Incidental Happenstance (47 page)

            There was little doubt in Angela’s mind about how Penelope would deal with a failure to deliver. She’d added the little part about breaking her career for a reason, and Angela knew that she’d pursue that with even more vigor than she would in making it. She realized that just hearing about the plan put her in jeopardy—if she backed out now, she’d certainly be out of a job; Penelope wouldn’t trust her not to fill Dylan in on the details. She’d be finished before she even started.

            “I don’t need to think about it at all, Penelope,” she said, already playing the part. “It’s the right thing to do, and I’m in one hundred percent.”

            “Excellent,” Penelope smiled, and she began laying out the script.

            The next day, Angela stepped into the camera shop in town and looked around. There were so many models to choose from, and she really didn’t know squat about photography; her ultimate goal had always been to be in front of the camera, not behind it.     

            “Can I help you?” asked a voice from behind her New font>

            “Hi, yes, I’m looking for a digital camera, but I confess I don’t know a lot about them,” she told the older gentleman who stepped up to help her. “I know that I need one that can take high quality distance shots, though, and one that’s pretty simple to use.”

            “I can certainly help you with that,” he answered kindly. “I have a few very good models,” he said, pulling a few cameras out of their display cases and laying them on the counter. “Now you probably want at least twelve megapixels if you’re doing a lot of long distance shots, and depending on what you’re shooting, you may want to add on a telephoto lens. You’ll definitely want HD video, and a good variety of photo settings…”

            “Mmm hmm,” Angela murmured, absently picking up one of the cameras and turning it over in her hand. She shrugged, showing him that he’d already lost her.

            “Let’s simplify things a bit,” he smiled, “can you give me an idea of what you’ll be shooting?”

            “Birds, mostly,” she answered, “and I really want to get nice clear shots. I’ll be up in the mountains though, hiking, so I need it to be something that’s durable and easy to carry—and easy to use,” she added again, “I’m kind of a novice.”

            “Can you give me an idea of how much you want to spend?” he asked. “That can help narrow things down a lot.”

            “I just want the best there is,” she replied, “I don’t care how much it costs.”

            The old man smiled, showing a few gaps in his teeth. “I’ve got just the thing for you then,” he said, reaching into the display again and bringing up a small, compact camera. “This one takes really excellent shots by itself, and has a better than average zoom. You can add on a telephoto lens when you really need the distance. It’s got a lot of preset photo settings, so it’s simple to use. I can run you through the basics, if you have a little bit of time, and you’ll be a pro in no time.”

            “Perfect,” she smiled, pulling out her wallet. “I’ll take it.”

            The next step was for her to befriend Jessa, and to gain her trust. Since there were so few people on their spoke of the wheel, and Dylan and Penelope were working so closely together, it made sense for the two assistants to be friends. At Penelope’s prodding, the girls worked out a kind of rhythm—they’d go into town together to run errands, schedule joint interviews around the filming schedule, and work together around The Village, scheduling hair, make-up and costume fittings. Penelope encouraged the girls to take some leisure time together, and they started spending their weekend evenings together at The Hub with the rest of the crew.

            Angela was working out better than Penelope had hoped—she’d managed to become the postal worker of the group, and when they went into town, Jessa would go off to collect dry cleaning or groceries while Angela visited the post office. There was almost always a letter for Tia to mail, but Angela was always one letter behind. Once the girls parted ways, she’d slip the new letter into her pocket and remove the one from the previous trip—the one Penelope had already read and from which she’d stolen a picture or two for her collection.

            Penelope’s photo album was starting to fill up. She had pictures of her and Dylan in Prague, Vienna, Geneva, Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Mostly she took just one, but sometimes it was too hard to choose and she ended up with two or three. The teacher would never know the difference. It should have been her on that tour with Dylan anyway, not some two bit commoner who had no business being with someone like him. Angela was getting to be quite the photographer, as well, and Penelope had printed a number of pictures of her and Dylan from scenes they had filmed. Cameras weren’t really allowed on the set, of course—the studio had their own photographers and sent out only what they felt would drum up public interest, but Angela had ‘befriended’ one of the security guards from the crew and he often looked the other way. She was also getting better at using the telephoto lens, and was often able to tuck herself away in little places where she wouldn’t be seen while she shot. They’d already “leaked” a few preliminary photos to the tabloids, to set the stage. When Penelope was ready to move to the next and most crucial part of her plan, Angela would be ready.

            Dylan had really taken to hanging out at The Hub on weekends. The Villagers were finally accepting him as one of them; although they still treated him with reverence—making sure he had a seat close to the fire, always having his favorite beer in the coolers, saving him a steak or burger when he arrived late. He figured that those things were a small price to pay for some normalcy in his life, and for evenings that involved someone else besides Penelope. She attended with him most nights, but he noticed more and more that she was starting to befriend others from The Village, and he was glad. She really did seem to be changing for the better—instead of looking down her nose at the crew, she smiled and joked with them, bringing dishes to share at the pot luck and trading recipes with some of the other girls. She even accepted an invitation to take a little shopping trip into Auckland, something he couldn’t have imagined her doing a month ago.

            The change was making her easier to be with—she just seemed lighter and more carefree—and they fell into a more easy friendship, although Dylan was always still a bit wary. He tried to be nice without being too nice, always feeling like he was walking a line with her. There was just still something about her that he didn’t trust, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

            At first, Penelope was put out that Dylan wanted to spend his weekends at The Hub, instead of with her. Reluctantly, she went, but she tried to hang close to Dylan and avoid contact with the other people there. Really, she thought, why would a star of her caliber want to hang out with a bunch of stage hands and costume designers? But when she started noticing Dylan’s looks of disappointment when she refused to interact, she figured she’d better change her tune. He really seemed to enjoy hanging out with people, and never put himself above them. He laughed and joked, played guitar, shared the grilling and cleaning duties, and tried to be one of the gang. If she was going to be the perfect match for him, she’d have to learn to be friendlier to people too.

            It was hard at first—having conversation with strangers didn’t come naturally for her, but she slowly realized that she did have something in common with these people; that being the industry. She chatted about films she’d worked on and listened as they did the same. They dished about stars they’d worked with, and she found that they were pretty perceptive about what was going on behind the scenes. The more time she spent there the more comfortable she felt, and she began looking forward to meeting people who were honestly interested in her. She’d never had a lot of girlfriends, and she found herself actually enjoying hanging with a group of girls, talking about everyday things like clothes, travels and recipes. Some nights, she’d go an hour without searching Dylan out in the crowd. One of her favorite things, however, was the change in the way Dylan looked at her. Instead of the disappointed scowl he usually wore when he glanced over, she started to see him smile. She was making him happy, and that made her happy.

            The thing was—the more time she spent with him, the more she really liked Dylan. He was so real, so different than the guys she usually dated. He found obvious pleasure in making people happy, whether it was pulling up to The Hub with a cart full of beer, ordering pizzas for the entire group, giving Gary guitar lessons in front of his trailer, or performing around the bonfire. He never sought credit for what he did; he was just being nice. He was the kind of person that you didn’t have to try hard with; conversation came naturally, he had a great sense of humor, and he was one hundred percent man. Without even trying he was sexy, masculine, and completely unconcerned with the incredible good looks he’d come by naturally, which just made him even more appealing. The more time she spent around him, the more she really wanted him to be hers for all the right reasons. It was easy to imagine spending her life with him—hell, she’d even move out to Colorado if that’s what he wanted. She was beginning to see how shallow her Hollywood life was, and she could actually feel herself changing into a different person—the kind of person that he could love.

            She felt a few pangs of guilt about what she was going to do to make that happen, but she was more determined than ever that Dylan would be hers, and that she could truly make him happy without even having to act the part. Once she finished this crucial role, she’d never need to be anything other than herself again—she could give herself to him and he could make her happier than she’d ever been in her life. They’d still be a power couple, of course, but people would look at her differently once Dylan loved her, and she’d have both the respect she deserved and the man of her dreams. It wouldn’t be long now, and she could put her scheming behind her and move forward with a new life; the one she always longed for. When she found out that Dylan had been scheduled to film for nearly a week in a remote wilderness location without any access to phone or internet, she knew the time had come to begin the most important phase of her plan. It was time to get Tia out of the picture.

            Penelope’s plan was complex, to say the least, but then, nothing worth having ever came easy, she knew that from experience. The first step of the master plan, as she called the next phase, was to get rid of Jessa, Dylan’s faithful assistant. And she had just the thing. Dylan had Jessa’s loyalty, but Penelope had Angela, and she was a proving to be a force to be reckoned with. A little girls’ weekend in Auckland was just the thing to get the ball rolling, and Angela was happy to oblige. 

            “So, does Dylan ever let you get out, you know, to do your own thing?” Angela asked on a Thursday as they drove into town to run some errands. 

            “Sure,” Jessa answered, “he usually encourages it, actually. Why?”

            Angela got excited. “I was thinking of a girls’ weekend, just you and me, out to Auckland. Could you get away? Maybe this weekend?”

            Jessa shrugged. She didn’t see any reason why Dylan wouldn’t let her go; there wasn’t a whole lot for her to do here in New Zealand besides be a gopher. There were only a few interviews and appointments to set up, and most of what she did was via email with people back home. She could take her laptop and do most of that in Auckland. “I don’t see why not,” she said.

            “Great!” Angela sang. “I’m just so bored here without any of my friends, and there isn’t all that much to do. I was hoping that we could be real, true friends, and I can’t think of a better way to do it!”

            “Sounds fun,” Jessa said. “I’ll talk to Dylan about it tonight.”

            “I’ll make all the arrangements!” Angela gushed. “I’m thinking shopping day and spa day, what do you think? I’m in desperate need of a mani-pedi.”

            Jessa looked at her pathetic fingernails, cut short and unpolished, then shrugged. The last time her nails had been done was in England, over three months ago. “Sure, why not?” she said. “I’m up for anything.”

            Dylan was more than fine with it; in fact he insisted on paying for the spa day for both girls. Massages, mani-pedis, and facials, he’d insisted, and Jessa couldn’t talk him out of it. They left on Friday morning in one of the studio’s rented cars and drove into the city. On the way in they chatted about home and what they missed the most being so far away. Jessa traveled a lot more than Angela did, and she asked a lot of questions about the summer tour in Europe. Angela was interested in what Jessa had to say about Tia, Dylan’s girlfriend back in the states, the one she was helping to purge from Dylan’s life. Jessa talked about her as if she were a good friend, and couldn’t say more about what a great couple she and Dylan made. To hear Jessa talk about it, they were truly in love and would find a way to make it work. 

            Angela felt a sudden touch of guilt over what she was about to do, but in the end, she decided, she had her own future to think about, and Penelope had warned her that she was going to have to step on a few toes. She felt bad about Jessa; she was a genuinely nice person, but she didn’t even know this Tia woman, and it was obvious how much Penelope honestly liked Dylan—he really brought out the best in her. Angela had never seen her so happy, and Penelope had never been so easy to work for—she was starting to believe that they could actually be good together.