Page 104 of Something Cheeky

He ran up to her but she held her hands up and backed away from him.

“He threatened to take—” He stopped, unable to repeat Greg’s words. He was embarrassed to admit that the situation had gotten to this point.

“I don’t care if he threatened to kick you in the balls. How could you agree to that without talking to me first? We’re supposed to be cowriters.”

Derek blew out a breath in relief. She’d missed the part where Greg basically blackmailed him. Th?o would’ve told Katie Mai and then news would spread like wildfire. Once that happened, he’d lose control of the show. Worst of all, he’d lose everyone’s trust.

“It’s too late. I already agreed to put all the lyrics in English.”His voice sounded flat in his ears, as if he were still numb from his conversation with Greg.

“We worked hard on that duet. It’s the moment when the sisters’ bond is solidified. It’s the most pivotal part of the retelling because without it neither of them has agency.”

“That’s why we need to make it more mainstream. Most of our audience will be English speakers.”Including me,he almost added.

“That mediocre white man wants you to dumb down the show and you didn’t even push back.”

“Not true.” Derek’s spine stiffened. “We’re meeting people where they’re at.”

Th?o shook her head as if she didn’t believe him.

“You fucking let him get into your head,” she accused.

“Th?o, we originally wrote half of the duet in English. We can rewrite the other half tonight,” he pleaded.

“You do it because I’m not pulling another all-nighter. I have a girlfriend who needs me.” Th?o ran over to the keyboard they used for rehearsal and dug through a bin. “I forgot my notebook.”

“Th?o.” Derek took a deep breath before forcing himself to say, “I’m the director, which means I have the final call. The song will be rewritten as soon as possible.”

It hurt to put his foot down with Th?o, who was basically a big sister to him. But he didn’t see another way of saving the show from Greg.

“You did not just pull rank on—” Th?o huffed. “I’m going to pretend we didn’t have this conversation, because neither of us has slept in forty-eight hours.”

She found her notebook and shoved it into her messenger bag. Avoiding his eyes, she ran toward the door, only to be stopped by Zoe.

As if the day couldn’t get any worse. Derek wished he could hide under the table and wait for everything to fix itself.

“What’s going on?” Zoe asked as she looked at him and Th?o.

“Apparently my name on the show doesn’t mean shit to him,” Th?o exclaimed as her eyes shot daggers at him. She turned back to Zoe. “You’re the only person he’s ever cared about. Talk some sense into him.”

Chapter 45

Zoe jumped out of Th?o’s path as she stomped out of the rehearsal room. Derek’s shoulders sagged. His face was pale and contorted, as if he might cry. The conversation she’d promised Katie Mai and Danny would have to wait.

“I came to see if you were ready to go back to my place. What happened?” She spoke quietly and touched his hand.

Derek pulled her into his arms and hugged her. Hard. His body was hot and his heart was racing. She’d never seen him so upset. But Th?o had very strong opinions about everything, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked.

“Talk to me,” she whispered into his shoulder.

Zoe breathed him in as they held each other in the empty room. His fragility tugged at her heart. It hit her. She loved him.

She loved Derek.

As if sensing her realization, he squeezed her tighter for a few seconds before releasing her.

“Today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day,” he mumbled and frowned.

“My poor Alexander,” she cooed, referring to the musical he’d adapted based off the children’s picture book for a college final. “Talk to me. Pretend we’re on the roof of our college apartment.”

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