CHAPTER SIX
Gannon’s rasp of a voice came from behind her, startling her. She took her time turning around, not wanting to give him any glimpse of weakness or humanity.
He was much closer than she realized when she came face to chest with him. She stuck out her chin and forced a cool expression. “What are you still doing here? Shooting wrapped hours ago.”
He reached out and swiped a tear off her cheek. Her skin burned where his thumb touched her.
“It’s allergies,” she shrugged.
“Whatever you say,” he told her amicably. “I’m here because I had to fix a hole in the tent, and I’m waiting for you. I wanted to talk to you—calmly and politely—about tomorrow’s call sheet.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being a smart ass or not.”
He crossed his massive arms in front of his chest. His stance was wide, powerful. “You may have had a point earlier,” he admitted, looking down at the toes of his boots. “A small one. Miniscule really.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Why, Gannon King, I didn’t know you were capable of listening.”
“Let’s not get carried away here. I have a potential solution for my… concern about the main bath.”
“I’m all ears,” she sighed, not seeing a way out of listening to him try to mess with her schedule.
“We always shoot the bathroom because it’s big drama, lots of smashing and glass, right?”
“Right.”
“Why don’t we mix it up? Let’s give Clawson a GoPro or two and let them demo the bath tonight. We get the footage just in case anything ratings-worthy happens and tomorrow, to make up for not smashing my thirteenth mirror on camera, I’ll run through the back wall when we demo it to start the addition.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. “You’re willingly going to run through a wall on camera?”
“Between the studs. I was thinking about challenging Cat to see who can smash through it better. But don’t pass that on to Andy. He’ll just tattle to the insurance company. If we let Clawson do the demo tonight, we’re going to be at least an hour ahead of schedule, and we’re going to need it if we’re doing the addition. Cat and I will make up for the drama in some way tomorrow.”
It made sense, and if Paige were completely honest, she was pretty bored with watching the Kings cart old toilets around the set. The bit had run its course.
“Okay.” She glanced down at her watch. It was only nine. She could talk to Clawson’s crew and make the change to the call sheet. “If it will put us ahead of schedule and you promise to deliver something the audience will love, I’m all for it.”
“Deal.” He offered her his hand, and she hesitated for a second. His grin teased her. “I don’t bite… hard.”
Reluctantly she took his hand and shook. It was just exhaustion that had the zing of physical contact running up her arm, she told herself.
“You look beat, princess. Why don’t you head back and get some sleep?”
Paige pulled her hand out of his grasp and rolled her shoulders. “I’ve got a call sheet to update and a trailer of supplies to unload.” She nodded to the street where a box truck idled.
Gannon looked around. “Where the hell is everybody? You’re not unloading a truck yourself.”
Paige quelled the urge to roll her eyes. “We don’t like to pull the crew off of the job to unload,” she explained. “So me and a handful of nice, muscly volunteers take care of whatever we can to keep things moving. You’ve seriously never wondered why your bathroom tile and hardwood boxes are always waiting inside every morning?”
Gannon looked over his shoulder at the truck and frowned.
“You ready, Beast Mode?” Flynn, a member of Gannon’s crew and Gannon’s best friend, held up his hand for a high five on the fly.
“Let’s do it, Muscles,” Paige winked, slapping his palm. She turned back to Gannon. “Thanks for talking to me like a person and not a ‘network kiss-ass.’ Now get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”
She left him, mouth open and staring after her, as she and Flynn stalked toward the waiting truck. They waved over a handful of volunteers who were bravely determined to stick out the night. She mentally juggled the call sheet as she hefted a box of ceramic tile. She had to run Gannon’s plan past Andy before she talked to Clawson but didn’t foresee any issues there. They were always looking for ways to get a little ahead on the schedule.
She turned on the ramp and nearly ran smack into Gannon. He pulled the box out of her grip. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
“We’re all on the same team, remember? Now be a good girl and put another box on top.”
The volunteers worked even faster with Gannon hefting boxes of tile like they were reams of paper and unloading bulky bathroom fixtures. Paige didn’t bother hiding her eye roll. He was trying to prove a point to her that didn’t need proving. They had a small crew, and everyone pulled their weight. Just because Gannon and Cat didn’t hang out much after the cameras stopped rolling didn’t mean they weren’t working their asses off while they were on.
“Must have impressed the boss,” Flynn said to Paige, nodding in Gannon’s direction where he and two volunteers were guiding the master bathtub out of the trailer.
“She just played Ice Queen on him,” Rico teased, coming down the ramp with toilet box. “Got it on camera, too,” he grinned.
“That footage had better never see the light of day,” Paige said sternly. “Unless you also caught him chucking his tape measure through the tent wall like a baby.”
“What kind of shooter would I be if I missed that? Even got a few seconds of him fixing the hole he ripped in the side.”
Paige laughed. “I love you guys.”
“We love you, Beast Mode.”