It was only seven thirty in the morning and the temperature in the Valley had already reached ninety degrees. I skulked down to the parking garage beneath my building, exhausted and angry. My car didn’t have AC, so I rolled down the convertible top and cruised at a cool seven miles per hour for the next ninety minutes. The 405 was more of a parking lot than a freeway, and the sweat dripping in my eyes and down my back wasn’t helping my mood.
The production office was on the west side on LA, south of Venice Beach and north of Playa del Rey. Culver City was a bit of a landmark due to the fact that it was home to a large number of celebrity drug-related arrests including those of several A-list actors. The office was a loft-style building with cement floors and high ceilings. Near the entrance, there was a large metal staircase that led to the kitchen as well as the executive offices. The edit bays were lined up in a row on the ground floor on the right, and on the left were the producer cubicles. My cube was the second one in. I knew this because a production assistant had placed a piece of masking tape on the side of my desk with “Victoria Sharpe” written on it.
I dropped my bags and headed upstairs to Lenny’s office. His door was closed, but I pushed it open and barged right in. I knew he was behind last night’s prank and I planned to confront him.
Lenny was sitting at his desk looking much like a weasel. “Sure, Sharpe, come on in,” he said, looking up.
“You set me up.”
Lenny cracked a smile. “If I could have been a fly on that wall. The dead guy was a buddy of mine – he said you were covered in that goop. And Manny…”
“You are a despicable human being!” I said, cutting him off. “They think I’m an idiot now – you realize that right? They’re never gonna take me to another crime scene again!”
“Sure they will. Now you’re one of the guys. That’s how they operate.”
“I could have had a heart attack!”
Lenny laughed. Manny walked in behind me – obviously hearing the commotion. “Not cool boss,” he said nonchalantly.
“Oh come on, guys, it was funny!” Lenny countered.
“I’m still waiting for an apology,” I said.
Manny shook his head and repeated, “Not cool.”
“Not cool, not cool. That’s all you ever say, Manny!” I shouted. “You know what? You’re both idiots!” I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room.
At the bottom of the steps, Mac walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Cool off, Sharpe, it was just a joke.”
“Yeah, and I’m sure you weren’t scared at all, right Mac? Not Mister Perfect!”
“Let me get you a coffee. We’re all tired and caffeine will help.” Mac headed up the stairs to the kitchen.
“Oh really?” I called after him. “I think my energy level is actually pretty high right now!”