A story of power, money, and deception.

CAPITAL BEAT GRILL, DOWNTOWN DENVER

"It was the worst shoot of my life," Elizabeth said to her father and sister, Andelia. "The storm destroyed most of the sets, the sewers, if you can call them that, backed up from all of the rain water and there was sewage floating in the streets. You didn’t dare step outside for fear of catching some disease from all of the muck floating in the streets. The hotel was considered the best in town. Problem was, it was the only hotel in town, and it was a complete dump!

"So, the storm finally passes, but two days later there is still water in the streets, and the smell was sickening! Finally, the producers call a meeting. They have decided to take their losses and get the hell out of Mexico. We ended up using what footage we could, but most of the Mexico scenes were rewritten and filmed on a sound stage in Burbank."

"Wow," Andelia said. "I’ll stick with the restaurant, thank you. You can keep Mexico!"

"Well, if I ever get another script where a location is to be shot in Mexico, I am definitely going to think twice!" Elizabeth said with a laugh.

"What’s your next project?" Anthony asked as he took a bite of the steak that was in front of him.

"A romantic comedy set in Paris. We start filming in two weeks," Elizabeth answered.

"Okay, I would give up the restaurant for Paris," Andelia laughed.

"Speaking of the restaurant," Anthony started, "when was your last day off?"

"I’m taking Friday night off," Andelia said a little defensively.

"That’s not what I asked," Anthony replied.

"Alright, so it’s been a while," Andelia admitted.

"A while? The last time you had dinner at home was nearly three months ago," Anthony said. "However, after enjoying this steak, I can understand why you would want to eat here every night! That was amazing!"

"I will tell Leo you liked it," Andelia replied. "But you’re right. I do spend a lot of my time here. But I just want to make sure everything is going well. We’ve only been open for six months, and restaurants can fail for the slightest reason. I just want to make sure that none of those reasons happen here."

"Andy," Elizabeth said, taking her sisters hand. "I can completely understand your need to make sure it’s perfect, but you need to think of yourself, too."

"I know, which is why I am taking Friday night off. I have a date," Andelia said.

"Before you start going into details," Anthony said, "I need to get back to the office. Affairs of state don’t wait for meals. Send the bill to my office, Andy."

"Like that’s going to happen," she said as she kissed his cheek. "I’ll see you later."

Once goodbyes were said, and kisses exchanged, Elizabeth looked at Andy. "Okay, spill it. Who’s the guy?"

"His name is Brad Thomas. He’s a doctor at Denver General," Andelia said with a smile.

"A doctor? Not to rub salt into old wounds, but that’s a lot better than your last boyfriend," Elizabeth said.

Andelia laughed and shook her head. "What can I say, I was in my bad boy stage then. And Franky was definitely bad!"

"So what is he up to now?" Elizabeth asked, then noticed the odd look on Andelia’s face. "What’s wrong?"

"Franky died," Andelia said flatly. "It was a drug overdose. Happened about 6 months ago."

"Oh, shit. I’m sorry," Elizabeth said. "I didn’t know."

"Don’t worry about it," Andelia said. "By the time it happened, he had lost everything. I had broken up with him a few months earlier. Everyone he knew had left him, and he had lost everything he owned. He was homeless and living on the streets. The only reason I found out that he had died is that when he was found, the police found my name and phone number in his wallet. I had to identify his body."

"Jesus," Elizabeth quietly said, shaking her head.

"Yeah," Andelia agreed. "But, the positive thing to happen with Franky’s death was that I met Brad. He’s one of the most caring people I have ever met."

Andelia smiled and chuckled a bit. "Of course, it took me quite a while to realize just how special he was. Our date on Friday is only the fifth we have had."

"Really? So, at the moment, it’s not that serious?" Elizabeth asked her.

"I would say it’s more serious than we think, but not serious enough to be everything," Andelia replied. "Does that make sense?"

"Sure! You are still in the discovery stage," Elizabeth said. "You’re dating, but still learning about each other."

"That’s it!" Andelia replied. "I like that. The discovery stage. That’s what we’re in."

"And just how much have you discovered?" Elizabeth asked.

"Enough to know what toothpaste he uses in the morning," Andelia replied. "But not enough to have met his parents yet."

"Speaking of parents, what do ours think of him?"

"They haven’t met him yet," Andelia replied.

"By chance or choice?" Elizabeth asked.

"Definitely choice!" Andelia said with a laugh. "I want Brad to get to know me before introducing him to the family. He knows I own the restaurant, but I haven’t come right out and told him who my family is. He knows I was married and got divorced, but he doesn’t know my maiden name is Biddinger."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"When I know I can," Andelia replied.