Page 40 of Midnight Sun
Finn watches Peter go, wondering what to make of him. He acts friendly enough, but Finn just can’t warm up to him. He puts the food down in their trailer and follows the sudden urge to find Jamie.
As Finn approaches the costume designer’s trailer, he can hear yelling. He opens the door and almost crashes into Audrey. A rolled-up towel flies at his head, and he manages to catch it at the last moment.
“Are you dense? How could that happen?” Jamie yells from behind a changing screen. Finn would’ve been amused if Audrey hadn’t looked close to tears.
“I’m sorry, Mister Arden, but I’ve really no idea how–”
“Bullshit!” Jamie rounds the screen, still wearing the clothes from the shoot, an angry flush on his cheeks. “You lose my fucking clothes? The showers are broken and you don’t have the presence of mind to order someone to fix them! You want to be a professional? This is a joke!”
“But I didn’t know about the showers until a few minutes ago.”
“And how is that an excuse?”
Audrey is crying now, and Finn has seen enough. He steps in front of Jamie, frowning down at him.
“That’s enough. She got your point.”
Jamie’s angry glare settles on Finn. “No, she didn’t. Am I only working with idiots here?”
“What’s the matter with your clothes?”
“Audrey lost them,” Jamie spits.
Finn finds it hard not to burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation and instead turns to Audrey. “Can you tell me what happened?”
The stylist focuses on him and visibly composes herself. Seeing her in tears makes Finn realize how young Audrey must be—twenty-two, he guesses, twenty-five at most. Jamie, as a grown man, should know better than to yell at her.
“Mister Arden’s costumes are gone, as are the clothes he left in the trailer this morning,” she sniffles. While the situation is hilarious on some level, a bad feeling spreads through Finn’s gut. “Since we are moving the requisites to the next location over the weekend, someone may have taken them by mistake,” Audrey continues.
Jamie snorts. “Of course. Put the blame on someone else. This isn’t the first time you’ve lost things.”
“I’m sorry. But I’ve no idea what happened.”
“What do you mean, this isn’t the first time things have gone missing?” Finn cuts in, alarmed now.
Audrey gratefully shifts her focus to someone who isn’t seething with anger. “Yes. It happened the first time on the set ofBloodlust,I think. We had to replace most of Mister Arden’s costumes overnight.”
“What about the things youlostback in LA?” Jamie snarls. “There was my grandfather’s ring among the items.”
“Was that around the time the photo was taken?” Finn asks.
Jamie’s eyes narrow at him. “What photo?”
Finn steps into his space and pulls up to his full height. “Don’t act like a brat. We talked about the photo Dagur and I found.”
Jamie bristles. “How dare you bring that up now? It has absolutely nothing to do with the matter at hand!”
“You don’t know that. This very likely isn’t Audrey’s fault.”
Jamie stares at him, anger and incredulity written all over his flushed face. Another reminder that no one calls him out on his bullshit.
“You can’t talk to me like that,” Jamie hisses.
Finn’s fingers twitch with the urge to put Jamie over his knee. “Compose yourself. Audrey is not at fault.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Jamie storms past Finn, jostling him in the process. “I’ve had enough of this bullshit.”
Finn sighs as Jamie slams the door on his way out. He wants to follow him, but he has to talk to Audrey first. She starts crying again as soon as Jamie is gone.