Page 36

Chapter 36

Jessie

“You’re late.”

I walked into the wardrobe trailer nine minutes late, but on cloud nine. Irina wasn’t wrong, she was just far later than nine minutes every single day. Why was she there this one day?

She always shaved off her eyebrows and drew them on, constantly touching them up throughout the day. They typically looked good, but on this particular day, they made her look severe, like she’d used her whole fist to draw them on.

“Sorry, Irina. There was a slowdown on the 105.”

“A slowdown that makes you smell like sex?”

I bristled. It had been well over an hour since Mikey and I got it on. She was just trying to get under my skin. “Call time’s not until 6:30 today,” I said.

“Yeah, well, we’re under the microscope. The network’s got some big wigs in today, and I don’t think they’ve forgotten our last issue.”

Ah, yes. Our last issue, that was partially my fault and mostly Irina’s. Don’t worry, though. She put the blame squarely on me. She failed to communicate with the writing staff about a character change, and a guest actor showed up on set with no pieces to wear. She said I was the one who misplaced the brief about the character. In an effort to not cause a stink, I swallowed it down. Cole had encouraged me to suck it up.

“She’s your boss, babe. No one’s going to believe you if you don’t take responsibility. We all eat shit at our jobs sometimes,” he’d said.

But part of the problem was, I didn’t just “eat shit” and “suck it up” at work. I did the same shit at home with him. It happened gradually, but over time, I pushed back less and less over things I didn’t agree with.

I didn’t start sticking up for myself again until the night I decided to give my loud next-door neighbor a piece of my mind. The awakening was gradual, too. I felt empowered when I talked to Mikey. I could tell him what I thought, and he’d take it seriously, even if he got silly about it immediately after. He acknowledged that he’d heard me. He listened to me in a way that Cole never did, not even at the beginning.

Normally, I’d have been fighting tears from Irina’s nitpicking. But here, I felt confident. If she was going to stay on for next season, I’d go get experience somewhere else. Surely Kitty could put in a good word for me somewhere. I didn’t feel as trapped as I did a month ago. Funny how having someone listen to you and respect you at home boosts you up elsewhere.

Mikey didn’t even offer any great advice for dealing with Irina other than his vague threats. He’d listen when I crabbed about work. He knew he couldn’t actually do anything about the situation for me, but he believed me. And I knew his thuggy threats were his way of showing support.

Plus, I’d forbidden him from putting shrimp in anyone else’s curtain rods.

Even though having network big wigs on set made me nervous, I was sure I could perform under the pressure. Maybe they’d even notice how I carry our little wardrobe department.

The day was long and grueling, but I had nothing but smiles when Mikey’s car waited for me in the parking lot at the end of the day. Not only that, but he leaned against my door, waiting to open it for me.

His “Hey, Sweet Cheeks” and getting wrapped up in his scent with a kiss was the best homecoming I could ask for.