Page 32 of Overexposed

My bad mood had nothing to do with her. She was doing her job. A job I was currently blocking because I’d parked it in here.

“It’s fine, just skip in here today. If you’re done otherwise, go ahead and leave.” Not that the staff reported to me. One of the best parts about having a house manager was he oversaw the staffing indoors and out. He also handled any maintenance, so we could focus on our jobs.

The blonde frowned down at the dark blue caddy in her hand. It was laden with cleaning supplies. “I don’t mind waiting…” She trailed off when I glanced back up at her.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected her to still be there. “No need to wait. I’m going to be in here for a few hours. I have work to do.” I met and held her gaze. “You can go. Thank you.”

No need to be rude to her, but also I wanted to be clear—I actuallydidhave work to do. Jerry left me a stack of scripts to review. Most were probably going to be declined, but then I liked to vet the possibilities myself. Sometimes a job would appeal to me.

Carriage Pictures negotiations were ongoing. The holding pattern was irritating but a six-picture deal could set us up for a long time. It would definitely be worth it. In the meanwhile, I could afford to pick and choose from other projects.

I was skimming through a script when the intercom buzzed. It took a moment for me to process the sound. I checked the doorway first, but the girl was gone. The buzz sounded again and I rose. Script in hand, I headed for it. I needed the stretch anyway.

Pressing the button, I blinked at the woman in the pale blue car staring up at the camera. The sunglasses hid her eyes, but very little would disguise that smirk.

“You’re back,” I said, after connecting to the security box at the gate.

“So it would seem,” she said in a lazy drawl. “Are you going to let me in?”

“That’s a damn good question. What’s my incentive?” Particularly since she’d been so cagey earlier. “Last time I checked, you wanted to leave so badly, you accused me of kidnapping and extortion.”

She scratched her cheek with her middle finger. “Now I’m back and I want to come in.”

Right. I studied her on the screen. It wasn’t that high definition, and it didn’t really reveal anything about her thoughts. Likewhydid she want to come in.

“Tick tock, Demon Spawn, the day is getting older.” She gave an exaggerated check of her watch. AndIwas the actor here?

Demon Spawn. “That’s not my name.”

“No, but it was your role in last year’s popcorn flick. Too bad it tanked.” She blew a raspberry and gave a thumbs-down to the camera.

I scowled, unamused. “It didn’t tank.”

Her shrug was all indifference. “I didn’t see it. I actually have good taste.”

“So how do you know it tanked?”

“Because, Demon Spawn,” she said, lowering the sunglasses and looking into the camera like she was locking gazes with me. It was uncomfortably intimate and direct. “I can read and it was all over the trades. Everyone knows what a flop it was, honey, even you.”

I wanted to curse, but I just shook my head. The movie had the unfortunate timing of opening up between two major blockbusters. If it had opened first or opened later in the summer, it would have done fine. As it was, people just didn’t watch it until it hit streaming.

Then we broke records. Yippee.

“Now, are you letting me in or am I driving away?” She revved her engine like she was considering ramming the gate. Crazy bitch probably would do it too.

Still…I couldn’t make it too easy and have her think I was a pushover. “Give me one good reason to do it.”

“Just one?” A dare and a challenge. Whatever game she was engaged in, I didn’t want to play, and at the same time…

“Your turn, Stray, ticktock. One good reason or I’m hanging up.”

She gave a dramatic sigh. “I’ll let you persuade me to sign your silly little NDA.”

Well, shit. That was not what I expected to hear. I leaned back from the screen like she could see me, even if I damn well knew she couldn’t. It wasn’t like I could argue thatwasn’ta good reason.

“Fine. Come up to the house,” I told her, activating the gate to open for her. She gave a mock salute before she pushed her sunglasses back into place and then she was heading up the driveway. As if she was going anywhereotherthan the house after being granted access, but a silly part of my brain convinced me she was following my orders like a good girl.

I waited until the gate closed and no one tried to sneak in behind her. Then I made my way to the front door, more curious than anything. She’d been adamant about not signing and yet, here she was.

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