You Had Me at Halo

needed to have his spiritual realinger license taken away from him. He was a mockery.

He had also come bearing particularly bad news and Holly realized she had no time to lose. She got to her feet, said goodbye to the technicians and tried to remember just where Vince’s apartment was. She needed to make sure her talk with Todd tonight went perfectly. The alternative wasn’t worth thinking about.

CHAPTER NINTEEN

Ten minutes later Holly fumbled with the keys in Vince’s pocket and finally pushed open the door. She dropped down onto the couch and rubbed her pounding temples. She just needed to relax for a few moments and remind herself that everything would be okay. And of course it was a complete coincidence that a Friends repeat was just about to start.

So anyway, where did Vince keep his television?

When they’d arrived back last night, Holly had been too dazed and confused to really notice much more than the fact she was sharing her body with a guy.

However today, not only had she started to learn that Vince was actually quite sweet and kind, but she’d also discovered that too much thinking was bad for her brain. She needed to switch off for a little while or she might spontaneously combust. And that couldn’t be good for anyone.

Okay and still no sign of any television.

Holly shut the final cabinet (which she’d known had been a long shot since it was underneath the sink) and felt like screaming. Was it too much to ask for at least something to go right today?

How could he not have a television? After all that was what water cooler conversations were made of. Maybe that was why Vince was such a loner. Or was it because he wanted to be a loner that he didn’t have a television in the first place? The never-ending chicken and egg debate.

She was just twiddling her thumbs and once again studying Vince’s fingers when the phone rang. Holly jumped up to answer it before realizing that since Vince wasn’t around it could just put her right back into another landmine of trouble. On the other hand it could be Gemma with more news. Holly picked up the phone.

“Vince?” a woman said and Holly cursed herself for being so nosy.

“Er, yeah,” she answered in a cautious voice. Well at least it wasn’t Amy Jenkins, which had to be something.

“It’s Lorraine, here.”

“Oh, right.” Holly racked her brain to see if the name rang any bells. But no. “H-ow are you?”

“I’ve just had the day from hell.”

You want to bet? Holly raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“God yes,” Lorraine groaned. “You know they say to never work with animals or children, but they should definitely add actors to that list. You wouldn’t believe what an old diva, Monica Edwards, was being today.”

Holly nearly dropped the phone.

Monica Edwards played Samantha Montgomery, the matriarch and complete bitch of The Rich and the Restless. Of course she would be a diva in real life. That’s what character acting was all about. It was a small sacrifice to pay for the dazzling performances she gave week in and week out. After all, you didn’t get ten Emmys by being halfhearted.

Which meant this was Lorraine of The Rich and the Restless fame. Talk about one degree of separation to…well…the most famous cast in the whole world. Holly tried not to jump up and down in excitement, but she was jumping on the inside.

“Yeah,” Lorraine continued. “She’s been a nightmare, which is why I wasn’t able to call you earlier.”

“Well you know, perhaps she was just being crabby because it’s Thursday,” Holly suggested. “Remember she’s married to Larry Edwards, the Great Morning host, and he’s always away during the week. Well it stands to reason she’d be a bit funny, doesn’t it?”

Lorraine seemed speechless, which Holly took as a sign to keep speaking, especially about the errors she had seen on the website text. It wasn’t like Vince had prohibited Holly from saying anything; it was just he had been worried about the time factor. And rightly so. But since Holly was taking a small break from freaking about her less than chirpy future, it really wasn’t a problem.

“Wow,” Lorraine finally spoke. “You never told me you were a fan before. How do you know all of that stuff?”

“Er, well I watch the show, I guess.” Or did watch it up until two weeks ago.

“I know I should watch it more often. But I just find the thought so depressing. I mean I have a Ph.D. in 1960s French and Italian cinema.”

Gosh, that sounded impressive. Not that Holly was exactly sure if she’d seen any French or Italian films from the 1960s, but she was sure they would be good. “So if you hate it so much, then why are doing the job?”

“I thought it would look good on my resume to have done some television work but even though I’m meant to be a production assistant, I seem to spend most of my time organizing websites, sorting out fan mail and making sure that Lewis Webber gets his special vitamin drinks every morning before filming.”

Holly let out a wistful sigh. Imagine watching the gorgeous Lewis having his vitamin drink every day. It was a dizzying thought. Especially if he wore his faded jeans in real life as well. A cowboy with a good understanding of nutrition…what could beat that?

However, Lorraine didn’t seem to be nearly as enamored by such an image. “It’s just such a nightmare. Do you know what it’s like to do a job that seems absolutely pointless? I mean really, what would happen if The Rich and the Restless didn’t exist? It’s not like people would starve or the world would stop.”

Boy, Lorraine really hated her job—that was for sure. Though Holly supposed it would be depressing to work in a job you didn’t really love. At least at Baker Colwell she’d had a sense of achievement with everything she did. Well, okay, so there was a lot of paperwork, and she didn’t always understand what she was doing, but that was completely different.

“The thing is,” Lorraine continued. “I keep trying to give them some ideas of how to reach a crossover market—you know like the French and Italian cinemagoers—but will they listen to me?”

Holly shuddered. She certainly hoped not since the idea sounded ridiculous.

“Anyway, Vince, did anyone ever tell you that you’re a great listener? In fact, perhaps we could hook up for a coffee or something one day?”

“Sorry,” Holly automatically replied. “I’m seeing someone.”

“Oh.” Lorraine sounded a bit disappointed. “Well, she’s a lucky girl. What’s her name?”

Hmmmm, there was a good question for you. To be honest, Holly had been thinking about Todd, but she couldn’t very well tell Lorraine that and damned if she was going to say Amy Jenkins—after all, one had to be careful about what sort of thoughts one put out into the ether. For Vince’s sake of course.

“Er, her name is H—”

She cut herself off. Was she insane? She wasn’t Vince’s girlfriend. She was just the dead person living in his body and if she were still alive she would be Todd Harman’s girlfriend. Just went to show how tired she was.

“Well, ‘Hol’ is a lucky girl,” Lorraine said from down the other end of the phone. “So, anyway, the reason I’m calling…”

“Yes?” Holly wiped her brow, more than a little pleased to change the subject. “What’s up?”

“It’s those laptops you were fixing. Apparently Todd Harman told Stuart Peterson you’d be bringing them all back by four this afternoon, along with some manuals.”

Holly groaned as she clutched the phone. After discovering Todd wasn’t in his office, she and Vince had completely forgotten about them. Well, she had forgotten about them, knowing Vince he hadn’t wanted to panic her anymore by adding another chore to the list.

“I’m so sorry,” Holly said truthfully since she had no desire to cause Vince any problems at work. “I fixed them but then something else came up.”

“So they’re fixed.” Lorraine seemed relieved. “That’s great news. What was wrong with them?”

Good question. Holly closed her eyes and tried to remember what on earth Vince