Page 28 of Wrapped in You

"Maybe you tapped into something today," Cindy offered. "Maybe you forced him to look at himself in a different way. Somebody had to."

"Here's what's going to happen," Sophie said, flattening her palms on the table. "I'm going to get a call in, like, five minutes, telling me that they're going to hire another catering company for the film. Derek Brownlee will continue to terrorize everyone on set. Life will go on as usual. And Derek Brownlee will never think about me—or his trauma—ever again."

Cindy rolled her eyes. On the stovetop, the soup bubbled and spat.

"What?" Sophie demanded.

"I just don't believe you," Cindy said. She got up to stir the soup and slice pieces of bread. Out the window was another snowfall, soft white ticking across the windowpane. "What if you got to know him better?"

Sophie guffawed. "Derek doesn't want that. He fired his assistant last night. They were actually close, or they used to be."

Sophie's cell phone buzzed in her pocket.

"I don't want to answer it," Sophie breathed. "I don't even want to see who's calling!"

Cindy hurried over to touch her shoulder. "I'm right here. Whatever it is, we'll get through it."

Sophie inhaled sharply and pulled out her phone.

It read: CARA.

"It's her," Sophie explained. "His assistant."

"Answer it!" Cindy ordered.

Sophie did. With the phone pressed to her ear, she said, "Hello? Cara?"

Cara's voice was brighter than it had been this morning. "Sophie. Hey. I just got off the phone with our favorite Hollywood director. He wants me to come back."

Sophie's eyes widened. "He said that?"

Cara exhaled. "I'm sort of relieved. I'd already packed my bags to head back to California, but I don't have any jobs lined up out there. As you know, Derek's been a falling star for a few years. Since I've been his assistant throughout that time, I can't imagine I'm a hot commodity for future clients. That's a problem for another day." She paused. "Rumor has it you're the one to thank."

"I'm not," Sophie assured her. "But I'm really glad you're coming back."

"And I'm glad we're back to the original script," Cara said. "You were right, by the way. Georgia wrote it."

Sophie got up from her chair and walked to the window. In the neighbor's yard, a golden retriever scampered through the snow.

"I wasn't brave enough to say her name to his face," Cara said. "But you were."

Sophie pressed her hand against her chest. "I thought I was going to get fired."

Cara cackled. "I think we'd have an on-set mutiny if that happened. We're all in love with you, Soph. You're the heart and soul of the set. See you tomorrow? I owe you an after-work glass of wine."

"It's a deal," Sophie agreed.

When she turned back around, Cindy's grin was enormous. "It doesn't sound like you got fired."

Sophie giggled nervously. "Not yet, anyway."

Chapter Nine

Call time the following morning wasn't until nine thirty. Cast and crew returned bright-eyed and well-rested after a nearly full day off work, calling out "hellos" to one another in a way that suggested they still really liked each other despite everything. Sophie, Fiona, and Tommy set up the catering stand and passed out piping-hot cups of coffee and blueberry pancakes for anyone who wanted them. Sophie watched as syrup was drizzled decadently across the fluffy pancakes—a recipe she'd perfected last year with her father.

Sophie was surprised nobody mentioned yesterday's drama. It was as though everyone had decided to forgive and move on. Maybe that was the beauty of working on such an enormous team. You had to push forward. You couldn't let bad days get you down.

The sound guys swung by for pancakes en route to begin the first scene of the day. Mike ate a pancake with his hands and then begged for another one.