HDU #2: Dirt (23 page)

“What if we
changed something about his past instead of something about the plot?”

Tom
blinked.
 
“You mean change
something in his backstory?”

Amanda
nodded.
 
“Everyone has skeletons in
their closet.
 
Maybe if we reveal
some deep, dark secret about Milo, it’ll change the context of everything he’s
done this season.
 
And that way, we
can up the drama of the entire season with just the last episode.”

Quieted, the
room stared.
 
Holy shit, where did that come from, Amanda?

“That’s…” Tom’s
gaze drifted as his hand froze in the midst of scratching his chin.
 
“A great idea.”

Trying not to
look as triumphant as she felt, Amanda glanced around the room.
 
Of the three Joes, Bird appeared to
consider the suggestion while Fish and Skip remained reluctant to acknowledge
Amanda’s small victory.
 
If she
wasn’t mistaken, Fish even scowled as he tossed the baseball over to Connor,
whose expression matched his.

See.
 
I can do my job, jerks
.
 
Amanda let herself grin, eyeing the ball as Connor caught it.
 
She willed him to toss it to her as Tom
began to excitedly expand on her idea, trying not to audibly groan when Connor
made eye contact with her only to lob the ball to Skip, who absently tossed it
right back.

Really, you guys? Still?

Opting for an
impromptu experiment, Amanda finally let herself look down, pretending to
twiddle on her phone while keeping her peripheral vision on the baseball and
Connor.

Who finally
threw her a fastball.

“And —
whoa!” Tom’s sentence cut short at the sight and sound of the baseball zipping
in a blur past his eye line — and straight into Amanda’s open palm.
 
Along with the rest of the table, he
blinked and stared.

“Holy shit.
 
Good catch, Amanda.”
 
Tom gathered himself before letting out
a laugh.
 
“Christ.
 
Good job all around today.”

Amanda smiled placidly,
finally thankful for all those hot afternoons she’d spent fielding Megan’s
batting practices in high school.
 
“Thank you,” she said before pitching a bullet straight back at Connor,
smirking when he bobbled the ball.

~

The summer sun
was finally starting to set at 8PM.
 
Her head held higher than ever before, Amanda strolled out of the Waltman
Global building, a high still coursing her veins thanks to her first victorious
day in the writers room.
 
Despite
being a part of the clique of Joes, Bird had actually offered her a “good job”
on his way out of the office.
 
It
was technically the end of the day and yet it felt like the start of a whole
new one for Amanda.
 
She couldn’t
help beaming as she clicked her way to the street in her steel-toed flats.

“Been awhile
since I’ve seen a face that satisfied with itself.”

It wasn’t until
she reached the sidewalk that Amanda heard the snide voice behind her.
 
She turned around, unsurprised to see
Connor.
 
Despite that, her smile
remained.
 
She was rejuvenated,
riding too high of an adrenaline rush to let Connor’s little comments bring her
down.

“I can’t help
but sense hostility,” she said, surprised by her own dry humor.

“You’re
observant.”

Amanda rolled
her eyes at his sarcasm.
 
There’s a reason he’s friends with Liam
,
she reminded herself.
 
“Right.
 
So is there any chance that you’d be
interested in telling me what it is that you have against me?”

Connor gave a
brittle laugh.
 
“You’re too much
like the last one,” he answered before walking ahead of her, a hand raised to
hail a cab.

Wait — what?
Amanda frowned, her
feet moving to follow Connor before she could tell them to stop. “The last
one?” she asked as he stepped off the curb, letting his hand fall to his side
when a cab came to a screeching stop in front of him.
 
Who even was the last
one? The swimsuit model whose older sister he dated right before?
 
“Who are you even talking about?”

“The only other
one he let completely screw with him the way you do.”
 
Connor sneered at Amanda’s incredulous look as he got into
the cab, slamming the door shut.
 
“Except you might actually be a thousand times worse than Angie.”

Chapter 14

MULREED FAMILY FEARS FOR CASEY,
PLEADS FOR HER TO QUIT SHOW

The Pop Source

August 17
^th

Her career is on the rise
but is her health on the rocks?

New York film icon Daniel Mulreed
was spotted leaving West Village brunch spot The Red Deer in tears on Saturday
morning after an alleged failed attempt at an intervention for daughter and TV
giant, Casey Mulreed.
 
The younger
Mulreed has been famously battling quietly against her addiction since being outed
as a substance abuser in February by amateur filmmaker, Ian Marsh.
 
While Casey has since claimed that her
video confessions to alcoholism and drug use were mere jokes, the public has
come to a different understanding.

It hardly took Casey’s
halfhearted denial to realize that the Oscar-nominated child star
was
and still is in fact battling against an inherited addiction —
one that afflicted nearly every member of her family of Hollywood royalty,
including Casey’s father, aunt (Oscar-winning actress and producer Neala
Mulreed-Jennings) and theater pioneering grandfather, Daniel Francis Mulreed,
who died at sixty-eight of liver disease.

Said a friend of Mulreed-Jennings,
“Neala has been doing her best to take care of Daniel.
 
He’s worried sick that Casey is working
herself to death.

He knows she gets her work
ethic from him — but that means he knows all about the nights of
self-medicating to deal with the stress of the industry and it terrifies Daniel
that Casey is still dealing with this.
 
He has been dedicating his days and nights to sending her to rehab, even
if it means stopping the production of her show.”

LIAM BRODY SUSTAINS TWO MORE
MAJOR INJURIES ON SET OF ‘A SOLDIER’

The Pop Source

August 18
^th

While performing a high-risk
stunt for Terrence Rambis’s
A Soldier
,
Liam Brody suffered two more major injuries, tacking onto the list that already
includes a broken wrist, broken elbow and sixteen-stitch laceration.
 
According to sources close to the
Nebraska set of
A Soldier
, Brody
sustained a concussion as well as an unspecified ankle injury Sunday morning
while leaping from a highway overpass onto the top of a moving truck.
 

“He got the shot in one
take,” a source said.
 
“It looked
awesome — no one realized he was injured.
 
I don’t think he even realized it until he had to go to the
hospital.”

There has been no word thus
far on the severity of Brody’s concussion.
 
Additionally, no comments have been made by friend and
director Rambis on whether production of
A Soldier
will be once again delayed thanks to injury.

“Just so you
know, I like this idea but I’m almost positive this can’t be considered
punishment,” Harper said as she styled the surprisingly realistic-looking
blonde hair on Amanda’s head.
 
“Pretty sure he’s going to enjoy every second of this.”

Amanda
snorted.
 
It was Friday evening and
her private jet — or rather, Harper’s private jet — to Nebraska was
set to leave in an hour.
 
She had
been at Agno, relaying work stories over brunch with Ian and Harper upon
receiving the text from Liam that said,
Be
calm, don’t believe everything you read.
 
I’m at the hospital, don’t think I have a concussion
.

Within hours,
Harper had mollified her fury and panic by arranging a flight for her to visit
Liam in Nebraska.
 
And within an
hour after that, Amanda had found herself with a tote bag packed for Nebraska,
wearing Harper’s distinctive clothing as well as the blonde wig that Harper had
donned to pass herself as a jogger several weeks back, while delivering lunch
to Amanda with Ian.

As Harper styled
the shockingly real-looking strawberry blonde hair on Amanda’s head, Amanda
adjusted the cropped floral bustier top and acid wash high-waisted shorts.
 
Ian simply watched the two, unable to
suppress his laughter.

“Jesus, that
outfit is just…
so
not you.”
 
He snorted hard as Harper tied a scarf
around Amanda’s head before handing over a pair of oversized, bug-like
sunglasses.
 
Through their brownish
lenses, Amanda looked up, watching Harper’s peach-tinted lips turn up in a
smile.

“This was how I
dressed a couple years ago, Marsh, so bite your tongue,” she said in a voice
less monotone than usual.
 
Playfully wrinkling her nose at Ian, she twirled a lock of Amanda’s
faux-blonde hair around her finger so that it nicely framed her face.
 
“And lucky for you, girl, this is how
my assistant, Randi, still dresses.
 
So people will probably think it’s just her when you get on my plane,
especially since she changes her hair color every month.”

“Perfect.”

“This was a
crazy idea, though, just so you know.”

Amanda tried to
take a deep breath in the skintight denim.
 
“I know.”

“Glad to be a
part of it though,” Harper said with a crooked little grin.
 
“Even if it’s corny as shit, I like
seeing what people will do for love.”

“This isn’t for
love so much as it is for smacking him when I see him.”

Harper laughed.
 
“Like I said, he’s still going to enjoy
every second of it.”

~

Sorry I missed your calls before.
 
I was getting cleared by the
doctors.
 
Call me back when you
can.

 
Tipping Harper’s massive sunglasses down
her nose, Amanda read Liam’s text.
 
She must have missed his call back while shuffling from the tarmac into
the Audi that Harper had arranged to pick her up.
 
She had been under the impression that the car would have to
drive her to the hospital Liam had been admitted to but now it seemed he had
been cleared to leave.
 
Typing
quickly despite Harper’s heavy gold rings on all her fingers, Amanda replied to
Liam’s text.

where are you now?

The moment he
replied, she relayed the information to her driver and sat back in the
car.
 
She snuggled in Harper’s
oversized shawl cardigan, crossing her legs to look at the platform espadrilles
on her feet.
 
Catching a glimpse of
her reflection in the rearview mirror, Amanda laughed.
 
Perhaps it was the bronzer that Harper
had brushed onto her cheeks or the beachy waves her strawberry blonde wig hung
in, but she looked every bit a California girl — certainly nothing like
her usual self.
 
The discomfort of
the pins in her wig were actually fairly worth it for the more-than-convincing
disguise.

So how mad are you

Amanda snorted
when she read Liam’s text.
 
She had
been angry in New York and still angry on the jet, but by the time the wheels
touched the tarmac, all she could think about was the fact that she’d soon get
to see Liam.
 
Her excitement
quickly overpowered every other emotion, including the panic.
 
If
he’s texting, he’s conscious.
 
And
if he was cleared to leave, he must be in at least decent health.

She was no
longer mad.
 
But of course, she
wasn’t about to let Liam know that.

what do you think i told you this would
happen liam

i’m sending my friend randi from college to
check on you. she lives in omaha

Amanda giggled
to herself as she sent the messages.
 
She was having entirely too much fun watching the ellipses indicating
Liam’s typing on her iPhone screen, laughing as they paused and came back over
and over until he finally settled on a response.

Tell Randi to go home. I’m just watching a
movie in the hotel room. I’m fine Amanda.

Amanda snorted
as she sent an instant reply.

liam.
 
all I want is for her to see you for one second and tell me that you’re
actually fine and not actually still at the hospital and that I’m not actually
texting terrence rambis right now because he’s trying to cover the fact that
you’re actually hurt really badly.

Amanda wasn’t
even sure that last text made sense but she didn’t care.
 
She was laughing too hard at this
point, her giant sunglasses sliding off the bridge of her nose.
 
Clutching her bare midriff, she
reassured Harper’s driver that she was indeed laughing and not crying,
eventually catching her breath enough to read the sudden flurry of responses
that came from Liam.

Jesus Christ

Say actually one more time

I told the front desk. You can take a deep
breath now

“Such an smart
ass,” she giggled to herself, hardly able to contain her excitement to see him
any longer.

Upon finally
arriving at the big, shining chain hotel at which Liam was staying, Amanda
snorted to herself, realizing what her visit probably looked like to the hotel
staffers behind the front desk.

“Here you go,
Miss… Randi.”
 
The coiffed
gentleman in the navy blazer offered her a stiff smile as his eyes darted from
her floral bustier to the shorts that were almost too short to be considered
real clothing.
 
In her rush, Amanda
had hardly noticed just how small they were.
 
Now, she couldn’t stop laughing to herself over them —
especially since they probably solidified the front desk’s suspicions that she were
some escort or former one-night stand of Liam’s who had come to keep him
company during his briefly extended in Nebraska.

“Thank you,
love,” Amanda flashed a brilliant smile as she accepted the room key, turning
peppily on her espadrille before strutting away.
 
“Love,” she decided, seemed very much like a pet name that a
“Randi” would call someone.
 
Either
that or she was just enjoying her disguise a little too much.

Upon stepping
out of the elevator onto Liam’s floor, Amanda did a quick check of her
reflection in her phone, making sure that none of her straightened auburn hair
was sticking out from under her wavy blonde wig.
 
She figured that tricking Liam into believing “Randi” for
even a second was a low price to pay for startling her with yet another health
scare.

Without so much
as a knock, Amanda slipped her key into Liam’s door, shutting it quietly behind
her upon realizing that he wasn’t in the main room of the suite.
 
Setting her tote bag on the floor, she
crept in her espadrilles across the sitting room and to the cracked door of the
master bedroom, through which she could hear a sports program of sorts playing
on the TV.
 
With her fist frozen
next to her ear, she savored the silence for a couple more seconds before
giving the door several sudden loud and hard knocks.

“Coming in!” she
announced in an obnoxious voice, pushing open the door despite Liam’s protest.

“One second
— ”

Standing in the
doorframe, Amanda stared in surprise at Liam in bed.
 
Her mouth curled into a wide smile as she savored his utter
discomfort and confusion as he stared back at her, his left foot elevated on
the bed and his right arm frozen mid-reach toward the love seat, on which his
black basketball shorts were strewn.

“Really.
 
You were going to open the door for
Randi without pants on?” Amanda asked, her attempt to stay in character totally
shattered by the sight of Liam in just a T-shirt and boxer briefs.
 
He didn’t answer her, appearing still
completely confused.

“What the…
fuck?” he finally squinted and in a way so uncharacteristically lost that Amanda
had to coo.

“Hi.
 
It’s me,” she giggled, removing
Harper’s sunglasses along with the headband.
 
She shed her shawl cardigan, letting it drop to the floor so
that she was down to the blonde wig, bustier and shorts.
 
Liam’s eyes swept her from head to toe as
he slowly resumed his upright sitting position.
 
Very slowly, the corners of his lips began to turn up.
 
“I told you I’d come after you if you
got hurt,” Amanda said, her head tilted as she watched Liam’s eyebrows ascend,
his gaze pausing at her bare midriff.

“This… isn’t a
dream.”
 
He shook his head.
 
“I’m not on enough painkillers for this
to be a dream.”

Amanda frowned
as she took a seat at the foot of his bed.
 
“How many painkillers did you need? What exactly happened?”
she asked, gingerly touching the bandages wrapping both his ankle and
foot.
 
Liam seemed not to hear her
question.
 
He sat up straight,
slowly shifting himself closer to Amanda with his left leg still extended and
elevated.
 
“Stay still,” she
scolded.
 
“Your ankle needs rest.”

He heaved a
sigh, pushing himself back against the headboard.
 
“Then come closer.”
 
Amanda scooted over a few feet, just enough for Liam to take her hand.
 
He stroked his thumb against her
palm.
 
“Okay, so it is you.”

“I told you
that.
 
Now tell me what’s going on
with you.”

“Sprained
ankle.
 
Broken toes.
 
Not a concussion,” Liam answered
distractedly, his eyes on the hem of her shorts as he gently tugged on her arm.
 
“Why won’t you come closer?” he
frowned, looking probably more frustrated than he meant to let on.
 
Amanda smirked, crediting the
painkillers for the lack of his usual ability to hide emotion.

“This is your
punishment for putting me through this again.”

“It’s not as bad
as Terrence is letting them report it.
 
These are all injuries that ten-year-olds get in gym class.
 
All I need is to rest one day.”

Amanda withdrew
her hand from his, clucking playfully.
 
“You could’ve let me know about the actual severity by answering my
calls.”

Liam frowned as
he stared at his empty hand, his ability to detect her tone apparently impaired
by the medication as well.
 
“I was
getting cleared from the hospital.
 
And I didn’t think a few missed calls would lead to you hopping a plane
to Nebraska.”
 
He paused.
 
“Not that I’m complaining at this
point.”

Repositioning
herself so that she knelt on the bed, Amanda gathered her blonde waves around
her shoulder.
 
“Fine.
 
Well, now that I’m here, I’m not going
to waste my time being mad at you,” she said as if she hadn’t made the
resolution hours ago.

“Good,” Liam
said casually though his slightly wider-than-usual eye and crooked little smile
gave away the fact that he thought he’d just gotten away with murder.
 
Amanda decided to let him think
that.
 
Suppressing her own smile,
she noted how cute Liam was when he actually feared her wrath.
 
“So, how’s work been?” he asked, no
doubt trying to change the subject.
 
Amanda smirked.

“Work’s good,”
she answered, biting back the giant grin forming on her lips.
 
Despite her run-in with Connor at the
end of the night, reliving her little victory with the
Leadoff
staffers on Friday still made her smile.
 
Liam raised his eyebrows inquisitively,
eyeing her lower lip as it dragged lightly between her teeth.
 
“Finally had a good day in the writers
room,” she said, twirling a long blonde lock around her finger.
 
“No thanks to your friend Connor.”
 
Oops.
 
It just came out.

Luckily, Liam
seemed too distracted to really notice, his gaze now traveling across Amanda’s
extremely bare thighs.
 
“Yeah, he
said he might reconsider Tom’s offer,” he murmured, reaching out for her
again.
 
“Come here.”