Page 15 of Between the Lines

Eric nods at a few people as we pass. He walks like a man on a mission, and I have no choice but to follow him. My mouth feels dry.

Titan Media CEO.

They have no idea who I am.And how could they, based on reading my resume? I switched to my mother’s maiden name eight years ago. Charlotte Richards, the blonde who stepped off the set ofThe Gamble,is gone. Charlotte Gray is a brunette with a mission.

Titan Media was in charge of producingThe Gamble, the reality show I was on when I was young and dumb, and I’ve spent almost a decade running from.

And I’ve already signed the paperwork. Vera had told me this would be a challenging assignment.But it has a huge potential, Charlotte,she’d said.Huge potential.

I repeat the words in my mind as I follow Eric. There have been plenty of formidable subjects throughout my career.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

I’ll have to strategize later.

We stop at the large door made from frosted glass; bright natural light shines through it. “He’s through here,” Eric says.

The door swings open.

I’m faced with a large, brightly lit office where the floor-to-ceiling windows let in the bright Los Angeles sun.

There’s a wide desk at the center of the office.

And behind it stands a man. He’s in a pair of black slacks and a neatly tucked gray button-down, the fabric starched and wrinkle-free. No tie. The top two buttons are undone. He’s broad-shouldered, and his arms are crossed over his chest.

Thick, black hair pushed back from his square forehead in a controlled mass. Tanned skin. Sharp eyes.

He’s clean-shaven this time. It makes him look much younger, and also harsher somehow, his jaw is square and his eyes that unusual green.

And he’s staring straight at me.

“This is Aiden Hartman,” Eric says beside me. He makes a small urging sound, and only then do I realize that I’ve come to a dead stop at the threshold of the office. “The CEO of Titan Media, and the subject of the memoir.”

He looks almost like a stranger, silhouetted by the LA sunlight. But he’s not a stranger. No, he’s not a stranger at all… he’s someone I slept with and gave my number to.

And then he never called me.

He smiles. “Come on in, Ms. Gray.”

CHAPTER 7

CHARLOTTE

I take a few steps into the office on wooden legs. My pulse is high; it’s audible to my ears. A dull pounding and a sense of fight or flight make my legs shake.

What are theodds?

The man I met two weeks ago in Utah belongs to a different time. To a different me. To an evening of adrenaline, bad decisions, and fun.

He doesn’t belong here.

But he is here. Standing tall behind the desk like he owns it, like he owns everything else around us. His face is so neutral, it could be cut from stone. Gone is the messy hair and beard.

He looks like a complete stranger.

Which is exactly what he is.

And the CEO of Titan Media.

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