He actually told me that he was impressed with the way you handled Sophia. Those were his exact words."

Laura laughed. "I 'handled' her, did I? I guess actors are kind of like wild animals..."

Ricardo laughed with her. "In any case, I think you helped him out a lot today. Do you think he's ready to be on his own tomorrow?"

"He might be," Laura said slowly. "Blake's not as demanding as Sophia, and he's only got a half-day of shooting, right?"

"Right," Ricardo confirmed. "It might take a little sweet-talking on my part to convince Blake to take an assistant, especially a man, but I think Miles is right for the job."

"Good. He's a nice guy," she said, smiling in the dim evening light.

"I knew it!"

"What?" Laura asked, looking across at her brother.

"You think he's hot!"

"I do not!" she protested, feeling her cheeks turn red. "And even if I do, what does it matter?"

Ricardo laughed. "Ma's gonna love it if you bring him home."

"Ricky! Don't even joke about that! She'll have the wedding planned before she even hears his last name!"

That only made him laugh harder. Laura shook her head. "Besides, the idea is for Sophia to flirt with him. He's just got to keep Blake away from me."

"Right. And that's the only interest you have in him - as a human shield."

"Yes."

As Ricardo dissolved into another fit of laughter, Laura rolled her eyes and got up from her chair.

"Hey, where are you going?" her brother asked.

"To say good night to Mama and the rest. It sounds like I'm going to have a REALLY long day at work tomorrow."

22

"You couldn't have told me ahead of time that you had found an assistant?" Laura asked as she punched her brother in the arm.

"Ow!" Ricardo whined, rubbing his arm, grinning from ear to ear. "And miss a reaction like this? Of course not!"

"I looked like an idiot!" Laura complained. "Out of nowhere, this tall-dark-and-handsome guy shows up and tells me that he's going to follow me around! Seriously, Ricky, I could have used some warning. You didn't even have to tell me he was hot - just that he existed!"

Ricardo laughed. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad," he said, reaching across Laura to grab a roll from the basket on the table.

"Ricardo! Where are your manners?" his mother scolded.

"Sorry, Ma," the director replied sheepishly. "Laura, could you pass me the rolls, please?"

Their mother smiled as Laura passed the basket over to her brother. "Much better. But enough of this work-talk!" she said. "I know you're very important, Ricardo, but there is more to life than work. You need a wife. She would teach you that."

Laura barely hid a smirk at her mother's comment. The only thing that kept her from laughing out loud was the fact that she was probably next on her mother's list to harangue.

"A handsome, successful man like you should have no trouble finding a wife!"

"Ma, I'm not ready to settle down yet," Ricardo tried to explain, looking to Laura for support. She just shook her head.

"Ricardo! You're thirty-six years old! By your age, your father had already given me four babies!" Maria Jarvis threw her hands up in despair. "And you, Laura! Twenty-five and still unmarried... When I was your age, I was married AND a mama!"

"Mama, I just finished school last year," Laura told her, knowing that nothing she said would make any difference. "Give me a little time."

"A little time, a little time! If I give you more time, I'll never see any grandchildren!"

"Ma, you've got seven grandchildren." A shriek from the other room punctuated Ricardo's words.

"Don't my kids count for anything?" Elena asked, laughing as she said it. The oldest of the girls, Elena was two years older than Ricardo and already had three children of her own. Juliana and Reya, both younger than Ricardo but older than Laura, had each contributed two grandchildren, and joined in their older sister's laughter.

"Fine, fine. But I want more!" their mother cried.

"Time, Mama," Laura repeated, shaking her head. Ricardo just laughed.

"We'll talk later, Lolo," he said, still smiling. "Pass the corn?"

21

"Are you Laura?"

Laura turned around as she heard her name, and found herself face-to-chest with a young man who towered over her.

"I am," she replied, looking up to see a pair of big brown eyes. "And you are?"

"Miles. Miles McCallum. Mr. Jarvis told me that I should come and find you. He said that you'd be the best one to help me out today." The young man smiled down at her, and Laura couldn't help but smile back.

"Did he happen to mention how I can help you out today, Miles?" she asked, wondering why her brother had sent this man her way.

"I've been hired as Mr. Herrington's assistant, and Mr. Jarvis said that, since you've been working with Ms. Cornish so well, you'd be the best one to tell me what to do." Miles smiled again, and Laura felt herself blush slightly.

"Well, I can tell you what works for Sophia, but Blake's another animal entirely... Oh, but don't ever call them by their first names unless they ask you to," she added.

"No first names," Miles repeated, pulling a small notepad from his pocket and making a note. "Got it."

Laura grinned. He was cute, although he was probably at an age where 'cute' didn't seem like a compliment. "Did Mr. Jarvis say anything else?"

"He told me to shadow you today, and then report to him tomorrow morning so he can decide what to do next. He seems to have a lot of faith in you."

"Like he said, I've been working with Sophia for a while... longer than any of her other assistants. She's not here yet, but you'll see why that's a big deal, trust me." Laura sighed, trying not to picture Sophia's face when she saw that there was another person following her around. For such a diva, Sophia didn't like the whole entourage thing. "Anyways, I've got to get started, so you might as well come along and start learning."

Laura started by heading over to Sophia's trailer and unlocking it. "She likes it unlocked while she's on set, but we have to keep it locked overnight," she explained, crossing the room to the air conditioning panel. "She likes the temperature at 76 degrees, so I get it turned on before she gets here. I did most of the clean-up last night before I went home, so there's not too much to do right now, but I try to get everything set up so that all Sophia - Ms. Cornish - has to do is come in and sit down. The guys out at the gate usually call me when she shows up, so I've got time to call Anna, the make-up artist. She'll be here when Sophia shows up."

"Is it okay for you to call her Sophia?" Miles asked, watching as Laura moved around the small space, setting out various brushes and bottles, checking the fridge and smoothing the tableclothes.

"Never," Laura said with a laugh. "Not to her face. But I figure if the tabloids can call her Sophia when she's not around, so can I. She's one of the more... distant artists on this project. Mr. Jarvis is busy, but friendly, and Mr. Herrington... well... you'll get to know him."

"I'm starting to wonder if I want to," Miles said, a frown creasing his brow. "Between the way Mr. Jarvis was talking and the way you're talking... is he really horrible to work for?"

"I don't think so," Laura said, pausing. "I mean, I don't work for him directly. He's just... well, I'm a woman, so I've got an extra set of problems where he's involved."

"Ahhh..." Miles nodded. "So that's why the ad asked for a man."

"Exactly," Laura grinned. A sharp beep from her cell phone interrupted, and she answered before it could beep a second time. "Yes? Okay, thanks." She hit a button to dial another number, then looked up at Miles. "Here we go. Follow me... Anna? She's here."

Laura led Miles over to the coffee bar and cleared her throat to get the girl to pay attention. "Yes, I know he's new, but I need Ms. Cornish's coffee," Laura said, her tone a little too sweet.

"Yes, ma'am," the coffee girl said, smiling widely at Miles. As she turned to make the drink, Laura looked over at Miles.

"You probably don't want to get involved with her - she's one of the ones sleeping with your new boss."

"Oh." Miles glanced over at the coffee girl again, unsure of what to say.

"Here you are," the girl said, passing the cup to Laura but smiling up at Miles. "Have a wonderful day."

"You, too," Miles replied before hurrying to catch up with Laura. "That was awkward."

"That's showbusiness," Laura said, shaking her head. As they reached Sophia's trailer, Laura motioned for Miles to wait outside. She stepped in and sighed with relief to see that Anna was already there, waiting. Setting the coffee down on a coaster, Laura hugged her cousin briefly. "It's going to be an interesting day," she said.

Anna laughed. "I heard - Ricky told me about the new boy. Have fun with that."

Laura shook her head. "We know how much Sophia loves change... keep your fingers crossed that she doesn't tell them to cut off my head today!" Flashing one last, almost desperate smile, Laura hurried back outside, ready to open the door for the actress.

Sophia arrived moments later, and Laura opened the trailer door as the actress stepped out of her car. "Good morning, Ms. Cornish."

"Mm. Who's that?"

"Miles, Ms. Cornish. He'll be Mr. Herrington's assistant, but he'll be learning from me today," Laura explained.

"Hm. Don't let him get in our way," Sophia said as she stepped inside. Laura closed the door behind her and turned to Miles, giving him a small smile.

"Well, that wasn't too bad."

Miles just looked at her, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

20

"Tell me about Blake Herrington," Laura said into the phone, relaxing back against the pillows behind her. She was propped up in bed, trying to wind down after a rather long day.

"Stay away from him," Ricardo replied on the other end of the line, his concern evident in his voice. "He's trouble, Laura."

"Well, yeah, I figured that part out," she replied with a sigh. "He's just been everywhere, Ricky. It seems like, no matter what I'm doing, he's constantly stepping out from behind a building, or through a doorway. I feel like, I don't know... like he's watching me or something."

Ricardo frowned, wishing that he were talking to his sister in person. "I don't like the sounds of that. He acts like that around the coffee girl, too, and it's no secret what he's been doing with her. I don't like this, Laura."

"You think I do?" she asked. "Look, there's got to be something I can do about this. I mean, there's got to be a way that I can ACTUALLY avoid him. I've been trying, but it's not working at all."

Both siblings were silent for a few moments, each pondering the situation.

"What if he had an assistant?" Ricardo asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What if I hired an assistant for him? Someone to do the same sorts of things that you do for Sophia?"

Laura sat up a bit straighter. "But does he need that?"

"Probably not," Ricardo admitted. "But if the assistant is a pretty young thing, he'd be less inclined to spend his time following you around."

"But the pretty young thing would end up the same way as the coffee girl," Laura countered. "Do you know how quickly he'd go through assistants? Faster than Sophia!"

"You're right," Ricardo said with a sigh.

The silence stretched out again, until Laura gasped. "I've got it!"

"What?"

"Give him a handsome young thing!"

"What?" Ricardo's confusion was clear in his voice.

"Give him a male assistant," Laura clarified. "He'll at least slow down Blake's movements... and if I get along with him, he could probably even actively help me!"

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Ricardo admitted. "If nothing else, Sophia might start hitting on the boy, and give Blake a taste of his own medicine. All right, I'll put out an ad in the morning, and we'll get Mr. Herrington an assistant."

"Great!" Laura replied, grinning. She suddenly felt much more relaxed. "Thanks, Ricky. I feel better now."

"Good. Now go to sleep - we've got another big day in the morning."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you, too, kiddo. Good night."

Laura hung up the phone and settled back against her pillows. She closed her eyes, and a few moments later, she was fast asleep, more relaxed than she had felt in days.