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“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“I can go out and buy you another.”

It’s the nicest thing to say, and I have to swat at my tears some more. “She sent it to me in the mail. The stores don’t carry her yet. Oh wait. Lauren has one. I’ll text her and have the crew pick it up from her.”

I fire up a text to Lauren and another to the make-up artist that’s coming.

Ollie is on the floor, picking up the stuff, and I’m just standing there, watching. The pretty turquoise eyeshadow spilled everywhere. He grabs a hand vacuum and sucks it up.

“All clean.”

“Thank you,” is all I can say.

He puts the vacuum away and comes back. “Why don’t you go sit over there and catch your breath?”

I shake my head. “I’ll be sitting soon when they come to do my makeup. Right now, I need to set my stuff up. I don’t want them to do this for me. It’s important that this is my design.”

“Let me help you, then,” he offers.

I don’t get to say no. He lifts the tote and puts it on the desk.

“Thank you,” I say again like the idiot that I feel.

He begins taking things out of the bag. “Don’t thank me anymore. Put me to work. What do I do?”

“I’m sure you have stuff to do. You don’t have to help me with this.”

He smiles. It’s that megawatt smile that disarms me and loosens my underwear. “It’s no biggie, and I want to.”

My insides shiver a little, and I’m leaning slightly toward him. Remember, this is just professional. I straighten up and rummage through the bag. “Why are you being so nice?”

“Because I think you’re having a bad day, and this is your first video. You’re probably nervous, so I want to help in any way I can.”

I didn’t expect that.

“I’m not nervous. I’ve done this many times. I’m excited.”

His gaze stays on my face, like he zooms in on me closer. “You don’t seem excited. You look…sad.”

“It’s nothing. I talked to my mom…you’ve met her,” I say like that explains everything, and it should. He’s seen her cause a scene before.

“Did you fight with her?”

I shake my head and place the statue of the female Buddha on the corner of my desk. “With her, it’s never a fight. God, I need to get a hold of myself before the crew gets here.”

“Why don’t you postpone it for a day when you feel better?”

I shake my head. “No, they all came here to work from New York and probably want to get back home. It wouldn’t be fair. This will pass. I just need to breathe this out.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

I shake my head. I don’t need to get more emotional than I am, but I find myself opening my mouth anyway.

“You know about Walter, right?” I blurt out.

“That’s your father?”

I nod. “He’s in jail.”