Page 62 of Between the Lines

“Are you a machine? Or a man?”

He shakes his head, but the smile stays in place. Even as we pull into the line of traffic backing up through Westwood, heading to cross Wilshire Boulevard. Only a few blocks left to his office in Culver City. “You wanted to live a day like me.”

“I have a feeling I’m going to live to regret that.”

“Think I’ll go hard on you?”

I glare at him. He sees it out of the corner of his eye, and his lips tip up again. “Yes.”

Los Angeles is barely awake outside the windows. Cars are out, yes, but the small shops we pass are still closed. The strip mall is still dark.

He pulls into the parking lot of Titan Media and the spot reserved for him right by the front doors. I follow him into the building. The executive floor is still dark. He’s the one who turns on the lights.

I walk past him to his office. What compels someone to work this hard? I’ve tried to understand it. But it’s still hard to wrap my mind around. This drive—his desire—to restore his family company, even if he needs to sacrifice his own free time, health, and happiness.

Not that he probably sees it as such.

Inside his large office, he heads straight to the spare chair on the other side of his desk. He lifts and moves it to set it right beside his.

“I was joking, by the way,” I say. “About answering emails like you.”

“Mm-hmm.” He’s already sat down in his chair and fired up his computer. “But it’s too late. I took you seriously. Now come over here, Chaos, and get immersed.”

I grab my notepad and walk around to his screen. “You sure?”

“Yeah. If you’re shadowing me today, we might as well do it properly,” he says. Then he shakes his head and a rueful expression crosses his face. “It’s a humbling thing, Chaos… I’ve realized that the people you’ve worked with previously have taken you mushing across the Alaskan tundra and to the World Poker Tournament.”

My eyes slowly widen. “Oh no. You’re feeling competitive.”

“Sure am. So yes. We’ll work in the office. Half a day, or so.”

“What are we doing later?”

His smile widens. “There’s a movie premiere tonight, and you’re coming with me.”

CHAPTER 23

CHARLOTTE

“This is the plan for tonight,” Eric says. He’s already sent me an itinerary, but now he’s walking through it with me. Just as if I’m Aiden.

I’m a tired mess. I’ve tried to stay sharp for every back-to-back meeting Aiden has had. He’s stayed true to his word and included me in everything. More than he had to.

“All right,” I say. “And this premiere is for…Echoes. Right?”

“Yes,” Eric says. His small frown makes it clear that I’m not paying enough attention. Aiden is on the other side of the table, being briefed simultaneously, but his eyes are on me.

“Echoesis the sequel to the blockbuster sci-fi movie that came out two years ago,” Aiden adds. “The World Premiere is today.”

I remember the first film. My parents loved it. I thought it was fun, but too long. This event is an absolutely enormous deal. “How did you get tickets on such short notice?”

“I’ve had them for a while.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You planned on this when you suggestedtodaybe the day I live like you.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “Doesn’t sound like me.”

“It sounds exactly like you.”

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