Free Once in a Blue Moon by Kristin James

Carol Nieman sent for her. Carol was the assistant producer for “Tomorrows,” and she did most of the actual management of the show. Danny Archer, the producer, also produced another soap, and he oversaw both operations. The way it usually worked out was that Danny took the credit when something went very well and dumped the blame on Carol whenever anything went wrong.
    When Isabelle stepped into her office, Carol looked up at her, smiling, and said, “How does a trip to Cancún sound to you?”
    Isabelle gazed back, uncomprehending. “What? A trip to Cancú An? I don’t understand.”
    “We’ve decided to scrap the location shoot in New Orleans. I guess you’ve heard about that.”
    Isabelle nodded, and Carol shook her head and sighed. “It’s almost impossible to keep anything secret on this set.”
    Isabelle refrained from pointing out that a change in secretaries might help stop the flow of rumors. After all, she had no desire to end the actors’ pipeline. She merely tried to look agreeably sympathetic.
    “Sit down. Sit down,” Carol said, waving toward one of the chairs in front of her desk. “Well, at least you haven’t heard it all, obviously. We’ve decided instead of New Orleans, to go on location to Cancún for a week. Different story line. And you’re going to be one of the actors going on location.” She smiled beneficently, as one bestowing a great favor.
    “Really?” Isabelle tried to look appropriately appreciative, but her heart sank. “Who else?”
    “Not many people. Just a couple of day players and you and Michael Traynor.”
    “Oh.” Isabelle’s voice came out hoarse. She cleared her throat and forced a creaky smile onto her face. It was even worse than she had feared. Obviously they were linking her story line with Michael’s. But worse than that, she was going to have to spend a week in Cancún with Michael!

Five
    I sabelle glanced over at Lyle, who was busily flipping back and forth between his copy of the script and the shooting schedule, making notes. She then turned her head back to the window, gazing at the blue sea beneath them. The plane was obviously dropping lower and lower. It wouldn’t be long before they’d set down in Cancún.
    She sighed and turned back to the seat in front of her. Everyone except herself, of course, was delighted with the new story line. Even Lyle, normally the gloomiest of men, was patently enthused. He had spent almost the entire flight working on the various scenes they were to film, as engrossed as if they were his first scenes as a director. What time he hadn’t been working, he had been talking to Isabelle about the new story line.
    Isabelle could understand everyone’s enthusiasm. If it hadn’t been Michael Traynor involved, she would have been interested, too. They were taking a new direction from the one that both Isabelle’s character and the show had been following the past two or three years. “Tomorrows” had always been primarily a character show, its story lines built slowly on the complications of the characters’ entanglements with each other. Most of the villainy done had been either financial finaglings or romantic schemes. Jessica, naturally, had been involved in both. The new story line infused new blood in the form of physical action and a nastier, more personal villainy, as well as a different sort of story for Jessica.
    The past two weeks of scripts had had Jessica and Curtis becoming more and more worried about Mark Townsend, from whom they had heard no word. Finally they had learned that his medical mission in Central America had been attacked by guerrillas. No one knew anything about the survivors, and Curtis had decided to fly down to the fictitious country of San Pedro to investigate Mark’s disappearance for himself. Jessica had insisted on coming, too, despite Curtis’s objections.
    The location shooting would be of the two of them traveling to the mission and searching for Mark. Cancún and its environs