“Don’t take it personally,” Angelica said, interrupting her thoughts. “Kendrick can be a real sourpuss when he gets his hopes up about something only to have it thrown back in his face.”
“What did he get his hopes up about?”
Angelica smiled. “You.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. Before the meeting started he was telling us how much he liked you.”
Nicole frowned. “He sure has a funny way of showing it.”
“Ignore him,” Angelica said, waving her arms in the air. “Seeing you here just caught him off guard. He’ll get over it eventually. Kendrick is just really particular with separating his personal and professional lives.”
Suddenly, a memory of what he’d said from last night popped into her mind. I have strict rules against mixing business with pleasure. Duh, of course! She didn’t know why she hadn’t remembered earlier.
“He was caught off guard because he doesn’t date people he works with, and as of today, him and I work together.”
“Bingo,” Angelica said as she placed her pointer finger in the air. “Kendrick is my friend and all, but the guy is a stickler for rules. And by you being here, my dear, it puts him in jeopardy of breaking one of his biggest.”
“This is crazy,” Nicole said, shaking her head. “We only went on one official date. The least he could do is be cordial to me. I mean, will we even cross paths that much? What’s his role here anyway?”
“He’s the creative director,” Angelica said. “And you’re right, you both won’t work too closely together, but your paths will definitely cross. Like I said before, we’re all hands on deck right now. Here you are.” Angelica pointed to a slightly ajar door. “Your station will be here, but I assume you’ll be on set when filming for touch-ups on hair and makeup. The producer or his assistant will probably be by soon to give you more details.”
“Thanks, Angelica,” Nicole said. “It was much easier finding this place with assistance.”
“You’re welcome. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
Once Nicole was in the room by herself, she sat in the high styling chair and stared at her reflection in the mirror. This is your day, she reminded herself. It’s the most high-profile job you’ve ever had, and the worst thing you can do is focus on a man.
She knew her warning was much needed, but even so, she couldn’t stop thinking about Kendrick. It was one thing when she was trying to remind herself not to think about a man when she was in the confines of her own solo space. It was another thing entirely when she’d have to see the object of her desire every day when he wasn’t interested in her anymore. This should be interesting.
“And cut. Folks, that’s a wrap for this commercial. Let’s set the stage for the next one. Filming will begin tomorrow morning.”
“Good job, Nick,” Kendrick said to the director after Nick had given instructions to the crew for tomorrow.
“Thanks, man. You too.”
As he had been doing for the past four days, the minute Kendrick was out of his chair, he headed to his right and out the side door. Typically, he would chat with Angelica, Monty and some of the other crew. However, since he had to see Nicole every time she came on set to touch up makeup for the actors and actresses, he’d gotten out of there.
Unfortunately, today was also the day that Angelica decided to intervene with his new routine.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” she said, following him. “Tonight a few members of the crew are going to the bowling alley down the street. You have to come.”
“I have plans tonight.”
Angelica placed a hand on her hip. “Plans with who?”
“Bryant,” he said, thinking quick on his feet. Anyone else who he normally hung out with lately was part of the crew that he assumed was going bowling.
“That’s funny,” Angelica said, waving her iPhone in front of Kendrick. “Because I texted Bryant a little while ago, and he said you didn’t have plans with him tonight.”
Kendrick shook his head. “I should have never introduced Bryant to you and Monty.”
“Kendrick, you are putting forth so much effort to avoid Nicole. Don’t you think that is a little silly? Monty and I really like her, and so does most of the crew.”
“I’m not avoiding her.”
Angelica quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Is that why you’ve slipped out this side door every day?”
He shrugged. “I have things to do.”
“Liar. It doesn’t matter anyway because you have to go. The production manager isn’t going and said you’d buy a round of drinks for everyone.”
“The assistant director isn’t going?”
“Nope! Neither are any of the producers, so you can stop thinking about the hierarchy of who else could cover a round of drinks because...it’s you...and you’re coming. So, man up! Most the crew is there and the rest of us are headed out soon.”
She’s right, man, he thought after Angelica went back inside. You’re acting ridiculous. He definitely wasn’t behaving like a thirty-five-year-old man, but more like a teenager who was avoiding a woman he had a crush on for fear that he wouldn’t be able to hide his attraction.
Mind made up, Kendrick went back inside to join the remaining crew headed to the bowling alley.
* * *
“Men against women,” someone yelled as they put on their bowling shoes.
“Game on,” another yelled. Nicole laughed at the smack talk going on around her. The television crew had blocked off two lanes at a local bowling alley, and she was honored when Angelica and Monty had invited her to join them.
She was almost finished with her first week with the crew. Although leading the makeup and hairstyles for the commercials and ensuring the actors and actresses were camera-ready had been going amazingly well, she’d been making a conscious effort to be more of an extrovert.
It wasn’t that Nicole didn’t like meeting new people, but oftentimes, she was a little awkward around new people. It was something she’d been working on for years and had only recently gotten better at.
“Ladies, our team captain has finally arrived,” Monty said to the group. Nicole glanced up after she finished tying her shoes. Kendrick. She’d seen him on and off set all week, but he’d barely made eye contact with her since they’d started working together.
As he dapped fists and exchanged hugs with the crew, Nicole took the time to observe him in a way she hadn’t been able to all week. He was wearing dark jeans and a beige long-sleeved button-up that would look simple on any other man, but not Kendrick. On Kendrick, the simple outfit looked a lot better than it should.
She didn’t think it was possible, but he looked even sexier than he had the first night they’d met. And apparently, a lot of the women in the crew felt the same way. She’d walked in on several conversations in the kitchenette of women discussing how great Kendrick looked in his rugged, yet classic, style. Or how easy he was to talk to about their man problems, and that his advice was extremely helpful. It seemed that everyone liked being around Kendrick, and he was friends with most of the crew. Except me... Her feelings would probably be more hurt if another reoccurring topic people discussed about Kendrick wasn’t the fact that he strict rules