"My guess?" Brody said. "He wants fireworks."
"Why?"
"Because it's good for the ratings."
Hearing this, I almost cringed. Apparently, just as I'd feared, Iwasthe new Miss LaRue – someone who'd bring more drama than anything useful. With renewed concern, I asked, "What kind of fireworks?"
With Miss LaRue, the fireworks had ranged from mild disagreements to full-blown hissy-fits. I wasn't the hissy-fit type, but evenIhad to admit that my relationship with Brody promised enough friction to rub everyone raw.
Brody shrugged. "I guess that's up to you, isn’t it?"
"So you're saying theywantus to argue?" It made sense in a way, considering that we'd been arguing on the front lawn just before Landon had offered me the job.
Brody looked at me for a long, penetrating moment before saying, "Arguments. Or worse."
I frowned. "What could be worse than arguments?" But then, I froze. "Oh.That."
Slowly, Brody looked around, as if taking in the beauty around us – the endless water, the blue sky streaked with the orange remnants of sunrise, the sand at our feet, and the waves lapping at the shore. With a humorless laugh, he said, "Why do you think we're out here?"
I saw what he meant. "So you think they're building a narrative or something?"
"A narrative. A story. Call it what you want. Maybe they're throwing us together to see what happens."
I could think of plenty of things thatcouldhappen. None of them were good, at least not long-term. I told him, "But nothing's going to happen."
Brody stiffened. "Right."
And yet, the thought ofonecertain something happening was far too appealing for my liking. And, in spite of all my good intentions, I couldn’t help but wonder what would it be like to clash with Brody in the naked sense.
The mere thought of it sent a bolt of heat where it definitely didn't belong.
This wasn't good.
I gave myself a mental slap and focused on the issue at-hand. "So if Waverly is just a figurehead, who's really running the film crew?"
"Who do you think?"
Slowly, I turned to look. And there Roy was, standing out of earshot, with his camera pointed in our direction. When he saw me looking, he gave me a thumbs-up, followed by the usual forwarding gesture.
With a sigh, I turned and began walking again, even as Brody did the same.
In a hushed voice, I asked, "Are you sure that Roy can't hear us?"
"I'm sure," Brody said. "He would've mic’d us if he was getting audio."
Well, that was a relief.
As we walked farther along the beach, I said, "Hey, can I ask you something? How come you're the only one here? I mean, the show supposedly stars you and your brothers, but I haven't seen either one of them at the job site."
"No. But you will."
As I listened, Brody went on to explain that he and his brothers divided up responsibilities according to their personal interests. Although both of his brothers had plenty of skills, neither one of them had the same passion for using the tools their company produced. And more to the point, he added, neither one of them had any interest in dealing with construction crews – or film crews for that matter.
After taking all of this in, I said, "But you'd never guess it from watching the show. I mean, the way it looks, the three of you run things equally."
"We do," Brody said. "It's just that we handle different pieces of the larger pie. And the thingstheyhandle…" He gave a mock shudder. "Not my bag."
I laughed in spite of myself. "So you divide and conquer, huh?"
