I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering when he became such a stickler for the rules. “We literally just finished filming. I’m sure some of the other guys are around here as well.”
“Can we go?” the model on his arm whined. “Who cares what they’re up to?”
He ignored her, all his attention focused on me.Must be my lucky day.
“If this is as important to you as you say it is, it wouldn’t be the best idea to break the rules on your first day.”
I continued walking, having no interest in this pointless conversation. “Good thing we’re not breaking any rules, then, isn’t it?”
I didn’t wait for a response. Instead, I called the elevator and rushed inside as soon as the doors opened. Charlie followed, standing next to me as the car ascended. “So you guys had a falling-out or something?”
“Or something. It’s complicated.”
A dry chuckle left him. “Isn’t it always?”
As promised, I walked Charlie to his room and then disappeared into my own. When I checked my phone, I had eighteen missed calls and almost as many text messages. My mind went to Sweet Dreams, and I prayed nothing had happened.
The calls were from an unknown number. The messages were mostly pictures Willa had sent me. One was of her finger, another of half her face. Blurry wall shots and a leg followed before one made sense. I guess she’d been trying to take a selfie with Kinsley in front of a counter packed full of purple pastries.
She was obviously embracing the whole theme idea and had gone with colors. Someone should have told her she didn’t have to send me every single photo she took. She was an eighty-year-old trapped in a twenty-three-year-old body when it came to technology.
I responded with a thumbs-up and turned the TV on. I needed the background noise to keep my mind off Grayson and the show.
So much for getting through the show unscathed.Seeing him had rattled me more than I cared to admit. It had been years. I should have been over my ridiculous infatuation with the man. The only thing it would lead to was another crash and burn.
It was clear he was no longer the Grayson I once knew. This new version was an ass who I needed to steer clear of.
The sound of my phone snapped me out of my whine-fest.
It was the unknown number again. There was only one person who constantly changed his number and would call me this persistently. There was no use putting off the inevitable any longer, and I picked up.
“Hello?”
“Finally. I’ve been calling you all day.”
I groaned and sat down on the bed.Why. Me?
“I told you not to call me anymore. Good-bye, Garret.”
“I have a deal for you.”
Since I was still in full possession of my brain, I’d never be stupid enough to agree to a deal with him. “No way. Good-bye.”
“I’ll go to Willa, then.”
My hand stopped moving the phone away from my ear, and I ground my teeth. The only way this day could get worse was if someone told me we had to make a Baked Alaska. The damn cake never turned out right. And since there was fire involved, the chances of me burning down my bakery were too high, so I gave up trying.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
“I owe Greg money. And he won’t wait for me to pay him back for much longer. He wants Willa if I don’t come up with what I owe him in three days.”
Okay, turns out thereisa way for this night to get worse that doesn’t include any baking.
“You are the most useless human being I’ve ever met. Do you carenothingfor your own daughter?” My voice came out strangled, the emotions overflowing. I wanted to throttle the bastard.
“That’s harsh. You know she’s my world. I’d do anything for her. Which is why I called you.”
I got up, stifling the urge to scream. That would get us nowhere. “I told you already that I don’t have any money. It’s all tied up in Sweet Dreams. I’m only giving myself a small salary each month. And on the slight chance I win this competition, I won’t get the money until after the show finishes. Which is intwomonths.”
