Guild Boss (Ghost Hunters #14)(84)
“All Otis had to do for his screen test was carry a box of Ollie’s House of Pizza across the stage and give it to Veronica,” Lucy said. “Otis was very enthusiastic when he saw the box. But things got off to a bad start, because the pizza box was empty. The director explained the box was just a prop. Otis didn’t buy that story.”
“You can’t just offer a dust bunny an empty pizza box,” Veronica explained.
“What did Otis do?” Aiden asked.
“He growled, dropped the pizza box, stomped up and down on it a few times, and began to look annoyed,” Lucy said. “Never a good sign with a dust bunny. Everyone knows that by the time you see the teeth, it’s too late. There was panic on the set.”
“I was able to distract him with my handcuffs,” Veronica said, “but he was in no mood to deal with the director and the crew after that.”
“So the dust bunny is out of the picture?” Aiden asked.
“Well, yes and no,” Lucy said. “Otis started playing with Veronica’s handcuffs. The camera crew was able to get a lot of footage of him fluffed up, dashing around the stage and generally looking adorable while he tried to handcuff stuff. The director thinks he can work the scenes into the finished picture. They’ll use fake dust bunnies or computer-generated animation for the scenes where the actual videos won’t work.”
“Which brings us to another bit of news that falls into the ironic category,” Veronica said. “Guess who will supply the film company with the fake dust bunnies, get product placement, and also be licensed to sell dust bunny merch linked to the movie?”
“Storm Zone Adventure Tours?” Gabriel said.
Veronica uttered her smoky laugh. “Right first time.”
“We were told my former boss, Mr. Luxton, signed the contract first thing this morning,” Lucy said. “I’m sure he’s delighted. His tour business will boom when the movie comes out.”
Excitement lit Aiden’s eyes. “The beauty of this movie deal is that it will take the Guild’s image to a whole new level, Mr. Jones. It’s bound to stimulate tourism, which is the keystone to the local economy. Everyone in Illusion Town will benefit.”
“It wasn’t quite what I had in mind,” Gabriel said. “But I think you’re right. It will probably work.” He switched his attention back to Lucy and Veronica. “Where are you headed now?”
“Ollie’s House of Pizza,” Lucy said. “I told Otis that if he refrained from biting the director I would get him a real pizza.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Runner and a couple other members of the Dark Zone Delivery Service team brought their gleaming black bikes to a halt in front of the entrance to the Dead City. Runner stepped through the gate and whistled. Otis and several dust bunnies appeared immediately.
Runner and the team began unloading the pizzas. There was much gleeful chortling.
“Here you go, guys,” Runner said. “Fresh out of the oven. Cheese and olive, courtesy of the Illusion Town Guild.”
Ollie’s had recently ordered new boxes to update the restaurant’s image and take advantage of the windfall of publicity. The label read OLLIE’S HOUSE OF PIZZA. ALL FOUR FOOD GROUPS IN EACH DELICIOUS BITE. FEATURED IN THE MOVIE GUILD BOSS.
Otis and his friends seized the pizza boxes, chortled thanks to the delivery team, and raced off into the Dead City to enjoy the feast. Later there would be games of hide-and-seek, followed by exchanges of interesting crystals and some hunting in the Rainforest.
The night was balmy, the desert sky was studded with stars, and the radiant ruins provided access to the endless mysteries of the Underworld. There were plenty of adventures ahead and an apparently endless supply of pizza. Life was good.
ANOTHER NOTE FROM JAYNE
If this is your first visit to my Jayne Castle world, welcome! I hope you enjoyed the ride. Those who have ventured to Harmony on previous occasions know that I also write contemporary romantic suspense under the name Jayne Ann Krentz and historical romantic suspense as Amanda Quick. They will likely have recognized a few “Easter eggs” in Guild Boss—bits and pieces of history from those other fictional landscapes. It seems that, although it wasn’t the plan back at the start—there was no plan at the start—I have accidentally created a sort of “Jayneverse.”
If you’re curious about some of the elements that popped up in Guild Boss, here’s a brief guide:
Want to know more about those dangerous clockwork dolls known as Mrs. Bridewell’s curiosities? You can check out the history of the lethal toys in Quicksilver (written under my Amanda Quick name) and In Too Deep (written under my Jayne Ann Krentz name).
Craving more dust bunny books? The critters are unique to my Jayne Castle world set on Harmony. The first book in the series is After Dark.
Interested in the history of the Arcane Society? It starts with Second Sight (written under my Amanda Quick name). There’s a complete list of the titles at my website, jayneannkrentz.com.
Would you like to meet more of those Jones men? They appear in all three of my worlds. Check out Tightrope (written under my Amanda Quick name) for a recent example.
For more information, please feel free to explore my website, jayneannkrentz.com, or meet me on my Facebook page: Facebook.com/JayneAnnKrentz/. I’m also on Instagram: Instagram.com/JayneAnnKrentzAuthor/.