“Once I believed that when love came to me, it would come with rockets, bells and poetry, but with me and you, it just started quietly and grew… and believe it or not, now there’s something groovy and good God whatever we’ve got…”


Following the young woman, watching the way her hips bounce from right to left, Jill staying close as the young woman again coyly looks over her shoulder at her.
Leading her outside, a dimly lit alley alongside the club, a cigarette break, Jill smiles at her, pushing the young woman against the wall.
Jill admires the young woman’s long soft brown hair, letting it fall through her fingertips, there is something she wants but it’s not just her hair.
The cigarette is placed between her gorgeous lips, a thumb rolling over the top of her lighter, a spark.
‘You know, smoking is very bad for you.’ Jill tells her in a very soft voice.
The young woman shrugs, ’Yeah, I’m sorry.’
Jill laughs; such a wonderful sound, then she takes the cigarette away, dropping it to the floor. ‘There is something I want.’
The young woman smiles, ’Yeah, I thought you might.’
Jill presses against her, the young woman almost unable to move as Jill’s lips caress her throat.
As the young woman’s eyes close, she feels Jill’s lips softly touch her cheek, slowly travelling over skin to her lips…

‘No, she’s in a meeting.’ Maddie’s voice, again sounding annoyed. The same question, at least five hundred times this morning. Maddie is exaggerating, but someone has to. ‘Didn’t you hear what I just said?’ Such a positive statement, hopefully, putting the caller off, at least for now. ‘Yes…’ now her voice sounds so interested, ‘I’ll let her know you called.’ Maddies eyes roll upwards, meet the ceiling and the phone is slammed against its rest. ’Fuck off!’
Another post it note to add to the previous four hundred and ninety nine this morning. A quick look at Jill, looking so angry, shouting and ready to kill someone from the conference room. Maddie sticks the note on her desk. Hoping that she’ll be at lunch before Jill gets out of her meeting. A quick, silent prayer.

Charlie Kent snaps off his phone, a glance at Jill, arms folded across her chest and still not happy, ’She wants you to go and talk to her.’
‘What for? That little bitch has cost me a fortune already. She’s your client, you sort it out.’
Charlie shoves the phone in his trouser pocket, then pulls at his tie, ’She asked for you. I think you know why.’
Jill slowly nods, unfolding her arms and ready to take a swing at him, ’Yeah and it’s not as if she’s never given a blow job before. Do you really think she’s that naïve?’
‘She’s not happy with it.’
‘So fucking what? She’s being paid a shit load of money and she’s put us behind schedule and not for the first time, either.’ Jill shakes her head, trying to calm herself down, but this doesn’t always work, ’Charlie, I’m getting sick and tired of all her demands, I’m thinking about firing her and getting an insurance write off.’
‘You can’t do that. Look, just go and talk to her, please.’
Jill looks at her watch, ’Lunch and you’re buying.’
Charlie shrugs, ’Yeah, okay, but we need to talk about this.’
Jill smiles at him and looks a lot better, ’Yeah, we do.’

A quick lunch; a hot chicken salad and two glasses of white wine, a coffee and a lot of talking and during lunch, another phone call from her to Charlie and then setting up a meeting between star and executive producer.
Pleasant enough goodbye’s and going in different directions.
Jill then taking her phone from her bag, pressing one and waiting. Three rings and an answer, ’I need to see you.’ Jill’s voice is so soft, so unlike the earlier version.
‘Please…’ Now sounding almost desperate, standing next to the kerb and closing her eyes.
A warm, lovely smile, ’Yes, I love you too.’
Jill looks down at her phone as she switches it off.
No more thoughts about going back to her office; Maddie is more than capable. Jill hails a taxi and somewhere else that is so much better.

Angela Carter sits in a high backed chair, holding the pages of the script. Jill drops her bag on the table, ready it seems to go to war with her.
Angela is twenty two, an actor who just “apparently” came out of nowhere and demands multi million dollar deals already.
Jill had signed her up for three million pounds because someone said it was a good idea and it would be good for her career.
Well, it doesn’t look like that now. Jill has more or less lost any patience that she had with her, everyday there’s something and as the film sits now, they’re running at two months behind schedule and a lot of awkward questions are being asked.
Jill’s film has been bumped back, just giving her enough breathing room. If it’s not ready, then the distributor will kill it and Jill’s company will be in the shit. Even with the insurance.
‘Everything to your liking?’ Jill asks, looking around the hotel suite; not to her taste, but fuck it, she doesn’t have to stay here.
Angela holds up the yellow coloured pages, ’All except this.’
‘So why now?’
‘I thought about it. I don’t like it.’
Jill moves a little closer, ’No one asked you to think about it. It’s a job, you do it, you get paid. That’s it.’
‘It’s a bit… explicit.’
Jill laughs at her, ’Oh for fuck’s sake. We’re not making porn. You signed a contract, you did a read through and that scene has been in place since day one. You are aware of how important that scene is?’
‘Yes, but -’
‘But nothing. Angela, all you’re being asked is to fuck on film. You show a bit of tit, a bit of arse and that’s it. Game over.’
Angela puts the pages on the small table next to her, ’Would you fuck him?’
‘If it meant that this film could be completed, then yeah, I would. Nobody’s asked me though.’
Angela laughs, listening to the way Jill’s voice softens, ’What about a body double?’
‘What’s wrong with what you have?’
Angela’s sudden blush and a stuttered reply.

Putting her coffee cup down rather gently, Angela looks across the table at her, ’My Mum read the script.’
‘So what did she think?’
‘She wasn’t happy about that scene, she got quite annoyed about it.’
‘Is she in the film?’
Angela softly laughs, ’Well, no, but I asked her for her opinion and it just feels gratuitous.’
‘Okay, so I go and tell the author that and the scriptwriter. I’m sure they’ll just love to hear what you’ve just said. Angela, opinions are like arseholes, everybody’s got one, but alright, point taken.’ Jill smiles at her, settling back in the chair.
Angela looks at the pages of the script on the table, ’I’ll talk to Charlie. I’m sorry about all of this. It’s just that it has to feel right, you know?’
Jill nods, ’Yeah, I know.’

Making her way through the crowd, Jill looking for her at the bar, a sharp turn of her head and there she is.
Her lovely smile and putting her glass down, ’I was hoping you’d make it.’
‘Yeah, I‘m sorry, business got in the way.’
‘Business?’
Jill takes her hand, ’Would you like to take a break?’
The young woman looks towards the door that leads out to the alley, ‘Yeah. Love to.’
Holding hands they make their way outside, the young woman moving so much closer to her, ‘I’m trying to quit smoking. I haven’t had a cigarette all day.’
‘That’s good. I don’t like it when you do that.’
The young woman laughs, ‘Yeah, and I know what you do like.’
Jill moves her against the wall, just seeing another couple a little further along the alley, her fingers pop the button on her jeans, gripping the tab and a slow downward movement, fingertips that just touch her between skin and panties, ’Will you come home with me?’
‘You’re very naughty, aren’t you?’
Jill grins, ’You have no idea…’
Then shuts the young woman up with a long, long kiss…


Thursday and feeling like it’s one of those Monday’s where all it does is go wrong, Maddie drops her bag by her chair as the phone is already ringing, she almost spills her coffee snatching the phone up, ‘Jill Bennett’s office!’ A nice sharp sound, just like a Monday then.
She looks around and no sign of Jill. That’s a little odd, ‘No. Not here. I’ll get her to call you back.’
A slight crackle on the line and then they hang up.
Maddie grabs a pen, another post it and a mouthful of coffee. Not bad for a Thursday morning.

Taking a few steps away from her car, Jill is stopped by her phone beeping. Already late and according to the caller display, it’s Charlie, ‘Hi Charlie.’ She sounds quite pleasant and if Charlie Kent says the wrong thing, there could be an explosion.
But…
Ending the call and Jill has a fabulous smile on her face. A loud, ’Wahoo!’ and walking to the lift to her office, suddenly the day is looking so much brighter already. Jill starts to softly sing, ‘I don’t feel all turned on and starry eyed, I just feel a sweet contentment deep inside, holding you at night…’

A swagger. Not quite John Wayne perhaps, but she’s close enough. Carrying that smile and stopping by Maddies desk.
Maddie hands her the post and a few post its, ’Did you have sex last night?’
Jill laughs and half turns away, ’Last night, this morning and um… oh, two hours ago.’ She carries her stuff into her office and leaves the door open. Maddie can hear her humming.
Maddie slowly shakes her head.
Then, a rather loud, ’Mad!’
A little longer than usual, Maddie gets up and stands by her door.
‘When did Sarah phone?’
‘Yesterday afternoon. That’s the two hundred and fifteenth time she’s called.’
‘Yeah, well, at least she’s persistent.’ Jill sits down and pushes the mail to one side, ‘I’m so sick and tired of vampires.’
‘The latest “in thing“, apparently.’
‘Ah so what. It’s boring.’
‘So, come on, who was he?’ Maddie asks, an excitement in her voice.
Jill looks up at her, ‘Who?’
‘The fella you shagged.’
A small, polite cough, Jill looks down at her desk, ‘Would you get me a coffee?’
‘It wasn’t Charlie Kent, was it?’
Jill points at her door, ‘Coffee?’
‘Right, yeah…’

Endless phone calls and her mind, for the most part, is elsewhere. Lunch comes and goes and all Jill thinks about is her.
Her distraction has spread as far as Maddie, even she’s a little quiet, nowhere near her rambunctious self.
Funny that she thinks that she fucked Charlie, but okay, he’s alright, very straightforward in business but Jill had never wanted to find out if he was straight in bed.
Anyway, a few more calls to make and then she can deal with Sarah. Again.

Sarah’s script, ‘Prolonged Love’ (the title sucks, but can be fixed) is actually rather good. Jill had taken her time in reading it. Sarah Williams is known as a romance novelist and this as her first take on the idea, is different. The story is about William, a vampire who in the 21st century, meets Joanne, a teacher who is dying from leukaemia, and he falls in love with her. William is from the Victorian era and has survived on his own, but he is so drawn to Joanne, feeling so lonely for over a century and the story really revolves around them, and doesn’t rely too heavily on the fact that he’s a vampire. Jill pauses, holding the phone and perhaps, instead, she should call a scriptwriters meeting. There could be something here, after all.
Jill has been offered the rights and at five hundred thousand, has already made her think again.
The following conversation between herself and Sarah, is markedly different.

Then, the unexpected arrival of Charlie Kent. The way he bangs her door off the wall is a sign that all is not well. Then when he slams it shut, it just adds fuel to the fire.
‘Bad day, Charlie?’
He just shakes his head, not looking at her, ‘Another problem,’ now he laughs, well, sort of, ‘more than one.’
‘Oh, should I even ask?’
‘She was late to the studio this morning, which meant she was late for make up, which then meant she was late on set.’
Jill shrugs, ’So what am I supposed to do about that?’
‘She has a love bite.’
Jill laughs.
‘Oh, I’m glad you find this so funny. Seeing as you were bitching about her yesterday and suddenly, it just doesn’t matter!’
Charlie runs his hands through his hair. He’s turned a very deep red, striding backwards and forwards.
‘Do you want to sit down?’
He looks at a chair and again, shakes his head.
‘Is there much of a delay?’
Charlie points at his neck, ’We can’t cover it. We could try it in post, but the thing is, she told me she hasn’t got a boyfriend, so where the hell did she get it from?’ He pulls a long breath and loosens his tie, ‘Jill, I’m sorry, I know you spoke to her yesterday and whatever you said certainly turned this whole thing around, I think we should wait a day or two, just to be on the safe side.’
Jill nods in agreement, ’Where is she now?’
‘Back at her hotel. Her Mum is with her and that’s one unhappy lady.’ Charlie now sits, looking reasonably normal again. Then, he smiles, ‘There’s an upside though.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yeah, she’s er stopped smoking and was in a really good mood today.’
Jill smiles and let’s her fingers tap playfully on her desk, ‘Funny how things turn out, isn’t it?’
Charlie gets up and thanks her and walks away with a slight spring in his step.

Looking at her phone and pressing one. Listening to it ringing and on cue, she picks up.
Jill smiles, hearing her lovely voice, ’Your Mum’s there, isn’t she?’
A soft reply.
‘It’s okay. I just wanted to tell you that I love you.’

‘Gettin’ better every day…’

‘It’s getting better’ Performed by Cass Elliott/ The Mamas and the Papas.
From the album California Dreamin‘: ‘The best of The Mamas and the Papas’.
Copyright: Universal Music, 2006.


Inspired by the JulesA challenge to the General Fiction Challenge Group.

A Blacklight Films production, in association with Blue Pig (A Jim Hewitt company).
Produced by Jill Bennett and Jim Hewitt
Written and Directed by Jim Hewitt.
Saturday 27 Feb, 2010.