Chapter Eighteen
And that’s exactly what they did. Over the next two days, the pair didn’t speak at all, even to the extent that they actively avoided each other when they passed in the corridor or were in the same room. Considering how they’d grown so close and jokey since the beginning of shoot, it was obvious to most people on the set that there was a growing rift between them that had started after their last date and increased since the hotel room incident.
So much so that Francis must’ve seen an opening.
He knocked on her door one day when she was working, and came in without her having had a chance to respond, his rapacious eyes roaming up and down her body immediately.
“It’s been a while, Ashleigh,” he remarked.
“I’ve been very busy in the office, Mr R– Francis,” she corrected herself, remembering that he liked her to call him by his first name, even if she didn’t actually want to.
“Yes, I suppose you have. But that can stop now. I think I have some work for you on set.”
Her eyebrows shot up. One moment he was trying to remove her from the set and now he was putting her back on it? This had to be more than just a coincidence. The first time it was because she was getting too close to Rico and he was jealous and trying to separate them, and now that he’s heard and seen the two of them aren’t as close anymore, he’s clearly trying to spend more time with her himself and move in on what he thought was Rico’s territory. It was all so blindingly obvious, but at this point, Ashleigh didn’t care; she was just excited to be going back to the set. It was so much more fun to actually be involved and see part of the filming, even if that meant she would have to be around Rico more.
“But this time, I don’t want you just making coffee or holding costumes. I want you to stay close to me. I’ll let you watch what I do… you can shadow me, and I can train you. You’re destined for stardom, Ashleigh, so you need to stick with me.”
She didn’t much like the sound of being at Francis’ side the entire time.
“But…won’t there be other things I need to be helping out with?”
“I’m the boss around here,” he replied firmly. “What I say goes, remember?”
And there was just something about the way he’d said that last sentence that put her on edge. It sounded more like a threat than anything else, as if he was reminding her of his power; that he could get her to lose her job if he really wanted.
And the next day, she started in her new position.
Francis set up a chair for her right next to his. It was one of those cool, movie set ones that she’d always wanted to sit in, and a part of her felt honored and excited to be given the opportunity, but it was clear from the offset what Francis’s intentions were.
“You look stunning this morning,” he murmured as she sat down, before reaching over and placing his hand on her leg. He gave it a quick squeeze, then let go.
Her cheeks flushed with shame and outrage. He had no business just touching her like that in front of everyone, but no one had been looking, all too busy doing their own thing and getting everything ready for the next take.
Francis lifted up his megaphone and began barking orders at people, pointing and instructing as they ran about doing whatever he told them. He was a hard taskmaster on the set, and she’d noticed people rolling their eyes behind his back a few times; she definitely wasn’t the only one he rubbed the wrong way.
In between giving out orders, he would lean in close to Ashleigh and explain to her exactly what was going on and what he was doing.
The majority of the time he did stick to business, and she was learning, but after every sentence he always managed to slip in some kind of compliment about how she looked or a flirtatious remark.
It was extremely embarrassing and uncomfortable. It was like being in the restaurant all over again and she wasn’t sure how she could stand her job if it was going to be like this every day from now on.
A couple of times she saw Rico look over in her direction and they’d accidentally make eye contact. Then one of them would look away. She wondered what he was thinking, and wished he could rescue her somehow from Francis.
But Francis seemed to revel in the fact that she and Rico weren’t talking, even making subtle references to it now and again.
“You don’t need big, hot-shot movie stars like Rico,” he murmured. “You just need to stick with the producers like me. I’m the one who can get you the parts, not him. You just stick with me, gorgeous.”
By the end of two days on set with Francis like this, Ashleigh felt physically and mentally exhausted, and in dire need of escape.
She was growing increasingly worried about his flirtatious behavior, and was wondering if she could get it to stop somehow. If she told Francis she thought it was inappropriate, would he drop it and stop? Or would he be offended, angry, and fire her? Was it worth the risk? Could she tell anyone else about his behavior and how it made her feel? She felt so alone and helpless.