Page 16 of Stars and Scars

She takes a deep breath, pursing her lips as she gathers her thoughts.

“Okay. Let me just make one thing perfectly clear. I’m not going to stop posting content because of threats.”

“Why the Hell not? It makes perfect sense.”

“Not to me, it doesn’t. Look, I know how tenuous my grip on fame is. Influencers come and go all the time, all right?”

Her nostrils flare, and her chest heaves. I didn’t realize she would be so worked up about this.

“If I don’t maintain my brand and keep generating revenue–which I need to support my family, by the way–then people will forget about me pretty quick. I have to post content or my career is over.”

She heaves a long sigh, and then deflates a little bit.

“Besides, my parents watch these videos. I don’t get to see them much and it makes them feel better, all right?”

Well, shit. Now I feel like a total fucking asshole. I know I’m right, or at the least, not wrong. It is dangerous for her to post videos.

But she is my client, and I don’t want to see that look of miserable disappointment on her face for one more second.

“All right. Here. But we’re going to need some ground rules.”

I hand her the phone back. She takes it up and smiles, but not in an arrogant or mocking way. Gracious in her victory, Charlotte starts filming again like nothing happened.

“Just don’t tell them my name or that I worked for–” I say, but it’s too late. She’s already started.

“So here I am with my bodyguard, Grayson.”

She leans in close enough that her hair brushes my arm. All of the sudden, I can feel her body heat. I swallow the lump in my throat and try to ignore the throbbing between my thighs.

“Say hello, Grayson.” She moves the camera so both of us are visible.

“Charlotte…”

She laughs, a sweet sound that I crave hearing again.

“As you can see, Grayson is new to this whole video thing, but we’ll get him up to speed. I’m about to head to a secret location, so don’t tell anyone! Peace!”

She turns the phone around and begins tapping out a text message. I assume it’s to her team. I struggle to maintain my composure. I can’t believe she just told millions of people that I’m taking her to a safehouse.

Obviously, this job is going to be a lot harder than I thought.

5

CHARLOTTE

Grayson stiffens up like a board as I prepare to post the video. The disapproval beaming out of his silver-gray eyes makes me shift in my seat.

“Are you mad at me again?”

Grayson’s lips tighten up, and his brows come low over his eyes.

“Not mad. Frustrated, maybe.”

I set the phone down in my lap and frown.

“What did I do wrong now? I thought you accepted that I needed to post content.”

I feel more than a little hurt about his reaction. I’d thought we were over this.

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