"you probably aren't in the mood to hear this right now, but things are going to be pretty
… hectic … tonight, and I may not have another chance to say it."
Forcing himself to appear interested, Zack looked up as Tommy continued haltingly. "You deserve another pair of Oscars for this picture. Several of the performances you've given in it—and forced out of Rachel and Tony—have raised goose bumps on the whole crew, and that's no exaggeration."
The mere mention of his wife's name, particularly in connection with Tony Austin, sent Zack's temper to the boiling point, and he stood up abruptly, script in hand. "I appreciate the compliment," he lied. "It won't be dark enough to shoot the next scene for another hour. When everything's ready in the stable, give the crew a dinner break, and I'll check it out. In the meantime, I'm going to get something to drink and go someplace where I can concentrate."
Nodding toward the cluster of oak trees at the edge of the
lawn, he added, "I'll be over there if you need me."
He was heading for the catering trucks when the door of Rachel's trailer opened and she walked out at the same moment Zack passed the steps. Their eyes clashed, conversations ground to a taut halt, heads swiveled, and expectation crackled in the air like heat lightening, but Zack merely moved around his wife
and continued on, pausing at the catering truck to talk to Tommy Newton's assistant and to exchange pleasantries with two of the stuntmen. It was an Academy Award performance on his part, requiring a
supreme force of will, because he couldn't see Rachel without remembering her as she'd been last night
when he returned unexpectedly to their suite at the Crescent Hotel and found her with Tony Austin…
Earlier in the day, he'd told her he intended to have a late meeting with the camera crew and assistant directors to go over some new ideas and that he planned to sleep in his trailer on the set afterward.
When
the crew gathered in his trailer for the meeting, however, Zack realized he'd left his notes at his Dallas
hotel, and rather than sending someone for them, he decided to save time by inviting them all back to the Crescent with him. In an unusually lighthearted mood because the end was finally in sight, the six men had
walked into the darkened suite, and Zack flipped on the lights.
23
"Zack!" Rachel cried, rolling off the naked man she was straddling on the sofa and grabbing for her peignoir, her eyes wild with shock. Tony Austin, who was costarring with her and Zack in Destiny, jackknifed into a sitting position. "Now, Zack, stay calm—" he pleaded, leaping to his feet and scurrying behind the circular sofa as Zack started forward.
"Don't touch my face," he warned in a rising shout just
as Zack launched himself over the back of the sofa.
"I'm in two more scenes and—" It took all five crew members to pull Zack off him.
"Zack, don't be insane!" the head gaffer cried, trying to restrain him. "He can't finish the goddamned picture if you ruin his face!" Doug Furlough panted, holding Zack's arms. Zack flung both the smaller men
off, and with icy, deliberate calculation, he broke two of Tony's ribs before they could restrain him again.
Panting more from rage than exertion, Zack watched them all help the naked, limping Austin out of the suite, forming a circle around him. A half-dozen hotel guests were standing in the hall beyond the open
doors, drawn, no doubt, by Rachel's screams at Zack to stop. Stalking forward, Zack slammed the door in their faces.
Rounding on Rachel, who'd wrapped a peach satin peignoir around herself, he started forward, trying to control the urge to do physical violence to her, too.
"Get out of my sight!" he warned her as she backed away from him. "Get out or I won't be responsible for what I do to you!"
"Don't you dare threaten me, you arrogant son of a bitch!" she shot back with so much contemptuous triumph that it checked him in midstride. "If you lay one finger
… hectic … tonight, and I may not have another chance to say it."
Forcing himself to appear interested, Zack looked up as Tommy continued haltingly. "You deserve another pair of Oscars for this picture. Several of the performances you've given in it—and forced out of Rachel and Tony—have raised goose bumps on the whole crew, and that's no exaggeration."
The mere mention of his wife's name, particularly in connection with Tony Austin, sent Zack's temper to the boiling point, and he stood up abruptly, script in hand. "I appreciate the compliment," he lied. "It won't be dark enough to shoot the next scene for another hour. When everything's ready in the stable, give the crew a dinner break, and I'll check it out. In the meantime, I'm going to get something to drink and go someplace where I can concentrate."
Nodding toward the cluster of oak trees at the edge of the
lawn, he added, "I'll be over there if you need me."
He was heading for the catering trucks when the door of Rachel's trailer opened and she walked out at the same moment Zack passed the steps. Their eyes clashed, conversations ground to a taut halt, heads swiveled, and expectation crackled in the air like heat lightening, but Zack merely moved around his wife
and continued on, pausing at the catering truck to talk to Tommy Newton's assistant and to exchange pleasantries with two of the stuntmen. It was an Academy Award performance on his part, requiring a
supreme force of will, because he couldn't see Rachel without remembering her as she'd been last night
when he returned unexpectedly to their suite at the Crescent Hotel and found her with Tony Austin…
Earlier in the day, he'd told her he intended to have a late meeting with the camera crew and assistant directors to go over some new ideas and that he planned to sleep in his trailer on the set afterward.
When
the crew gathered in his trailer for the meeting, however, Zack realized he'd left his notes at his Dallas
hotel, and rather than sending someone for them, he decided to save time by inviting them all back to the Crescent with him. In an unusually lighthearted mood because the end was finally in sight, the six men had
walked into the darkened suite, and Zack flipped on the lights.
23
"Zack!" Rachel cried, rolling off the naked man she was straddling on the sofa and grabbing for her peignoir, her eyes wild with shock. Tony Austin, who was costarring with her and Zack in Destiny, jackknifed into a sitting position. "Now, Zack, stay calm—" he pleaded, leaping to his feet and scurrying behind the circular sofa as Zack started forward.
"Don't touch my face," he warned in a rising shout just
as Zack launched himself over the back of the sofa.
"I'm in two more scenes and—" It took all five crew members to pull Zack off him.
"Zack, don't be insane!" the head gaffer cried, trying to restrain him. "He can't finish the goddamned picture if you ruin his face!" Doug Furlough panted, holding Zack's arms. Zack flung both the smaller men
off, and with icy, deliberate calculation, he broke two of Tony's ribs before they could restrain him again.
Panting more from rage than exertion, Zack watched them all help the naked, limping Austin out of the suite, forming a circle around him. A half-dozen hotel guests were standing in the hall beyond the open
doors, drawn, no doubt, by Rachel's screams at Zack to stop. Stalking forward, Zack slammed the door in their faces.
Rounding on Rachel, who'd wrapped a peach satin peignoir around herself, he started forward, trying to control the urge to do physical violence to her, too.
"Get out of my sight!" he warned her as she backed away from him. "Get out or I won't be responsible for what I do to you!"
"Don't you dare threaten me, you arrogant son of a bitch!" she shot back with so much contemptuous triumph that it checked him in midstride. "If you lay one finger
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