27. March 10th

MARCH 10TH

Waters

Okay,Big Bird, time we had this out.

Waters recognized the dick move of trying to intimidate him. Did this man not understand whom he was dealing with? Did he not realize the things Waters had seen and done as a SEAL that would make this baiting seem like a five-year-old having a tantrum rather than an actual threat? He couldn't possibly be this obtuse, could he?

"I suggest you back off, soldier boy," Big Bird warned.

Apparently, the answer is yes.

Waters said nothing. There was no point. Like Kubrick, he knew when to let the man spin his wheels to exhaustion point. No sense in getting his blood pressure up over the assclown.

When Waters didn't answer, he pushed again. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other." The producer went back to the paperwork in front of him. After several minutes, he looked up to find Waters still standing in the exact same place and position, just watching him.

"What is it?" Stapleton snapped. "You have something to say?"

"No."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Just trying to figure out what it is you have up your ass about Ms. Serrano."

"My issues with Kai Serrano are just that—mine."

"See, that's where we disagree. My job is to make her job easier. That includes dealing with asswipes like you. You are not making it easier; therefore, it has now become my business."

"Your job," Big Bird sneered, "is to consult on SEAL operations, which it appears you are not as familiar with as you should be. SEALs take orders, and you don't follow any you're given.

"I don't answer to you."

"Oh. You answer to a woman, then?"

"If she hires me to do a job, yes. I don't have a problem with following orders from a woman. Apparently, you do."

"Kai Serrano does not tell me what to do."

"Mmm. Appears that she did a few moments ago. I can't force you onto an airplane and out of the country… yet. But I aim to see that you do as she requires."

"I won't be going anywhere."

"Wrong answer, Mr. Stapleton. You will leave this room, and you will leave now." Now, it was Waters' turn to smile without it reaching his eyes. "After all, I'm not sure you really want to see Ms. Serrano and I rolling around in her sheets."

Rising from the desk, Big Bird stalked around it like a raging bull. He pointed a finger at Waters. "Keep your hands off of her, or you'll wish we'd never met. Get out of here. Now. Take all of your shit with you, get in the Jeep, and get out. You're fired."

"You can't fire me. Only my boss can, and she's my boss while I'm working here. Plus, I believe she established what happens if you terminate the contract early."

"Just try me."

"Mr. Stapleton, did you do your homework?"

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Do you know the company you're threatening?"

Stapleton's finger poked him in the chest. "I know exactly who I'm threatening. A sissy-ass military wannabe who"s working a piece of ass that isn't worth the time."

At that, Waters raised an eyebrow. "If it's not worth it, why are you so desperate to get rid of me?"

Growling, he gave Waters a shove. "Fuck off."

Waters stood from his leaning position against the door jamb, spread his legs shoulder-width apart, and let his arms fall to his sides. "Touch me again, and I'll show you how creative I can be at breaking bones. Then, every time it rains, the arthritis that will develop will make sure you never forget me." Waters opened the door and gestured for Big Bird to leave. "You're not welcome in the War Room again. Do not attempt to talk to her or be in the same room with her if I'm not in it. You will be nothing but respectful to her, no matter how much it galls you to do so. If not, and whether she gives me instructions to do so or not, I will escort you off the set with pleasure." The bastard stood in front of Waters, chest heaving, eyes narrowed to angry slits, hostility pouring off him in waves. "Now, Stapleton. Or you'll find out just how not ‘sissy-ass' nor ‘wannabe' I am."

He must have heard the seriousness in Waters' monotone. The dick actually made a show of letting all of the tension out of his shoulders by dropping them, then rotating his neck. He stepped out into the hallway but threw over his shoulder, "This isn't over, military man." Then he walked across the hall to his room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Waters left the War Room, making sure to lock it. The actors wouldn't come down to hang out tonight as they were unwilling to chance running into Ballbuster Stapleton, as they called him. And Waters didn't trust the fucknut not to come sneaking back over to rustle through all of Kubrick's things. Quietly and quickly, he made his way to the kitchen.

He stood just outside the light that spilled from the kitchen into the hallway. Kubrick was sitting at the table, angrily stabbing her spoon into her cereal bowl, not eating. Her passions were always so close to the surface. He liked that about her. Not only did he not have to work too hard at knowing how she was feeling, but the closer her feelings were to the surface, the more she was willing to talk. And he needed answers about the problem between these two to attempt to protect her from the strong desire to undermine and sabotage.

He leaned in the doorway. "You okay?"

Kubrick didn't look up. Didn't answer. Just kept stabbing her cereal.

"You know, I don't think cereal works quite the same as a voodoo doll," he added.

She looked up at him, and he felt one corner of his mouth quirk up.

Stepping up to the table, he took the cereal bowl from her, dumped the contents, and rinsed the dish before placing it in the sink to be washed in the morning. He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently, his thumbs rotating at the base of her neck. "He's gone for the night."

Pushing back her chair with a huff, she stalked back to the War Room, only to have to wait for him to unlock it. Once inside, he relocked the door. She had pushed into the center of the room, then stopped, her shoulders rounding over, her hands covering her eyes. He came up behind her, turning her into his chest. With his arms around her shoulders, he rested his head on top of hers, brushing his chin up and down the crown of her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Shh. No need to apologize for that fuckwitch."

She gave a soft laugh at his copying of her.

"I've dealt with way worse," he admitted. His arms slid down to hold her elbows, thumbs brushing over the skin as if soothing a frightened animal. "Kubrick, what is the deal with him? Why is he gunning so hard for you?"

She sighed and dropped her head. She turned in his arms, laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. "I wish I knew, but it always comes back to money with him. From day one, it is all he has ever harped about with me. I don't get it since I still have a record of coming in under budget and producing good films. It's part of why I work the actors the way I do right now."

He nodded. "The layering. I get it now. Working multiple angles creates efficiency as long as you're not doing too many things at one time."

"Right. It's something I learned in college. So I just kept doing it everywhere else as well. As a woman director, I needed every advantage to sell myself. I was studying business, not film, but I became intrigued with movies. I made some really low-budget shorts as samples of what I could do. I mean really low budget. Several with no budget at all. My first full-length film, I basically sold my soul to get in the door." She looked up at him. "I promise. Just my soul."

He smiled at her understanding of what his concern would be. "Thank you for that."

"Anyway, when I was offered this job, I considered turning it down. Big Bird's reputation is legendary. But I desperately wanted this chance, so I figured I could manage to make it work. But he's been relentless. Every penny must be accounted for. He always seems to find shit to question me on."

"Is that why the obsession with the invoices?"

"Yep."

"Hmmm. I know he's the money guy, but is that normal? Seems weird to me."

"There are always bean counters raising questions, but not like him. I can only assume that the reason he's so rich is he's a scrooge when it comes to expenditures, wringing every single penny out of a production."

A new angle for Midas to dig into?

He reached up to smooth her hair back. "You know," he dropped his voice lower, "I think that tomorrow's another day, and someone promised a certain Neanderthal a roll in the sheets." Tilting her head to his liking, his lips found hers, a hand curving around her jaw to hold her in place, the other dropping to her hip and banding around her back to pull her closer.

When he let her come up for air, her eyes were closed, a satisfied smile on her face. "I guess I did," she whispered back.

Turning, she slipped into the bedroom, Waters following close behind. He stopped her at the side of the bed and gently stripped her clothes from her. He pulled back the sheets and urged her under them. After she was settled, he took her clothes and folded them, neatly placing them on her dresser, then pulled off his own clothes, doing the same with his own. He crawled into the bed where he laid face-to-face with her, each of them with one arm beneath the other, hands smoothing over skin as lips met in soft, short kisses.

While she wouldn't have refused him going farther, he recognized her body starting to sink into a relaxed state. Curling her into his chest, he held her tight, kissing her temple. "Sleep, baby. I'm right here."

"But—"

"Shh. Tonight sucked, and you need your strength for tomorrow. I'm not going anywhere, and right now, holding you just feels right."

He felt her relax, signaling he made the right choice. Within a few short minutes, her even breathing filled the room. Only then did he feel like he could close his eyes, but it was some time before he actually slept.