I Always Will

Pivot

Row, Three Days Later

Within one hour of pre-production, Riley is pissed. The first thing that sets him off is the looks that the team of producers give me as we cruise into the production offices. They look me up and down in irritation, plaster on their fake smiles, give me air kisses,  pump Riley's hand, and then have one of the AP's come over and tell me very diplomatically, "We're going to need to do some test shots from last season for continuity, okay? There's no time lapse in the script, but you look...a lot different. Absolutely gorgeous. You're glowing, but still, very different from Stella's last scenes. We're going to put together a session for the stylists and the cameramen to..." she sighs, "remake Stella." 

She shoots a furtive look toward the producers and steps close. "You didn't hear this from me, but the big cheese is already talking about delaying the shoot of your exit scenes for a month or two...so that you can get back into character."

Riley turns to me, "Row, are you planning to rapidly lose ten pounds, bleach your hair, and spend a month partying so you look like hell—all for three days of shooting your death scenes?"

"Hmmm, I don't think so. No." I feel bad for Laura as I say it. She's one of my actual friends on the crew.

"Right. So I'll just go have a word with Rory and Jones—" Riley begins, but Laura holds up her hand with a wan smile.

"Or, you could just...let me deal with them." She casts a glance over at her bosses. Her expression probably resembles the way I looked, sweeping the maggots out of my kitchen.

Riley gives her a wink and his new gorgeous, uninhibited smile. "Thanks, love. You're the best they've got around here. You should leave this shitshow and come work for my agency. My team needs help, now that I'm a silent partner."

Laura's eyes go wide as she stares at him. Then she laughs nervously. "You know, you both look a lot different. You have great eyes, Riley. I guess I never noticed...behind the glasses."

"I noticed," I say pointedly. "I always noticed." Even I can hear the possession in my voice.

Riley winks at me and chuckles. "Thanks, Laura. I'm...trying something new. We both are." He draws me closer by the waist, pinching me slightly, which I translate as a "settle down, demon."

Laura has the good grace to look slightly embarrassed. She redirects to me, keeping her admiration off my man. "So that song on Frey? You guys are pursuing that?"

"We've formed an exploratory committee to flesh out all the new avenues of our reconciliation." Riley quips, giving me so much heat that I actually feel my face blushing beneath my tan.

I laugh at him. "You are so bad."

He shrugs nonchalantly as Laura sneaks another almost unwillingly look him, mesmerized by his new mo-jo. He gives her his card. "I've always admired your dedication to the cast and crew, Laura. Call me if you want to switch gears into talent management."

"I might do that, Riley. I've been thinking of making a change." She can hardly form the words as she grins at him and backs away slowly.

"Are you serious about hiring her?" I'm not sure how I feel about that, considering how she's suddenly fangirling all over him.

"Got to hire someone to help Ari and Marley. Someone that can hit the ground running. And that I can trust," he murmurs.

"Can you afford her?" I ask anxiously.

"Can I pay her? Yes, that's not the real issue," he says neutrally. 

Even as inattentive to the business side of things as I am, I know what that means. Riley's given over his commission on Dev and Daze Gone to Ari, and on Soundcrush to Marley. That means he's only taking a salary as president of his company. Hiring another A-level professional means his paycheck takes a hit. Probably a big one.