Feast of Saints by Zoe Wildau

show up for a scheduled meeting with the director, was concerning.
    “Is that going to be enough time for you?” Jake asked.
    Feeling like she needed to start to build some trust between them, she said, “Yes, absolutely.” Then, she added hesitantly, “I mean, if you can free up time tomorrow or Saturday?”
    Jake cocked his head at her. “Are you going to smear that goo all over me again?”
    “Well, I think I can just get by with doing your face, instead of your whole head,” she said, apologetically optimistic. “And your chest, and maybe your back.”
    Jake reached for his wallet and pulled out a plain white business card, saying, “The number on the front will get you to Phillip. He knows my schedule better than I do, so call him first thing tomorrow.” Picking up a pen from the conference room table, he wrote another number on the back and handed it to her. “That,” he said, pointing to the back of the card, “is mine.”
    “When do I use that one?” she asked.
    “I want you to call me at the first inkling you might be falling behind. Do not let yourself get under water on this,” he said sternly.
    “I can do this,” she said, undaunted.
    Jake’s face softened. “If I didn’t think you could, we wouldn’t still be standing here. But now I’ve got to go. Ready?” Without asking, he picked up her case and opened the conference room door for her.
    Lilly felt exuberant as they walked to the stairs. “So you approve? Of the design, I mean?”
    Jake stopped in the hall and turned to face her. “Yes,” he said simply, fueling her enthusiasm, but just as swiftly bursting her bubble when he added, “You draw a pretty picture, Ms. Rose, but that’s a long way from creating something that looks good on film.”
    She knew he was right. She’d studied with plenty of wonderful artists who couldn’t make it in special effects. Special effects artists were a special breed. Sure, they had to be original, creative, visual artists and sculptors. They also needed a firm foundation in chemical processes, anatomy and dermatology. Her chemical engineering background and experience in Dow Chemical’s medical division, along with her natural penchant for preciseness, gave her a huge leg up in this field.
    “I don’t just look good on paper, Mr. Durant, I promise.”
    Jake arched his brow at her. “I’m counting on that,” he said, and started down the stairs.
    At the bottom, she would have taken the case from him, but he kept walking into the lounge where Phillip, Monty and Maya sat drinking cocktails. Shrugging off the case and leaning it against a wall, Jake pulled over another chair next to the empty one they’d been saving for him.
    “Please join us while you wait on your… friend.” Then, turning to Maya, Jake made simple introductions, identifying Lilly as an effects artist working on the film. She politely expressed her pleasure at meeting Maya, who obviously had been dominating a conversation centered on set locations.
    A waiter rushed over to get their drink order. Jake ordered a light beer for himself. “The lady,” he said, looking blandly at her, “will have an Old Raj gimlet.” Lilly smiled into her lap as she texted Greg to let him know she was ready.
    Maya, her interest pricked by the familiarity implied by Jake ordering for her without asking what she wanted, raised a brow and asked, “Lilly, Ms. Rose, where do you hail from?”
    Feeling on the spot, and not sure how much information was too much, Lilly kept it short, “Originally, I’m from Kansas. I moved here after college.”
    “What is it that you do?” Maya asked.
    With all eyes on her, she took a gulp of her gimlet that had arrived so swiftly it was still sloshing. “I make monsters,” she said.
    By the time Greg arrived, the topic had shifted back to filming locations with Maya extolling the virtues of European venues. Lilly, who’d never left the continental United States, had nothing to contribute and felt like a