Her Leading Man Read Free Page A

horse.
    “ Anyhow, to get back to what I was saying,”
Martin went on, “I’m sure you’ve both read the shooting schedule and the
story line “ He lifted his eyebrows in a n expression of inquiry.
    Christina
nodded.
    Orozco snorted again.
    “Then you know our picture
is a retelling of the Moses and Ramses story, but from the point of
view of the sidekicks to both men. Miss Mayhew’s role will be that
of a slave girl sought after by Pharaoh’s brother and rescued by
one of Moses’s favored underlings, played by Pablo.” He smiled graciously
first at
Christina, then at Orozco.
    Christina’s nose wrinkled at the thought of being rescued—or anything
else, for that matter—by Pablo Orozco. She smoothed out
the frown out
as soon as she caught herself doing it. If she could only keep in mind
the money she
was making, and of how far it would go to pay her way through medical
school, she could do this.
    “ The picture is going to be adult in content,”
Martin said in a voice that didn’t contain so much as a trace of
irony.
    Christina herself felt like snorting at that one. “Adult in content”
meant she’d have to bare her bosom for the camera. School , she said to herself. School . She wouldn’t be the first actress
to appear on
screen in the altogether, and she undoubtedly wouldn’t be the last. She didn’t
like it, but she would endure.
    Orozco waggled his eyebrows at her, and she didn’t like it even more
than she hadn’t liked it before he did so.
    Martin cleared his throat. Christina wondered if he disapproved of naked
scenes but didn’t ask. He obviously wasn’t going to cut it out of the picture.
Well, and why
should he? Once word got out that the star of the picture was showing her naked
bosom, the whole world would flock to see the blasted
thing.
    “ Ah, I thought your grandmother always came
to location shoots with you, Miss Mayhew . ”
    She hadn’t expected Martin’s comment, and she glanced at him
sharply, looking for disapproval. She didn’t detect anything in his expression
but interest. “She’s laid up today. Lumbago.”
    “ Oh.” Martin frowned slightly. “I should think
this awful heat would be good for lumbago.”
    Christina grinned as she thought about her
grandmother. “Gran’s a little eccentric, M r. Tafft.”
    He opened his mouth—Christina presumed to say he’d already heard
that about her—but shut it again before any words came out. Christina was
impressed. She’d always heard Martin Tafft was a good guy and a diplomatic one,
but she’d decided to reserve her opinion on the matter. She did appreciate
his refraining from making a snide comment about her grandmother, however.
    “ I’m sorry she’s not feeling
well , ” was what he eventually said.
    Even more impressed, Christina said, “Thank you, Mr.
Tafft.”
    “ And, um, well . .
.”
    Christina cocked an eyebrow, curious to hear what he was so reluctant
to say.
    “ Well . .
. ” He took a
big breath. “I just want you—and your grandmother—to know that we
will use all possible discretion in the filming of the, ah, adult portions of the
picture.”
    Yeah. Right. “I’m sure you will.” Christina managed not to sneer, but it
was an effort. Besides, she kind of liked this man. She’d heard he loved the
pictures and
considered them of value to the culture, but she guessed anyone might be
allowed a misguided opinion or two . He did seem genuinely
concerned about her level of comfort with regard to being displayed to
the nation in the altogether.
    If Los Angeles University ever heard about this, she’d be drummed out
of medical school before she even enrolled. But they
wouldn’t ; Christina would see to it.
    “ Truly, Miss Mayhew. I know how such
scenes mi ght embarrass a
girl— ”
    Christina hated being called a gir l.
    “ — and we’ll clear the set
of all but the people involved.”
    “ Thanks.” She hoped, but didn’t anticipate,
that Orozco would not be involved in that
particular