“Carolina, there’s something that you really have to know.”
“Maggie!” Samantha’s high pitched voice disrupted the moment.
“Is that Devries?” Mike whispered with a grimace on his face.
“Maggie!” My manager’s voice approached the bathroom door. “You in there?”
“I better go see what she wants or she will never go away.” I stepped out of the shower, grabbing for towels. As I handed Mike one, the door opened. “What the fuck, Samantha?” I glared at her, folding the towel around my body as fast as I could.
“Sorry, but this is urgent.” She shrugged, no remorse in her tone, her eyes fixed on Mike’s naked ass.
“I’m right here.” I snapped my fingers at her, and then looked at him. “Can you move any fuckin’ slower? Cover the fuck up.”
I darted forward, practically pushing Samantha out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. “If you ever ogle him like that again, you’re fired.”
“You won’t fire me because you’ll love me so much when I tell you what I have for you. So stop being such a hot-headed Italian and hear me out.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, my hair dripping on the refurbished floor. “Spit it out.”
“Andrew Callahan agreed to your date. I even pushed for an extra fifty, and he said yes.”
My jaw dropped. “Shut the fuck up!” I glanced over her shoulder, where Mike, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, was picking his clothes up off the floor. I would never get used to how casual he was about his body, but that was a different conversation. “Amore mio, did you hear that?”
“Uh…yeah. Not sure I understand, though.” He threw his clothes back on the floor. “Samantha, could you be a doll and grab me my bag from my room? It’s right down the hall on the right. 516.” He winked at her, flashing his signature smile, stretching two fingers at her with a keycard between.
“Sure thing.” She swaggered out of the room.
I bit my fingernail, arching a brow at Mike. “I know it’s in your fucking blood to flirt whenever, wherever, but don’t do that in front of me. You’re not the only one who’s jealous, Gennaro.”
“You got it, signorina.” His smile turned into a more genuine one, and then his lips brushed mine. “What’s going on with Callahan?”
I pushed my hands together in tiny claps, rising up on my tiptoes. “He made me an offer to direct a psycho-drama. He’s gonna pay me a hundred and fifty grand.”
“Wow.” His eyes shone with excitement. “Congratulations, vita mia.” He pressed me to his chest. “That’s fantastic. You have a date? I heard Samantha say something about a date.”
I looked at him. “Yeah. The problem was he wanted to start after I finished Robello’s. I told him we already set a date forBlack Sheep, and I also hadDark Hopesafter, but the date wasn’t settled yet. He kept pushing. Samantha kept pushing. I told him I’d squeeze it between our movies, and he said yes. So the date is set, July 14, right afterBlack Sheep.”
He blinked, his lips twitching. “I see.” His hand ran through his wet hair, smoothing it back, as he turned.
“What is it? Did I do something wrong?”
“No. Of course, not.” He glanced back at me, a faint smile on his lips. “I’m sorry. I’m just surprised. I thought we were gonna shootDark Hopesright afterBlack Sheep. But it’s absolutely your right to make that movie since we haven’t set a date.”
“That’s the producer talking.” I approached him, linking my hands behind his neck. “I wanna hear from my boyfriend.”
“The boyfriend is so proud of his girlfriend, a little taken aback knowing he won’t be working with her all year as he hoped, and a little upset that he only found out about this now. How long have you been in negotiations?”
“Four days.”
He took a step back as if he’d been hit. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I could come up with a thousand reasons, but I opted for the truth. “I didn’t know I was gonna get it.”
“So you wouldn’t have told me if you hadn’t got it?”
“No, I wouldn’t have,” I admitted, my arms dropping. “I don’t like to be a disappointment.”
“Disappointment? Maggie, you’re never a disappointment. Not to me.” His hands rubbed my arms. “You should be psyched about this offer either way. Producers of all kinds are coming to you. Want you. Whether you get the gig or not doesn’t change that.”
