Amanda was about to say something, but her stare lingered over my shoulder. I turned and found Chester stepping inside the room, a bright smile on his lips, a duffle bag in his grip.
“That’s my cue.” Amanda patted my arm before she ambled away.
Shit. I wished Amanda could have stayed longer so I could ask her about what happened at the party after I left and…about Kyle. But then, what good could come out of knowing how he’d been?Better Drop it.“Don’t be a stranger, Amanda.”
She glanced at me over her shoulder, and then she came back and gave me a hug. “Drinks tomorrow?”
I squeezed her back, happy that I didn’t lose one of my closest friends. “Sure.” Then I watched her disappear behind the door, before I returned to my seat.
Chester dragged a chair and settled next to me, tossing rusty blond hair off his forehead. His blue eyes flicked from his face on the screen to mine. “Do you think you have it?”
I glanced at the different angles of the presented scene and pointed at the shot on the left screen. “Yeah. This one here.”
He stood up and reached between his legs, grabbing the chair and dragging it closer. When he sat back down, there were only a couple of feet between us. “I like it. Can you show me the one with the kiss?”
I pressed a button, and the short clip played seamlessly. “It’s good.”
“The kiss?” He leaned forward. “Or the kisser?”
My eyes trained on his face, studying it. The swallow of his throat. The heat of his cheeks. The twitch of his lips. Fuck. “Thesceneis good, Monroe. If you wanna know about your kissing skills, don’t ask me. Ask your co-star.”
“But I don’t wanna ask Sandra. I don’t have a thing for Sandra.” He ran a hand over the back of his head. “I kinda like you, Maggie…since I first saw you. You were taken then, but now you’re single. I mean, you are single, Mags?”
I narrowed my eyes into a harsh squint. “Are you hitting on me or were you sent to know if I’m secretly dating a certain celebrity?”
“Um… I never believed that Gennaro thing. He’s too old for you, but I’m not hitting on you either. Not that way. I mean, I wanna take you out, like, on a real date.” He flashed ridiculously-white teeth at me. “I really like you, Mags.”
I tilted back in my chair and looked at the ceiling. My phone was vibrating in my pocket, but I couldn’t just answer it. Not in the middle of this craziness. Especially if it was Mike. “Seriously, Chester? I just broke up like two fucking minutes ago.” My glare returned to his face. “And I’m your boss. Call me Mags again, and I’ll kill you.”
He grinned. “You’re even hotter when you’re mad.”
I kicked his knee, and he winced, laughing through the pain. Looking at the door, I spotted Erisha coming in with a sandwich in her hand. “What took you so long?” I grabbed the sandwich and munched on it. “Can we screen those fuckin’ dailies so we can all go home?”
My phone vibrated again. It had to be Mike, reminding me to eat and checking how I was handling today, like he’d been all day. But when everyone stepped away from me and I glanced at the screen, I saw it wasn’t Mike. It was Kyle.
Scene42
Maggie
It was almost midnight when I made it home. I’d been working for fourteen hours in an unfriendly environment, my stomach acting up as fuck, and the last thing I needed was photographers and reporters mobbing around my apartment building.
Their shouts fell on me unheard as I elbowed my way through the masses without so much of a word. I wasn’t ready for their irritating questions, and if I opened my mouth I’d snap.
The second I reached the apartment, I dropped on the bed. My phone’s vibrations tingled at my thigh. “Please be Mike,” I said, getting my phone out of my pocket. My lips tightened as I stared at the name. Kyle. Again.
I squeezed my eyes shut, a wave of nausea hitting me hard. Then I stared back at the dimming screen, my thumb acting faster than my brain.
“Hello?” His voice was hoarse as if he hadn’t spoken in a while.
My heart thumped as I peered at the call in progress, my hand slow as it brought the phone to my ear.
“Maggie?”
I gulped. “Yes.”
“I’m…downstairs in my car.” A heavy sigh escaped him. “I didn’t wanna come up when you weren’t there. Can I… I need to get a few things from the apartment.”
“Yes.” Suddenly, I became aware everything in the apartment was exactly as I left it two days ago. “But be careful. There’re reporters at the entrance.”
