Because Of You. Kristina O'Grady

tone and took a menacing step towards him. She was pleased he took a small step back. ‘I’m here to see Sheila. Is she inside?’ Beth tried peering around him into the trailer, but he moved and blocked her view.

      ‘No.’

      She arched an eyebrow at the vile man. ‘And do you know where I can find her?’

      ‘No.’

      Really? Were they going to play this game? She took a big, calming breath, it probably wasn’t smart to antagonise the man she would (hopefully) be working with. She plastered a bright smile on her face and tried again.

      ‘My name is Beth.’ She held out her hand to him but he didn’t make any move to shake it so she dropped it back to her side. ‘I would like to talk to Sheila this morning. Do you know when she will be back?’

      ‘No.’ He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms across his chest.

      ‘Harrumph.’

      ‘If that’s all you want, Cake Girl…?’ He stepped back into the trailer and shut the door in her face.

      She stared at the closed door. ‘Well I never.’ She stalked down the steps and walked back into the adjacent marquee. In the far corner, away from the actors and extras getting their last-minute breakfasts, was Sheila. She was sitting at a table by herself, reading through some papers, jotting down notes every now and then.

      Beth watched her for a moment until she realised she was being slightly creepy and was gaining strange looks from the extras sitting at the table to her right.

      ‘Hi, Sheila?’ she said when she approached.

      Sheila looked up from her notes at her, the look on her face clearly conveying that she had been lost in her work and now was having trouble coming back to the present.

      ‘Oh,’ Sheila said as she stood up, ‘Beth, isn’t it? How nice to see you again. Come join me. Would you like a coffee?’ She waved vaguely at the coffee carafe against the tent wall.

      ‘Oh no, I’ve had three cups already this morning. I was wondering if I could have a few moments of your time.’ Beth sank into the chair offered and tried to stifle her nerves.

      Sheila looked at Beth with a kind smile. Her blood-red painted lips and perfect makeup were a contrast to her dark hair pulled severely up off her face in a ponytail and her spotless white chef’s jacket.

      Beth toyed with the plastic tablecloth. ‘I was wondering if you needed help in the kitchen.’ She looked up from where her hands were bunching the tablecloth and tried to convoy her desire without coming across too pathetic. She took a deep breath and rushed ahead. It was now or never. ‘I’ve looked into becoming a chef but, honestly, the cost associated with that isn’t something I can afford right now and I thought that you may need help so then I thought that perhaps you might need help with all the people you need to feed and then I thought it could be a win-win for both of us.’ Beth snapped her jaw shut with an audible click. She was babbling. This was not exactly the way she envisioned asking for a job.

      Shelia smiled at her.

      Beth didn’t want her sympathy. She wanted a job. ‘I can cook for large numbers. At branding every year we cater for more than one hundred people.’

      ‘After you brought in a cake big enough to feed the entire crew and production team, I have no qualms about your ability to cater for large numbers of people. I know that’s not an easy feat, but that was only one cake and my understanding is that branding is only once a year? There is a huge difference in doing it one day and doing it for months at a time.’ Sheila leaned towards her. I would love to offer you a job, Beth, Lord knows I always need extra help.’

      ‘But?’ Beth knew there was a ‘but’ coming. She held her breath and waited.

      ‘You’re working for Miss Hansen. I can tell you now that looking after her is way more important than helping me in the trailer. You need to keep her happy and content. Besides, there’s not a lot of room in the trailer and Jerry’s not pleasant in close quarters, I can tell you,’ she said with a humourless chuckle.

      Beth felt her one hope slipping through her fingers. She really wanted this job. ‘You don’t need to pay me,’ she said hurriedly, ‘It’s not the money I’m after, although I won’t lie and say it wouldn’t be welcome. I want my own café or restaurant one day. Cooking is something that I love doing and I can’t imagine not cooking, you know what I mean? I just want to become better. Seeing the food you put out for all the crew is mind-blowing. I want to be able to do what you do. I really want to learn. I swear, I’ll keep out of Jerry’s way, at least as much as possible, and Helga won’t mind, I’m sure, I just need to make sure there’s dinner ready for her when she gets home. How hard would that be?’

      Sheila looked at her with such intensity that Beth had to fight with every bit of her being not to start wiggling in her chair under the scrutiny. ‘All right,’ Sheila finally said, ‘I’ll let you help me, but only if you can still keep up with your duties to Miss Hansen. Therefore, I only want you here for lunch prep and clean up, which usually runs from 9 a.m. to around 4. But, Beth, I’m warning you now, this is a tough job and the level of stress is unbelievable.’

      Beth’s heart was in her throat throughout this exchange, but she nodded at everything Sheila said and tried to smother the impulse to grin like an idiot. She clenched her hands together in her lap instead and continued nodding gravely.

      ‘Go talk to Miss Hansen and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.’ Shelia glanced up at the clock and gathered her papers together, then got up from the table and shook Beth’s hand.

      Beth sat still and watched Sheila walk back to her kitchen before she slowly got up and went back to her truck. It wasn’t until she’d shut the door and was sitting all alone inside the cab that she let out a whoop of celebration.