After dropping off Piper's Porsche at her estate, Ines got changed into a shirt and jeans, and swap out contact lenses for her eyeglasses before driving home in her little Honda. She usually worked Saturdays but luckily she wasn't needed until Monday. Except, of course, Piper had decided yesterday she had several movie scripts she couldn't be bothered to read herself so would Ines be a dear and read it and describe it to Piper?

"Hey, Andrada, get over here!"

Ines smiled and waved to Caprica O'Neil. The tall brunette was standing over a barbecue grill with a glass of wine in one hand and a pair of tongs in another. Around her, a pool party was in full swing. Music blared from speakers on the far end of the deck, and people were chatting and drinking.

"Hi Caprica," Ines said, walking over. She adjusted the strap of her heavy messenger bag to keep it from slipping off her shoulder. "Looks like the party started early today."

The residents of Casa de Palmeras usually held a party in the courtyard every Saturday, but it usually didn't start till five. She had thought she would be able get some work done before that, at least, because it was hard to focus focus with the loud music. The pool and courtyard was right in the middle of the two four-storey apartment buildings.

"Honey, I couldn't stop them," Caprica said. "I think Casey and Chad are celebrating getting guest parts in a pilot."

"Oh, that's great!" Ines smiled. The two young men lived one floor below hers. They were stand-up comics from New Jersey, and they'd been trying to break into television for almost a year. "I hope it gets picked up."

"Hey Ines, you want a beer?" Jimar White said. He sat on a lounge chair behind her, holding up a can of Heineken.

"Uh thanks, Jim," she said. "Maybe later."

"Put down that bag, sweetie," Caprica said. "You want a steak?"

Ines grimaced. "Can't, sorry. I have to get back to work." She'd have to listen to Mozart on noise-cancelling headphones, but that was the only way she could get any writing done that day.

"What's in that thing, anyway?"

"My weekend read. It's a bunch of scripts. Piper needs me to read them so I can tell her what they're about."

"Scripts for what, a remake of The Lord of the Rings trilogy?" Caprica eyed the brown leather pack. "You look like you're carrying five pounds."

"I got six iPads in here. It's like nobody sends print scripts anymore."

"Well, if you finish early, we'll probably be here till late tonight."

"Thanks. See ya later."

After waking up in a car that morning, it felt good to be back home. As soon as Ines walked through her front door, she realized she was desperately in need of sleep.

Unsuccessfully stifling a yawn, she set her bag down. There was no time to rest. The weekend was the only time she had to write, and she had to make the most of it. She went to her desk to switch off her wifi router. There. No distractions.

As she made herself a large pot of coffee, she wondered idly if she ought to look up Jamie Kilborne on the internet. It was something she really ought to have done before the meeting, but Mikey had texted her about meeting Kilborne just as she and Piper were getting ready to leave for the party. Piper was barking orders at her stylist and Ines, and had changed her outfit four times before deciding on what she was going to wear.

But then, there was really no point Googling Kilborne now. Apparently she had no meeting with the producer. Mikey had made a mistake.

However ... it wouldn't hurt, would it? The man was a grade-A beefcake. Smoking hot. As gorgeous a specimen of a man as she'd ever seen — and she'd seen her fair share of gorgeous specimens, being Piper's assistant.

As much as she dreaded ever seeing him again, she couldn't help but wish she'd met him under better circumstances. Not that she though she could ever get a chance with a man like that.

She grimaced as she poured coffee into a thermal mug. A romance between the overworked assistant and the rich film producer would make for a passably mediocre rom-com, but it was hardly a thing that ever happened in real life.

Was he married? His apartment looked like it belonged to a bachelor. But then if you were as successful and good-looking as he was, you probably already had a girlfriend. Or boyfriend.

She took her mug of coffee, MacBook and headphones out on the balcony. It was her favorite spot in her apartment. She technically couldn't afford her one-bedroom apartment on an assistant's salary, but Piper insisted Ines live somewhere close by and happily paid for half the rent. If there was one thing Ines would miss if she ever lost her job, it would be this apartment. The balcony was small but it overlooked the courtyard and the pool. And in the early morning if you look at just the right spot in the distance, one could catch the sunrise between two buildings.

She had just sat down and turned on her computer when the loud grumbling in her stomach reminded her she had forgotten to eat lunch. And breakfast. Groaning, she got back up and headed to the fridge.

Luckily, she still had some of the chicken adobo her dad cooked and packed for her during her visit the weekend before. She popped the plastic container in the microwave together with some rice in a large bowl. When it was done, she heaped the adobo over the rice, stuck a plastic fork in it and brought it out to the balcony.

Where was she? Right. Her script. She fitted her headphones on her ears, turned on her writing playlist and got to work.

Ines stopped typing, puzzled. She could swear she'd given Iago black hair. She scrolled up to the beginning of the script to check. Yup, there it was. Hair black as night. Or a raven's wing.

Should he have black hair, though? It was a bit too stereotypical for a vampire. Maybe blond was better. Some kind of dirty blond shade.

Nodding to herself, she scrolled down her document. In a few strokes of her keyboard, she changed Iago Yu's hair color to blond.

Much better, she thought.

***

Ines should have known there was no way Piper was going to give her the entire weekend off. By Sunday evening, as Ines was going through the second screenplay she had been given to read, Piper called to tell her to get dressed for dinner.

"Are you sure you need me to sit in on this?" Ines said. She had her phone on speaker as she was hurrying to get dressed. "From Mr. Bellamy's emails, I think he's expecting a more" — she winced as she struggled to zip up her dress — "private dinner. You know, just the two of you."

"Of course you're not sitting in on dinner," Piper said. Her voice coming out of the phone seemed tense. "I just need you to make up some excuse for me, and sit with him until I get there."

Ines tossed a pair of white pumps in exasperation and picked up a pair of black kitten heels. "Look, if you're busy why not move your dinner to another night? I'm sure John will understand."

John Bellamy was Piper's ex-husband. Ines actually liked the man, and she wasn't comfortable having to lie for Piper.

"No, I need to speak to him tonight."

"What time will you be there? Where are you, anyway?"

"None of your business. I'll try to be there by eight."

"Right. The reservation is at..."

"Il Chiaro. Pay attention, Ines."

"Sorry. Il Chiaro, seven o'clock." She groaned inwardly. That would give her barely enough time to put on lipstick. "Leave it to me."

Forty minutes later, Ines stepped into the lobby of the Hotel di Bianchi. She glanced up at the huge clock in the far end of the room. Fifteen minutes to seven. She sighed in relief. Il Chiaro was on the roof deck — surely she could make it up there in the next ten minutes.

An empty elevator was waiting for her and she jumped in, hit the button for the roof and pressed the button to close.

As the doors slid shut, a voice sounded from the hallway.

"Hold, please."

Ines froze. She knew that voice.

The doors opened once more and Kilborne stepped inside the elevator.

It took her a few seconds to realize she was gaping at him. Shutting her mouth, she whipped her head to face the front of the elevator. Remembering her manners, she gave him a sideways glance and a brief, nervous smile.

Kilborne glanced at her for a moment, but didn't respond.

Did he not recognize her? She didn't have time to put on her contacts but surely she didn't look that different with her eyeglasses on.

Thirty seconds passed. Nothing.

This was what she wanted, wasn't it? She thought he'd forget all about the disastrous incident at his apartment yesterday. And it seemed that he did.

So why did she feel so disappointed?

She couldn't help but be aware of him standing a mere two feet away from her — tall, strong, powerful. Silent. Even with clothes on, he was sexy as hell. She could imagine his muscles rippling under his fine white shirt and dark grey jacket.

Of course, she couldn't look at him now. Not after she was staring at him when he got on the elevator. The important thing was he obviously didn't recognize or remember her. All she had to do now was get out of the elevator like nothing happened—

Kilborne's voice broke through her thoughts.

"I see you're working tonight."

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