Everything Leads to You(39)

I nod and swallow and Vicki hands me a platter covered in cheese and fruit and little slices of bread, but I pass it to Charlotte without taking anything. All I keep thinking is seven weeks, fifty-two garage sales, and sixteen estates; that’s what it took to find one sofa. And now I have fewer than four weeks before our first day of shooting, when Juniper’s apartment needs to be entirely finished and George’s house needs to be well underway.

And I’m wondering what I’m doing sitting here when I should be in West Hollywood begging to borrow plants, or searching for artwork to hang on Toby’s walls, or ordering wallpaper for George’s kitchen. They’re talking about renting lights, what kinds they’ll need, what day they should get them. They’re talking about the camera and the lenses and the style of cinematography. None of this has to do with me, and all I can think of is how I will barely have enough money to buy the wallpaper, which means I’ll need to put it up myself, and that if I mess up I won’t be able to afford more panels.

Then the door swings open, and like an answer to all of my worries, Morgan strides in.

“Hey, you made it,” Rebecca says, and I feel Charlotte stiffen next to me, and for once I’m not wondering if Morgan wants me back and am instead wondering how much I will be able to get her to do for me.

Morgan perches on the edge of the sofa.

“One liner?” she asks, and Rebecca hands her the schedule. She glances at it and nods.

“Morgan’s going to help us out when she can,” Rebecca says. “Mostly she’ll be helping you, Emi.”

I nod and blush because around the others I can act like I know what I’m doing, but Morgan knows how inexperienced I actually am. I don’t know why she recommended me for this.

When the formal part of the meeting is over, Charlotte leaves to ask Rebecca about details—how we’ll transport furniture, whether we can thank people who donate set elements in the credits, that sort of thing.

I ask Morgan if we can talk outside and she says sure and follows me out to the jungle patio.

“What did I get myself into?” I ask her.

“Is that how you say thank you?” Morgan says.

“Thank you,” I say, “but this is crazy.”

“It’s an excellent script. This group is insanely talented. Charlie shot a film that went to Toronto last year. Grant and Vicki have worked on really important films. Do well on this and you’ll get some serious recognition.”

“Okay,” I say. “I just need to know how to do well.”

“You already know that. You just have to move faster. I have so much preproduction work to do for The Agency that I can’t commit to Theo and Rebecca, but I’ll help you out with as much as I can, so tell me what you need.”

“I’m going to need some wallpaper.”

“Easy.”

“I’m going to need to have pots hung from a ceiling in a way that won’t cause permanent damage.”

“I can rig that up.”

“I might need some things upholstered.”

She smiles. “It’s a lot quicker that way.”

“Fifty-two garage sales quicker. I should have figured that out.”

She shakes her head. “You’ll learn these things. Show me what you have in mind.”

So I show her what I’ve gathered and she looks serious as she listens, and when I’m finished she says, “This is why I recommended you.”

That sentence? It sounds as good as I want you back.

“The film is going to be a big deal. You know about the casting already, I’m sure. Benjamin James, Lindsey Miller . . .”

Hearing her name these stars makes everything feel simultaneously more real and more dreamlike.

“I know,” I say. “I can’t believe this.”

“People are willing to work their asses off for practically nothing when the material is good enough,” Morgan says.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I ask her. “Is this out of pity?”

“No,” she scoffs. “You’ve earned this. If I couldn’t take the job, I wanted you to have it. And this way I get to stay involved.”

She glances at her phone.

“Look, I have to run,” she says. “But call me for anything. I mean it. And just let me know when you start getting materials and I’ll figure out when I can help you get them up.”