Page 6

HEATHER

T oday was going to be easy, Heather decided.

First, they were on location not on set.

A change of scenery was going to be a good thing.

They were on the side of a road that might be called the scenic route by anyone traveling on it.

It was windy with trees, and it cut into a hill so the view to one side really was beautiful.

On top of that, all they had to do was drive.

There would be no hand-to-hand combat, no falling off of buildings together.

How could anyone mess up a pleasant drive on a scenic highway?

Granted, the scene wasn’t meant to appear safe.

It was during a buildup to the climax. The villain was supposed to have kidnapped Heather’s character, and he was speeding to his secret lair with Heather in handcuffs in the passenger seat.

But the drive would be a reasonable speed, not much over the limit, and it would be sped up with special effects.

The second scene of the day was a fight scene, but it was one where only Heather was supposed to land a hit, so she could be relatively sure there was nothing Cole could do to make things dangerous for her.

An assistant helped Heather into the car and added handcuffs, locking her wrist to the door after it was closed.

The car was a fancy convertible, and an overhead drone would follow them to get a sweeping shot of the scene.

The handcuffs were nonnegotiable as they would appear in the shot.

Heather waited patiently for Cole to join her.

He sat down and put his seatbelt on. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

So his whole strategy was going to be just pretending yesterday didn’t even happen, was it? Well, she was not about to let him off that easy. She ground her teeth and looked away from him without saying a word.

“Come on,” he said. “We’re going to be working together for months. Let’s not make it miserable for both of us by fighting the whole time.”

Heather wished she could fold her arms over her chest to pout properly, but the handcuffs made that impossible. She had to resort to snark instead. “We can easily avoid fighting if some of us just keep our mouths shut.”

“Hm.” He made a play of appearing to consider it. “It’s an idea, but I don’t think I’ll be taking that road. It sounds…less than stimulating.” He turned to her and winked. “Boring, to the laypeople, in case you were wondering.”

“Well, I find predictability boring, and you, my friend, are extra predictable.”

“You’ve known me for two whole days, sweetheart.”

“For example, I knew you weren’t about to use my name because you know it irritates me, and you like to push my buttons. So predictable.”

His microscopic slouch at that was more than satisfying.

Heather smiled to herself, and when he noticed, he sat up straighter and glared at her.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said. Straight off the bat, he seemed defeated.

But he quickly got over it, and a mischievous smirk replaced his frown.

Heather immediately regretted egging him on.

She could almost guess what was coming next, and she didn’t like it at all.

The director said, “Action!” as soon as the drone was overhead.

And Cole started driving. It was pleasant, at first, and then they came to the curves the shot would be taken from.

It was scenic, which was why the director had chosen it.

It was also a long, winding stretch of highway.

Cole hit the speed they were supposed to be going, and then he blew past it with an evil-looking grin on his face.

Heather’s heart started racing, but she tried to hide it as best she could. “You know, you’re just the stunt double. They aren’t doing any closeups or anything, so you don’t have to actually act like a villain.”

Rather than respond, Cole sped up. The way he was taking the turns made Heather’s insides knot up and her muscles cramp. She couldn’t hold back any longer. She was panicking.

“Stop, will you?” she shouted at him. “Fine, I concede. You’re super fun and interesting, okay? And you’re a much better stunt double than me. You’ve proven it. So much better. So can we take it down a notch? Please?”

He took a turn so fast the tires actually squealed.

“Cole!”

“Lots of compliments, sweetheart, but not the one I want to hear.” His voice was unreasonably calm for the way he was driving.

Heather was actually feeling the way her character was supposed to be feeling, like her life depended on flattering a buffoon. “You’re smart?”

“You’re getting warmer,” he said through his smile.

Another turn had Heather certain they were about to careen off the cliff’s edge. She cringed and held on for dear life. “Super hot, as well.”

“There it is.”

She rolled her eyes as he let off the gas, but only a little. “So hot,” she said. “Like I couldn’t sleep last night because I was busy thinking about how hot you are. And then when I did fall asleep, all I could do was dream about your hotness.”

He let off the gas even more, and Heather began to relax a little, though her heart would not stop pounding. “And?”

“And I’d totally beg you to go out with me if it weren’t for the fact that I…

” They came to the other end of the run, where crew was waiting for them, so she knew he would have to come to a stop in seconds.

She adjusted what she was about to say. “If it weren’t for the fact that I hate your stupid, smug face, you ugly jackass! ”

When they finally came to a stop, Heather started fumbling with her handcuffs before the crew even got to her.

They were the sort she should have been able to get out of without a key, but her hands were shaking too much.

Cole leaned over to help her, but Heather slapped him away.

“Get away from me! I never want to see you again!”

“Overreacting a bit, aren’t we?” He smiled at her again. “Look, you’re fine.”

Someone else came over to help Heather get out of her handcuffs. She was livid, too livid to even respond to Cole. “I hope you’re all happy with that shot!” she shouted at whoever could hear her. “Because I am not doing another one!”

Heather spent her entire lunch break actively hating Cole Reynolds.

She’d never met anyone so careless and disrespectful in her life.

The fact that she was going to have to work with him for the next several months drove her to distraction.

Each bite of her sandwich was followed up by a string of obscenities that would get her demonetized if she were any kind of influencer.

Maybe that’s what she would have to start doing for a living, since stunt work was looking less and less like a viable option.

She growled under her breath and ripped off another bite of her sandwich.

Truly, she was minutes from quitting altogether.

As though he could hear her thoughts, Cole’s voice filled the courtyard. “Don’t do anything you can’t take back, Heather.”

She grumbled without looking at him. “Oh, so now you know my name all of a sudden?”

He sat down beside her, and she scooted away from him. “Come on now,” he said. “You know I was just pushing your buttons. When you’re angry, you get braver. And cuter.”

“Shut up.” She scooted away from him again. “You’re a real jerk, you know that?”

“Okay, but don’t let me be the reason you quit your job. It would be a massive overreaction. You know that, don’t you?”

“Not at all,” she said, and she finally turned to face him. “I can give up this job and maybe have the chance to get another one, or I can risk getting an injury on this job that prevents me from ever working in the industry again.”

He shook his head. “First of all, giving up this job is going to permanently damage your reputation in the industry. You may very well never work again. This is a huge film with a famous director, and word gets around. Second of all, come on, you know I’m not going to let you get an injury like that. ”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I can guarantee the majority of people who drive recklessly and crash had the same level of confidence you just displayed.”

“Yeah, but I’m a professional.” He nudged her, and she recoiled. “Look, the next stunt will make you happy. You get to land a hit on me, and I don’t want you to hold back. Hit me as hard as you can.”

Heather slouched, deeply disappointed that he intended to continue this stupid plan. “I can’t.”

“Sure you can.” He smiled reassuringly. “Just harness the anger I planted in you and hit me.”

“Seriously?” She almost shouted the question at him. “You don’t think potentially injuring you would endanger my career at all?”

He shrugged and smiled. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Well, you don’t.” She couldn’t even finish her sandwich. “They can replace you too, you know.”

“Not easily.” He grinned. “Listen. What I’m good at is figuring out what a director really wants without their having to ask for it.

It absolves them of liability, and they love that.

For example, I just talked to our director today, and do you know what he did?

He thanked me for getting him that badass shot yesterday.

He loved it. I’m not trying to put us in danger here.

I’m trying to give us both a boost. Our reputations will be fantastic.

Directors will whisper to each other about how Heather and Cole are willing to do what no one else will do.

‘They predict your desires before you even have to voice them,’ they’ll say. ”

Heather’s hand flew to her forehead of its own accord. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not.”

“Ugh. I can’t even listen to you anymore.” She packed her sandwich away and finished her drink. “Let’s just do the scene, and I promise to sleep on it before I quit.”

He stood along with her. “That’s all I ask, sweetheart.”

She whirled on him and pointed a finger in his face. “Call me Heather from now on, or I’ll walk out before you can even blink.”