Chapter 3

"He said that?!" Exclaimed Natasha, her mouth agape. Valerie nodded furiously at her best friend. They were huddled over Valerie's coffee table, Chinese takeout food splayed in front of them. 

"And then what happened?" Natasha stuffed a spring roll into her mouth, utterly captivated by her friend's story. 

"Celeste, like, totally went off on him. She was like you can't say that, that's so unprofessional, she had him shaking in his boots." Valerie smiled at the memory, plopping a piece of teriyaki chicken into her mouth. 

"She did? I love her even more now," Natasha said around a mouthful of food, "I've seen and heard a lot on set but I've never experienced a slur, only divas and mental breakdowns." 

Natasha was a prop assistant. Her and Valerie had met years ago on an indie film set, and they became fast friends. They bonded over their love of art, jewelry, and being gay in the film industry. 

"God knows what's in store for me on this show. And I need to get my celebrity crush on Celeste under control. I almost broke character the other day mid-scene because we shared some intense eye contact." That moment was still glued in her mind, she replayed it every so often, going over every detail of the short encounter. Celeste's eyes, her shiny lips, her perfume, the way the button up fit her. When the final cut of the episode comes out she'll be framing the moment.

"Intense eye contact, huh? How scandalous." Natasha laughed at her friend's antics. "Need I remind you that Celeste Brentford is no longer a celebrity to you? She's a peer, a coworker. You need to act that way before you embarrass yourself." 

"Thanks for your support, Nat." Valerie rolled her eyes and polished her plate.

"You know I'd usually tell you to go for it but Celeste is a no-go. Incredibly attractive, and incredibly straight. And incredibly taken. By a soccer player. Does not get straighter than that." Natasha flipped through the channels on Valerie's TV before settling on HBO. "I can't believe I'm gonna flip to this channel soon and be met with your face, this is so surreal." 

Valerie abandoned her moping and beamed at her, then looked at her TV. They were airing a rerun of The Sopranos. "September 15, mark your calendars!" She squealed. She still couldn't believe that was her life. That she was about to be forever immortalized on the small screen. She was exhilarated, but terrified. TV critics are harsh, and she was not sure she could handle tough criticism of her acting. This role was meant for her, though. She felt it in her bones. 

"Jesus, I don't know how you're gonna film 20 episodes. That's so much work." 

Valerie winked at her. "That's showbiz, kid." 

***

Valerie drove into a parking spot on the lot. They had a table read scheduled for the day and she couldn't wait to see where the writers took Eleanor, her character on Scent of Winter. She loved Eleanor, she was the quintessential strong female character, and not in the wishy-washy way she rolled her eyes at. She was excited to dig her teeth into the meat of it all, give the best performance of her career, and perhaps keep this streak of good luck going for the next gig she'll land. 

The paychecks that started rolling in were good motivation, too. She might even be out of her shitty apartment by the end of the year. 

But she didn't want to get ahead of herself. 

As she put her Toyota in park and turned off the ignition, she heard a convertible pull in two spots away. She noticed Celeste's profile and rolled her window down to speak to her, then noticed someone else with her. Samuel Ross. 

Valerie quickly ducked. She didn't know why that was her instinct but she felt weird intruding on them. It wasn't her fault their voices carried.

"Thanks for the ride." Celeste told her boyfriend. Valerie couldn't see Samuel but she didn't need to, she could recognize him anywhere. He was probably the most recognizable soccer player in the country, with advertisements and commercials ranging from beer to medicine. With his tall, lean figure, cropped brown hair, and blue eyes, he was certainly eye candy. 

"No problem." Samuel's smooth voice replied. She had to strain her ears to hear them properly. "Have you arranged our dinner for tomorrow night yet?" 

Celeste opened her door. "Not yet, I'll get Mandy on it now. You want something fancy? Providence, perhaps?" 

"Sounds good. Will she call Sebastian to meet us there?" 

"Yes, but his buddies will probably be lurking around anyway." 

"Good point. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Pick you up?" 

"Please." 

Valerie heard the car door slam and Samuel pulling out of his spot. She shut her window and opened her car door, lugging her purse with her. Celeste was a few meters in front of her, tapping on her phone. When she shut the car door, Celeste froze, her back to her. 

She turned quickly. 

"How long have you been here?" She asked, panicked. Valerie had never seen her so panicked. 

"Um, a few minutes. I was just fixing my makeup in the car." Play it cool, pretend you weren't just eavesdropping. "I waved at you through my window, you didn't see?" She lied through her teeth. 

"No." Celeste narrowed her eyes. She walked up to Valerie and glowered. "Were you listening in on my conversation with my partner?" 

"What? N-no, I–" she scrambled.

"Did Page Six put you up to this? Is Miranda paying you?" Celeste's tone went from suspicious to accusatory, and Valerie was about to shit her pants. "Are you somebody's little insider source?"

"Who's Miranda? Celeste, I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear." Valerie knew Celeste valued her privacy but goddamn you'd think Valerie just watched them having sex, not overheard perfectly normal dinner plans being made. 

Celeste gave her a once-over, frown still fixed on her gorgeous face. She huffed and turned away, swiftly walking towards the entrance, leaving behind a red-faced Valerie. 

Now she really had no chance of befriending this woman. 

She walked into the room the table read was scheduled in and looked out for her name placard. Eleanor Bateson sat next to Cassandra Collins, and Maria was already in her seat, playing on her phone. Valerie approached her seat, gulping when she noticed the Rose Hannigan placard facing her, but her actress was nowhere to be found. Valerie was thankful for the few moments to compose herself. 

As the rest of the cast and crew trickled in, Valerie peaked at the script in front of her. 

Scent of Winter

#3.02

"Under the Gun"

She wondered if this episode would require stunts. She never had to do stunts. She was excited. 

Celeste was the last to walk in and Valerie kept her gaze fixed on her script, unwilling to make eye contact with the actress after their earlier encounter. 

"Okay, everybody's here. Before we start, let me introduce myself to those who don't know me." A petite woman at the head of the table caught Valerie's attention. "My name is Lanie Dominguez, I'm directing this episode. I've worked on this show before and I loved every minute of it so let's make some good TV!" She clapped her hands together and instructed them all to open the script to the first page. 

INT. HANNIGAN HOUSEHOLD - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Valerie listened and read along as the cast and Lanie went through the script the first two scenes, before Eleanor made an appearance. With Rose. 

INT. FLEMMING HOUSEHOLD - LIVING ROOM - DAY

ELEANOR and ROSE are walking around the living room of the burgled house/mansion. Everything seems intact. The furniture is expensive and the ceilings are high. The WINDOW is notably in one piece. Rose is skeptical of Eleanor's investigation, still unwilling to cooperate properly.

ELEANOR

What makes this house so special? 

ROSE

Look around. Everything's worth

a fortune.

ELEANOR

Yeah, but the house next door is

twice as luxurious. Also with the kind

of security this place has… this was 

done by a pro. Someone who likely knew

the owners. 

ROSE

Why do you say that?

Eleanor walks around the living room, inspecting windows, furniture, etc. 

ELEANOR

(while inspecting)

This is obviously a targeted burglary. 

They knew where everything was and

knew what kind of alarm system they'd

have to disable. So this is either the work of

a friend or a stalker. I'll need to check with

 the sheriff's office, see where they're at

with the investigation. Do you wanna

 come with? 

ROSE

Do I look like your little sidekick? 

ELEANOR

(smirking)

Well, I don't have a partner currently 

so you'll have to do, I suppose.

Valerie noticed Celeste was a little more clipped and a lot sassier with her line delivery in her scenes with Eleanor. Valerie gulped and soldiered on. 

Halfway through the read, Lanie gave them a ten minute break while she discussed changes with the head writer. 

Valerie got up to get a cup of coffee from the craft table, keen on getting away from Celeste. Maria joined her. "Why's there always a weird tension between you and Celeste?" Maria whispered to her, pouring her own coffee. 

"She hates me." Valerie sighed, defeated. She didn't even mix any milk or sugar in her coffee, she didn't deserve it. 

Maria chuckled, as if what she said was silly. "She doesn't hate you, come on." 

"She totally freaked at me earlier when she thought I was snooping on her and her boyfriend." Valerie whispered. What she didn't need was Celeste overhearing her gossiping.

"Well, were you?" 

"Yes! But not on purpose." She whisper-shouted. "I don't know why she was spooked though; the conversation they had was hardly tabloid fodder."

Maria hummed sympathetically. "You know how she is. She's trusted people who've betrayed her before, so she hates sharing information about her life to anyone. No one here has ever even been to her house." 

"Really?" Valerie found that hard to believe. "I thought she'd enjoy hosting." 

"She does, she just rents out a venue." 

"The location of her home isn't a secret, though." 

Maria shrugged, sipping her coffee. "Who knows. Don't take it personally, she's snapped at me numerous times before over some pretty dumb shit."

Valerie nodded solemnly, not entirely convinced. 

An hour later, they were freed. They will begin rehearsing and filming the episode the week after. Valerie was excited; the episode was packed with action scenes and intense moments for her character. 

Celeste hadn't attempted to make eye contact with her, which she was grateful for. She'll apologize at a later date, leave her co-star to simmer down for a few days. Celeste thought she apologized too much but at this point, she didn't apologize enough. 

Celeste stayed back to talk with Lanie and Valerie took her chance to leave the room without having to interact with her. She grabbed her gigantic purse, bid her co-stars a farewell and practically ran out of there. 

When she spotted her car, she noticed a familiar convertible parked next to it again, with one Samuel Ross leaning on the hood. He wasn't alone this time, though, there was a man with him in the front seat. She tried not to gawk and kept walking, hoping he didn't notice her. 

"Oh, hey!" 

No such luck. 

She turned towards him. "Hello?" 

"I know you, you're Celeste's new co-star, right? I saw you on Deadline." 

Okay, he seems friendly. "Yeah… I'm Valerie Hughes, nice to meet you." She extended her hand and shook his politely. She figured she was going to meet him at some point, if Maria's comments about Celeste's parties were accurate. If she ever got invited to those, that is. 

"Samuel Ross." He smiled, flashing her his pearly whites. If Valerie was any other woman she would've swooned. He was dressed in a tight blue t-shirt and dark jeans, his eyes shining in the sun. "I love SOW, can't wait for the new season. Cel is very happy with how this season's starting." 

"Oh, she is?" Maybe the whole Jason situation didn't affect her feelings all that much. "So she's okay with…" Valerie paused, not knowing how to phrase her sentence without looking like an idiot, "my performance?" She internally cringed, but Samuel's face remained friendly. 

"Oh yeah, she's happy with your casting. Why? She bite your head off yet?" He chuckled. He was very easy-going, she realized, unlike his girlfriend. Opposites attract, she supposed. 

She tried to laugh but it came out strangled. "Yeah, something like that." She glanced at the man in the front seat, who was tapping on his phone, not paying attention to her. He looked to be in his 20s, with surfer blond hair and a tank top. Samuel noticed her eyes traveling and cleared his throat. Before he could say anything, Celeste showed up. 

"What are you doing here?" She barked at Valerie. 

"Jesus, Cel, relax. I just stopped Valerie here to talk to her about SOW." Samuel straightened up, helping her with her purse and script. Celeste's glare didn't ease up as she put her sunglasses on. 

"Andrew, go to the backseat." She demanded. The blond hopped to the back without saying a word. Celeste gave her one last look before getting in the passenger seat. Valerie just stood there, frozen. She didn't know what she could possibly say. What a confusing situation. 

"Sorry about her, er, I'll see you around?" Samuel smiled at her earnestly. Valerie nodded and he got in his car, driving off, leaving her standing behind, watching the car as it sped away.