Alter Ego: His Sultry Lover

Chapter 306: Injured The Talent

“As you should be,” Cage said lightly. 

“You told Stephen, right?” Katherine asked finally. The last thing she wanted was her getting caught unaware. 

“Yeah, he’s prepared to take care of anything that comes our way. But I think it will be fine.” He shrugged. Cage had arranged for a private car and made sure their seats were out of the sight of the public. Moreover, there was also the plan to sneak her back inside the hotel when they came back together. It should have worked and that was what she hoped. 

“Good,” she murmured, resting her head against the headboard. Finally, she thought about going to sleep. A little later, she decided. 

“What have you planned for today?” he asked.

She looked up at him and laughed. “Finishing work and then preparing for dinner.” Cage was about to say something when she interjected with purpose. “I know I don’t need to prepare for the date but I want to doll up for you. We rarely get to go out, so I want to make the most of it.”

Cage scowled but finally sighed in resignation. “You always look beautiful. You don’t need to…”

She turned to sit on her knees and raised herself as much as she could to kiss his chin. If she aimed a little higher, this man would get carried away and never make it to his shooting. “I love you for thinking so… but I want to. Now… Go!” She slapped his butt and then let out a small giggle at his surprise. 

Finally, he kissed her forehead and pushed her back into the bed. Having tucked her in, he whispered, “Sweet dreams.” She resigned to her fate and thought about catching up to a couple of hours of sleep. It wouldn’t hurt her anyway. 

– – –

The current film he was filming had a minor number of action scenes which could be handled by the actors themselves. Considering that Giselle was a former stunt person and he had prior experience in the field as well, the filming crew cautiously let them perform the minor stunts themselves.

Due to a revision in the script, the actors had to reshoot the first scene together. They found themselves on a rooftop, her on the other side of the railing and him on the rooftop, looking onto her and talking to her as he tried to prevent her from jumping. 

The scene was supposed to be intense, but for the safety of actors, they had decided on a one storey building. A padded mat was placed where Giselle could supposedly fall. From years of experience, Cage was seasoned to watch people fall.

Cage remained in character, grabbing the front of Giselle’s short, twisting his fingers in the fabric and yanking her forward into the starting position, just as had been planned. He moved a couple of steps back and asked the director if they could practice some more.

After a few practice takes, the director decided that it would be best if they put a safety harness around Giselle’s waist, just in case something went wrong. 

Cage finally took his place a couple of steps away from the railing and Giselle. 

“Action,” the director called. 

Cage lurched forward, trying to grab her and as he reached her chest to grab onto her shirt. Just as he did so, he saw her eyes widen and in that instant, Cage realized that something was wrong. She was caught off guard and seemed unbalanced. One of her hands grabbed onto the railing while the other clamped on his arm, trying to stabilize himself. 

It worked for a fraction of a second. Yet, the grip with which she had pulled on him threw Cage off balance. He heard his startled cry before he went over the railing alongside her. 

As he fell, his eyes widened and he saw Giselle falling along with him. The harness had snapped and they plummeted down. The whole event took less than a second but he hit the mat with much more force than anticipated. In the absence of it, his skull might have cracked open. There were shouts from all around. Giselle had somehow managed to fall on top of him, making Cage take the impact of their fall. 

How it had happened, neither of them knew. Maybe it was her good luck. 

He worked hard to shake off the daze he was in and concentrate on the voices around him. 

“Move back. Let me look at him.” Cage blinked as the on-set medic checked over him. 

“I’m fine,” he whispered, trying to get up. 

“Just stay put, Mr. Cavanaugh,” the medic said, forcing him back down with a hand on his chest. “I have to take a look at you.”

He didn’t argue further, letting the doctor have her way. Pain was beginning to make it known in several parts of his body, including his waist which had taken the brunt of collision when he knocked over it. 

A minor concussion, random bruises and a wounded pride later, Cage was allowed to sit up. Filming would be affected, hence leading to loss of time and money. On the other side, Giselle was talking to the director, explaining what had happened. 

The harness had failed to work. The mat was too old to take the brunt of the force.

He was sent back to the trailer and had to wait on the insurance people and people from the set to come and pay him visits. Stephen was nowhere in sight after the first rush of screaming and panic. 

Cage considered sending the people away when he heard a soft knock on the trailer’s door. 

It wasn’t the people he was expecting but Giselle who had popped her head and in entered with his permission. She closed the door behind her and pressed her lips together, looking at him with concern. 

Her face was a bright red, probably from embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out, hanging her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking, grabbing onto you like that. I shouldn’t have injured the talent…” she blubbered.