“Derek, we’re worried about you.”
If I hang up, what are the chances he calls back right away? Pretty high. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“Everyone.”
“You don’t have to worry.”
Hunter coughs next to me, and I glare at him before ducking my head again. I think I’m safe from the group of women, who are behind us now, but there are still a lot of people around. People who might recognize me and blow my cover.
I should have stuck with the restaurant attached to my hotel, but I was feeling restless.
Not that that’s anything new.
“You say that,” Cole says, “but that doesn’t make it true.”
“I’m fine.”
Janie scoffs behind me.
Instead of turning a soft glare on her—she doesn’t deserve that—I put all my limited energy into my voice, keeping it steady and light even though Cole’s too smart to believe my facade. “Seriously, Cole. I’m working on something for a movie. It hasn’t been announced yet, so there’s only so much I can say.”
That part’s true, at least. I’m under contract, but there’s a chance this movie will fall through before filming ever starts. There’s always more of a risk with indie films, but lately I’ve been enjoying them more than the blockbuster hits that are guaranteed to be a success simply because of the studios behind them and the A-list casts they can afford. Conceited as it sounds, I’m hoping that this movie will do well if I’m in it, so I can’t jeopardize anything.
Cole is silent, something that never bodes well, so I try to change the subject. “How’s Carissa feeling?”
“She’s ready to get to the baby part of all of this. Derek, are you sure you’re okay? You’re not alone, are you?”
I glance at my bodyguard next to me. If not Hunter, Janie’s almost always within hearing distance, or I’m in a meeting with my agent or talking to directors or my publicist or one of my friends.
I’m never alone. Even when I want to be.
“Nah, Hunter’s stuck doing this research with me,” I say, managing a smile when Hunter wrinkles his nose. He really doesn’t want to do this whitewater thing, but he wouldn’t let me come on my own. “And Janie will have my phone for a few days while I’m doing my research.”
“You won’t have your phone?” Cole asks. “Why not?” He sounds horrified, which makes me laugh. Leave it to the grumpiest of my friends to cheer me up.
“Would you relax? I’m going to be out of service anyway, so I figured it’s better to leave it with her.”
“Are…” Cole’s voice drops low, like he’s worried someone might overhear our conversation. “Are you sure you can trust Janie? Things withHot Scoophave gotten worse since you hired her.”
I nearly drop my phone. It takes a lot to surprise me, so Cole’s unexpected question hits me like a truck. “Of course I can,” I murmur. Like Hunter, Janie’s one of the best decisions I’ve made lately. Okay, so there was a time when she was a bit too friendly with me, but we got past that. She knows I’m not interested, and her flirty nature is just part of her personality. My life would fall apart without her.
But what if…
Silently cursing, I switch my phone to the other hand and pull my hat from my head, running my fingers through my hair as I say, “Are you the only one who thinks that?”
“No,” Cole says. So matter-of-factly.
Just how many of my friends have been questioning the trustworthiness of my assistant? For how long? And why? Janie hasn’t done anything suspicious, even when she’s had access to my phone. Did I say or do something to make my friends think she’s a problem? I must have, and I need to fix it so they can stop worrying.
In my agitation, I nearly walk right into a woman, and I stumble to a halt before we collide. My apology dies on my tongue when I catch sight of her wide eyes as she stares at my face. My veryvisibleface.
“Derek Riley,” she whispers in awe, and I can see her excitement building as she processes what she’s seeing.
My curse isn’t silent this time. “I’ve been spotted,” I tell Cole and hang up, looking around for some sort of escape as the woman grabs the arm of the man next to her and says my name again.
Hunter grabsmyarm and tugs me into the nearest shop. As soon as Janie is inside, he pulls the door closed and locks it, keeping his hands on the door and his eyes on the street outside as a few people hurry overand try pushing the door open. My pounding heart has already started to calm because Hunter will fix this. He always does.
“Uh, excuse me? You can’t do that.”
