John stifled a yawn. His hair was disheveled, and his T-shirt was rumpled. He still looked good, even with the faint bags under his eyes.

“Are you getting enough sleep?” Anna asked.

John shook his head. “What about you?”

“I’ll sleep when this is done.”

John rolled his eyes. “That always goes well.”

Anna smiled in spite of herself.

Something caught John’s eye over her shoulder. Anna turned around.

Cole and the camera operator, Matteo, were discussing the lighting for the scene. Anna had observed the two work warily together. Matteo had more experience than most cameramen, and he wasn’t shy about adding his input on how things should be done. Cole’s numerous minor changes caused Matteo agitation.

“Does Cole need all these corrections?” John asked.

“I’ve been giving him time to get used to the change in leadership, but I’m going to talk to him today,” Anna said. The relationship between the director and the director of photography was one of those gray areas on set. A more tyrannical director might throw his weight around to show the crew who was in charge. Anna didn’t need to do that. She knew she was in charge. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Chapter Sixteen

“How did it go when you talked to Nicole?” John asked.

Anna shouldn’t have been surprised that John had noticed the problems on set and her limited success in dealing with them so far. She liked that he shared his opinion and wasn’t afraid to bring up issues. Technically, dealing with the actors was Anna’s job, but she wasn’t above accepting help with problems if it made a better movie. She could recognize when another crew member might be able to handle a problem better than she could. “I’ve talked to each of them about the changes to the script, about their characterization, but something happened before we got here. I haven’t figured it out.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” John asked.

Derek walked into the soundstage, bristling when he made eye contact with Nicole. They were probably more anxious to get through this scene than Anna and the rest of the crew were.

“Do you trust me?” John asked.

“Of course, you’ve done an amazing job.”

John smiled, looking down at the ground.

Have I not told him? Everyone on set complimented his abilities. The other heads of departments praised him. When had she become this person who didn’t acknowledge other people’s contributions?

“Okay.” John took a breath. “Let me talk to them.”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “Confident.”

“Prom, senior year, my brother and his girlfriend had broken up for the fourth time.”

Anna glanced between the two actors. They avoided each other’s gaze like recalcitrant teenagers who liked each other, neither wanting to be first to ask the other out. “How did I miss this?”