Louisa George - Hot Docs On Call - Hollywood Heartthrobs

‘No. No. That won’t do at all. Please, just give me a tonic. Something...something non-toxic. Oh, I don’t know, maybe just water? Would more water help?’ Cameron put a protective hand to her stomach, although Jake thought it was an odd subconscious action.

Then his mind began to join the dots. General malaise. Nausea disguised as a stomach upset. Hand on abdomen. Tears. Non-toxic.

She’s pregnant. She’s pregnant and she doesn’t want anyone to know. ‘I’d really like to talk to you in private, Cameron. Just talk. I won’t examine you if you don’t want that.’

The actress looked at him for a good long beat. She gave a minute shake of her head, her eyes wide and a little scared. Clearly, anyone finding out about this, even her assistant, was a big deal. But didn’t she know she needed to take care? To eat the right things? Did she know for sure or just suspect? Did she have an OB/GYN?

Miss Fontaine sat up and patted her cheeks with a tissue. ‘You know what? I’m actually starting to feel a bit better. Perhaps a little more water, then I’ll go back outside. Get some air. Maybe we could do some sitting-down scenes to conserve my energy.’

Jake wasn’t convinced. ‘Cameron, are you sure you don’t want me to look you over? Or I can arrange for someone else to come see you? This evening? To your home if you want?’ An OB/GYN? Midwife? He gave her a studied look, hoping she could read through his words. Trying to maintain confidentiality with someone else in the room was difficult. ‘I could call someone.’

‘No. Thank you. You’ve been very attentive. But I’m fine. Absolutely. You can go.’

He fished into his bag and drew out a card, which he gave to her. ‘Here’s my personal cell number. Call me any time.’

For the first time since he’d met her, Cameron smiled. ‘Thank you. You’re very kind.’

Just concerned. ‘Any time. Okay?’

Then he nodded to Lola to come outside with him. Thankfully she followed until they were out of hearing distance.

‘Thank you, Jake. I think all she needs is a bit of reassurance. You know what these people are like—they get very anxious about their bodies—it’s so important to them to be perfect. Obviously.’

Yes, well, he still wasn’t happy about the situation. He was on a set with a presumably pregnant actress who was at all kinds of risk. However, he also had to remember that pregnancy was a perfectly natural and normal state. ‘I think she needs to rest when she’s feeling tired. If there’s no pain or...anything else, she can continue to work. I’ve got to go back to the clinic and check on my patient from this morning, but I’ll come back later. Just to double-check she’s feeling okay.’ And to convince her to seek further advice. Somehow.

‘Thank you, that’s very kind.’

‘It’s not, it’s just routine.’

‘But you could have just walked away. Thanks for putting up with us. I’ll see you later. If they’re filming when you get here, just pop on over to the trailer. That’s where I’ll be, no doubt. That is...well...you know. If you want. We could wait...in there. Or...sorry, I’m rambling. Bye.’

As Lola smiled he felt momentarily as if his breath had been sucked out of his lungs. She turned and walked back towards the trailer and he realised he was waiting for the angry little stomps. He kind of missed them.

She was all kinds of confusing. She didn’t take any rubbish from him, but she took it from her boss. She stood up for herself in some situations, but not in others. She was hard working and committed. And she was, surprisingly and refreshingly, genuinely nice. Lola was the only real thing here—the rest was fabrication and fairy tale.

And he realised, as he climbed back into his car, that he wasn’t thinking about coming back to see Cameron at all. It was her assistant that had him looking in the rear-view mirror for one final glimpse.

That was a danger sign if ever he knew one.

CHAPTER THREE

THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS CLINIC was bustling as usual, regardless of the time of day or night. After checking on his patient, Jake took the lift to the management suite and walked along the bright corridor, his footsteps tapping on the marble tiling. It was a far cry from the well-intentioned but underfunded public hospital he’d worked at prior to the phone call from James that had promised to change his life.

It had. And, he hoped, working here had made his parents’ lives easier. For too long they’d scrimped and saved and sacrificed for their only son to achieve dreams way beyond any they’d dared to have for themselves. And every once in a while he took a breath and appreciated how very different things could have been for a relatively poor kid from Van Nuys; at least now with his handsome salary he could make up for all of their sacrifices. Even if he couldn’t make up for the effect those sacrifices had had on his father’s health.

He rapped on the door and opened it. ‘James, I need a word, if you have time?’

James Rothsberg smiled as he placed his phone into the holder on the desk. ‘Jake, I was just talking about you. Ears burning?’

‘No. Not at all.’

‘How’s it going over at the studio? Not taxing you too much?’ James leaned back in his chair and indicated for Jake to sit too. ‘Pretty cool job, right?’

Jake took a seat opposite him. ‘That’s what I want to discuss. It’s entirely inappropriate that I’m there, to be honest. I’m wasting my time, and theirs. There are less qualified people who could do the work; it’s not difficult, just time-consuming. Very time-consuming.’

James gave an uncharacteristic frown. ‘But it’s a roster. We all do our share. It’s part of your contract.’

‘Yes, I know. But now I’m doing Kim’s stint too.’

‘So we’ll rearrange it so you don’t get to do it again in a hurry. Fine?’

Not fine. Jake did not want to go back there and exchange heated looks with a redheaded English rose who only had one speed: hyperdrive. He wanted to stay here and work his heart out making people better, the way he knew how. He wanted to focus on his job. This job, here, the one he’d worked so hard to get, and the one he wanted to keep. And not think about pretty little angry stomps or waste his time on non-emergencies and actresses who wanted to keep secrets. ‘I’d prefer it if someone else could go.’

‘And I’d prefer it if you go. I’m just off the phone with Alfredo. He’s very impressed after hearing the rave review Cameron Fontaine gave you this afternoon. He’s requested that you accompany them on a location shoot. To keep her happy, mainly. In fact, she’s insisting on it.’

Jake felt frustration well up in his gut. ‘What? A location shoot? No way. That’s out of the question. What about my patients? You know, the brain-injured ones?’

His boss’s palm rose. ‘Jake, I’m not arguing about this. We can rearrange your schedule. It’s only for a few days—mainly over the weekend, so it won’t take you away from your patients here. I can give you time off in lieu. It’s in the Bahamas. That should appeal, right?’

The Bahamas? What the hell...? What did that have to do with a desiccated space-odyssey landscape? The world had gone mad.

Sun. Sea. And...well, at least the fiery redhead wouldn’t be there. Surely? That wasn’t the kind of thing assistants did, was it? Accompany their bosses on location shoots? ‘I don’t know, James. I don’t see how I’m the best fit for this. Send someone else.’

‘You don’t have any surgery booked until Tuesday. I can’t see a problem,’ James said, as he tapped on his laptop and looked at what Jake imagined was the OR schedule. The atmosphere became charged a little as his boss sat forward, suddenly serious. ‘See, the way it works is this: the studio heads contract to the clinic. We’re the best in California and everyone knows it, so they want to be associated with us. And it’s very lucrative, very prestigious. My point is, Alfredo plays golf with some of the studio guys...we don’t want word getting out that we renege on our contracts, do we? That our staff are unhelpful? Way too negative for us. We need you to keep them sweet.’