Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Banner

I come out of my trailer a week later to find two young actresses talking while leaning up against another trailer's steps. They haven't seen me yet.

"I heard he isn't doing the sex stuff with her because he finds her repulsive."

"Really?"

"He told her she makes him sick."

"Oh shit!"

"She cried for hours after. I mean can you imagine? The entire set now knows Banner Arden finds you gross?"

"That's got to sting."

"If it got out to the press that Banner finds her gross… it would be the end of her career. No one will want to do any scenes with her ever again."

"Career over, for sure."

"Maybe she'll do porn. She certainly has the tits for it."

"And in porn, it doesn't matter what your face looks like as long as you look good sucking a dick."

I step around the side of the trailer and the two girls finally see me and spring to attention giving me their biggest smiles.

"Oh hi, Banner. How's it going?"

The fact that these two loose-lipped trolls are spreading false rumors on set pisses me off. They are everything I hate about this business. Fake in every way imaginable and ready to blow a star to get another line in the movie. Willing to do whatever it takes. Or whoever it takes.

"Better if they would clean the trash up off the set."

I walk past them leaving them to try to figure out what the hell I meant by that. But something they said did stick out to me. Did I really make her cry? I head from my trailer to the building where the hair and makeup people work in. I can only guess that is where the young starlet is hiding away but instead, I find her in a small dressing room in the back. With the stand-in.

"So I thought we could practice - to make both of us more comfortable being with one another."

"I…um… I'm not really sure. My agent didn't say anything about practicing the scenes with…"

"Come on, baby." The asshole interrupts her which pisses me off. "We have to get used to one another, really feel the scenes, you know."

Uh, excuse fucking me? He is the stand-in… for the sex scenes. Any scenes he is talking about practicing would be sexual in nature and that is not alright.

"No. I don't think…I'm not sure how the director will want to shoot the scenes and…"

"Come on, honey." Silence hangs in the air for a couple of seconds before the asshole opens his mouth again. "Is this why Banner wouldn't do the scenes with you? Because you're kind of…stiff? You don't want a reputation for being hard to work with, do you? For people to find out you're a complaining bitch who won"t do scenes or run lines with your co-stars?"

My temper hits the roof. I have a bad one anyway and this mother fucker is hitting all the buttons. I come around the corner of the door and surprise both of them. The fucker is leaning over the small actress like he is trying to impose his will on her by simply standing too close. He doesn't even back up when I come in, which pisses me off even further.

"Wisteria, you ready to run those lines for tomorrow's scene?"

v "Yes! God yes! I… um, mean… I'll…?" She answers me way too quickly for her to be wanting this asshole hanging over her, breathing down her neck.

"We can go to my trailer, so we won't be disturbed, if that's okay with you?"

"Yes! Okay. Let's go to the trailer." She has no idea what I'm talking about or where I'm leading her but she doesn't care as long as this guy backs the fuck off her. She slides out from under him and puts space between them, not really coming all the way over to me but not standing any nearer him either.

"Um, okay. So, Sandy, I will…um…"

"Oh, I see." Interrupting her once a-fucking-gain. "You only do big names."

"What?"

I have the fucker by the collar of the shirt shaking him before he can take his next breath. "Excuse me! Listen you little shit… if anyone is nothing but a star fucker, it's you, you stupid little shit! Trying to get the lead actress to fuck you by pressuring and threatening her… you can go… we won't be needing your services here any longer."

"You can't fire me! You aren't the…"

I tighten my hold on his fucking clothing, so I am all but strangling him with his own shirt.

"Producer?" I guess what he is going to say. "Not yet, but push me and I will be. That's neither here nor there to you though because my friend, I plan to have you blacklisted for sexual misconduct on set."

A soft hand lands on my arm and when I look over, I find big chocolate brown eyes staring up at me soulfully. "Banner, he's turning… he's turning blue. Maybe you should… um, let him go."

I loosen my hold on the bastard and push him away from me. He staggers a little before turning and running for the door. I take her hand and lead her out of the room, neither one of us saying a word.

I don't let go of her hand until we are safely in my trailer. She stands around looking at everything without sitting down or really moving. I shift my eyes at the couch in silent invitation. She notices and promptly sits but the rigidness of her body doesn't ease any. I guess if I made her cry the way the two bitches outside said I did I should expect I'll have some ground to make up, so she doesn't think I am the flaming asshole I made myself out to be the first time we met.

Lucky for her I'm very good at making up ground with my long legs and I don't mind putting in the work it takes to change her mind about me. I don"t mind at all.