Page 41 of Stolen

“Oy, let me guess. Fenway Park?” Chris chimed in.

“How’d you know?”

“Because I want mine spread at Wembley.” Chris laughed, and the rest of the guys started to laugh right along with him.

“Hey! I’m not planning on anybody getting cremated!” Leo snapped his fingers. “Chris! Andrew! Stand side by side and look as serious as humanly possible.”

Chris and Andrew got into position, and I took a step back from the photoshoot area before I dug my phone out of my pocket. A few seconds later, and I was discreetly holding up the screen, just enough so Parker could get a good look at Leo and the rest of the photographers.

“I don’t think I can show you any of the guys, but this should be enough VIP access for you,” I murmured.

“Are you kidding me? This is amazing!” Parker’s attention was stuck to the screen.

The first bucket splashed red against Chris’s and Andrew’s serious expressions, coating them in the drink. They kept their composure, as cameras flashed again and again, capturing every little detail.

“Okay! Good! Next shot!” Leo said, as Chris and Andrew were shuttled back into the building, towels covering their heads and torsos. As that happened, Diego got into position, an overzealous smile on his face. A few seconds later, that smile was covered in blue energy drink, some of it landing against his hair. After the photos were finished, Diego was treated to the same shuttling back into the building, as Keith started on his pose.

Except Keith never quite made it to the marked spot on the ground.

“Shit!” Keith shouted, as he fell toward the floor.

“Shit!” Leo shouted, too, as he ran toward him, seemingly trying to break his fall. Instead, Leo fell, too, collapsing right on top of Keith. Things were tense for a moment, as Keith and Leo shared a look between them.

But then, everyone around them broke out into a laugh. Tommy was laughing the loudest, barely able to hold it together. Leo started to laugh as well, as he stood up from the ground. He offered Keith his hand, which Keith eagerly took. He lingered, holding Leo’s hand in his, before Leo completely pulled away.

“Okay, that was a great example of what we’re trying to prevent here!” Leo joked. “Keith, everybody, let’s get back to work.”

“DidKeith have you filming the photoshoot, too?” One of the photography assistants I hadn’t spoken to before was suddenly standing in front of me, her phone in her grip.

“What?” I was confused by her question. The photoshoot had just finished wrapping up, and I’d put my phone back into my pocket.

“Oh. Sorry.” She chuckled. “Keith can be a bit of a diva, so I figured he was trying to get the whole thing from different angles.”

“We’re allowed to film the photoshoots?”

“Absolutely not.” She shook her head. “But I don’t think that same rule applies to the peopleinthe photoshoots. And since I’m one of the assistant photographers, I think Keith figured why not have me work as his assistant, too?” She took another step toward me. “Wait. I think I’ve seen you hanging around Leo before. And didn’t you help out with one of the shoots?”

Her face lit up with a smile as she went on. “So, he’s the one you’re acting as an assistant for. Quick question, is he a nice boss? He seems like he can be a hardass but not in an asshole way?—”

“You think I’m Leo’s assistant?”

“I mean, aren’t you?” She stared back at me with a knowing expression. “Is this one of those things where you think you’re too good to be referred to as anassistantso you’re making a big deal out of it?”

“I’m not Leo’s assistant.”

“Oh my God.” She rolled her eyes. “Creative junior assistant. Is that better? Now, are you going to give me the deets about him as a boss or not? Because I love working on photoshoots, but I really feel like PR is where my head’s at?—”

“I have to go.” It was the last thing I said to her before I walked away from the conversation.

Leo’s assistant.

For some reason, the title felt like a wrongful accusation, like she was trying to put a label on me that I’d instantly rejected.

Because I wasn’t Leo’s assistant.

Because I wasn’t Leo’s anything.

The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. The phrase lingered, even as I went back into the building, wanting to find Leo and catch up with him.

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