“Of course, you know. You’re his stepdaughter.”
“Ex-stepdaughter,” I corrected.
“Does it matter?” He grinned, amused.
“Yes, it does matter.”
“Wouldn’t matter to me. I’d proudly call you my stepdaughter even after getting a divorce. You’d actually make for great content. You know, ‘stepdaddy fucks his redhead stepdaughter.’”
Gross.
“Please don’t say stuff like that.”
He laughed again. “You look like you’re about to throw up,” he said, chuckling. “Relax. He’s just a guy with cameras and a sex addiction.”
I rolled my eyes at his last comment, knowing he was only joking about the sex addiction thing. Callan wasn’t addicted to sex. He just liked it. A lot. Maybe even more than the average man. I gripped the notebook tighter. “You’ve known him a long time, right?”
“Too long.” Rocco grinned. “Since before he was the big moral philosopher of porn.”
That earned a small laugh out of me, which seemed to please him.
“There you go,” he said. “See? You can breathe. You’re not gonna die. He’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. And if you start hyperventilating, I’ll be right here to drag you out. Believe it or not, I’m a pretty decent guy.”
That made me want to laugh again, but I didn’t. “Thanks.”
He grinned wider. “So what’s your angle, pretty girl? You planning on writing about the corruption of the industry, or are you gonna praise us for our deep artistic merit?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” I said honestly. “All I know is that I truly want to keep it about the filmmaking. Not the actual act.”
“Fair.” He nodded toward the door. “Well, good luck in there. Try not to faint. He hates it when people faint.” Now he was just mocking me.
“I’m not going to faint,” I said again, then I frowned. “Why would anyone faint—oh…”
His grin widened. “Yeah. Happened a couple of times. Apparently, your stepdaddy can get any woman to orgasm so hard they lose their consciousness.”
That was a detail I didn’t necessarily need. I grimaced. “I’m not here for that,” I reminded him.
“I know, I know. Just thought I’d let you know.”
“Thanks,” I muttered.
I took a deep breath and turned around to face the door, and Rocco followed me when I pushed inside.
“Showtime,” he said lightly. “Or, you know, pre-showtime.”
The lights were already on, and Callan stood near one of the cameras, head tilted while checking the angle. It wasn’t the only camera in the room. There were two more on either side of the room, and another one on the bed, which I figured was going to be used by a cameraman.
I stepped a little closer but didn’t dare to walk past the lights. “Hi.”
“Hey,” he said, eyes still on the camera. “You’re early. The girls aren’t here yet.”
“You said eight-thirty.”
He gave me a look that said,Yeah, so?
Rocco walked past me, setting his coffee on a side table. “She’s been standing outside for five minutes,” he said, smirking. “Almost fainted, I think.”
I glared at him. “I didn’t almost faint.”
