Behind the Scenes (Open - PM for invite)

[SweetAsSuga]

OOC - Role filled by Rocket1010


IC

Shit. Shit. Shit. Running up the stairs from the lobby all the way to the fifth floor of the New York City high rise, Sara Coine nearly tripped in her three inch heels. The elevator just had to break down today of all days. Already late for her first day, Sara was not looking forward to finally arriving at the sound stage covered in sweat from running up the five flights of stairs.

Fresh from college, the twenty-two year old had been lucky to land a job on the writing team of the newest soap opera to hit the small screen. Life and Death was quickly becoming the Days of Our Lives of her generation and Sara was excited to be in on the ground floor of the show. Already halfway into its second season, the producers of the show were looking for newer ideas, ones that were fresh and young in order to bring in a younger demographic. Enter Sara. She had met one of the head writers by accident when she had, quite literally, run into him at a dog park a few months before graduation. They had struck up a conversation, with him asking what she was studying at NYU and what she was looking at doing after graduation. He had then offered to read over a script Sara was working on for a theater class. Having been impressed with her writing, he invited her to join the new writing staff he was building, on a trial basis of course. Which led to Sara now running frantically up the stairs.

Finally, she reached the fifth floor and flung open the door. An ominous thud, followed by a string of swear words made Sara pause.

"Oh fuck," she breathed, as she walked around the door and came face to face with the star of Life and Death.

 

[Rocket1010]

"Steve how in the fuck am I supposed to read this shit in front of the camera," roared at the head writer. "When are you going to get someone who can write something that makes sense. Something that will make my character memorable. God knows you have been given every chance to make this work."

Steve looked at the lead actor in the new hit soap opera. Life and Death. He slowly shook his head as if to acknowledge the temper tantrum. "Johnny look we are trying our best," he responded trying to appease the actor. "You have give us a chance too. We are not miracle workers!"

John Lloyd, Johnny to everyone on the set, looked at the head writer with withering glance as he stared out at the city from the fifth floor windows. He had worked hard to make it in this industry. Starting out as a child actor at the age of 10, his parents pushed him into acting. He got bit parts on some sitcoms but there was nothing exciting until he landed the part of Dr. Robert Jones, head of Mutual Hospital's staff.

He was the caring doctor who had an answer for everything and there was nothing in the world of medicine he couldn't solve. The first season started slow with poor ratings and the show was deemed to fail. But then something happened, something that show business people still marvel at, the show found a following. As the ratings climbed, everyone started to take credit for the success of the show. Johnny was no exception and as his adoring fan club of younger and older women grew, he bathed in the limelight of adulation. He found it easy to bed any woman he wanted and during the first season he had plenty of it and enjoyed the sex with no commitments.

Besides the sex, John found that he was wanting more of a say in the writing and during the close of the first season, he objected more and more to Steve, the head writer. Some of the lesser skinned writers were intimidated by his tactics of ranting and raving after each take. At one point he demanded the removal of three young writers or he would simply quit. The producers seeing they had a potential long run hit on their hands, succumbed to his wishes and fired them.

Season two started out with blockbuster ratings but the in-fighting behind the scenes was just starting to brew. To everyone in the public John Lloyd was Dr. Robert Jones, the caring and loving doctor who had an answer and cure for everything. After the last show another writer threw up her hands in disgust, walking out of the office, when John asked for more script freedom.

Now as the season was hitting its stride, John turned from the large windows. "Well God damn it Steve you had better start making some fucking miracles happen or I'm going upstairs and you know what the fuck that means don't you?" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Johnny's face was red with anger as he slammed down the latest script. Everyone in the room looked at the door as it swung open. There in the frame of the door stood a young woman out of breath whispering something.

"Who are you to barge in on this meeting and what the fuck do you want?" he vented.

"Johnny this is the new writer I hired since you got rid of the last few good ones," Steve Buford interjected with anger as they watched the young woman stand frozen at his abrasive words.

 

[SweetAsSuga]

"Who are you to barge in on this meeting and what the fuck do you want?"

Sara starred up at John Lloyd's angry expression, her knees instantly turning to jelly and her nerves causing her hands to shake. Quickly, she stuffed her hands behind her back. Sara was pretty certain that, given his demeanor, John Lloyd would pounce on and devour anyone who showed the slightest bit of fear.


"Johnny this is the new writer I hired since you got rid of the last few good ones," Steve Buford, the show's head writer, jumped in to save her, his own anger palpable. Sara could have kissed his feet, and any other part of his body that he wanted, at that moment.

"Um...hi." She said weakly, the hint of a smile trying to pull at her lips, which seemed to be frozen into place. Clearing her throat delicately, Sara forced herself to be calm and to not allow John Lloyd's deadly stare frighten her. "I'm sorry I'm late, that's not the impression I wanted to give on my first day."

Holding out a hand, the shaking now reduced dramatically, Sara pushed her lips the rest of the way up into a brilliant smile. "I'm Sara Coine, it's very nice to meet you Mr. Lloyd, I'm a big fan of the show and look forward to working with you and everyone else very much."

Sara waited, her nervousness returning slowly as her hand remained in limbo, for John Lloyd to shake her hand. He stared at her hand briefly, then returned his burning gaze to her. Quickly, she dropped her hand back to her side.

Fine, she thought, if that's how he wants to be then so be it. Determined not to let this diva get the better of her, Sara squared her shoulders and faced Steve, her new boss.

"Sorry again, that I'm late. But, if you direct me to my seat I am ready to get to work." She said, addressing him with as much dignity as she could muster with all those eyes staring at her.

Steve pointed to a vacant chair at the table and Sara quickly took her seat between two of the other writers. One of them, a female not much older than herself, pushed a blank notepad and pen towards Sara. With a grateful smile, Sara uncapped the pen and listened to Steve as he went over what they hoped to accomplish in the new season.

 

[Rocket1010]

John looked at the young woman standing meekly near the door as she made some lame excuse for being late on her first day. He glanced at her long black hair and dark eyes as she smiled broadly and held out her hand to him. He simply stood his ground and ignored the act of friendship being offered by this woman. Didn’t she realize they had a script to get out and she was plainly wasting everyone’s valuable time? He glared at her, seeing a bit of nervousness in her dark eyes but then in an instant her look turned more determined.

He stood watching her as Steve directed Sara to a chair. Steve was the level headed boss of the writers and even though John screamed at him, he had to admit Steve had a real knack for getting the most out his writers. The problem was the writers could not take the abuse from John and they quit before they could show Steve their true potential. Steve and John disagreed on most of the script as John wanted more say in what he had to say on stage. Besides wasn’t he the one that the adoring fans wanted to see? The fans never, in his mind, wanted to see the writers.

“I’m sure there is a chair for our late comer,” he said sarcastically. As she walked to the empty chair John couldn’t help but add. “I sure as hell hope you are ready to work Ms. … Ms. … Ms. Coine is it? We have a lot of re-writes to do before the next show and we don’t really have time to chit chat about why you are late. I assume Steve told you the time and I would suggest you be on time in the future. Oh and one other thing writers on this show typically have their own notepads and pens to write with. You know you are a writer, aren’t you?”

Steve watched Sara sit between two writers and then said, “Look John you don’t have to be god damn belligerent. I’m sure Sara has a good reason for being late and just so you know she is very good at writing script. So just shut your mouth for a few minutes and we can get this back on track.”

“Yea just like the last two writers that quit.” John glared at all the young writers seated at the table and then trained his gaze on Sara. “Well Ms. Coine I sure hope you don’t fuck up like the last writers Steve hired. Just so you know Ms. Coine I am the one out front; the one who takes all the heat if this show fails. I expect you to write good script and if I want to change something that is my prerogative.”

Steve now glared at John and turned a more sympathy look at Sara. “I hire the best writer’s in town John and you just have to give them a chance or by god you WILL be the one out there all on your own writing your own script and fail.” Steve smiled at Sara as he talked to her. “I have to keep reminding him that without us there is no Dr. Robert Jones and there is no show.”

“Ok already can we now get back to the script,” John interjected sarcastically.

Steve picked up the script John had thrown on the table, scanning the cover. “Look everyone we already have the first few scripts completed for the upcoming season. Early polls show we are probably going to start the season on top and as you all know the only direction to go is down. So we need new ideas for the next few episodes. The first one involves Dr. Jones on vacation in the mountains and he comes across a mysterious ailment that seems to threaten the small mountain town.”

The head writer looked at Sara and thought to spare her the trauma and embarrassment since this was her first day. He looked at Janice who had slid the notepad and pen to Sara. “Ok Janice what kind of ideas do you have for this episode?”

 

[SweetAsSuga]

She took the abuse silently, her cheeks turning red under John's verbal attack. With a deep, fortifying breath, Sara forced herself not to respond. It was only her first day, hell her first ten minutes, and already she was on the star's shit list. Never in her life had she received such treatment from someone, even if that person was as pompous as John Lloyd. But Sara wasn't going to let him see her sweat. She was damn good at what she did and she would let her work speak for her. And as far as not bringing a pad of paper and pen, she had both tucked away in her bag, but the woman next to her, Janice, had been kind enough to hand her one before she needed to dig for her own. The more that he talked, the more that Sara became assured that John Lloyd was nothing more than an arrogant jackass who was in love with the sound of his own voice.

"So we need new ideas for the next few episodes. The first one involves Dr. Jones on vacation in the mountains and he comes across a mysterious ailment that seems to threaten the small mountain town. Ok Janice what kind of ideas do you have for this episode?” Steve's eyes landed on Sara before he quickly moved to Janice.

Though she was grateful that Steve wanted to save her any further embarrassment on her first day, Sara didn't need anyone fighting her battles for her.

Janice fumbled for a moment trying to think quickly on her feet, her panicked eyes glancing around the room, landing briefly on John and then skittering around to the other writers for help. Sara met her gaze and gave her a calming smile.

"If I may," she interjected politely. Janice gave a small sigh of relief and Steve nodded to her to continue. "Obviously the viewers are going to want some romance and sex for our oh so brilliant leading man," she shot a smirk over to John, "so why not, before the first patient appears, have Dr. Jones become involved with a woman from the town. But she cant' be just anyone, she has to be someone the viewers can relate to. Maybe a young woman who works in the hotel he's staying at. Then, as the illness spreads through the town, she's one of its victims."

Steve sat back in his chair, hands steepled under his chin as he surveyed Sara and thought over her suggestion.

"I like it," he said finally. "Sara, I'm putting you and Janice together to come up with the romance angle. Be ready to present it at tomorrow's meeting. Alright, anyone else got ideas outside of the romance department..." Steve looked around the room once more, waiting for his writers to speak up. But John's presence in the room always made them silent and fearful. Sometimes Steve wished that John would just go away and let them all do their work.

As the silence continued, Sara noticed that all the writers kept glancing, fearfully, at John, as if they were waiting for him to pounce on them for their horrible ideas. She sat quietly as well, waiting to see if he would pronounce her own idea as stupid and over done. Whatever he said, however, it didn't matter. She was not going to let this man drive her away from what could potentially be an amazing job.

 

[Rocket1010]

John waited for Steve to get the meeting rolling again and as he waited he looked at the new writer. “Not bad,” he thought as she had her eyes on Steve. “We’ll just to see if she has what it takes to write for this show.”

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling when Janice fumbled trying to come up with something interesting for the episode. He glanced around the table at the other writers waiting for someone to help poor Janice. He had to admit she was a good writer but in times like now she got nervous and had mental blocks. The other writers fidgeted with their pens and some would glance at him and then cast their eyes down to the table or simply look away. He was thinking that they really don’t give a shit about Janice and was about to speak when he heard the voice of the newest writer on his left.

Turning to look at her, he smirked, thinking, “Now what the hell does she know about their show?” As he listened to her, he sensed a relief coming from the rest of the writing staff. She was talking about romance and sex and how his character would meet someone, become involved and then the illness would affect his lover. Steve interjected, telling everyone that he liked it.

Steve could feel a pall settle over the room and it seemed all eyes were directed at him and then at John. He knew from past experience that John would simply not like the idea, quash the thought and then get up and tell them to find something better for his character.

A small smile spread across his face. “Ms. Coine I think this idea of romance and sex may have some merit. You evidently must have some considerable experience in both matters. From your vast knowledge of the subject, I would be interested in hearing more details of how they meet and they interact. And as I’m sure you know this is prime time so we can’t have people running around naked. And as a final comment Dr. Robert Jones is a respected physican and as such we can’t have him fucking just any ole mountain gal now can we?”

With that he got up and announced, “I look forward to hearing all the sordid details tomorrow.” Without another word he walked out of the room to the sound of relieved sighs.

 

[SweetAsSuga]

A sigh of relief echoed throughout the writers' room as the door closed behind John. The tension visibly eased and the very air seemed lighter and easier to breathe. As Steve got the meeting back on track, it seemed as if every writer in the room had ideas that could be bounced back and forth. The change in the room made Sara wonder if she'd made the right decision in accepting the job. If the star was that difficult to work with, would she be able to handle writing for him? With a mental shake of her head, Sara reminded herself that it wasn't John Lloyd she was writing for, but rather Life and Death. John Lloyd was just the arrogant star who thought he should be making all the big decisions. Honestly, Sara couldn't understand why anyone put up with the man's ego.

Once the meeting was dismissed, Janice offered to give Sara a tour of the set.

"It's not much." She said, as the two made their way from the writers' room to the studio area where the four main sets for the show were located. "You've got the hospital, Dr. Jones' office, his apartment, and the park outside the hospital. We try to stage each scene in one of these locations, but, if we feel that we need a different setting we try to make it something that will be easy for the set crew to build."

All around her, men and women bustled about, setting up lighting, checking microphones, and positioning cameras. So much activity in one small space set Sara's head spinning.

"They'll be starting to film soon," Janice continued as she led Sara towards the food service table, "so we can hang back here and you can see what all goes on behind the scenes. Steve likes to have one or two writers in addition to himself on the set when they're filming, just in case something needs to be rewritten."

Janice inspected the plate of sandwiches on the table before picking up a veggie wrap, the whole time her mouth never stopping. Sara was amazed at how much one person could talk. But she was grateful to Janice for showing her around.

"Any questions?" Janice asked, having swallowed her bite of wrap.

Sara glanced around, making sure that no one was in ear shot.

"I do have one question," she said quietly,"it's been bugging me ever since the meeting. How can you guys put up with John Lloyd? I mean, the rest of the actors weren't in the meeting today making demands, so what makes him any different. I didn't think the actors had so much say in what their characters do or don't do. And to be quite honest, that guy is a huge egomaniac. I don't understand it."

Janice's eyes widened as Sara spoke, and gave small, nearly unnoticeable shakes of her head. But Sara didn't understand why until she heard the throat clear behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, Sara's heart dropped into her stomach as her eyes met with John Lloyd's.

Oh shit.

 

[Rocket1010]

John left the writers meeting shaking his head. The writers never seemed to open up when he was around and he knew he intimadated some of them. "Hell if they can't take some criticism, they shouldn't be writing for the show," he thought as he headed for make-up.

He found Lois waiting for him in the dressing room. She had been his make-to stylist since the show began. "How did the writers meeting go," she asked as he sat in the the chair.

John smiled at Lois in the large mirrors set behind her make-up table. "It was the usual bullshit Lois. Most of them wouldn't answer Steve when he asked for ideas except the new gal Sara. She was the only one who was willing to speak up and her ideas were not too bad." John thought about Sara as Lois applied the final touches to his make-up. He sensed that she was not like the other writers. She seemed to have a fire within her from the way she was willing to jump right in in her first day. "I'll need to keep my eye on her," he thought as Lois finished the final touch up.

Walking to the set for the doctor office scene, he spied Janice talking to the new gal at the food table. He walked up to the two women and he saw Janice shaking her head and looking at him. He heard Sara tell Janice that he was an egomanic. He saw the "oh shit what did I say look on her face when she turned toward him.

He instantly felt his cheeks get hot from her comment. "So you think I have a big ego Ms. Coine? You have been here at your new job less than four hours and you think you know all about me. You think just because you came up with one suggestion for the series that you can judge me? I am the one on the front line and if think you can do better than maybe you should play a part in the next show and then we would see how you like being criticized by the reviewers." His hands were shaking with rage.

Steve walked in as he was dressing down Sara. "Steve you need to have a talk with your new writer. I have to get ready for my scene. You need to make her watch this next take and maybe she will get an idea on what we actors have to deal with when we have inadequate scripts."

John walked away in a huff as Steve looked at Janice and Sara, saying, "what the hell just happened?"

 

[SweetAsSuga]

"I am so, so, so sorry, Steve." Sara could not stop apologizing to her boss as John Lloyd stalked off to film his scene. "Me and my big mouth, it gets me in trouble all the time. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been saying the things I was. I'm the new girl, I know, I need to learn my place. Please, give me another chance. I promise I'll stop fucking up."

Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, but Sara refused to let them fall. The last thing she needed was to be the girl who cried on her first day. Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to steady herself.

"Don't worry about it." Steve said, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. "Johnny just likes to throw his weight around. Don't take him too seriously. But, to be on the safe side, you might want to get your butt into your office and start working on that concept for tomorrow's meeting."

"Of course, thank you, Steve. I promise I won't screw this up." Sara could feel the tension slowly ebbing away as her shoulders relaxed and she followed Janice to the office that she'd be sharing with the other woman and one of the other writers.

The rest of the afternoon was spent brainstorming ideas and working on a basic script to pitch at the next meeting. Sara had missed working with other writers. In college, she hadn't had much opportunity to bounce ideas of others and to really work at getting her creative juices flowing. But now, she felt as if she'd found a place where she could belong. Granted she didn't screw it up by putting her foot in her mouth...again.

"Do you think John Lloyd is going to try and get me fired?" They were five hours into their work and Sara couldn't get rid of that nagging thought in the back of her head. "I mean, he's gotten other writers fired, right? What's to say he won't do the same with me because of what I said."

"Forget it, Sara," Janice shook her head and took a long swallow of her coffee. "Johnny's an ass. People have spent their whole lifes telling him how great he is and that the sun shines out his ass and now he's believing them. He thinks that we write shit around here, and complains that he can't act off what we give him. But the guy is a major diva and thinks he could write a better script than we can. So if I was you, I wouldn't give him another thought." She glanced at the clock on her computer. "Well that's quitting time." Janice got up from her desk and began to gather her stuff. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early." She moved to walk out of the room before stopping and facing Sara. "You got any plans tonight? A bunch of us are gonna go out for drinks."

While drinks sounds amazing, especially after her nightmare run-ins with John that day, Sara shook her head.

"No," she said, "I think I'll stay and work a little bit on this script. But thanks for the invite. Maybe tomorrow."

Janice nodded and waved good-bye. "Don't work too hard, you'll make the rest of us look bad."

Sara chuckled as the door closed behind Janice. Turning back to her computer, she reread the outline they'd put together before setting to work on finalizing the script. Time slipped past, unnoticed, as Sara became consumed with her work. Before she knew it, her stomach was growling and the clock on her computer read ten o'clock PM. Deciding to call it a night, Sara printed out the pages she'd worked on so that she could read them over once more at her apartment. Juggling the fifty pages, her purse, and a half full cup of cold coffee, Sara closed the door to the office and tried to dig the key out of her purse so she could lock it. As her hand slipped inside the purse, all fifty of the loose pages fell out of her arms.

"Damn it." She muttered. Bending to pick them up, her coffee cup over turned and the pages were soaked. Hitting her forehead against the door, Sara sighed. "This is just not my day."

 

[Rocket1010]

John Lloyd glanced back at the trio as he walked onto the set. Steve was talking to Janice and the new girl, Sara. He could see the look of distress on Sara’s face and though he could not hear what they were talking about, John knew Steve was trying to soothe the hurt feelings of the new writer. “Hell she should be more careful about trashing other people. If she is going to badmouth everyone and it’s only her first day she should get the hell out of this business,” he mumbled as the director met him on the set.

As John began to read his script, he saw Janice and Sara leaving the set. “Steve probably sent them back to the office to some of the re-writes he suggested,” he thought to himself as he tried to get into character. John concentrated on the part for a few minutes and soon was transformed to the kind Dr. Robert Jones. During the reading he found himself thinking of the new gal and he had to admit she was a very beautiful woman. He wondered what she was doing as he read and re-read the parts with the cast to make them flow effortlessly.

Amazingly the first part of the session went well. At the end of the reading, the director braced himself for what was sure to be a blasting from the star of the show. When John walked off the set smiling, the director again waited and hearing nothing he looked to the stage hands that were also waiting for the usual stream of cuss words about the script lacking any merit. When John smiled everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief along with a look of confusion. This was not like the actor they knew but no one complained.

The camera drew were instructed as to how to shoot the next scene and during the interlude, John walked to the food table for a break. As he picked out some fruit, Steve approached him. “John I need to have a word with you.”

John looked at Steve as he popped a strawberry into his mouth. “Did I make your new writer cry?”

“No you didn’t do that but you do owe her an apology for your outburst this morning. You had no right to say those awful things to her especially on her first day.”

“So you want me to get down on my hands and knees and beg forgiveness,” he replied sarcastically.

“John we have known each other for a lot of years and I knew you when you were a struggling actor. So you can’t bullshit me with your holier than now attitude. I only put up with it because you are a good actor and a friend. Sara did nothing to deserve the grief and agony you displayed towards her today and I think you went too far today.”

“Steve she told Janice that I was an egomaniac and I don’t think I deserved that from her. Hell she has only been here one day and she thinks she owns the place!” he said in a rather loud voice.

Steve smiled at John as he responded. “Well John if you ask me I think she hit the nail right on the head. The way you have been acting, you think you are God’s gift to acting. Someday you are going to find out there are plenty of character actors out in the world who would be willing to jump into your shoes. And one thing you keep forgetting friend, only the owners can fire me so your little tirade about going upstairs is also bullshit.”

“Steve if we weren’t friends I'd kick your ass all over this set,” John stated with some righteous anger.

Steve knew better than to pick a fight with John. “Just remember my words John and if you give Sara half the chance I think you will find a woman with a brilliant mind for writing scripts. That is one of the reasons I hired her!”

John pondered Steve’s words as the director called for the next scene. “I’ll think about it Steve,” he said as he turned to walk back to the set.

John worked well with the co-stars and the crew on the next scene to the utter amazement of everyone. There had been a few days on the set where there was no bickering about the script or where he was supposed to come in on cue. They worked late and finally wrapped up at 9:00 pm. The director told them they all did a fabulous job and they would begin shooting the next day after the writer’s meeting. They all looked at John, wonderning how they got through the day without a blow up.

Walking to his dressing room, John could not get the conversation with Steve out of his head. He knew deep down that one of the reasons he yelled and screamed was because he was still that scared little actor struggling to make it big. He felt that sometimes he needed to let them know that he was not just some other pretty face. Lois had left early and so John finished cleaning off the make up and then headed out the door for a late night meal.

Just as he rounded a corner he heard a clatter and then he saw Sara with her head against the door muttering “Damn it. This is just not my day." He saw the ruined script in her hands and the coffee still pooling on the floor at her feet.

John's first thought was to scold her for being incompentent and clumsy but then Steve’s words came to him. "Maybe I should give her a break," he thought as he walked silently to her, coughing to make his presence known. “Ms. Coine, I see you have a bit of a mess on your hands at this late hour.” He was not laughing and did not make any rude comments as he approached her.

He saw a look of hesitation on her face as she realized who was speaking to her.

John was impressed that the new girl was the only one left in the writer’s wing. And by looking at her he surmised that she had not left the building to get something to eat. “Let me help you clean this mess up Ms. Coine. I'm going out for dinner and would love to have you join me for a late dinner. I know of a nice restaurant on Fifth Street. Maybe you could share some of your script ideas with me.”

 

[SweetAsSuga]

Looking up at John Lloyd, Sara wished that she could sink into the ground and disappear. In her hands the script pages were quickly turning brown as they soaked up the coffee.

“Ms. Coine, I see you have a bit of a mess on your hands at this late hour. Let me help you clean this mess up Ms. Coine. I'm going out for dinner and would love to have you join me for a late dinner. I know of a nice restaurant on Fifth Street. Maybe you could share some of your script ideas with me.”

She eyed him suspiciously. Why was he being so nice? Just a few hours ago he'd been ready to hand her ass to her, so why the sudden change?

"I've got it, thanks." She said, quickly gathering everything up and opening the door to the writer's room. Throwing everything into the trash can by her desk, Sara sat down in her chair and rebooted the computer. She would print out new copies and, hopefully, not spill anything on these ones.

Sara could feel John's presence behind her and glanced over her shoulder as the computer whirred to life. Was he waiting for her answer to his dinner invitation? Sara's brow furrowed as she studied him. What the hell was he still doing there? His presence did nothing to put her at ease and she wished he would just go away.

"Thanks for the invite," she said, hoping he'd get the hint, "but I've got a lot of work to do before tomorrow. So, if you don't mind..." Turning back to the computer she opened up the file she needed and started up the printer. As the pages flew out of the printer, Sara shot a look over her shoulder to see if he was still there.

 

[Rocket1010]

John felt the sting of her rebuff when she told him. "I've got it, thanks." He watched as she picked up the remaining damaged script, completely ignoring him, and then unlocking the office door. She hurried into the dark office turning on a few light and then throwing everything in the trash. She had a determined look on her face as she went about rebooting her computer and printer. He had to admit she appeared very different than the other writer’s Steve had hired in the past. Here it was after 10:00 pm and it was only her first day on the job and she was the only one left in the office. He could not recall any of the other writers’s staying so late after Steve left the office.

He stood silently by the door watching her work her magic with the computer. With her back to him, he stared at her sleek feminine body. His eyes drifted to her long dark hair hung over her shoulders and cascading down her back. He smiled at her thin waist and the nice soft curves of her ass. “Maybe I was too harsh on her,” he thought while his eyes continued to take in her lovely features.

He was about to say something when she turned abruptly and said in a brisk voice. “Thanks for the invite but I've got a lot of work to do before tomorrow. So, if you don't mind..." It was the classic brush off and the way she said it told him she was pissed at him for his behavior. He couldn’t blame her and then she turned back to her computer.

John stayed rooted and when she turned to see if he was still in the office, he smiled. “Ms. Coine we are the only ones left in the building and it is not safe for a young woman like you to be alone on the streets. I’ll wait for you to finish and then hail you a taxi to take you home.”

He saw the look of mistrust on her face as she turned from him and worked silently, finishing the printing and then gathering up her things. John could feel the coldness of her anger toward him as they waited for the elevator.

The silence was deafening in the elevator as they quickly descended the five floors to the lobby. The night guard, Gerry, was sitting at his desk reading the sports page. He smiled as they approached the elderly man. “Late night Mr. Lloyd?” His eyes were drawn to the young woman walking with him.

“Yes it was Gerry. By the way I want to introduce you to Ms. Coine. She is a new writer for Steve and I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of her.”

John glanced outside and saw heavy raindrops falling hard on the sidewalk. “Gerry I have to go back upstairs for my umbrella. If you would be so kind as to call Ms. Coine a taxi I would appreciate it.”

“Sure thing Mr. Lloyd.” Gerry picked up the phone and began speaking.

John thought about apologizing to her but then thought better of it. Maybe Steve was right about her being a great writer. But he sensed her anger so he simply said, “Well Ms. Coine I hope you get your work done tonight. I‘ll see you tomorrow at the writer’s meeting. I hope you have some good stuff for us to review.” With that he turned, not looking back as he went to the bank of elevators.

 

[SweetAsSuga]

As the taxi drove down the bustling city streets, Sara sat back against the seat, her head tilted to watch out the window as New York City whirled past in a kaleidoscopic of life and color. Her day had been, to put it simply, eventful and Sara didn't know what to think of that. John Lloyd in particular was giving her the most food for thought as the taxi driver wove his way through the traffic, shouting the occasional curse in his native language, which she guessed to be Pharsi.

Lloyd had proven to be an enigma to Sara. At first jumping down her throat for her lateness and her comments, which in her defense he had not been meant to hear. And then, asking that she have dinner with him and, after her refusal, not taking no for an answer when he insisted he walk her down and help her get a cab. The man was a complete mystery and Sara was starting to see why women flocked to him, drawn like moths to a flame. But she would not be taken in. Absolutely not. If there was one thing that Sara knew, it was never get involved with the people you work with, especially if they are the star of the show. During her years at NYU, Sara had been burned more than once when a star in the theater department had taken an interest. It was not a road she wanted to go down again, especially not when she had landed a job that could potentially lead to a satisfying career.

The rain had let up some by the time the taxi pulled up in front of Sara's fifth floor walk-up. Quickly paying the driver, she gathered up her bag and hurried inside.

Dropping her stuff just inside the door, Sara moved into her living room/bedroom and changed into a pair of pink flannel pajama pants and a grey t-shirt. She wrapped her hair up in a bun and filled her tea kettle with water before placing it on the stove to heat up. The clock above the stove read eleven o'clock. Next door she could hear her neighbors going at it, their sharp cries of pleasure echoing inside her apartment. How long had it been since she'd been laid? Too long. Though she'd never been much of a voyeur, Sara could feel herself getting worked up as their passionate cries continued, the headboard of their bed hitting against the adjoining wall. Casting a glance at the bag filled with script pages, Sara thought for a second. A tightening inside her stomach that traveled down between her legs made her decision for her.

Sitting back on her bed, she slowly stripped off her pajama pants, leaving her in only her t-shirt and blue lace panties. Sara opened the drawer of her bedside table and pulled out the eight inch, lime green vibrator that sat inside. Turning it on low, she slid her hand down inside her panties and placed the vibe against her clit, moaning softly at the sensation. Next door, her neighbors were nearing their climax and she could hear the impassioned cries of the woman to "fuck my pussy harder!" Her own pussy quickly growing moist, Sara turned the vibrator onto a higher speed and eased it gently inside herself.

"Fuck," she groaned as the vibrations traveled through her body. Sliding the vibrator in and out slowly, her eyes closed as she listened to the couple. She lost herself completely in the sensations, starting to buck against the vibrator as it fucked in and out of her pussy, the movements getting faster, rougher as she drew close to her own orgasm.

"Fuck yes." She moaned, one hand moving up underneath her shirt to play with her breasts. Pinching her left nipple between her thumb and forefinger, she rolled the hardened pebble, tugging at it lustily as she continued to fuck herself with the vibe. Her hips rose to meet each thrust of the vibrator, her lips parting as she panted for breath, her pulse and heartbeat racing as the orgasm built inside her.

On the stove, the teapot began to whistle, steam billowing out of the spout.




Walking into the writer's room the next day, Janice greeted Sara with a smile and a venti cafe mocha from Starbucks.

"You ready for the meeting today?" She asked as Sara took the coffee with an appreciative smile.

"I think so." She said, pulling the pages that she had completely ignored the night before from her bag. "I just hope they don't suck, because I really don't want to get reamed out by John Lloyd today. I am definitely not in the mood for a repeat of yesterday."

"Don't worry," Janice said as she turned back to her own computer, "I think we'll do just fine. Remember, writer's meeting is in fifteen minutes, so if you have any changes you wanna make do 'em quick."



Sitting in the writer's room fifteen minutes later, Sara nervously toyed with the pages of the script. Her eyes flashed to the door as it opened and John Lloyd walked in.

"Here we go." Janice whispered to her as Steve called the meeting to order.

 

[Rocket1010]

John retrieved his umbrella from his office and as he rode the elevator down to the lobby, he wondered if Sara had changed her mind about dinner. He was sort of hopeful but when he arrived and saw George alone near the front entrance he knew she was gone. He couldn't blame her though since he really gave her a hard time on her first day. "I take it Ms. Coines got a taxi OK George?"

"Yes Mr. Lloyd. She seems like a pretty young thing. Didn't say much but I got the feeling she is not very happy with you."

"Well George," he said with a laugh. "You know how I can be sometimes and today I berated her on her first day at work."

The old man rubbed his chin. "You had better try and be nice to her Mr. Lloyd. From what little I saw of her, she seems pretty independent. Hopefully you will not run her off like you did the other writers last month."

John smiled at the old man. While it was true that he gave the writers a hard time, he felt they should at least stick up for their writing and not run away like scared rabbits. He also knew that rumors flew in this business whether they were right or wrong but he knew George was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. "I'll think about your advice George. But she is missing out on a good meal tonight."

John bid the old man goodnight and then walked out into the rain. It seemed to him the rain was coming down a lot harder than when he and Sara first came into the lobby. Some people were scrambling under awnings to keep from getting wet and he chuckled as he walked under the protection of the umbrella. He watched as people scurried out of the rain. He loved walking in the rain and as he walked, his thoughts turned to the dark haired Sara and he wondered if she really had what it takes to be on the firing line day after day.

As he arrived at the restaurant he ducked under the long awning that spanned from the building to the street. "Oh well," he thought. "We'll know soon enough if Ms. Coines has what it takes to write for a very successful show."

He smiled as he walked in the front door and was met by Charles, the owner, who stood behind a very ornate podium. "Good evening Mr. Lloyd. I have your table ready for you."

"Thanks Charles." Following him through the crowded restaurant, John was always amazed at how people would stop and stare at him. Some nudging their partners and whispering, "That's John Lloyd isn't it?" Others who were not into the arts would simply look and then go back to their conversations.

Sometimes he could hear the replies but for the most part, the replies were whispers but he enjoyed the fact they were talking about him. When he was seated a pretty waitress came to the table wearing a big smile. "The usual Mr. Lloyd?"

He gave her his Dr. Robert Jones smile. The smile that he knew disarmed some women. "Yes Rebecca," he replied as his eyes were drawn to her ample breasts that seemed ready to fall out of her skimpy uniform. I'll have a scotch and water before dinner and then a glass of Merlot with dinner. When she returned he ordered his meal and then sat back looking at the late evening crowd. He thought briefly of Sara, the new writer, but then dismissed it. "She is probably at home eating leftovers. It's her loss not mine," he mused as he glanced around the room.

He noticed a few women at the piano bar and one in particular was staring at him. She had long dark hair that for a moment reminded him of Sara's long strands of dark hair. He dismissed the thought as he took in her tight fitting outfit that showed every womanly curve. It had been awhile since he had sex and this woman piqued his interest. As he ate his dinner, he watched as some men approached her only to be summarily dismissed. Her head turned every so often toward him, glancing over her shoulder as if to make sure he was still there. Finishing his dinner and then sipping another glass of Merlot, he wondered what it would be like to fuck this woman.

The woman smiled at him and then whispered something to her companion, a red head who was dressed to kill just like her companion. The dark haired woman stood and then walked toward him, her hips swaying, conveying to all the patrons that she had sex appeal and that she had something sensual on her mind. When she reached the table, she leaned on the table, a silver pendant hovering over her rather fake breasts. "Excuse me but aren't you John Lloyd the actor?"

"Yes I am and who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

"I'm Janelle Anderson and that is my friend Roxanne at the bar."

John looked in Roxanne's direction, smiling and then giving her a small wave. "It's nice to meet you Janelle. Are you a fan of the show?"

"Ohhh yes Mr. Lloyd. I watch it every week. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I just love how you know so much about medicine and I think you are one of the best actors on television."

John gave a small laugh and then smiled. He had heard this come-on line before but he never tired of hearing it from fan. Especially from a fan who was dressed for sex and she knew it. She was not after an autograph or she would have asked for one immediately. No! John knew the signs and she wanted more than just his name on paper. She wanted to tell all her friends at the office tomorrow that she went to bed with John Lloyd, the famous actor.

"Why don't you have a seat Janelle. We can have an after-dinner drink and get to know each other."

The woman sat next to him smiling broadly at everyone who looked at her. She was basking in the glow of being with a major star. Rebecca came and smiled at John Lloyd. She knew what was happening as she had seen this scene unfold many times. They ordered their drinks and then she began to ask him all the questions that his curious fans asked. How did he get into show business? Did he have a girlfriend? Who would he save on the next episode? On and on the same old boring questions went and he obliged her because he had an ulterior motive. He wanted to take her to bed and fuck her.

As they talked, she put her hand on his thigh and slowly ran her fingernails up and down his muscular leg. The time was ripe for him to make his move knowing she would not resist him. He grabbed her hand and pulled it up to the apex of his thighs so she could feel his manhood. "Janelle why don't we take this party somewhere more private?"

The way her hand squeezed the inside of his thigh said it all. He waved to Rebecca who brought the check and then as they were leaving he saw Janelle give her friend a thumbs up. "We can invite your friend if you want," he chuckled.

"Ohhh no Mr. Lloyd I don't want to share you with anyone."

The taxi ride to his Central Park apartment was a blur of kissing, touching, each of them wanting to do nothing more than rip their clothes off. The taxi driver got quite a show in his rear-view mirror as Janelle practically raped him in the back seat. When they got to the apartment, John paid the cabbie and then they tried to act normal walking into the elegant apartment building. Adam, the night manager, opened the door and gave John a sly smile, having seen him bring other women home.

The apartment was not really John's. He was lucky that a friend was living in Europe and wanted him to watch after the place for him. John readily agreed and secretly he hoped his friend would not come back to the states. Janelle was like a wide-eyes puppy as they walked to the elevator. Inside they again pawed at each other until the bell rang signaling they arrived at their floor.

Once they were in the apartment, Janelle attacked him. She pushed him against a wall pressing her body against his wanting to feel what it was like to fuck a star. They stripped off their clothes as they made their way to the bedroom and then John pushed her down on the bed, his head lowering to her sex, tasting the sweetness that he loved. She squirmed on the bed as he worked her over until she had an orgasm. When John picked up his head, she turned him over onto to his back and then sucked his cock until he was stiff and moaning loudly. Climbing on top him, she rode him fast and furious until they both found their release.

Afterwards John politely told her she could not stay the night. She looked disappointed as he called down to Adam to call her taxi. When she was gone John looked out over the park satisfied for the moment but not really satisfied. he enjoyed the women but there was nothing lasting and no real satisfaction and he was alone again. He looked at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see that it was 1:00 am. He stretched and fell into bed thinking that he had a long day tomorrow. As he fell asleep he wondered if he would ever find a woman who made him whole.

John walked into the building and went to his office before going to the writer's session. His usual coffee was waiting for him and reviewed his e-mails and fan mail. Looking at the clock he picked up his coffee and headed down to the writer's room where he knew he was not really welcomed. He saw Janice sitting next to Sara and he smiled at her. As he sat in a soft leather chair across from her, he looked at the thick script sitting in front of him. Flashes of Sara spilling coffee on the them filled his mind.

"I take it you arrived home safely Ms. Coines. You definitely missed out on a good meal."

Steve and Janice as well as the other writers looked at Sara and then at John. Steve did not want this turning into a rumor mill but John's wrods were already spurring thoughts in the minds of everyone in the room. He called the meeting to order. "Today we have a preliminary script prepared by Janice and Sara for a show that will air in about four weeks. We have to start ironing out the wrinkles before we go to final edit."

Steve glances around the room at the writers and John. "Janice and Sara have the script in front of you so if you would pick it up we can get started. Sara I understand you put the final touches on this last night. I want you to give us a quick overview of what you proposed. And for those of you who forgot, Sara suggested that the good doctor stays in a small mountain town and an illness takes over the town and our good doctor." He paused for a moment to look at John who was reading the synopsis. "Not hearing John tear into anything he continued. "Sara tells what you and Janice have in mind."

John stopped reading and then all eyes were on Sara.

 

[SweetAsSuga]

Flashes of her interactions with John Lloyd flashed through Sara's mind as the man in question took his seat at the table.

"I take it you arrived home safely Ms. Coines. You definitely missed out on a good meal."

His words, and the reactions of the other writers, sent a hot flush of color up Sara's neck and over her cheeks. She remembered her play time the night before and the way that his face had flashed into her mind just as she reached orgasm. The memory caused her cheeks to grow even more red.

"I did, thank you." She said, trying to regain her composure. "And thank you for your invitation last night, I'm sorry I couldn't accept it what with the work I needed to finish."

At that moment, Steve walked into the room and called them to attention. Sara's relief at having the attention drawn away from her was short lived as Steve asked her to walk them all through the script she and Janice had been working on.

"Well, it's just a rough draft right now," Sara said, flipping open the pages before her. "The basic concept is that Dr. Jones is in a mountain town that's known for its ski resorts and other winter activities. On his first night there he's in the restaurant of his resort and is waited on by Meg Carson. Meg is in her mid-twenties, she's lived in the town her whole life. She's college educated and her father actually owns the resort that Dr. Jones is staying in. The two of them have a bit of a flirtation going on that night, but she doesn't ever tell him that she's actually getting ready to take over running the business for her father. That night the first person gets sick with the mysterious illness - we're still working out the details on this since Janice and I weren't able to talk with the medical consultants yesterday."

Sara pauses as she shuffles through the script in front of her.

"Now, if you'll skip ahead to page thirty-two," she continued, "you'll see that Meg and Dr. Jones have gotten to spend a little more time together and are steadily building a relationship. Feeling that she's something special and different from his usual 'type', the good doctor is taking his time with this relationship. We've written it so that the sexual tension between the two has time to build and the viewers will be even more eager to see them fall into bed together. We want to build the tension between them until its absolutely impossible for them to keep from ripping each other's clothes off. Immediately following this, Meg will fall ill and now Jones is emotionally invested in the outcome of this disease."

Glancing around the table, Sara surveyed her fellow writers and John Lloyd. "Are there any questions so far?"

 

[Rocket1010]

John studied Sara closely, looking into those dark eyes of hers as she went through the first part of the script. He was curious as to what new ailment he was going to have to solve on this show but remained quiet for now. As he watched her read and explain the script to the others around the table, he couldn't help but take in her professional demeanor. She seemed like a totally different person than the one he ambushed yesterday. He couldn't help but think to himself, "Maybe Steve finally hired someone with brains."

His ears perked up when she asked everyone to turn to page thirty-two, explaining that Meg Carson and the good doctor were going to have a relationship. While she talked about Meg and the doctor building up a sexual tension that would leave them and the audience panting for them rip their clothes off, John envisioned the girl she was describing as Meg and that woman was Sara. He took more notice of Sara's soft curves as she told everyone of the actor's passion and then she would fall ill.

John's mind was already conjuring up images of them at first cuddling and then fondling, their passion growing more with each visit. Their wanting of each other would mount out of control, eventually leading them to no longer put off their inevitable union. Their desire for each other would ultimately make them unable to resist the temptation to take that final deliberate step. He was still thinking of how this would all come to pass when he realized Sara had stopped talking and he shook his head slightly to bring him back into the present.

There was a long silence in the room when Sara asked, "Are there any questions so far?"

Most of the writers in the room were still thinking about what Sara and Janice had come up with for a script. But they also knew that Steve and the cantankerous John Lloyd would have the most to say.

Steve cleared his throat. "Well ummm ..... well ummm .... let just say that you two have given it a lot of effort and it seems to be a great step in the right direction." He paused for a moment taking in the silence of the other writers and then continued. "One thing is for certain Sara. You seem to have a knack for getting to the plot right away."

It was obvious that he was referring to the sexual tension that would develop between Meg and the doctor. He looked at John and then turned his attention back to Sara and Janice. "What you are proposing is for a show that is possibly two to three episodes long. As you know the show is only on for an hour so it would be impossible to have them ..... as you say ..... want to rip their clothes off."

There was some snickering from some of the other writers but Steve waved his hand. "I think this has a good chance to keep the audience's attention and besides the good doctor needs to have some fun rather than saving the world every week."

All eyes turned to John who sat listening to the head writer critique the script. "What do you say John do we take this upstairs to see how they might like to have multiple episodes?"

"Ms. Coine I think Steve has some good points. You have to remember that this is a family show and so we can't have them tearing off their clothes as you suggest. I hope you remember that we have a wide fan base and some of them may not take to kindly to seeing the good doctor fucking his leading lady." He laughed as he added, " though I think it would be quite delightful to give our viewers an eye full ..... if you know what I mean."

His comment was followed by laughter from the other writers. He looked around the room and they immediately became quiet. "I agree with Steve that we should take this upstairs and pitch it to the owners. In fact we should take a trip to this resort to get the feel for the atmosphere."

He looked back to Sara and smiled. "So Ms. Coine did you have someone in mind that would love to fuck the doctor?"

 

[SweetAsSuga]

"Ms. Coine I think Steve has some good points. You have to remember that this is a family show and so we can't have them tearing off their clothes as you suggest. I hope you remember that we have a wide fan base and some of them may not take to kindly to seeing the good doctor fucking his leading lady. Though I think it would be quite delightful to give our viewers an eye full ..... if you know what I mean....So Ms. Coine did you have someone in mind that would love to fuck the doctor?"

Though his comments were innocent enough, Sara could feel her defenses coming up. There was something about John Lloyd that put her immediately on the defensive.

"Well, obviously, I'm not saying we turn the episodes into a full on porn video." She said, her tone a tad more biting than she had meant it to be. "But, because we're on at a later time, we have a bit more leeway in showing scenes of a more intimate nature. I'm not suggesting that we show full nudity, a woman in her underwear is common enough even on shows geared towards teenagers. But I do understand your hesitation. We can tame things down a bit if, during the filming, they seem to go too far."

Her gaze went back and forth between Lloyd and Steve until they came back to rest on John Lloyd.

"And as far as someone who would, what did you say, 'love to fuck the doctor?' I haven't put much thought into that. After all, that's the job of the casting department. I merely write the script. Perhaps you'd like to audition the actresses up for the part? You seem to have your hands in everything else on set, why not have one in your new leading lady?" She cocked her head slightly as she surveyed him.

The other writers in the room looked away uncomfortably, each one afraid of what John Lloyd would do next.

 

[Rocket1010]

John smiled as Sara told the group "Well, obviously, I'm not saying we turn the episodes into a full on porn video." He had thrown out the idea more to see her reaction and now she was defending her position. He looked around the room as she continued telling them since it was on later the network could get away with more risque programming.

The show had never revealed the sensuous side of the doctor. He was always battling diseases and if not saving the patient, fighting for injustices in the medical and legal field. He rather liked the fiery approach of the new writer and maybe it was time for the public to see another side of him.

His attention was drawn back to Sara when she stopped talking and he saw her looking around the room for either help or maybe confirmation that she was right. She looked at Steve who said nothing. He was prone to sit back and digest everything before he spoke. He always thought it best to let everyone have their say. But ever since Sara showed up yesterday, it seemed everyone was trying to steer clear of the obvious conflict between her and John Lloyd. Besides this was her idea and while some of them liked the idea they were willing to shut up and not pick sides.

When Steve did not speak and no one else spoke in favor or against the idea she turned her attention back to him.

"And as far as someone who would, what did you say, 'love to fuck the doctor?' I haven't put much thought into that. After all, that's the job of the casting department. I merely write the script. Perhaps you'd like to audition the actresses up for the part? You seem to have your hands in everything else on set, why not have one in your new leading lady?"

When she finished and cocked her head in a defiant way, John returned the look with a smug smile. "She may understand programming and viewers preferences but he knew she was young and probably did not have all that much sexual experience. He glanced around the table quickly and could tell that everyone was waiting for the scathing string of cuss words that usually came out of his mouth.

But instead of cuss words he gave her a very confident smile. "Ms. Coine you bring up some very good points and I have to applaud you for taking the initiative to take the show in a different direction." He waved his arm in a sweeping motion. "It seems up until now the writers for this hit show have been more concerned with the good doctor saving the world from disease. You bring something that the viewers and fans have not really seen in the doctor."

He took a moment to let any one speak but the room was silent. No one, not even Steve, was about to enter this fray.

He turned back to Sara and gave her his most disarming smile. "I understand that writers write from experience Ms. Coine. Experience gives them some perspective of what they are writing about and they can transform those experiences down onto paper. Since you want to turn the show into somewhat of a sensual escapade, I assume you have vast sexual experience to draw from for the good doctor and his leading lady. Would you care to share some of those with us?"

Steve interrupted John, seeing that they were treading on a subject that was still taboo in modern society. "Sara you don't have to answer that question. John you know that is out of line and we don't need to talk about Sara's sexual experiences here in this room."

"Oh come on Steve. If she has all these great ideas for the good doctor they must have come from somewhere," he said in a very bating and biting tone.

"And by the way Ms. Coine you are correct that the casting department will pick the lucky lady to have sex with the doctor. Maybe you should consider auditioning yourself."

Steve let out a long groan knowing this meeting was turning into a cat and mouse game between Sara and John. "Can we move on Sara with some of your ideas?"

 

[SweetAsSuga]

Fuming, Sara slammed the pages of the script down on her desk. Her face burned with rage at the way John Lloyd had spoke to her in the meeting. If he wasn't the star of the show she would have slugged him. How dare he speak to her in such a way. The innuendos left her flustered, though she tried not to show it, and down right embarrassed. Apparently the John Lloyd that had tried to make amends the night before was gone, and in his place was the arrogant actor that Sara had first met.

Sitting in her chair, she could not focus on anything other than her anger. The pages in front of her completely forgotten, Sara grabbed her bag and headed for the stairwell. Taking the stairs two at a time, she made her way to the rooftop. Leaning against the brick ledge, Sara looked out over the bustling city. Every bit of her wanted to walk up to John Lloyd and smack the smug grin off his face.

With shaking hands, Sara searched her bag for the pack of three-year-old cigarettes that she always carried. The age of the pack was testament to how often she actually smoked. The thought of smoking disgusted her, but, in extreme circumstances, it did help to clear her head and calm her nerves. Lighting up, Sara inhaled slowly, allowing the nicotine to work its magic.

"I'm not going to let him beat me." She said to the city below. "I'm not going to let John Lloyd get under my skin."

Sara threw the cigarette on the ground and stamped it out roughly, grinding it below the heel of her boot.

 

[Rocket1010]

Seeing the seething look on Sara's face from John's rude remarks, Steve called an end to the meeting. Sara and Janice had quickly picked up their scripts and exited the room. Steve turned his attention to John.

"John that was way out of line and I mean way out. There was no reason to bait her like that. Where she got the ideas is of no concern of yours. The only thing you should focus on is trying to act on what she writes. You had better get your head on straight. You and I both know that this charade you are putting on is a bunch of bull shit."

John looked at his long time friend. "Steve I was only playing with her head and you know it. If she can't give and take on some harmless bantering how is she going to make it in this business."

"You said that before and I'm telling you that you need to straighten up or else no one will want to write a script for you. You are not this holier than now person John. She can be one of your greatest allies if would only give her half the chance. Do you understand?"

He thought a moment and then looked at Steve. "Yea I understand. I will try to make amends but that may be pretty hard. I have this feeling she is really pissed at me right about now."

"Well my friend you will have to turn your charm on and get her into your corner." Steve looked at his watch. "We need to get upstairs and pitch the new programming to the bosses. If they buy this you and her will be working a lot closer together in the coming months."

*******************************************************

Stave and John walked out of the chairman's office with smiles on their face. As they waited for the elevator Steve looked at John's reflection in the polished elevator doors. "John you did an excellent job in their. You had them eating out of the palm of your hand. Now all you have to do is convince your head writer for the three episodes to go with you to the resort and gather ideas."

John smiled back at Steve in the elevator doors. "I didn't expect the boss to give in so easily to taking a trip."

"He was impressed with your description of the episodes and you know you owe all of it to Sara don't you?"

"Yea but I also didn't expect him to tell me to take the writer responsible for the ideas. And when I mentioned her name he acted like he knew her. Hell she has only been here two days and she seems to have impressed the chairman."

Steve laughed and thought to himself as the elevator doors opened. "There are some things you don't need to know John."

As they rode down, Steve looked at John and in all seriousness said, " You need to make amends with her or the two of you are going to have one hell of time on this trip."

***********************************************************

John walked into the writer's office and saw Sara's desk empty. He walked to Janice's desk and smiled. "Do you know where Sara is Janice? I need to talk to her immediately."

She looked at John with a sneer on her face and then replied. "She walked out of here in a huff and she may have had enough of your callous bullshit. I don't know when she will be back."

"I would appreciate it if when she returns, would you please ask her to come to the set. I have to talk to her about something important."

"It is against my better judgement but I will pass on your request," she said and then turned away from him as to dismiss him.

"Thanks Janice. That's all I ask." John turned an walked out of the office wondering if his message would be delivered.

 

[SweetAsSuga]

"You'll never guess who was just here looking for you." Janice said as Sara walked back into the office. Dropping her bag on the floor, she shot a curious glance at her co-worker.

"Who?" She asked as she unwrapped a piece of gum and popped it in her mouth.

"Mr. John Lloyd himself." Janice leaned towards her, a devilish grin on her face.

"Oh," she paused mid-chew, "what did Satan's spawn want?"

Janice chuckled. "Satan's spawn? I like that. He wants you to meet him on the set. Something important he said he needed to talk to you about."

"Great, probably going to harass me about my sex life again." Sara ran a hand through her long curls, giving her hair a tousled look. "Alright, well wish me luck. And pray that I don't kick him in the balls in sheer frustration."

She walked out of the office, Janice's laughter ringing behind her.


Making her way onto the set, Sara looked around and saw John Lloyd sitting in a director's chair, his name printed on the back, a make-up artist doing quick touch ups as he looked over his script.

"So, I hear you were looking for me." Sara said, stepping in front of him, her arms crossed defensively. All of a sudden her nicotine fix evaporated.

 

[Rocket1010]

John was busy reading his script while Lois tried to apply makeup on him. His mind was on the character and when he did he was almost lost in his fantasy world. The more he got into the role, the more he became the character if only for a few minutes or hours.

He saw a shadow move over his script and was surprised to see Sara standing in front of him with her arms folded in a very defensive posture. "So, I hear you were looking for me."

Her dark alluring eyes were staring at him and from her posture he was sure she was ready to pounce on him. There was anger in her facial expression and John was not sure how to begin. He laid his copy of the script on a nearby table and then sat looking at the dark haired beauty, noticing her long tresses dangling over her shoulders.

"Ms. Coine I'm glad to see you got my message. First off let me apologize for my unkindly behavior. I know you are pretty pissed at me and rightfully so. I was a bastard to you on your first two days here."

His eyes remained locked with hers and she stood in front of him listening to his apology but did not utter a sound. Hearing no reply, John continued. "As you know Steve and I went to the bosses upstairs after the meeting to pitch your idea. The chairman, who seems to have heard of your work, was all for the idea of a multiple episode involving the doctor staying at a resort and then trying to overcome the disaster. They also seemed to like the romantic idea of the doctor and one of the staff having an affair."

John could see Sara was waiting for the punch in the stomach about how good they thought it was but sorry no cigar this time around. He smiled and then broke the news to her.

"Ms. Coine the boys upstairs liked your idea so much that they want to send a team to a resort to gather ideas and then possibly shoot the scenes at the resort. I was surprised when they had already selected the resort. It was if they had already had an inkling of what Steve and I were going to tell them before we started talking about your ideas.

The resort is located about 90 miles from the city in the Hudson Valley. It is a Victorian castle built on spectacular cliffs and has 259 rooms. They think it would be a great setting for the disaster and they have already talked to the hotel about researching and possibly shooting some scenes.

John reached over to his script and pulled a picture from the back of the script. He handed it to Sara and said, " this is a picture they gave me of the hotel.

Her eyes opened as he continued. "They want to send me and the head writer for the episodes to the resort for a week starting next week. That head writer is you Sara. That is if you want to go,"

 

[SweetAsSuga]

Sara looked down at the photo John handed her as he explained how the show's executives wanted her to head up the script for the episodes taking place at the resort. It was all too much for her to wrap her head around. This was only her second day and already she was being placed in charge of a whole episode arch and was being sent to scout the location. What the hell! And add John's apology on top of all that, Sara felt as if she would faint.

"Are you fucking with me?" She asked, suddenly afraid that this was all one big joke. Her eyes snapped up to John Lloyd's, slightly anxious that he was pulling one over on her. "Because if you are it's not funny."

She waited for his answer, her head spinning, hoping and praying that this was all real.

 

[Rocket1010]

"Are you fucking with me? Because if you are it's not funny."

John could see a somewhat apprehensive look on Sara’s face as if to take this all in. “No Sara I’m not fucking with you. You can ask Steve about our meeting with the bosses and he will tell you the same thing.”

He waited a second as she took in his words. “I know Steve and you met in the dog park and he read some of your writing before he offered you the position. But somehow you also impressed Jacob Sebring the CEO. Hell he had a copy of your script on his desk when we met with him.”

The phone on his hip rang and John picked it up and looked at the number. “One sec Sara while I get this.”

John spoke in the phone but never let his eyes off Sara. She is a great looking woman he thought as he listened to the person on the other end. “Yea she is right here and I just told her about it and she is in disbelief,” he chuckled. “Ok Steve you will let Jake and Robin know?”

He clicked the off button and then looked at Sara. “That was Steve. Jake and Robin the photographers will be going along for a few days to take some promo shots.”

“Mr. Lloyd they are ready for you on the set,” announced one of the assistant directors.

“Tell them I’ll be right there but first I have to ask this question. “Ms. Coine how is it that the CEO knows about our young rising star of a writer and gets a great assignment right out of the blocks? Do you know him from NYU?”

 

[SweetAsSuga]

“Ms. Coine how is it that the CEO knows about our young rising star of a writer and gets a great assignment right out of the blocks? Do you know him from NYU?”

Jacob Sebring. Where did Sara know that name from? It was so familiar, right there on the tip of her tongue, but for the life of her she could not place it.

"I don't know." She muttered, shaking her head as she tried to think. "I mean, I know that I know that name." She met John's eye. "I honestly can't remember."

The assistant director called for John again.

"You should go." She said, "I guess I'll be seeing you when we leave for the hotel."


The days leading up to their leaving went by in a blur of activity. Sara worked long hours on the concept, holed up in the office with Janice and Steve and the rest of the team. She was the only one who would be going to the resort, however, and she wanted to make sure that they had a nearly perfect concept worked out before she had to work in the details of the resort. In that time, she barely laid eyes on John Lloyd, which was perfectly fine with her. Though she'd forgiven him for the comments he'd made, Sara wasn't ready to tell him that yet.

Finally, the day arrived and Sara got to the office early in the morning with her suitcase packed for the next couple days. During the past days she had been searching her brain for how she knew Jacob Sebring, and it had finally come to her. She just wasn't sure if she wanted to tell John Lloyd.

Speak of the devil, she thought as the actor walked into the building's lobby, his hair carefully tousled to give him that 'just woke up' appearance.

"Mr. Lloyd." She said, nodding in greeting as she sipped the Starbucks coffee she'd picked up on her way to the office.