Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Sounds like a plan.” He had his notes jotted into his phone, not that he’d forget whose performances he’d liked.
“See you,” Lena said.
“Bye, Lena.”
She hefted her long strap over her shoulder and walked out.
Harrison was more than ready to call a car to take him to the Van Nuys airport, where the jet was waiting.
He pulled out his phone and opened the Uber app just as the conference room door opened, and Sharon stepped inside.
He tapped in the request for a ride and put the phone on the table. “Sharon, Lena said she’d be in touch, and she will.”
“I left my bag.” She pointed to the purse he hadn’t noticed at the edge of the table.
He waved, indicating she should take it and go, and he walked a good distance away. Self-preservation, he thought, but she followed until she was beside him, stepping into his personal space and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I’ve missed you,” she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek and rubbing her breasts against his chest.
He felt nothing. No stirring, no desire, nada. “I can’t say the same.”
She pouted at his obvious lack of interest and her pursed, injected lips weren’t pretty. “I was hoping that while you’re here, we could… I don’t know, revisit the past?”
“No,” he said, tone firm.
She expelled a huff of air, her frustration obvious.
“Sharon, give it a rest.” He reached around his neck in an attempt to untangle her arms and managed to step away. He took a much-needed breath free of her cloying scent.
A calculating gleam entered her eyes, and she straightened her shoulders, sticking out her firm breasts for him to notice. “Well, if you don’t want to try again, I bet I can at least convince you to give me that role.”
God, she’d changed, and it wasn’t for the better. He refrained from rolling his eyes. “Good to see you’re still trying to sleep your way to the top,” he said, ignoring her slitted gaze. “And for the record, this behavior isn’t going to get you a part in the movie, no matter how talented you are.” If anything, he was now against giving her a shot.
“You think I’m talented?” Her voice rose, her surprise real. As if she’d been pulling this behavior for so long, she no longer considered the possibility of earning a part based on talent alone.
“It doesn’t matter now. There’s no way I want to deal with you in any way.”
“That’s not fair, Harrison.” Fake tears welled in her eyes. “If I gave a good audition, me trying to get you back should have nothing to do with hiring me.”
As if knowing he needed saving, his cell rang. He was too far away to easily grab the phone, but grateful for the interruption. “Hey Siri, answer the phone on speaker. Hello?”
“Harrison?” a sweet, feminine voice asked.
He closed his eyes and groaned. Of all people, he hadn’t thought she would call him. “Winter, hi.”
“Why can’t I see you?” she asked.
She was FaceTiming him. Now?
He wasn’t sure his luck could get any worse, making him wish he hadn’t turned off the announcement of incoming callers. At least then, he wouldn’t have answered.
He and Sharon rushed for his phone at the same time, but she nabbed it first, turning the screen around so she could talk to Winter. “Hello, Harrison is busy at the moment.”
“Who are you?” Winter asked.
“Hand the phone over, now,” he ordered through gritted teeth. When Sharon didn’t comply, he snatched it out of her hand and turned it toward him. “Winter, I’m sorry. Auditions just wrapped up, and she was just leaving. She grabbed my phone before I could.”
Winter looked beautiful. No longer pale, her face was made up in a subtle yet sexy way. Red lipstick coated her full lips, she’d pulled her hair back in a sleek ponytail. She was everything Sharon wasn’t, making him realize what a moron he’d been when he was younger.
“Interesting,” she murmured. “I didn’t realize watching auditions meant ending up with lipstick on your cheek. Unless you were playing the opposite role?”
“No, he wasn’t,” Sharon spoke up unhelpfully.
For the first time, he caught sight of himself in the small corner of the phone and groaned, rubbing the pink marks off his skin and wondering if he could fuck things up more than he already had.
He could only imagine what Winter was thinking. Probably that he’d escaped to LA after learning the news and was fooling around with other women while she was in NY dealing with an unexpected pregnancy.
Not that they were a couple. And he didn’t owe her loyalty, but she deserved to feel like she mattered. And she did, more than she realized.
More than he’d realized. Her silence told him it was his turn to speak. “It’s not what it looks like.” The words were lame, and he cringed.