The Sheikh's Virgin Bride(46)

“Password?” a voice said through the speaker.

“Al Rayyan rocks,” she said, trying her best not to laugh.

She’d had to look up the Sheikh’s home country online—there was not much she knew about the micronation of Al Rayyan, but the pictures showed it to be a tiny little country tucked deep in the heart of the Middle East.

“Yeah, it does!” the man on the other end said.

The box buzzed as the gates automatically folded open, granting Kaye access to the mansion.

“Thank you!” she called, though there was no answer on the other end as she pulled forward.

A winding driveway curved through palm trees until an open courtyard appeared before her, laid entirely with a beautiful gray cobblestone brick. The mansion itself was white with wide archways along the first floor, a red brick rooftop capping it all off. It was massive, towering above the series of vans and crew members bustling around with video and sound equipment.

Kaye found a place to park in the corner of the courtyard, grabbing her bag and locking her door behind her, though she had no idea why she would need to. They were quite secure behind those iron gates, tucked away on a hilltop presumably overlooking the ocean. Kaye couldn’t wait to get a tour.

“Kaye! It’s about time you showed up!”

The nails-on-chalkboard voice of Merle echoed across the courtyard, and Kaye noticed that everyone in the vicinity shirked away, as though glad they weren’t on the receiving end of his attention. Kaye tried giving him a smile, but it ended up coming out as a wince.

“I’m twenty minutes early,” she said.

“Yeah, and we need you to be dressed and made up for filming twenty minutes ago. It’s a good thing you’ll be staying on set. We can’t waste time like this.”

“Waste time…” Kaye began, ready to give Merle a piece of her mind.

A million dollars, Kaye. A million dollars!

She took a deep breath, calming her temper. Before she could say anything else, a woman bustled up behind Merle.

“Is this our leading lady?” she asked, cheerful.

Merle grumbled.

“It is. Make her look presentable, Jen, and for Christ’s sake, make sure she knows the part inside and out, will you?”

“Of course. I’ve got everything under control.”

“Yes, well…see that you do.”

As he walked off, Jen rolled her eyes at Kaye, who smiled. Once Merle was out of earshot, Jen reached for Kaye’s arm, looping it with her own as she led Kaye toward the entrance of the mansion.

“Rule number one when working with Merle: just smile and nod and move on. His bark is a lot worse than his bite.”

“Really? He resonates as pure evil to me,” Kaye replied, laughing.

They stepped inside the mansion, and Kaye did her best not to look completely stunned by the beauty of the interior. It was spacious and open, the tile floor echoing as they made their way toward a series of rooms off of a massive living room with a mini theater inside. Jen opened a side door, granting access to a bathroom that was larger than Kaye’s apartment. A makeup and hair chair had already been set up, and Jen released Kaye, patting the seat.

“Get comfy. This might take a while.”

Kaye plopped into the chair, and Jen instantly began styling her hair, launching into a speech about how she’d been working with Merle for years and how many meltdowns she had seen on set.

“You can’t let bozos like that get to you, not in this industry. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that talent beats ego. If you’re good enough, they can’t touch you.”

“That is a good lesson,” Kaye agreed.

Her hair was curled and fluffed, and by the time Jen was done, she looked like a movie star, her makeup perfect. She opened a side closet that was filled with clothing items, and dressed Kaye in a pair of designer jeans and a stylish white top. She finished the look with a pair of gold sandals.

“The perfect fiancée,” Jen said, kissing the tips of her fingers and spreading them out at the room.

Kaye took another glance in the mirror, and she barely recognized herself. Is this how celebrities felt after getting glammed up for a scene? Would this be her new normal?

Jen picked up a radio and pressed the button to speak in it.

“The dove is ready. I repeat, the dove is ready.”

Kaye lifted an eyebrow.

“The dove?”

Jen shrugged.

“We all have code names. Usually, the female lead is the dove. I hope that doesn’t offend you.”

“Not at all,” Kaye answered, smiling.

She liked being the dove. A man’s voice on the radio came on, directing them to go to another room for the profile filming.

“Come on, let’s get you on set,” Jen said.

Kaye glanced around, keeping an eye out for Amir. They stepped through an open set of glass doors, where a luxurious pool sparkled in the back, facing a stunning view of the ocean in the distance. On the other side of the pool was a smaller house, and that was where Kaye found herself meeting her first camera crew.

“Hi! I’m Jesse,” a tall, handsome man said as he held a hand out for her to shake. “We’re going to film some of your background information this morning before we start going over a couple scenes. Are you ready for some fun?”