Casting Debbie

Chapter 21

"I'd love to. But I get to buy the bottle of wine. You can't afford my taste." Jordan gave her a wink as she backed away. "Not yet, anyway."

"Cut! That's it for tonight, everyone. See you tomorrow."

Debbie handed her briefcase off to an assistant. "Any interest in sushi tonight? I found a take-out with excellent reviews."

"Sounds great." Lou grinned as she backed away. "And your coffee is stellar."

"I knew it! And you are a coffee snob. Just admit it."

Lou shrugged. "Just another way you've spoiled me."

If you only knew all the ways I could spoil you.

If there weren't a bunch of people milling around them, Debbie would've said it out loud, just so she could watch Lou turn twenty different shades of red.

***

The next morning, Lou moved close to Debbie as they set up to do a second take.

"Ok, everybody. Back to ones!"

As they moved back to their starting positions, Lou whispered to Debbie. "Claude doesn't look pleased with the script."

"Pissed is more like it. But that's no excuse to blow the scene."

"Right? Because he wanted a romantic arc with Jane? What is he, 12? God, he's as bad as his character."

"And, Action!"

Jordan and Jane leaned into one another and whispered while the District Attorney impatiently tapped his pen on the table. After a few seconds, he stood up. "Your Honor, could you please ask counsel to stop canoodling in the courtroom?"

The judge looked over her reading glasses. "I believe that's called conferring, counsel. Take your time, ladies." Jane shot the DA a glare and turned back to Jordan.

She gave her a final nod and Jordan stood up. "Your Honor, we're ready to proceed when you are."

"Cut! Let's move on!"

***

"And, action!"

Jane caught up to the DA in the hallway. "What the hell was that?"

Richard Dent looked pleased with himself. "You tell me. I mean, since when did you and your boss get so chummy? I thought you hated her as much as I do." He pushed the down button on the elevator.

"Is this because I refused to go out with you?" Jane pushed the button a few more times.

"That was before I found out you bat for the other team. I still have a tough time believing it, though it doesn't surprise me one bit that Jordan does."

"She doesn't. And what the hell is that supposed to mean, anyway?"

Richard chuckled. "She hates men, or are you so enamored with her that you can't see anything past those tight skirts?"

"It's just you she hates, Richard. And apparently, it's you who can't get past the tight skirts. Let me guess, you asked her out and she refused and now, every time she beats your ass in court, all you can think about is proving to her how manly you are. Because that's what men like you think about when you've been outplayed, isn't it? Showing powerful women your..."

"Jane."

Jane turned around and found Jordan standing behind her. "While I'm dying to know what it is you think Mr. Dent wants to show me, the courthouse probably isn't the right venue." The elevator door opened and Jordan kept it open with her hand. "This one is all yours, Mr. Dent."

When the elevator doors closed, Jane lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry. That was..."

"Don't be." They turned and walked toward the stairwell. "I'm so proud of you, I can barely breathe right now."

"Cut! That's a wrap, ladies and gentleman. Enjoy your Christmas break."

Debbie took off Jane's black glasses and walked off the set with Lou. "I'm starving."

"What time is your flight?"

"You're going to miss me, aren't you?"

Lou took off the fake cast and handed it to a wardrobe assistant. "I'll be too busy wrangling my mother and her twin sister."

"Ah. Aunt Betty. And when do I get to meet Aunt Betty?"

"Come to Aspen with me. We'd have so much fun!"

"See?" Debbie wagged her finger at Lou. "You will miss me."

Lou kicked off Jordan's heels and slipped into her flip-flops. "You're so arrogant."

Debbie shrugged. "Maybe I just want you to say it first."

"Come to Aspen."

"I can't. Even if I wanted to..." Debbie dropped her gaze.

"You want to. Look at me. You want to."

"I can't miss Christmas with Danny."

Lou sighed. "I know. So, what time is your flight?"

"Late -11: 35. I was just going to get a cab from here. Do you mind driving the Range Rover home?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'll drive you."

"You don't have to do that." "Don't make it a big deal. I'm just driving a friend to the airport. People do it all the time." Debbie grinned. "I'm going to miss you, too."

"I didn't say it."

"You didn't have to."

Lou opened her trailer door, letting Debbie go in first. They stripped out of their work clothes and put on jeans. Debbie threw on a thick sweater so she'd be warm on the plane, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"You're in first, right?" Lou took her hair out of the tight bun, shook it out, and put on a baseball cap. "Domestic first is total trash, but at least you'll be able to sleep without people sneaking selfies on the way to the bathroom."

"Yes, snobby pants, I'm in first." Debbie glanced at her and smiled as she looked away. "Am I ever going to get my Yankees cap back?"

"Buy yourself another one while you're in New York." Lou adjusted it on her head. "I like this one."

***

Lou could see the United Airlines sign up ahead. She made her way to the drop-off area a bit more slowly than she needed to.

Debbie turned in her seat. "Promise me you'll be careful in Aspen. No more broken bones. I can't stomach the thought of taking care of your sorry ass again."

Lou laughed. "Yeah, it'd be fun to see how they'd write in a broken leg for Jordan."

"Could you imagine Jane's reaction? She'd be all, 'Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?' Either that or she'd just kill her boss."

Lou pulled up to the curb. "Okay, get ready to jump out. You'll have about five seconds."

Debbie unbuckled her seatbelt. "Speaking of broken legs." She sat up in her seat. "This is the best goddamned send-off I've ever had. So touching. So caring."

Lou reached over and patted her leg. "Does that help?"

"No. Get your hand off of me." Debbie pointed to the people in the car in front of them. "You're like that guy. He's patting his wife's leg too. What a chump. He's never gonna get laid."

Lou raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Say hi to Danny for me. No. Actually, give him a hug for me."

"Oh, he gets a hug? Look at this guy. He's sitting in his car while his wife -"

"Okay, Debs. We're here."

"Fine." Debbie got out and opened the back door. She grabbed her carry-on and paused long enough to look at Lou. "Give Gillian a hug for me." She slammed the door before Lou could reply