One Night With You by Candace Schuler Page A

shoulder a trifle awkwardly, unable to offer any other sort of comfort. "See you at the hotel then." His lips touched her cheek briefly. "Drive carefully, luv, you know what these L.A. freeways are."
    Desi nodded, unable to speak past the lump that was forming in her throat. She reached up to hug him fiercely for a second. "Thanks, Eldin. I will."
    The last thing she saw as she hurried out was Jake's disapproving glare. For her, she wondered, or Eldin... or both of them?

Chapter 6

     
    It had been an exciting, exhausting month for Desi, and for everyone else on the crew, too. The actors and the dozens of technicians and craftspeople needed for the movie had spent the first six weeks shooting as many scenes as possible in a big studio in Los Angeles. And now they were in San Francisco, doing location shots, and then it would be on to Sonoma where the bulk of the filming would take place. They would be using Dorothea's sprawling mansion and the surrounding vineyards, shooting in the very same house that Richard Heller had brought his bride to some sixty-odd years ago.
    They were all driven relentlessly by Jake, who was the director as well as the producer and male lead of Devil's Lady . Somehow it did not at all surprise Desi to find that out. She had already half known it. He wanted everything perfect, everything exactly right and that meant, to him, doing it himself. Or as much of it himself as he could.
    Jake had put up almost everything he owned to be able to make this picture—his reputation, his money, his talent—and there were people out there who were just waiting for the chance to pounce on his first mistake. To say "See, Jake Lancing's nothing but a pretty-boy actor. He should have stuck to acting."
    But he would prove them wrong. Desi knew that already. Devil's Lady was going to be a blockbuster box-office smash. It had everything—sizzling romance, adventure, glamour, suspense—and Jake Lancing. His portrayal of Richard Heller was a masterpiece, and it would probably win him another Oscar nomination. But it was his direction that would make this picture great. He had a quick, sure sense of just how it should be shot, and he was able to convey this sense to the people under his direction with uncanny accuracy and breathtaking results.
    The whole crew worked extra hard for him, willingly doing take after take to give him what he wanted. The actors, the technicians, the wardrobe and makeup people, the stuntmen; they gave him their all because that's what he gave back to them. They worked hard, long hours because they all seemed to know, instinctively, that it was going to be worth it. Jake made them believe that. He made them feel a part of something great, something magic.
    Even Audrey Ferris worked hard for him. The role of Dorothea Heller was going to raise her from the level of a soap-opera queen to that of major-motion-picture star. Audrey knew it and was taking no chances.
    Much as she hated to admit it, Desi knew that to be true, and she wholeheartedly admired and respected the way Audrey transformed herself into the young Dorothea Heller when Jake shouted "Action".
    She still didn't like Audrey personally. She tried to tell herself it was because Audrey was unfriendly toward her —and perhaps that was partially true. But the real reason, whether she could admit it or not, was jealousy. Jealousy because Jake spent so much time of his time with the beautiful actress; coaching her in her part, explaining her character's motivations, rehearsing her. And the love scenes... each time Jake took Audrey in his arms Desi had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
    Desi stood now, half leaning against the back of Dorothea's high canvas chair, holding a big black umbrella over both of them as she watched Audrey play out a scene with Michael Ballard as Tony. Jake seemed to hover around them as they enacted the scene, the lines of his lean body tense under the faded denim work shirt that he wore. Without