Lights, Camera, Kiss Me (Original): Chapter 11
"It's pointless to fight this."
Thanks to @LilianeGrouse for her wonderful editing suggestions. <3 And big hugs and thanks to everyone who reads, comments, votes and fans. You keep me working hard :D I know I take a while to update sometimes, but I'm always working on this story. I really believe you deserve the best chapter I can put up, and if it takes me a while to write it, I always hope the wait is worth it.
I hope you enjoy the chapter <333
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Ryan felt his head spin so fast he was worried it was going to fall off his shoulders. Westlaker was here? Wasn't he supposed to be headed to Hollywood to shoot his big movie?
His confusion was replaced with fury as Ryan took in Mac's shocked expression.
"Mac, are you okay?" Jazz asked.
"I'm fine. Just…surprised. What could he want with Blainesworth?"
"There's something else I have to tell you," Jazz told her.
"Do I need to sit down?"
"On the same day the headline came out about you and Ryan, there was a story about Danny and Angel. They broke up. I would have said something earlier, but I thought you had enough on your plate at the time."
"Right."
"Besides, I wasn't sure whether you would be interested or not…"
"That doesn't explain what Westlaker is doing here," Ryan growled.
For some reason he couldn't bear to hear whether Mac was interested or not. She'd told him months ago that she was over Westlaker. He sure as hell hoped it was true. He didn't want to think about his co-star still having feelings for her prick of an ex.
Jazz gave him a pointed look. "I have an idea, Ryan. Why don't you go find out?"
He knew Jazz was just trying to get rid of him so she could quiz Mac on her reaction to Westlaker's sudden appearance, but he didn't care. It was a damn good idea.
"I think I will," he told them.
He strode out of the dressing room before either of the two women could say anything else, and he walked through the hallways and up the stairs to the floor where the executive offices were situated.
There was a sudden loud rumble of laughter as a door was wrenched open and then Westlaker stood in the doorway of Blainesworth's office.
"It was great to see you again, Mick," Danny said.
"Come back as soon as you've talked to Mackenzie."
It was all Ryan could do not to grab the guy by the collar and tell him that if he put a foot anywhere near Mac, he could consider himself as good as dead. Westlaker pulled the door closed behind him.
"Hey, how's it going?" he said to Ryan, sticking out his hand. "Danny Westlaker."
They'd both attended the Logies and the various after parties for many years, but Ryan couldn't recall a time when they'd ever actually spoken to each other before now. He hadn't had a thing against Westlaker until he'd heard about what had happened with Mac. Now, he couldn't stand the guy. The dick in front of him hadn't just treated Mac badly, he'd broken her heart. And it wasn't just infuriating – it was completely baffling.
Mac was pretty much the perfect woman. She was sweet-natured, beautiful, caring, gentle, and a damn fine actress. The blonde who Westlaker had dumped her for had nothing on Mac. Nothing. It was Westlaker's loss, Ryan tried to tell himself, but it didn't stop him from having to curl his fingers into his palms so that he wouldn't beat Mac's ex-boyfriend to a bloody pulp.
Perhaps it was best he didn't ask Mac's ex why he was here. The potential for the conversation to end in violence was just too high. The other man might look as if he knew the inside of a gym well enough, but he was two inches shorter. Ryan could take him easily, should it ever come to that. The thought eased some of the tension in his neck, shoulders and chest just a little.
"I know who you are," Ryan told him, ignoring his outstretched hand. "Stay away from Mac."
He left Westlaker standing there and knocked on Blainesworth's door a couple of times, before he opened it and stuck his head in.
"Ryan, son, come in, come in."
Blainesworth waved him in. Ryan knew that he was supposed to make an appointment with Amanda, Blainesworth's assistant, for any visits which might take more than a few minutes, but this wouldn't take long.
Ryan sat down in the chair opposite the producer. "I hope you don't mind my dropping by."
"Not at all. What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering what Danny Westlaker is doing in this neck of the woods."
Blainesworth sat back in his chair and appraised him carefully. "And would your interest be personal or professional?"
Aware of the conversation their producer had just had with Mac, Ryan didn't really want to admit it was personal. He didn't want to give Blainesworth any reason to go after Mac, or believe they were involved. Now that he was here, Ryan still wanted to explain the article to the producer, but drawing any more attention to the subject seemed stupid, especially when Mac had told him she wasn't falling for him.
"Professional," he answered finally.
Blainesworth continued to study him. "You know, I had Mackenzie in here earlier today. She assured me that the two of you aren't seeing each other."
"She was telling the truth," Ryan confirmed.
"Good. I'm sure you already know I don't approve of involvement between cast members, and Mackenzie spiralled badly when her last relationship ended."
"Yes I do," Ryan acknowledged before he took a breath. "Which is why I don't understand what Westlaker is doing here. He was the one who pushed her into that spiral."
"I'm afraid those questions would be better directed at Danny himself. He has his reasons for being here and it's not my place to share them."
"Then, can you tell me he's not going to be working with us on Hart's Valley? Mac isn't the only person who'd have a problem with that. I think I speak for the whole cast when I say we'd all find that…unacceptable."
"I'm well aware of the way the cast of Hart's Valley has knit together and formed close bonds and I have no intention of offering Danny a permanent spot on the show. However, Hart's Valley isn't the only production I may or may not have up my sleeve right now."
"Okay," Ryan said.
So it sounded like Blainesworth had another show in the pipeline and he was looking to hire Westlaker for that. Ryan would have been infinitely happier if the other actor had left the country and was safely far away from Mac, but at least Blainesworth wasn't expecting them to work together.
"Danny and I were, however, discussing the idea of him doing a brief guest spot on Hart's Valley," Blainesworth said to him. "But only if it was something Mackenzie felt comfortable with."
"You're joking, right?"
The words were out before Ryan could pull them back.
"Just for one or two weeks," Blainesworth said. "She might decide she can put the past behind her. In fact it could be the best thing for her. Give her a chance to show her critics her mettle."
What a load of bullshit, Ryan thought. This was about nothing more than ratings and exploitation. How many of their viewers, and Junction Hospital viewers, wouldn't tune in to see if Mackenzie Lauren and Danny Westlaker still heated up the screen like they used to? The idea of them having any on-screen spark left at all made him feel like retching.
"You can't ask Mac to work with him again," Ryan told him.
"The decision is hers," Blainesworth told him. "And hers only. If she doesn't want to work with him all she has to do is say no."
* * *
"Are you really okay?"
Mac nodded. It must have been the fifteenth time that Jazz had asked her. At first Mac hadn't been sure whether she was okay or not, but now that the shock of hearing her ex-boyfriend's name had worn off, Mac could honestly say she wasn't as disturbed as she might have been some months ago.
Danny's presence didn't change the fact that she still had to kiss Ryan tomorrow, nor did it change the fact that her job was on the line. In other words, Danny was the least of her worries.
"Because this must have come as a shock."
"I guess it was, but I'm over it now."
Jazz looked at her in disbelief.
"I shouldn't give him a second thought until we know for sure why he's here, right?"
"So, you don't want to talk about this?"
"I really don't."
"Okay then. If we're done talking about Danny, can we talk about your meeting with Blainesworth?"
"I told you-"
"Or what's going on between you and Ryan."
"There's nothing going on between us," Mac said dismissively.
"Then why did Brad say this morning that Ryan was supposed to be keeping his distance from you?"
"What?"
A hesitant knock sounded on the door.
"Hang on," Jazz instructed, holding up her hand before she walked to the dressing room door and pulled it open.
"Hey, is Mac here?"
Mac knew who it was without seeing his face. There was a time when Danny's voice would have sent shivers down her spine and make her buckle at the knees. Thankfully, those reactions were completely absent now. It was hardly surprising, she supposed, considering how she felt about Ryan. Feeling completely caught up and overwhelmed by two men would be enough to send her off the deep end.
"Mac, it's for you."
Mac stepped around the door to see Danny standing there. His voice hadn't affected her the way it used to, but she had still expected to feel something when she saw him.
She took in his short sandy blond hair and his deep blue eyes, and all she felt was…sadness. She'd been so taken with this man that she'd almost thrown her career away over him. He'd told her they had something special, led her to believe he cared about her the way she cared about him. Then he'd taken his fill of her and dumped her for his next leading lady.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"Can't an old friend just drop in to say hi?"
He gave her a lopsided grin that might have sent her heart into overdrive not so long ago. Now it simply made Mac feel wary.
"We aren't friends. We were never friends."
"Mac, if you don't need me, I'm going to go and hunt down some sugar and caffeine," Jazz interrupted.
Mac nodded to her, letting her know she would be fine by herself.
"I'm sorry," he said to her.
She shrugged. She didn't care for his apology. It was so overdue now, and he was only here because he wanted something. She just wasn't sure what that was yet.
"I've moved on," she told him.
"To Ryan Moore?"
He took one look at the outraged expression on her face and put his hands up quickly. "There are rumours," he told her.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "There always are."
He had no right to ask her anything about her personal life.
"I bumped into him when I came out of Michael's office. Honestly, I thought he was going to knock my teeth out. Then he told me to stay away from you."
"I wish you'd taken his advice," she told him.
"Mac, can we, you know, try and move past what happened between us?"
"I haven't heard from you since I got dumped from Junction Hospital, Danny. Why are you here? What do you want?"
He sighed. "I don't know if you heard, but Angel and I broke up."
"I heard," she said unsympathetically.
"I know you probably don't care to hear this, but I was very much in love with her." He corrected himself. "Still am in love with her."
"You're right. I don't care to hear that."
"She left me for one of the extras on Junction Hospital," he offered her with a wry smile.
"My heart bleeds for you," she told him, though she was quietly amused.
She could only imagine the blow that would have been to his ego. Danny Westlaker had considered himself to be in a league above all of his co-stars when it came to acting, including herself and Angel. Being dumped for an extra would have been something he couldn't have expected.
"She cheated on me, and when I caught her she broke it off, kicked me out of the house we'd just bought together, and told me she didn't love me anymore."
"Do you expect me to feel sorry for you?" Mac asked him.
He sighed. "Can I come in? Please?"
Mac really didn't want him in her space, but he obviously needed to talk to her about something. Reluctantly she moved aside.
"Thank you," he said, walking past her and taking a seat in the sofa in the room. "You know, I never knew. I never knew how hard it must have been for you…to work with me, until I tried working with Angel after she dumped me."
"It wasn't easy, and in the end I couldn't," Mac said, turning around to face him.
"I'm sorry for the pain that I caused you."
He really was sorry, Mac observed. His eyes were full of genuine sympathy – his expression remorseful.
"I can't work with her," he told her. "I've tried, but I can't. My contract is up and I don't want to renew it."
"Well, I guess it's lucky you have your movie deal."
"It fell through."
She looked at him blankly. "I thought the contract was ironclad."
"I did too. But then Bryce Webster came back to them after reconsidering the role and decided he wanted it. Turns out those Hollywood lawyers can work magic when they want to. Bryce is in. I'm out."
Was she really feeling sorry for him now? Maybe. Just a little bit. It sounded as though he had suffered quite a lot lately. And he did seem genuinely sorry for what he'd put her through.
"I'm expecting it to be all over the news tomorrow," he told her.
"At least you're prepared for it," she said to him.
It was easier to deal with the headlines when they were expected. When they came out of left field it wasn't just the damage they left behind that one had to deal with, it was the shock too.
"As prepared as I can be. Anyway, I'm pained to admit it but I'm here to ask the enemy for my next job."
Mac smiled. The rivalry between Junction Hospital's production company, and Hart's Valley's production company was well known in the business. Now that Danny Westlaker was essentially back on the market again, Blainesworth would be itching to get his hands and cameras on him.
Did that mean she would have to work with him again? She might have felt a smidge sorry for the guy, and he might have apologised, but she didn't want to be his co-star again.
"You want to work on Hart's Valley?"
Danny shook his head. "Blainesworth has something else lined up." He paused for a moment. "He did mention something about a guest spot on Hart's Valley, though. Depending upon whether you agree or not, of course."
"A guest spot?"
"Just until they start shooting the pilot I signed on for."
Mac shook her head.
"Just think about it," he asked her. "Blainesworth said he wants an answer within forty-eight hours."
"Did he?" she asked coolly.
The producer had hauled her into his office this morning to grill her about her relationship with her current leading man, and now he wanted her to work with the previous leading man she'd "lost it" over? She wanted to barge into his office and call him something that would no doubt land her in a lot of trouble.
"He thought you might want a chance to undo the some of the negative press that stemmed from our break-up."
Mac didn't believe for a moment that was it. Executive producers only cared about one thing – ratings. He was probably sitting in his office right now, rubbing his hands together gleefully as he thought about outdoing Junction Hospital in the ratings. All at her expense. She knew people would be interested to see the two of them working together again.
"It would just be for two to three weeks tops, Mac. Will you think about it?"
Did she even have a choice? Sure, she was being asked first, but if she said no, would that put her in even more trouble with their producer? Would her job be at risk if she said she didn't want to? She didn't want to say yes, but was it worth it to get Blainesworth off her case? It had been a long day – emotionally draining, and she couldn't think this through properly right now.
"Give me the forty-eight hours," she told him tiredly.
* * *
Mac bit her bottom lip and tried to focus on the script in her hands. She'd counted on being at home when she did her last read through for this scene. However, her kiss with Ryan had been rescheduled at the last minute due to a location issue. Instead of them shooting first thing tomorrow morning, it had been moved forward so that it was the last scene they were shooting today.
Now, it was eleven o'clock at night and they were sitting in the Pint and Elephant Pub in South Yarra waiting to shoot. The director, Mitch Davis, would call them over at any moment and Mac didn't feel she was ready or prepared at all. She didn't have the scene down pat. She was on edge because she had no idea how she was going to react when Ryan kissed her. If the past kisses they'd shared were any kind of indication of what would happen, then she was in trouble.
As it was, she was too scared to look at him because every time she did she couldn't stop from staring at his mouth and remembering the way he'd kissed her while he was buried deep inside her. She felt her lower belly contract with desire at the memory now. God, what if she said Ryan's name instead of Stone's on set? You have to focus, Mackenzie. Focus!
"You should have said no straight away."
As if she didn't have enough to deal with, Ryan hadn't stopped hassling her about the fact that she'd agreed to think over Danny's guest spot. Mac hadn't had to tell Ryan what Danny had wanted because their producer had already filled him in. Then Ryan had filled everyone else in! It was impossible to keep secrets for very long when they were all friends. How much longer would it be until the whole cast knew how she felt about Ryan?
"I don't understand why you're thinking about this," he said when she remained silent.
"Maybe that's because your job hasn't been threatened in the past twenty-four hours, Ryan."
Mac immediately regretted the sharpness of her tone, but she was tired and grumpy, and after the day she'd had she didn't want to talk about Danny with Ryan. She knew Ryan cared about her – as a friend only, of course – but it really wasn't any of his business whether she agreed or not.
It didn't affect him. He had nothing to lose and nothing to gain either way. They weren't together. She wasn't his girlfriend, and he'd made it clear he wanted nothing more than casual sex, though that offer had pretty much been withdrawn when the article had come out.
"Blainesworth can't fire you for not working with Westlaker."
"I know that, but he can make my life difficult, and maybe I just want to get him off my back."
"Mac-"
"Listen, I appreciate your concern, but we're about to go on set and I don't want to talk about my ex-boyfriend now."
Ryan clamped his mouth shut. Mac clearly didn't want to hear anything he had to say on the matter, which was frustrating as hell, because he had plenty to say about it. He knew he didn't have any right to expect a say in the matter, but he wanted one anyway. Her reluctance to talk about this was only adding to his bad mood.
Ever since he'd talked to Blainesworth, he'd found his anger and frustration boiling away. He was furious – with this entire situation. The longer he thought about Blainesworth threatening Mac, the angrier he felt.
Where did their producer get off? He had no right to threaten Mac when her methods and her performances on set were always phenomenal. Their personal lives were none of Blainesworth's business. It shouldn't matter what Mac's relationship was with him, or what her feelings were, providing that she could still function at work properly and no harm came to the show.
To hear Mac say she was considering working with her ass-clown ex-boyfriend because she felt like her job was under attack made him feel…enraged. The scene they were shooting was in a small pub. He knew he should be doing a last minute read-through like Mac was, but what he really wanted to do was get behind the bar and start breaking things.
Perhaps, Ryan thought, there was an advantage to feeling the way he was right now. He was so mad that he wasn't worrying about the fact he had to kiss Mac in a few minutes. His focus was entirely on the completely messed up situation Mac was in. Not to say that he hadn't taken a second look when Mac had walked out of make-up and appreciated the jacket and short skirt she was wearing, but his anger was overriding everything else.
"Ryan. Mac. Let's go," the director shouted at them.
Well, it was until Mac shot him a nervous look, which suddenly made him feel nervous too. In fact, he thought he could feel butterflies in his stomach. Butterflies? Really? He was a man. He wasn't supposed to get butterflies. Then again, Mac had a way of making him feel things he'd never really felt before.
When her gaze slid to his mouth he felt lust pour through him. Her eyes darkened and she traced her lower lip before her gaze flicked back up and met his.
"We'll be fine," he said to her.
Hopefully she had no idea he was trying to reassure himself as much as he was trying to reassure her. Judging by the uncertainty in her eyes, however, she might have guessed.
"Ready?" the director asked them.
Mac wanted to shake her head. She wanted to bolt for the exit and not look back, but she couldn't. There was one advantage to the shoot being brought forward at least. Everyone who wasn't needed for the take had gone home. It was just her, Ryan, some extras, the director, and their camera crew. No Blainesworth. No co-stars. She could do this.
Mac took her position sitting on the bar stool as instructed and waited for them to call action. Her heart started to beat erratically as Ryan came to sit down beside her, but as soon as her eyes locked with his she could feel the change she always felt when they both stepped into character. She stumbled a little over her first two lines but no-one called cut and they continued to push through the scene.
Soon enough Mac felt herself slipping into the easy pattern she and Ryan usually fell into while they worked together. She did her best to look jealous as the female bartender flirted with Stone and walked away.
"Well, it wouldn't be a normal day in Hart's Valley without every woman in town fawning all over you, would it?"
"Is that jealousy I detect in your voice, Brianna? Because you know, just say the word, and I'll show you what you're missing out on."
"Pfft, why would I be jealous of them, Stone? If they knew you, they'd stay away from you like I try to."
He looked at his watch. "You've chosen to sit here and talk to me for the past twenty minutes. You can't think I'm too bad," he said with a grin that made her legs feel wobbly.
"I have no idea what I was thinking," she said.
"You know, Brianna, you used to sound a lot more convincing when you were pretending to hate me."
"I never pretended."
Mac hopped down from her stool but Ryan followed her, grabbing her arm so she couldn't leave.
He stroked the back of one finger down the side of her face. "Are you sure about that? Are you sure you're not trying to cover how you really feel? What you really want?"
"And what would that be?"
"This."
Ryan lowered his mouth to hers. She froze before she wrenched her mouth from his and tried to push him away, just like the script suggested she was supposed to.
"It's pointless to fight this. Trust me, I've tried," he told her. "This is bigger than us."
Then his lips were crashing down on hers and Mac forgot to breathe. She forgot to think. She forgot what was in the script and the fact that they had an audience. Her blood rushed around her body and her heart went crazy. Her hands clutched at his jacket so she could pull him closer.
One of his hands tangled in her hair, so he could hold her in position while he deepened their kiss. The hot wet slide of his tongue against hers caused her to shake from the violent need surging through her. And when she felt his body harden against hers, she couldn't hold back her moan of approval. She couldn't hold back at all!
She let her hands stroke over his chest, caressing and touching the hard muscles, before moving up to grab his broad shoulders. She didn't know when she could do this again. She didn't know when he'd be back in her arms again.
All too soon he was pulling away from her, their kiss over. "Are you really going to stand there and deny how you feel about me, Brianna? After that?"
"You're an arrogant jerk," she said nowhere near as coolly as she was supposed to say it. "That's how I feel about you."
"You can lie to me, but don't lie to yourself. You're better than that, Brianna," he told her, before he walked away from her.
At least she hadn't forgotten her lines, Mac thought, which was lucky considering Ryan's words had hit her like a punch in the gut – even if they were Stone's. Could she stand there and deny how she felt about him? Could she lie to herself? No, not anymore.
She wasn't falling in love with her co-star. She was in love with her co-star. She was one-hundred percent, truly, deeply in love with her co-star Ryan Moore. And as soon as he got over this attraction he felt towards her and he moved onto the next woman, she already knew he would leave her shattered worse than Danny ever had.
Heavy applause brought her back to earth with a crash. They were applauding – the director, the extras, and the crew were all clapping. She might be destined for heartbreak, but at least she'd nailed her scene.