“Can’t the guy just appreciate getting to spend time in a beautiful Maui tropical rainforest?” Selena grumbled. “Instead, he’s whining about snacks like he’s a picky four year old. I’d ask him if he wants a bottle of warm milk and a nap every day at noon, but he’d probably demand that be added to his rider.”
Selena’s phone buzzed with a message. Her stomach knotted in anticipation. She didn’t need to look to know it was the director demanding to know where she was. It wasn’t her fault that he’d decided at the last minute to change the time of their meeting and everyone neglected to tell her until after it had started. She half-suspected he was trying to mess with her.
It was like the universe was conspiring to screw her over. She was beginning to believe in reincarnation and that she’d been someone low-key terrible in a previous life, like someone who gave away spoilers in the middle of a movie.
Selena sighed. Stalling wouldn’t help. The only way out of the pain was through. She would keep reminding herself about how important the job was to her future. The thicker a skin she developed dealing with Hollywood assholes, the further her career could go. The director and talent were probably saints compared to a lot of people in the industry.
Training. That’s what it was. No pain and no gain and all that. This wouldn’t suck as much as running a marathon, and there was a bigger reward than a trophy at the end.
Selena always had a dream of helping in her own small way with memorable movies. Her time with documentary filmmaking hadn’t been unpleasant, but she also worried about ending up in a limited career niche. Now she wondered if a lateral switch to food documentaries wouldn’t have been a good idea. Though plenty of chefs had huge egos, too. There really was no winning.
With a final resigned sigh, Selena tugged open the door and entered the conference room. The director, Bill, sat at one end of the table. Chris sat at the other, scowling. It wasn’t really resting bitch face when you were just a bitch. The other production assistants sat scattered around the table, desperately trying to not make eye contact with Bill and Chris. Wimps, every last one of them. Learning to tolerate crap wasn’t the same thing as cowering before assholes. That was also part of her training.
Selena defiantly locked eyes with Bill before heading to her seat. “Everything’s on track with the local permits, but we get only one day for the shoot. They were emphatic about that.”
“I thought I told you to fix that.” Bill rubbed his temples. “If I recall, I mentioned it three times.”
“And I told you that it might not be possible. One day, no more.” Selena shrugged. “I did everything short of threaten them.”
“How am I going to be able to bring out the true glory of the location with only one day?” Bill threw a hand into the air and scoffed. “I should be spending two or three days on location just getting a feel for the lighting, the energy, the dynamic possibilities before we even think about filming, and we’re going to have to do this with, what, a maximum of twelve hours or so? Do you even care about my artistic vision?”
It probably wasn’t a good time to admit the truth. Selena settled for a compromise instead.
“I’m sure we can get permission for limited scouting and planning,” Selena said. “But we can’t film there more than the one day. If we—”
“And how am I supposed to do all that planning without the cameras and the crew?” barked Bill. He glared at Selena. “That won’t be enough. This is ridiculous. I’m very disappointed, and you came so highly recommended.”
“I can talk to them about one of the other locations,” she said. She wouldn’t apologize for doing her job. She hadn’t promised a location. She’d done her best. “You told me to secure that location, but we have other options. It’s about time we begin to consi—”
“No!” Bill slammed his fist on the table, rattling it. Other assistants and staff shrank in their seats. He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. “You can’t dangle the perfect location in front of me and then yank it away like some taunting insult. I’m about to direct something transcendent, a piece of work that will resonate in our industry for years, but to do that I need all the appropriate tools, including that location. So, no, we won’t be going with another location. We’ll have to figure out how to get this to work despite your incompetence. Do I make myself clear?”
Selena sucked in a deep breath. Her heart thundered. The bastard had the gall to say she was incompetent when she’d scouted the location on such a short schedule. If anything, she was too competent. She still worried a little about how they would get all the equipment there, but that wasn’t her area.
She didn’t look away as the man’s angry glare tried to drill into her. She refused to be afraid of this arrogant asshole who didn’t seem to understand that he wasn’t going to get an Oscar for a perfume commercial with B-List talent. If he wanted to yell, she would let him yell like the petty little man he was.
“Okay,” Selena said, keeping her voice even. “But there is nothing I can do about getting a permit for a longer shoot. They made that very clear. I told you. I did everything I could, and they didn’t want to budge. I’m a production assistant, not a miracle worker.”
Bill clucked his tongue. “I suppose I’ll have to compromise my art
