Blurred Boundaries Read online

  Evan stopped abruptly at the thought. As furious as it made him, it was the only thing that made sense. There was no way that they could prep, go through rehearsals and begin principal photography on the wrong script without anyone noticing. Not unless someone wanted them to.

  Tamara continued walking, nose still in her phone, for another twenty feet before she stopped and glanced back. Confusion clouded her expression. Her brow knitted into a concerned look. “Evan? You’re not having second thoughts are you?”

  Second thoughts? Hell yeah. And third ones. And quite possibly some fourth ones thrown in for good measure. The more he considered the likelihood that they’d been sabotaged, the more furious he became. In fact, the haze of red he was now seeing had nothing to do with the light above the door to the stage and everything to do with his anger. He took a calming breath and focused his gaze on the woman he’d been mad at for going on two weeks now. He’d been in the business long enough to know how foolish it was to trust just anybody. Especially someone he knew next to nothing about. Turned out, he knew even less about her than he’d thought, since the script he’d believed she’d written was not hers after all.

  She had yet to provide proof that her script existed, but he was willing to take her at her word that it did. Not because she’d said so. But because she’d darn near panicked when she saw the script that her name was actually on. The girl did not have a poker face at all. Between that and the call to Schenecki’s office, Evan was convinced that unless they did something drastic here, they would be seriously screwed. For better or worse, she was his new partner in crime.

  “Evan?” she prompted. The sound of her voice startled him. Right. She was waiting for an answer. He shook off his thoughts and rushed forward to open the stage door for her.

  “Not at all. Just thinking of the best way to approach Rock. We’re going to need some privacy.” The red light over the door blinked off signaling that they were clear to enter. He held the door for her, and they both paused to let their eyes adjust to the darkness inside. Even though they were well away from the action, plenty of crew members were hurrying to and fro, handling the various tasks that a shoot required. He led her around the building’s perimeter until they could see the set. He felt her freeze beside him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She blew out an audible breath. “There’s a gazebo.”

  “Yes?” It took him a moment to understand the incredulity he heard in her voice. She really must not have written this script. “Oh. Right.”

  “Are you kidding? It’s a fucking gazebo. This show doesn’t have gazebos. Ever. Besides that, they built one. Inside a soundstage. In a city where gazebos are a fricking dime a dozen. What the hell?”

  Evan couldn’t help himself. He chuckled at her mini tirade. Finally, someone saw things his way. He put a calming hand on her shoulder and peeked inside an office. It was blissfully devoid of people, though packed with equipment. “Whyn’t you wait here? I’ll get Rock.”

  “Can you like blow up that gazebo while you’re at it?” She called after him. He pulled the door closed behind him and grabbed a passing PA.

  “Hey, my man. Can you guard this door for me for like two minutes? Nobody goes in.”

  The eager kid nodded. “Sure thing Mr. Josephs.”

  “Dude. It’s Evan. And thanks.”

  Confident that the writer wouldn’t be going anywhere for a moment, Evan hurried over to Rock, who was watching playback of the last scene on a monitor in Video Village. Having worked with him several times during the show’s run, Evan had come to respect Rock’s working style. Despite being a Russian native, the man was the antithesis of the loud Russian stereotype. Instead of getting boisterous and out of control when upset, everything about him got quiet. Real quiet. His voice lowered. His mannerisms got smaller. He lasered in on the problem and fixed it. That was usually when heads would roll. Judging by the tight expression currently on his face, he was not happy.

  Evan sidled up beside him and kept his eyes on the monitors, too. “We’ve got a situation brewing. I need you to come with me.”

  Rock did not immediately respond. Had Evan just met him, he’d have assumed the man hadn’t heard, and would have been tempted to repeat his request. Instead, he waited patiently.

  “Have you heard of the writer’s ETA? She is on her way, no?” Rock gestured at the monitors. “Perhaps she can fix this mess since Gavin has disappeared.”

  Evan glanced around for obviously listening ears. Seeing none, he said, “Gavin is who we need to discuss.”

  Rock finally turned his full attention to Evan. “Has something happened? He has not been here since day one.”

  “It’s nothing like that.” Evan called up every ounce of his training and affected an easy smile. “The writer is here. We’re shooting the wrong script.”

  The color drained from Rock’s face so fast, Evan feared he was going to pass out. He put a supporting hand under the man’s elbow.

  “What do you mean? That is not possible. How could something like this happen?” Evan watched the color race back to Rock’s cheeks as realization dawned. He let a string of Russian curses fly under his breath. “That no good son of a… This is new low. Even for Gavin.”

  “Let’s continue this in private.”

  Rock looked around the bustling set then nodded. He followed Evan back to the office where he’d left Tamara. True to his word, the PA was still standing guard.

  “Thanks, man. Can you see that we’re not interrupted for a few minutes?” Evan said and opened the door for Rock to enter.

  “Of course, Mr... uh… Evan.”

  “Good man.” Evan closed the door behind them. Tamara was sitting at the computer surfing Deadline Hollywood.

  “I think I just figured out why Schenecki is unavailable. Take a look.” She moved aside so the guys could read the screen.

  Evan bent and scanned the article. “Stephan Tancradi just took over scripted television at the network.” He stood and looked between his cohorts. “Shit.”

  “Exactly,” Tamara agreed.

  “Tancradi? Why does this name sound familiar?”

  “The man redefines nepotism. He is not afraid to cancel a successful show simply to give the time slot to one created by a friend.” Tamara explained. “Schenecki is trying to make a friend.”

  “Meanwhile, we have an episode to turn in. Speaking of,” Evan formally introduced Tamara and Rock to each other.

  “Call me Tam,” she said, offering a handshake to Rock. Evan let them get the pleasantries out of the way before diving in to the problem at hand.

  “We’re three days in on principal photography. How do we shoot an entirely different script from scratch in the five days we have left?”

  “You cannot be serious,” Rock protested. “This is impossible. Our showrunner is busy and there is no one else who can approve the additional budget.”

  Tam spoke up. “I know this is probably super naïve, but we still have four days. Four and a half really if we maximize the rest of today. Let’s get as much as possible in the can then bring in Schenecki. He’ll approve whatever overage we need once he finds out what happened.”

  Rock was already shaking his head before she even finished the idea. “I simply cannot turn in another cut late or over budget. A cut that is both will kill my career. We’ve got to pull the plug now. Let someone else figure it out.”

  “C’mon, man. You know that’s not an option,” Evan pointed out. “And that was before Tancradi got involved. We’ve got to turn in something or all of us are done.”

  “Ready for another crazy idea?” Tam asked.

  The men looked at her.

  “Let’s just go for it. Full throttle. Get the cut in on time and on budget.”

  “How exactly do you propose to do that?” Rock crossed his arms. Evan could tell he was ready to dismiss her out of hand, but at least he’d hear her out.

  “It’s like Nona said. We have all kinds of talented, experienc
ed people here. Let’s use them. See where we can cut both time and money. Especially money. If it’s not going on the screen, we cut back.”

  Rock dropped his arms. Evan couldn’t believe it. She was starting to get through to him. “Go on. Where do we make these cuts?”

  “We’ve got to bring the line producer in on this conversation. She’ll know more about that. The basic plan, though, is to put all our cash on the screen.”

  “Speaking of bringing people in – what do we tell the crew? I don’t think it’s a good idea to let out how big we’ve messed up here.” Evan said.

  “I concur. I am already on professional ground that shakes. I will be blamed for this, too.”

  Tamara took a moment to think. “How about we say that I was sent here with a change of direction mandated by the network? Plausible deniability all around.”

  Evan exchanged a look with Rock for confirmation. “Done.”

  She frowned. “Where is Gavin? As a co- executive producer, shouldn’t he be in on this, too?”

  Evan felt Rock glance his way, but he fought to keep his gaze on Tam. He didn’t want to tip her off to their suspicions. After all, that’s all they were. Suspicions. “We’re not sure where he is. He went MIA after breakfast two mornings ago. I’ll have someone track him down. Meanwhile, we should get the ball rolling.” He was proud of how even he’d kept his tone. Still, she obviously wasn’t stupid. She studied them both for a moment having picked up that something must be going on that she wasn’t privy to.

  “I must agree,” Rock chimed in. “Time is money and we have neither to waste.”

  After another moment, she gave a solemn nod. “Okay then. The unit production manager, I think her name is Tanzi? We meet with her to see what money we can move around. She’s going to have to work out a new schedule with the first assistant director. After that, we meet with the department heads. Get them up to speed.”

  Evan nodded his agreement. So far, she was making sense. He was more than willing to go along with things as long as the script was everything she’d promised. That was making him a bit nervous. “We need to rehearse.”

  “Yes. We should get the cast back to the hotel for a table read ASAP. That way, the set will be free for any construction that needs to happen.” She turned to Rock who was looking almost as impressed with her quick decision-making as Evan felt. “Assuming you’re okay with suspending the shoot for the day.”

  “Of course, of course. We are all doing double duty. My suggestion? Tanzi should handle the department heads while we read with the cast. Save some time, no?”

  Tam smiled at him. “I like how you think. Do you want to bring her up to speed? Evan, can you round up the cast and herd them back to the hotel in an hour? I’m going to go on ahead and get us the space. I’d prefer not to do this in the lobby.” She held up a thumb drive. “Do we have anyone who can make script copies?”

  Evan took the drive. “I know just the person,” he said and opened the door to find the PA still diligently guarding his post.

  With one more smile and a wave, Tamara left Evan and Rock on the soundstage. He couldn’t help but marvel at the confidence that seemed to ooze from every single one of Tam’s pores. Evan envied her that calm. He was a professional so he knew his easy smile didn’t hint at the state of panic he was currently being sucked toward. This whole situation was a nightmare and one that he’d never thought could happen in a million years. Yet, here they were.

  Evan clapped the kid on the back to encourage him to walk along. “Remind me of your name?”

  “Justin.”

  “Well, Justin, I need you to do something else for me.” Evan showed him the thumb drive. “I sure hope you’re up for the task.”

  chapter two

  Tam slid behind the wheel of her rental car. She was totally on the verge of having a panic attack. It took her three tries to get the key in the ignition, her hands were shaking so badly. She wasn’t even a staff writer. She had absolutely no clout in this situation at all. Yet, both the star of the show and the episode’s director had agreed to go along with her crazy scheme for them to continue shooting on their own. Talk about a serious lucky streak. Or mad desperation.

  She finally got the car in gear and managed to get out of the parking lot onto the street without hitting anything. Fortunately, the hotel was nearby and not that complicated to get to so only a confirming glance at the GPS was enough to point her in the right direction. What in the world was going on here? And where was Gavin? He was the one who was supposed to be supervising this shoot. Not her. Then again, the mistake had happened on his watch. Maybe he’d figured it out and decided to lay low for the time being.

  Not her. This was her one shot. At the very least, she wanted it to be good. She was proud of the script she’d turned in and hadn’t been able to wait to see it on screen. Now, she was dangerously close to that not happening. All because of a stupid mistake. Thank God, Evan had summoned her to the set like he had. At least she now was in a position to try to salvage her episode. Things could be a whole lot worse. She could still be sitting on her couch in L.A. waiting to see a finished product that would never materialize. But she was here on location now and completely ready to cock block any other impending disasters that would keep her dream from reaching fruition.

  She parked at the hotel and texted Gavin again. She was kind of worried that no one seemed to know where he was. Hopefully, he’d get back to her soon. In the meantime, she had a ton of logistics to conquer.

  The fastest hour of her life was spent getting permission to use one of the ballrooms. In the midst of setting up the table read, something she’d never done before, she realized that it might be nice to have snacks available. She texted Frederico, their craft services person, to ask him to relocate to the hotel. A short time later, the PA who’d been standing outside the office at the soundstage raced in with a box of scripts. The two of them were still setting up the table when cast members started trickling in. That was when she’d realized that she’d left her laptop back at Evan’s trailer.

  At that point, she was living in a perpetual state of panic so her anxiety really couldn’t climb that much higher. She decided she’d go old school and hand write notes on her script during the rehearsal. She’d go back to the trailer once they were finished. With one crisis effectively back-burnered, Tam and the PA she’d come to know as Justin helped Frederico set up a food table. More than once, she and Justin exchanged annoyed looks over the craft services guy’s constant grumbling. Still, it wasn’t something she had time to address at the moment, so Tam let it go.

  The room was rapidly filling up. She caught Rock’s eye and he gave her the tiniest nod. From what she’d heard of his reserved nature, that was high praise indeed. She sent a smile his way then turned and locked gazes with Evan who had just arrived with his co-stars, Audra Teckler and Marc Kramer. He held up her laptop bag when he caught her eye. She clapped her hands over her heart in gratitude. The man had totally just saved her life.

  “We have much to do. Shall we start?” Rock raised his voice over the ruckus. There was a bit of meandering, but not a lot as everyone found a seat around the table.

  Rock waited at the head for them to settle. Everyone turned curious gazes his way. “I am sure you are all wondering at this abrupt schedule change.” Tam heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn’t going to put her on the spot to explain to this room full of strangers. “The network has decided that we are to go a new direction. They sent Tamara Keller to us with the new script. Let us read.”

  “I’m sorry. New script?” Audra spoke up and flipped her luscious red tresses over her shoulder. It took everything in Tamara not to shift under the woman’s green-eyed scrutiny. She addressed the next part of the question to her. “As in completely new?”

  Having only thumbed through the old script, Tam couldn’t answer that question with any confidence. However, she did her best. “There are substantial changes,” she said with more confidence than she felt. Almost
twenty pairs of eyes were on her. Quite a few looked as suspicious of this last minute change as Audra had sounded. Tam looked to Evan for support, but he was texting. So much for his having her back. When he looked up, he gave her a nod. Or maybe she’d been too hasty.

  Audra’s phone flashed on the table. She checked it then looked between Evan and Tam. She still looked tense, but she sat back in her seat and opened the script. “Let’s read.”

  For the next couple of hours, Tam had the experience of her life. For the first time ever, she heard her words read back to her by people who were worth every penny of their nice salaries. The beginning was a bit rocky because there was still an element of wariness in the room stemming from both the unusual situation and the fact that she was a complete stranger crashing their little family.

  By the end of the teaser, they began to trust her and got lost in the story. Most of them anyway. Audra continued her skepticism well into act one. She was completely wooden in her delivery and kept shooting searching looks Tam’s way. It was almost like she was trying to determine if Tam was a friend or foe. The reveal at the end of act one was an emotional high point for Audra’s character, Emmaline. That scene seemed to be enough to win Audra over and solidify her support. For now.

  Tam allowed herself a little smile. It was simply amazing the way the scenes came alive in her head as the actors breathed life into the characters. As the story progressed, the cast relaxed and laughed at her jokes. She even heard a couple people gasp at key plot points. Overall, she’d delivered a solid, entertaining script.

  However, there were a few places that caused people to get tongue tied. Tam had found it easier to keep up on paper and abandoned her laptop. She noted the lines that needed work. There were a couple places where the actors ad libbed. She noted what was said so she could incorporate it into the draft that they’d ultimately shoot. On occasion, Rock would give a brief note of direction to the actor and have him or her reread the line. Tam jotted that down, too.

  When they’d reached the end, they surprised her with a loud round of applause. Tam applauded them right back.