have them in mine.”
He finished his breakfast and rose. “Time for that swim.”
She watched him climb the outdoor, circular iron staircase in the corner of the patio to the master suite and exhaled a pent-up breath when he disappeared inside.
He’d finally given her the job she wanted. But he wasn’t going to make it easy. But if he thought he was going to force her back into her old job he was going to be sorely disappointed.
Because like her brother, she was no quitter. She might have gotten sidetracked from her goals for a while, but once she set her mind to something she stuck to it.
Like saving Max. Or saving herself.
Dana turned away from the sight of Max’s tanned, muscular shoulders and arms cutting laps through the long pool below the window. No way could her brain function with that kind of distraction.
She was determined not to let Max or herself down, but when she stared at the overwhelming mountain of work on her desk and the long list she’d made of her assigned duties, she had to wonder if she was up to the task. Sure, she’d asked for the responsibilities, but Max had piled them on. His pointing out that she was a bit…rusty in her production skills hadn’t helped her confidence any.
But she wasn’t above cheating by calling on an expert for guidance if it meant keeping on top of her workload. She picked up the phone, dialed and pressed the receiver to her ear.
“Y’ello?” The deep southern drawl comforted her almost as well as one of her daddy’s big bear hugs.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“How’s the new job, sweet cakes?”
She wished she could lie and say work was a breeze. “I’m feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. I’ve e-mailed you a list of the duties Max has assigned me. Have a minute to take a look?”
“You betcha. Hold on a sec.” She heard him tapping on the keyboard over the phone line and then the greeting from his e-mail provider.
Seconds later he whistled. “You’re going to be earning that pay raise.”
“It looks like I’ll doing mostly grunt work and a lot of editing tasks.”
“Yep. But you wanted to polish your skills, and he’s going to make you.”
“I have a question for you. What do I need to do next to keep ahead of things?”
She’d kept him posted via e-mail every step of the way because he was living vicariously through her. Today’s list was just an update. She knew that if she failed in this position he’d be just as disappointed as she, maybe more so.
“You’ve been his right hand for years, so this isn’t too different. Put every tool Hudson needs at his fingertips. With him juggling two jobs—producer and editor—his time is going to be tighter than ever. Help keep others on schedule for him whenever you can, and run interference with the troublemakers and squeaky wheels. Every project has them. Identify ’em as soon as you can and be proactive, otherwise their poison can spread.”
“Got it.”
“When you finish the capturing he’ll start editing, and remember, an editor’s job goes faster if he doesn’t have to wait for the components.”
She scribbled as fast as she could and hoped she could decipher her notes later. “After the basic editing the next editing components he’ll need will be…” she searched her mind, “Sound, right?”
“If he’s not calling in an independent sound designer, that’s it. And you know where to find what you need, don’t you?”
“I do.” During college she’d been shocked to discover that most of the movie’s soundtrack was added during the editing phase. Quite often the audio recorded on location wasn’t up to par and dialogue or sound effects were added later.
There were audio libraries where film companies could buy or rent the sounds or background ambience they needed for a film. The roar of a passing subway train or the hum of a busy city street corner might be used in a dozen other films, but the typical moviegoer would never recognize it as one he’d heard before.
“I’ll get right on it, Dad.”
“That’s my girl. Give him what for. Show him that a steel magnolia can whup a California girl any day. Have they hired the composer for the musical score yet?”
“Yes. It’s not anyone I’m familiar with.”
“Get familiar. You want to be on a first-name basis, so that glitches can be smoothed over quickly and painlessly.”
“Got it.” She wandered to the window and looked out to see if Max was still in the pool. He was pulling himself out, his muscles flexing under wet, tanned skin. Using both hands, he slicked back his hair. His wet trunks clung to him like a second skin, outlining his masculine attributes in excruciating detail. Her mouth dried and her pulsed skipped.
“Miss you, sweetheart.” Her father’s voice pulled her out of the lust zone. She turned away from the window.
“I miss you, too. Thanks for your help.”
“Make sure home is your first stop after you put this one in the can. You’re due a vacation, aren’t you?”
She smiled. He father had never been anything but supportive of her career choice. Of course, that might be because they shared the same dream.
“Past due. I’ll come home for a visit after this is all over. I’ll see you then. Love you, Daddy.”
“Love you back.”
She disconnected and headed for the spare desk in Max’s office. Thirty minutes and six phone calls later she had a list waiting when Max walked in. He looked refreshed from his swim. His dark hair was still slightly damp, and he’d donned her favorite DKNY outfit of gray pants and a white shirt with subtle gray stripes.
She rose and handed him the pages and a memory stick containing the audio files from the library. “I’ve contacted the sound library and found the items on your list. They’re downloaded onto your flash drive. I also have the Foley artist on standby. I’ll call when you’re ready for him.”
She loved watching Foley artists work. Once they opened their little briefcase of “toys” the sound specialists could re-create just about any noise to be perfectly synced to the audio tracks and inserted during the editing phase. Dubbing in voice audio wasn’t nearly as interesting, but it still beat the monotony of logging and making edit scripts.
Max paused, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “Thanks. You’ve been busy.”
She shrugged. “That’s my job.”
“Yes, it is.” But there was a new respect in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. His approval made her stomach turn somersaults and her entire body flush with pleasure.
Uh-oh. Getting over him wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as she’d hoped. She’d just have to try harder.
“You
