Anderson Lin was an East Asian man with a small stature and a huge, bubbly personality. He’d been on the production side in TV when he and Shayne were dating, but now he worked in front of the camera. Marley leaned forward to hug Anderson because she really did like the guy, even if she’d spent countless nights helping her best friend drink away his heartbreak.
“Why are you even here?” Anderson asked after hugging her back. “I’m so delighted to see you! It’s been way too long!”
“Oh, I’m here with Nikhil… sorry, Nik Sharma.” She pointed at Nikhil. “I’m his wardrobe stylist.”
Anderson’s eyes widened. “How amazing! And how is…” he stuttered.
Marley raised one brow. “Shayne?”
Anderson nodded. He looked invested in the answer. Anderson clearly wasn’t as heartless as Shayne thought. Marley wasn’t sure what Shayne would want her to say here. She decided to go withliving well is the best revenge. “Shayne isfabulous. Working so hard. He’s going to Paris soon for fashion week as a runway photographer.”
Marley couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw a pang of regret. But Anderson wiped it off his face immediately. “He issucha talent. I’ve been trying to reach him but…” His voice trailed off.
“Wait,” Nikhil said, looking back and forth between Anderson and Marley with shock. “Shayne… you never mentioned you’restillfriends with Shayne.”
Anderson raised a questioning brow.
“Nik went to high school with us,” Marley explained. Maybe that wasn’t information the media needed to know. And Anderson was media.
“Let’s get this interview started,” Kaelyn said, bringing an end to the awkward reunion. She looked at Anderson. “You’re fromThe Confab, right? You have five minutes. I assume you read the approved questions and, more importantly, the off-limits topics. Go ahead.”
Thankfully, Anderson kept to the script, and Nikhil was fine again, so Marley didn’t have to do any awkward pseudo-flirting. When Anderson left, he gave Marley a wave as the next person was herded in.
“That was weird,” Marley said to Nikhil as she fixed his collar again. “Shayne’s going to flip his lid when he hears about this. He’s been pretending Anderson doesn’t exist for months.”
Nikhil shook his head. “I love that you two are still tight. You were inseparable in high school.”
Marley nodded. “We’re roommates now.”
“I want to hear all about how he’s doing,” Nikhil said as the next interviewer was taking her seat. “Later, though.”
Marley exhaled as she returned to her chair. Was she going to have alaterwith Nikhil? Was he feeling this attraction, too, or was he just being friendly and a little needy? She’d told him that she wasn’t going to have sex with him, and yes, she did use her breasts to get his attention earlier, but the fact that it worked didn’t necessarily mean he was hoping for something here. Her breasts were nice.
And in three days, she wouldn’t have them anymore.
Marley swallowed. Funny how being around Nikhil plucked that major upcoming life event from the front of her mind. But it was back now.
At least she wouldn’t be styling Nikhil again. He’d forget all about her after the junket when he got busy with rehearsals and shooting. Marley would be a blip on his radar… He’d be dating supermodels and A-listers soon.
The rest of the interviews were fine. After the last one, Kaelyn pulled Nikhil back to the other room to talk about something. Marley grabbed her bag and followed, stopping near the door. It was past five o’clock—she’d been here all day. Could she just leave now? Lydia looked up from her phone.
“We’re done with you now,” Lydia said. “Have the store bill the studio for the shirts.”
Nothank you, noyou did a great job. And Nikhil hadn’t even looked at her when he left with Kaelyn.
But it was fine. This wassupposedto be professional only. She smiled, thanked Lydia, and left the hotel room.
CHAPTER SIX
Nikhil
Nikhil was whisked across the hall by Kaelyn to talk to the suit-wearing publicist, Carmen, the moment his last interview ended. He expected them to ream him for messing up at the beginning of the junket, but they didn’t. In fact, the only debriefing he got was a “good job” before they started outlining the plans for the mini press tour.
“We are conscious of your training schedule,” Carmen said, “but you will have to be in New York or LA for this. It can’t be avoided.”
Starting Monday, Nikhil was progressing from a few hours a day of weight training to an intensive six-week program to learn the stunts and fight choreography at a private gym close to the studio. He’d be there nine to five, Monday through Friday. One of the reasons he’d been excited to get this role was that both principal photography and rehearsals were already slated to be in Toronto, and he thought it was a good idea for him to be close to his family for a while. Although Nikhil barely saw his mother since she stayed in her room most of the time. And his father was still sweeping all the family’s problems under the Persian carpet in the living room.
Fixing problems reminded him that he needed to thank Marley for her help today. And he wanted to ask her for a drinkbefore she left. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he detected a flirty vibe from her earlier. But when he glanced around the room, he didn’t see her. “Where’s Marley? Is she still across the hall?”
