as if he？d been electrocuted while using his hair dryer。 He was astonishingly short； like a man in
miniature； and dressed in a blue blazer with brass buttons； an open shirt； white linen pants； and
bare feet stuffed into supple cream…colored leather loafers that made a funny squeaking sound on
the hardwood floors。 Tied jauntily around his neck was a bold yellow ascot in the same print he？d
used in his last collection。 ？Eleanor Rose； you bitch； you？re so skinny！？
？Bailey！？ cried Eleanor。 They embraced； dropping loud； wet kisses on one another？s cheeks。
Mwa； mwa； mwa； mwa！
？And who are these two gorgeous creatures？？ Bailey asked； dramatically ripping his signature
aviator sunglasses off of his face and cupping his chin in his hand。 He inspected Blair and Jasmine
intensely。 ？Fabulous。 They？re just fabulous； aren？t they？？ he asked of no one in particular。
？Bailey；？ Eleanor told him； proudly； ？this is my daughter； Blair； and my son Tyler？s girlfriend；
Jasmine。？
？Eek！？ Bailey Winter squealed。
Blair had never heard a grown man make a noise like that in her entire life。
？They？re incredible；？ he gushed。 ？e on； sit down。 Let？s get some tea in us and talk things
over； shall we； ladies？？ The designer beckoned to the butler； waving his palm in the air like it had
e loose at the wrist。 He led them over to an enormous sectional sofa and froze suddenly。 ？Psst；？
he hissed； turning and grinning maniacally at Blair。 ？Teais just a code word formartinis 。？ He
winked。
Blair winked back at him； a slow smile spreading across her face。 This was not what she？d been
expecting。
It was way；way better。
will v ever eat lunch in this town again？
？Okay； let？s do a take；？ Ken Mogul said to his first assistant director。 He slouched glumly in a
tall canvas chair embla…zoned with his initials； clenching a chewed…up ballpoint pen in his teeth。
Vanessa focused her camera on the table where she？d be shooting。 Fred？s； the Barneys restaurant
that was central to the action of the movie； was a mob scene。 Instead of the usual lunch crowd； the
restaurant was flooded with harsh； industrial lighting and crammed full of the
hundred…strongBreakfast at Fred？s crew。 They？d moved out most of the chairs and tables to help
acmodate everyone； but between the makeup people； prop people； hair people； lighting people；
gofers； assistant directors； assistants to the assistant directors； and interns； it was kind of a tight fit。
Just like the shoe department during the end…of…season sale。
？Okay； let？s do a take！？ the assistant yelled。 Everyone scurried away and Ken Mogul waved at
Vanessa； who was stationed to his right； peering through the viewfinder of her camera。？Go ahead
and roll；Vanessa。？
？We？re rolling！？ Vanessa shouted proudly。 She？d always dreamed of saying that； although she？d
imagined saying it inside a morgue or some other grim place where her first inde…pendent feature
would be set。 Certainly not in Barneys with Thaddeus Smith playing the lead。 Still； she？d e a
long way since directing an adaptation ofWar and Peace for school。
Today was the second day of shooting and they were scheduled to wrap a pivotal dinner scene
between Thaddeus； playing Jeremy； and indie starlet Miranda Grace； who was playing Helena； the
villain。Breakfast at Fred？s was the first film she？d made without her twin sister； Coco。 Officially；
Miranda was striking out on her own； but really； Coco was in rehab。 She？d been replaced by a girl
named Courtney Pinard Ken had discovered skateboarding in Washington Square Park； who could
actuallydo the skating stunts Coco had been too wasted to learn。
On set； Miranda picked up her ice…filled cocktail tumbler； gave it a swirl； then drained it in one
sip。 She cleared her throat noisily and reached across the table to grab Thaddeus？s hand。 ？Darling；
do you believe in fate？？ she asked。
Her words echoed around the set； which was quiet enough that Vanessa could make out the
tinkling of ice in Miranda？s glass。
？I？m not sure what I believe in anymore；？ Thaddeus responded quietly。 ？I do know one thing；
though。？ He paused。
This was the moment that Vanessa？that everyone on set？ had been dreading。 Serena was
supposed to burst into the restaurant； trailing a tattered mink stole； and join the couple at their
table。
A moment passed。 Then another。
No Serena。 No Holly。 No one。
？Fucking cut！？ barked Ken Mogul。
？Cut； everyone；？ echoed the first assistant director calmly； and suddenly the set came alive： a
swarm of makeup people and hair stylists emerged from the shadows； teasing Thaddeus？s hair；
reapplying gloss to Miranda？s lips。 A prop assistant refilled the glass Miranda had been swirling；
wiping her lipstick from the rim。
？Will someone；？ Ken whispered； ？please tell Miss Fucking van der Fucking
Whatever…the…fuck…her…name…is to get on her damn mark and make this fucking picture； please？？
？Sorry； sorry！？ called Serena； stumbling onto the set； bran…dishing a menacing Bailey Winter
stiletto。 ？I was still in wardrobe。 I？m sorry； these shoes； they？re just？？
？Serena on the set！？ cried the second assistant director。
Thanks for the update。
？Holly； Holly； Holly。？ Ken Mogul shook his head。 ？To your mark； okay？ Let？s do this again。？
The army of assistants retreated to the shadows and they ran the scene once more。 This time； as
Thaddeus was on the verge of responding to Miranda？s question； Serena burst into the restaurant；
right on cue； adjusting the stole that had slipped from her bare shoulder。
？I？m here； I？m here；？ she chirped； striding past the other tables； swishing her tiered chiffon
Bailey Winter dress。 She dragged over a chair from an unoccupied table and sat。
？Can I help you？？ snapped Miranda。
？Cut； please； cut； right now；？ Ken Mogul muttered。
？Cut！？ cried his loyal loudmouthed assistant。
？Miranda and Serena； please； you？re Helena and Holly now。 Make us believe it；？ he
said。 ？Miranda； make me believe that you？re a woman who could run the world。？
Miranda nodded blankly； batting her fake eyelashes。 She was from the Lower East Side。 She？d
gone to a slutty Catholic school。 Her favorite food was Kraft mac & cheese。 She clearly had no
idea what he was talking about。
Did anyone？
During the third take； everything seemed to e together。 Thaddeus and Miranda sparkled；
nailing their lines perfectly； even throwing in some adlibbed business about that day？s specials。
The lighting looked beautiful and natural； with no accidental glares or twinkles； the sound quality
was perfect。 And Serena arrived on time； didn？t fumble a line or any of her blocking； and when
Ken yelled； ？Cut！？ it was because the scene was in the bag。
？Maybe this won？t be so bad after all；？ the director stage whispered to Vanessa。 ？That？s it for
now； people；？ he yelled。 ？Let？s take fifteen。？
He turned back to Vanessa and said； in a normal tone of voice： ？You？re up； kid。 Let？s see what
you got。？
No problem；Vanessa thought。 Things might be all fucked up with everything else？like whatever
the hell was going on with Dan？but she knew what to do with a camera。
Ken Mogul dragged his canvas director？s chair over to the playback monitor； where he？d be able
to screen the footage Vanessa had just shot。 Vanessa？s assistant camera guy rolled the footage and
Vanessa joined the director； watching over his shoulder。
The first time they？d run the scene； Vanessa had used a straightforward angle； moving the camera
in and then out to capture the nuances in the performances； but all in all keeping a fairly traditional
distance from the actors。 It looked wooden and stiff to her； it was clean and tidy but unimaginative。
The second time they？d rolled； she？d tried something radically different； zooming in to focus first
on Thaddeus？s lips and then panning up to examine his eyelashes。 She？d used this strategy with
his costar； too； to get a rapid…fire； music video effect that was really impressionistic。 It was more
challenging than what you usually saw in a movie； but it was also better。 On the third take she？d
gone even further； letting the camera？s gaze linger on the ice dancing in the glass of water on the
table。 She thought it was a fitting way to symbolize the characters？ plex relationships with
each other。 It was some of her best work。
？What the fuck is this？？ asked Ken Mogul calmly。
Vanessa looked at him。 She couldn？t quite read the tone of his voice。
？I asked you a question；？ Ken repeated； spinning around to face her。 ？What the fuck was that；
Vanessa？ What the fuck wasthat ？？
？That was my camera work；？ Vanessa replied； proudly； but her voice was shaking a bit。
？Are you fucking kidding me？？ Ken Mogul screamed。 Nearby crew members backed into the
shadows； and Vanessa could feel all eyes on her。
？Vanessa； what is this experimental bullshit？ This is not what I hired you for。？
That wasexactly what he？d hired her for！ Those had been hisexact words； as a matter of fact。
Vanessa just stared at him； stunned。
？That？s it。 This is the last thing I need。 I？ve got an actress who can？t act； I？m chewing on
fucking ballpoint pens because I？m not allowed to smoke on my own fucking set； and now this：
little Miss Indie Film is giving me her bullshit camera work。 I don？t need this。 You？re fired！？ Ken
turned away from Vanessa and settled back into his chair。 ？And you；？ he added； pointing to a
gofer； ？tell Thad； Serena； and Miranda to stay ready。 Thanks to this bullshit； we？re going to have
to reshoot。？
Vanessa opened her mouth to respond； but nothing came out。 She was angry； freaking fucking
angry； but more than that； she washurt 。 Tears welled in her eyes and her throat felt tight like she
had to cough。 She couldn？t believe what had happened。 They？d only just started filming； and she
was already fired？ First Ruby kicked her out； then Dan went and started acting like some sort of
Buddhist asshole； and nowthis ？
？Vanessa； what？s the matter？？ Ken demanded roughly。 ？You deaf？ I said you？re fired。 Get the
hell off my set。？
Vanessa stuffed her equipment into her bag and stormed toward the escalator。 The first movie sh