Never Standing Still (The Never Duet #1)(5)
“Have a good time, Nancy. And tell Mr. Bob to come over and play Monopoly with me soon.”
She laughed and as she walked past him she gave his shoulder a tender pat. “I’ll give him the message,” she said sweetly. “Now, you be good for your sister, and make sure you show her the new song you learned to play on your keyboard.” Nancy winked at me as she left the room to get ready for Mr. Bob.
Marcus and I spent the evening watching Nickelodeon, eating pizza, and listening to him bang out “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on his little battery-operated keyboard.
It wasn’t glamorous, but it was the best night I’d had in a long time. There was nowhere else I would have rather been than with my baby brother.
Chapter Three
Isn’t He Perfect?
I was sitting at the kitchen table playing Monopoly with Marcus, Mr. Bob, and Nancy when my phone rang in the other room. I jumped up from the table. Knowing Marcus wouldn’t halt his game for me, I didn’t even bother asking him to wait, but I did jog through the house in an effort to get to my phone quickly. I saw the number on the screen and answered as I walked back to the game.
“Hey, Lucy. What’s up?”
“Hi, Kalli. I just got a call from the assistant producer over at Satin Look studios in Portland. They have a high profile shoot this weekend, but just lost their wardrobe manager. What are the chances that you’re free for the next few days to take this job? It’s a pretty big deal.”
“What are they shooting?”
“It’s a music video for Lexi Black.”
“Lexi Black?” Lexi Black was, arguably, the biggest pop sensation since Taylor Swift or Katy Perry. Her career was on fire, even if her personal, although not so private, life was adding fuel to that fire. She was rumored to have slept with half of the Hollywood music scene, and even left broken hearts all over America when she was on her latest tour. “Don’t you think Lexi Black would have access to someone a little more high profile than me?”
“Well,” Lucy said with a little too much enthusiasm. I could hear the gossip train coming at me, full speed ahead. “Apparently, when her costume designer fell through the assistant producer at Satin Look recommended you. Lexi looked into some of your work and thought you’d be perfect for the concept of her new video. Bingo, bango, I get a phone call that you’re wanted to meet with the director tomorrow at nine a.m. So,” Lucy stopped to inhale and let her brain catch up with her mouth, “feel like making a music video?” The smile in Lucy’s voice was almost jumping through the phone. I could picture her red lips gliding over her pearl-white teeth. Lucy had never steered me wrong before.
“Well, I guess it’s pretty hard to say no when you’ve been scouted.”
“That’s my girl. You’ve worked at Satin Look before, right? You know where to go, how to get there?”
“Yeah, I should be fine. I’ll be there at nine tomorrow, bright and early.”
“This is big-time, Kalli.”
“I’m getting that impression.”
“Her last video got forty million hits on YouTube in one week. Forty. Million.”
I gulped down a nervous swallow, trying not to let my nerves get the best of me.
“You’ll do great,” Lucy assured me, even though I’d lost the ability to talk. “Okay, I’ll let you go so you can get your shut-eye. I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Knock ’em dead, Kalli!”
She hung up before I had a chance to even thank her for the opportunity, and I ended up just staring at my phone in shock. I was going to design the costumes for Lexi Black’s new music video. This was huge. Bigger than huge. This was enormous. This was soon. I hadn’t planned on being away from Marcus so quickly; I’d just gotten home from a job last week.
I shook off my shock, which was slowly turning into excitement, and walked back to the game of Monopoly I’d abandoned.
“Kalli!” Marcus shouted, bouncing up and down in his seat. “Mr. Bob landed on Boardwalk and had to give me all the money he had left! I bankrupted him!”
“That’s great, bud,” I stammered.
“What’s wrong, Kalli?” Nancy asked, concern evident in her voice.
I shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong. I just got a call from Lucy. I’ve been hired to work on the new Lexi Black video.”
“Oh my,” Nancy said, her eyebrows raising and lips turning up at the corners. “That seems like it would be a big deal.”
“Yeah.” I laughed as I sat down in my chair, looking down at the measly amount of money I’d acquired with a few properties, but all the railroads. That was my thing—the railroads. I didn’t like having all my money in one spot on the board, didn’t go for the properties. I liked to be spread out, so I bought the railroads. It might not have paid off big, like Boardwalk and Park Place, but I always had at least one safe place on each side of the board. I wasn’t afraid to move around. I picked up the dice and rolled, then moved my thimble past all of Marcus’ expensive properties and landed on Go. “I have to leave really early in the morning though.” My eyes shot to Nancy, silently explaining to her that I’d be gone for at least a few days, apologizing for leaving—again—when I’d only been home for a few days. She reached over and gave my hand a warm and affectionate pat.