said that if he liked the quality of someoneâs work, he didnât see a reason why he shouldnât use that person again.â
âWait, âThe Spadeâ?â she questioned uncertainly. Were they still talking about Lukkas?
The man nodded. âThatâs what the crew calls him. Because of his last name,â he added.
She had to admit that she wouldnât have thought of that herself. But now that the cameraman had pointed it out to her, she couldnât see how she could have missed that.
âHe knows everyoneâs name. I really donât know how he keeps them all straight. Me, Iâve got five kids and sometimes I forget some of their names, or get whoâs who mixed up,â he joked. âI never heard The Spade confuse anyoneâs name with someone elseâs. The guyâs incredible.â
Thereâd be no argument from her on that. But, admiration notwithstanding, she was starting to understand why the producer needed to have someone organizing things for him as he went along. It was apparent that he already had far too much going on in his head to accommodate anything extra.
In all honesty, she was beginning to wonder how the man didnât just implodeâor have a meltdown. There was just too much.
* * *
âSo howâs it going?â Lukkas asked sometime later that day as he came up on her.
âI located Joanne Campbell. Her agentâJim Myersâsaid she was in between projects at the moment and would love to have a chance to work with you. Seems you have quite a following,â she told him with a smile.
She had to confess that she felt a touch of pride about the matter as well, which she supposed anyone else would have thought somewhat premature. But in all honesty, she was beginning to feel as if she had always had this job. To his credit, Lukkas created that sort of atmosphere on his sets.
Lukkas was quick to wave away the comment she had repeated. âHer agent knows how to sugarcoat his words, thatâs all. Helps during negotiations.â
âMyers wanted to know when youâd like to have Joanne audition for the part.â
âNo need,â Lukkas told her. âSheâs already got the part.â When Yohanna looked at him in surprise, he explained his reasoning. âShe has the same build, the same coloring as the Elliott girl andâas a plusâshe has a hell of a better attitude than Monica Elliott does.â Lukkas had few hard and fast rules on his set, but Monica Elliott had broken one of them. âI donât like turmoil on my sets.â
âTurmoil,â Yohanna echoed. âI donât see how thatâs even possible, considering the size of the fan club youâve got here.â Sheâd initially decided to keep that to herself, but when something was staring you in the face, there was a tendency to want to at least mention it.
Lukkas clearly looked as if he didnât know what she was talking about. âCome again?â
âI talked to one of the crew membersâa cameraman named Eddie Harrington,â she interjected. âFrom what I gathered, the whole crew thinks that you could walk on water if you really wanted to.â
Lukkas frowned at her and shook his head. âDonât exaggerate, Hanna.â
âI donât think I am,â she told him. âIf anything, Iâm probably understating it. I donât know if you realize it, but youâve got enough goodwill going for you here to mount a campaign for president of the United States if you wanted to.â
For a second it looked as if he was just going to laugh in her face, Yohanna thought. And then he just shook his head, dismissing the very notion.
âBeing a producerâs rough enough, Hanna. Why in Godâs name would I want to put myself through something like that? And after the hell you go through, you wind up occupying the loneliest seat in the country. No thanks. Iâm