Lily sat in her dressing room, looking at herself in heavy makeup in the mirror. Her first day on set had been an utter failure. She had started by spilling coffee on her costume, and Monica had assured her she wasn't the first as she pulled out an identical outfit for her to wear instead. Cindy had come to get her, and she had gotten halfway to the set before she realized that she still had her slippers on her feet.
She had finally shoved her feet into the clunky heels and had managed to make it to the set with little upset. However, when they called her to take her place for the interview scene with Desmond, she had tripped on a cord and pulled two lights down and sent the entire set into total darkness. That wasn't the worst though; the worst was when she landed in someone's lap and she heard a soft grunt as she elbowed whoever it was in the stomach.
When she went to move and apologize, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and hold her down.
"No, stay, the last thing we need is you moving around in the dark and causing more destruction," Finn Baxter's warm breath whispered into her ear.
Lily had mixed feelings as she sat as still as possible on his lap. He had to feel the wild beating of her heart and hear her irregular breathing. She felt like crying because she had made a mess of everything, but she also felt very warm and aware of Finn Baxter's every breath.
When the lights had come back on she had blinked and everyone had slowly turned to look at her sitting in Finn's lap. There had been a few grins and catcalls while people made comments about making good use of a dark room.
All Lily had felt was humiliated, and she wanted the day to be over. There was no way she would make it. They were bound to fire her after the mess and delays she had caused. The director had swooped in and pulled her off of Finn's lap as he slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She didn't like the way he was holding her, and she had tried to pull away, but he wasn't taking the hint.
She had managed to get through the scene somehow, although no one, not even her co-star, offered her any words of encouragement. When she had re-joined Monica to return her costume for the day they had teased her mercilessly about being held in two men's arms in such a short time.
She had done her best to play along, hiding her embarrassment, but now that she was alone in her dressing room, she could feel the tears starting. However, a sudden knock on her door made her sit up straight as she called for them to enter.
"You already sound like a star!" Mason teased as he closed the door behind him.
"Ohhh, Uncle Mason!" she cried as she launched herself into his arms. "I made a total fool of myself!"
"I heard," he said, and she could feel his shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Don't laugh! It's not funny!" she cried, stepping back and shooting him the meanest look she could muster with a tear-stained face.
"Yes, it is!" he said, pulling her back into a hug. "Remind me to tell you about the time Aunt Cassie, and I met; she drew blood, my blood, or I can tell you about the time that she lost most of her pants when she ripped them on a box." She felt him smile in her hair. "On second thought, forget that last one."
"You're going to have to fire me, aren't you. That's why you're here." She sniffed into his shirt.
"Nope, I'm only sorry I missed all of the action, I bet Finn enjoyed every minute of it." Mason hugged her a little closer.
"I doubt it; he wouldn't let me go when I tried to stand up, he said he didn't want me causing more destruction." She blinked back tears.
"If you say so," Mason said, still smiling.
The door to the dressing room opened, and Monica and June pushed into the room, stopping short when they saw her in Mason's arms. They didn't say anything as they looked wide-eyed at the two of them hugging.
"Ladies!" Mason greeted without letting Lily go even though she was trying to make a break for it.
The situation was not good, first Finn Baxter, then Preston Mudd, and now Mason Stevens. "Lily's had a very hard day, wouldn't you agree?" Mason pulled away from Lily and looked down at her tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"June, would you help her with her makeup?" He leaned in to whisper in Lily's ear. "Come over for dinner tonight; maybe we'll find someone to cook for us, and you can tell everyone all about it. Laura is supposed to join Davis."
Lily nodded and turned away to wipe her face as Mason left the room, whistling.
Lily sunk into her chair with a sigh as June joined her. "Mason is such a dear man, not at all conceited, he's always willing to give new actors a helping hand." There was a heavy pause. "So is his lovely wife." It was a warning, and Lily could only nod in agreement. Even if she denied that something was going on between them, they wouldn't believe her.
June finished removing her makeup in silence, and then she and Monica left. Lily knew it would be all over set the next day.
She couldn't even enjoy the few moments of connection she had felt with Finn Baxter as they had exchanged lines that morning. It was all tainted by the gory details of her overall failure.
She cried a little bit more before drying her eyes then putting on a pair of sunglasses and heading towards her car, but the world wasn't done with her quite yet. When she tried to start her car, it wouldn't.
"Not now!" she hissed under her breath as she tried it again, feeling the tears threaten to fall once more. When there was a knock at her window, she jumped. Looking up, she saw Finn Baxter looking down at her with a frown, as if he was there against his better judgment.
"Come on, I'll give you a ride home," he offered almost grudgingly as she opened her door.
"No, it's fine, I'll-"
"Stop being stubborn. I'll call the head of props; he'll get it looked at for you. Consider it one of the perks of working on a television show." He held open her door for her, not giving her an option to say no without looking rude.
"Isn't that against union rules or something?" Lily asked.
"Probably, but he owes me a favor." He slammed the door behind her, leaving the keys in the ignition.
"Shouldn't we-"
"It's fine. Come on." He placed his hand in the small of her back and propelled her towards a large black truck.
Lily looked over her shoulder to see who was watching. The last thing she needed was another rumor.
"Hoping someone sees you are leaving with me?" he asked in a bored voice.
Lily couldn't help the shocked gasp that escaped her. She didn't think he was that full of himself.
"I can assure you, Mr. Baxter-"
"Please call me Finn Lily, after all, you did spend five minutes sitting on my lap. I think that means we've graduated to a first name basis, don't you?"
"There's nothing that I can say in this situation to make it better is there, you probably think I sabotaged my own car, don't you?"
He shrugged. "Does it matter what I think?" he asked.
"Yes, I think a little trust between us would make our jobs a little easier," she replied.
"It's acting; it doesn't matter what we feel off camera." He started the truck, looking at Lily as he waited for directions.
Their eyes met, and neither one of them was willing to look away first.
"Perhaps, you're stronger than I thought," he said with a touch of grudging admiration. "Not that one would be able to judge that based on today's events."
"I don't think I like you," Lily said, sitting back in her seat.
"That's probably a good thing, LeeLee," he agreed with a hint of a smile.
Lily froze at his use of her nickname. How much did he know, she couldn't ask because he might not know anything. Maybe he was only teasing her because Uncle Mason had said her name wrong in the audition and she had corrected him. It would take some gumption to stand up to Uncle Mason during an audition as an uncast actress.
She gave him directions, and it only took him fifteen minutes to get to her apartment, which was located downtown in an old 1860s mansion that had been subdivided into apartments decades before.
"Thank you," she said as she opened her door and jumped out of the truck. Finn didn't say anything as she slammed the door harder than she needed to.
"Hello, Lily!" Ms. Epstine, her neighbor on the first floor, greeted her. "Who was that dropping you off?"
"Just a co-worker," she said over her shoulder, not bothering to slow down. She needed the safety of her apartment at least until it was time to go to dinner. She would try to get out of it if she could, but she knew that one of the Stevens family would come and get her if she didn't show.
They could be ruthless, and she loved them for it.