10. February 14th

FEbrUARY 14TH

Waters

Nicely played,Kubrick.

Big Bird wanted to show her he was in control, and Waters would take the sure bet that the positioning of the suits, starting with Big Bird at the head of the table, then going back and forth from his right to his left and down the table would signify the amount of money each man put into the pot. Clearly, this was a boys' club since Kubrick was the only woman at the table, let alone in the room.

There was no vacant chair for him, so Waters put his own power play into motion. Kubrick didn't need him standing behind her like a muscleman to protect her, so instead he leaned on the wall next to the door, arms crossed over his chest, one ankle crossed over the other in fake nonchalance. And if he purposely flexed and locked his arms in place, showcasing his muscles in his tight gray T-shirt… oops.

Knock ‘em out, baby. You got this.

"Why is he here?" Big Bird growled.

"I'm sorry, which ‘he' are you referring to? I'm the only ‘she' in the room, so it's rather vague."

Kubrick one, Big Bird zero.

"You know who I'm talking about, Serrano."

"His name is Waters. You can stop talking about him as if he's a thing rather than a person."

"He's unnecessary at this meeting."

"I want him here, so that makes him necessary. Waters is the consultant on the film; therefore, any discussion of items related to SEAL factors is pertinent to him."

Big Bird stared her down for at least a minute. When it was clear she was only going to stare back, he spoke. "Gentlemen, page twenty, please, line two hundred and thirty-five."

Return shot across the bow. Big Bird ties up the score.

He only addressed the men in the room. He also noticed that a paper copy of the budget had not been provided to Kubrick. She seemed unperturbed by it, pulling a binder out of her backpack.

"My page twenty of the budget stops at line two hundred and twenty-four, Stapleton," Kubrick said loud and clear over the turning pages.

"It appears you haven't downloaded the recent changes, Serrano," he replied dismissively.

She pulled her laptop out of the backpack, and after a few clicks in her email, she responded, "I can't download what I'm not given."

"That's not my problem. It was sent to my administrative assistant and ordered to be sent out. I don't have the time to double-check her work."

Big Bird takes the lead.

"Don't you dare blame this on Felicity. I'm willing to bet your residuals she wasn't given my name to send it to. Shall we check with her?" Kubrick gestured to the door, and Waters, without missing his cue, began to reach for the door handle.

"We don't have time for your childish temper tantrums, Serrano. Banks, give her your copy."

The seat-jumper tentatively pushed his packet down the table to Kubrick as if afraid she'd bite him. To her credit, she flashed him a smile, but Waters noticed that while her lips turned up, it was all teeth. And it was not a pleasant smile. He willed his cock to stand down.

Swing for the seats, woman.

She reviewed the line, then he watched her flick back a page and scan the list. Her eyes narrowed further and further with each line she reviewed. He knew the exact moment she went from irritated to furious.

Bottom of the ninth. Here we go.

She closed the packet and shoved it several inches in front of her. "Who authorized the removal of Tribe as the consultant and added the U.S. Army in its place?"

"I did," Big Bird replied smoothly.

"Aside from the fact that the contracts were already agreed upon by a majority vote Friday, in what universe would you think it was appropriate to have the Army consult on the procedures of Navy SEALs?"

Waters noticed that the gentleman one down from Stapleton's left was trying to hide a smile.

Okay, so she's not completely unsupported. Good to know.

"Tribe costs too much. The Army can give us military consultation at a much cheaper rate and keep us under budget."

"So, you'll sacrifice accuracy for dollars?"

The suit at the far right of the table dared to speak up. "We discussed it, Ms. Serrano, and a majority of us agreed that the average person won't know the difference. It will appear accurate enough. It's a necessary sacrifice to ensure we have room in the budget."

"You discussed it?" She looked around the room. "I believe that's a violation of contract, gentlemen." She flipped to a page with a yellow flag.

Uh-oh. Mistake. Nuclear bomb in three… two… one.

"I direct your attention to page forty-two, section nine of the contract: ‘All discussions regarding budgeting and film direction will be held with the director, Kai Serrano, in attendance.'"

She flipped a few pages further to an orange flag. "Page fifty. Section four: ‘Once a budget line has been voted into acceptance, no changes may be made without a unanimous vote of all parties, including the director. Item B under that section states that if a previous consultant has been approved and signed a contract prior to that unanimous vote, then removed without physical evidence of negligence, the consultant will be paid the agreed-upon fee plus a ten percent bonus for inconvenience.'"

She flipped a few more pages to a red flag. "Page fifty-nine. Section one: ‘In the event that this contract is violated, the director will be free to remove herself from the project and collect her full fee, as well as retain her residuals from future film revenues.'"

Oh, baby, three-two and two outs. Get ready for the fallout, gentlemen.

She closed the binder, then primly folded her hands on top of it, leaning on her forearms. "So. What will it be? Will you accept your new, unapproved budget that violates the contract—thereby effectively firing both Tribe and myself, which, I'm no mathematician, but I'd say that costs you a fuck-ton more money than you're already agreeing to spend with the previous budget—or will you stop allowing this dickhead to bully you into his misogynist antics and let me make the best goddamn movie this studio has ever produced?"

Score is tied. So hot. Mine. Mine. Mine.

It took every ounce of Waters' control not to grab her, drag her out of the room, and then find the nearest supply closet or abandoned office to fuck her silly.

There was a cough in the ensuing silence, then Big Bird attempted to double down on his stupidity. "Kai," he began patronizingly, "I don't think you're capable of interpreting that contract with any sort of—"

"Enough, Stapleton."

Waters" head moved to the voice that had spoken up to see the smiler stand up behind his place at the table and button his suit coat. There was no smile on his face now. "I warned you this was a dick move, one that I did not support, and I'm guessing that several cowards at this table also do not support but are too chickenshit to say so and that she'd nail you on it. I've been proven correct, which only solidifies my support of Ms. Serrano." He closed the budget packet. "If she is removed from the project, whether by you or herself, my money is out of the project and this studio. And I believe you can find that this is a legal move based on page ten, section one."

And there's the walk-off from a pinch hitter. Game to Kubrick.

With that, the suit put his sunglasses on, turned, and left the table, not bothering to push in his chair. When he reached the door, he gave Kubrick a nod, which she returned, and without looking back, he threw the budget packet in the trash as he exited out the door Waters had opened for him.

Her gaze had turned back to the gentlemen at the table. "I would also remind you that none of my pictures have ever come in over budget. Not even close. I find it extremely offensive that you would suggest that this picture would be any different, no matter what you may have heard from a third party." Her glare at Stapleton did not go unnoticed. "My methods and style of running a production have not changed."

There was no response from anyone. In fact, the only one looking at her was Big Bird, and he was beyond pissed. Now, she'd have to look over her shoulder for him, and Waters would have to be on extreme alert.

"Well, I guess that's it." She smacked her hands on the table surface and stood. She began packing her bag back up. "I'll be leaving tomorrow for the set location. I believe all further communication can be handled electronically, don't you, gentlemen?" She flashed a deceptively cheerful smile at them. A smile that she even included the head of the table in. "Have a nice day."

She movedwith purpose back to her trailer, her ponytail bouncing violently with each step. She was pissed. He followed behind, recognizing she was not in the mood to talk, watching everything around her. She opened her door at her trailer, walked inside, dumped her backpack in the middle of the floor, and went straight to the cupboard.

Waters picked up her backpack and set it on the booth seat at her table, his eyes never leaving her. The smile was gone. She had pulled a bottle of Santo tequila and a tumbler down from the shelf, poured herself a liberal shot, and slammed it. She leaned on her locked arms on the counter edge.

"Exhale, Kubrick."

Her body actually shuddered as she let all the air out of her lungs. Shaking her head, she poured another shot. "I'm taking a shower."

Throwing her ball cap on the counter and taking the tumbler with her, she pulled the hair tie out of her ponytail and headed back to the bedroom portion of the trailer. He waited until he heard the water start, then he exited the trailer and sat on the front step to make his call. There was no way he could stay inside knowing where she was, what she was doing.

Nemo answered on the first ring in an old lady falsetto. "Lonely Hearts Club, how may I assist you today?" Waters could hear the cheeky grin on the other end of the phone.

"Welcome home. Any problems?"

"Nah. Didn't even need to fire a round. Bo-ring."

Good. At least the defection went smoothly.

"I do have to admit, though," Nemo drawled, "the in-flight entertainment was highly amusing. I especially liked her camera spotting. Smokin' hot, that."

Fuck. Here we go.

"Yes, well, it doesn't take much to amuse a toddler, does it?"

"Awwww. Still in the consultant zone, huh? When do I get to meet her?"

Waters shook his head in frustration. "Never, fucker. Stay away."

The sound of gum cracking over the line caused Waters to roll his eyes. Nemo was such a kid. "Ah, that's okay. I'll just wait until you get shot down."

"She'd put you down within thirty seconds, easy."

"Hey, I don't mind topping from the bottom."

"Shut the fuck up. Where's your brother?"

The gum cracked again. "I'm coverin' while he catches some zees for an hour or two. God's got him trying to locate Ka-Bar and told him he's not allowed to come out of the tech cave without results. I'm paraphrasing, of course. His actual words were not appropriate for a toddler, such as myself."

"Whatever. Any luck?"

"Crickets."

Waters was silent for a moment. "Isn't that impossible?"

"For the almighty Midas touch? Yep. God's about to blow his wad. He actually ran out of suckers and sent Cherry to Costco. I think Midas has slept as little as you. He's so pissed off he can't find the man." The clacking of keys could be heard briefly in the background. "Speaking of which, Steel has the watch tonight. He'll be there shortly. He said he had an errand to run first."

A sigh of relief came from Waters, and he ran a hand over his head and clutched the back of his neck. "Yeah. I've about hit my limit. Everyone's going to have to be vigilant on this right now."

"I read your report. That dickwad giving her trouble?"

Waters barked a short laugh. "She didn't just poke the bear today, she flayed him alive. Then she filleted a room of eight suits. I don't think any of those idiots even knew what hit ‘em. But Big Bird is going to be a problem. I want someone on him, too."

"You think this guy is our objective?"

"Normally, I would say no. But I haven't gotten a legitimate sniff of anything else weird, so what else could it be?" He looked out over the studio grounds he could see. "This doesn't make sense, Nemo. We're missing something major. And the fact that there isn't even a whisper of Ka-Bar for Midas to find? That's screaming at me."

"Well, Steel will be out there soon, and I can go find the big-beaked one and follow him a little bit tonight. We shouldn't need to stretch too thin on the schedule. TB, Demon, and I are all back in the office working on prep for tomorrow. God pulled us off everything else for the time being, so you concentrate on your girl, and we'll handle the rest."

"She's not my girl," Waters sighed.

There was silence on the other end of the phone. "Dude. You were salivating. And I'd be willing to bet my next paycheck you've spent the last four days trying to rearrange your dick so that you don't have to go to the hospital."

Waters' cheek developed a tic.

There was another second of silence, and then Nemo got serious. "We got ya covered, Boss. I'll let you know what I learn about Big Bird."

Nemo clicked off. Waters put his phone away, then hung his head and clasped both hands behind his neck.

And I'm fucked.