Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
“Stop dodging. Tell me you understand.”
“I understand.”
“Great.”
“Fucking fabulous.”
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Briar
I felt like an escaped prisoner crossing state lines.
“So, let’s discuss red lines.” I cracked open my laptop in front of two-time Oscar nominee Hailey Johansson, double-clicking the questionnaire I used for all my clients. “Do you have any?”
Hailey pouted from across the twelve-seater table. She twirled a tight black curl around her slender finger, her chin propped on her fist. Ethereal and breathtaking as a doe-eyed cartoon princess, she appeared bored out of her mind in the Magnolia Room of the Grand Regent, Fifth Avenue.
Yup. I’d booked us a two-grand-an-hour table at the seven-star hotel, taking full advantage of my fake fiancé’s facilities.
When we’d entered the conference floor, men in three-piece suits had paused to gawk at us from their positions hunched over round tables and printed spreadsheets. To say we looked out of place in the backdrop of high-power investment brokers, vaulted ceilings, and million-dollar chandeliers was an understatement.
“I mean. I guess full penetration?” Hailey snapped her pink gum, her big brown eyes following handsome businessmen through the glass windows as they sailed past us. “Though, to be honest, even that’s not a hard line if I finally win an Oscar.”
I let out a weak laugh. She stared at me, dead serious.
Filming started in less than fifteen weeks. I’d bet my entire salary that Hailey would spend every one of them stabbing voodoo dolls of actresses who won trophies on the years of her nominations.
I cleared my throat, sipping my green tea. “There must be something you don’t feel comfortable doing.”
“No.”
“Full nudity? Touching in specific places? A certain number of staff on set when you film the intimate scenes?”
She offered me a slow blink. “I don’t think you understand, Briar. I want an Oscar. The more whacky my process is, the more chances I have to win it. For all I care, I can do a creampie scene if it earns me a win.”
I examined her from across the table, careful not to let my jaw drop to the floor. Nothing wrong with Hailey’s approach. I just wasn’t used to it, as someone who worked with humans that tended to be very self-conscious about their bodies and images.
“May I ask why you hired me, if you don’t need an intimacy coordinator?”
“My PR team thinks it’s a good idea.” She rolled her eyes. “Ever since my fling with Tony DiLorenzo.”
Her ‘fling’ with Tony DiLorenzo was a Vegas wedding followed by an annulment. The media might have given her more grace if Tony hadn’t been expecting a baby at the time with his long-term girlfriend, whom he dropped off at the hospital – just barely – to deliver the baby before running off with Hailey.
It was pretty obvious that Hailey and I wouldn’t be a good professional fit, but I always tried to give people grace. Came with the territory of not being given it often growing up. I liked to think that we’re all unedited stories. That a little grace can sharpen the world’s hardest edges.
“Do you have red lines?” Hailey slurped her green shake from a paper straw. “Maybe I can draw some inspiration from you. You seem like the touchy type.”
“Yes.” I ignored her dig. “I have red lines.”
She readjusted her barely-there miniskirt, spitting her gum into a napkin and disposing it beneath the leather unholstered seat. “Like what?”
I opened my mouth to answer, when from the corner of my eye, I caught a suspicious movement next to the entrance. A tall, well-dressed figure with a mass of golden tresses and seductive lips.
I shook my head.
No. It couldn’t be.
I’d told him not to come.
I’d warned him.
You can’t even control your hormones around this man, and you want to control him?
A hysterical laugh jammed my throat as I watched Oliver weave between tables like a demon. Strawmen in sharp suits tried to grab his attention, flagging him down with half waves, desperate for his conversation.
One man caught him by the arm. Oliver stared him down, sneering at whatever he said. The businessman laughed in response, obviously embarrassed.
As if sensing my gaze, Oliver’s eyes traveled up, zeroing in on me.
His prey. His conquest. His little toy.
I swallowed hard as Hailey screwed her face, clearly annoyed.
“Hello? What are your red lines, Briar? I could use some inspiration. I don’t want my co-star to think that I’m easy. I heard he’s single, you know.”
Oh, so now you care.
I wrenched my glare from Ollie with whatever willpower I had left in my body, flashing Hailey a patient smile. I wouldn’t let Oliver ruin this in the name of our stupid who-blinks-first game.
This was my career. My passion in life. How dare he come here.
“Boundaries,” I heard myself say.
“Boundaries?” Hailey cocked her head sideways, as though the mere idea confused her. “Like, safe words and shit?”