Page 42 of Faking It

“There will be no blurring of lines, believe me. This is strictly business, and that won’t ever change.”

“We’ll see about that,” she replies with a smirk as footsteps sound behind me.

Carter.

Tori smirks even more. “I’ll go on ahead.”

He catches up to me as she steps in the elevator. “You dropped this,” he says, handing me a folded paper.

At least, I assume it’s folded paper until I take it, then realize it’s the envelope containing the photo from my old friend. It must’ve fallen from my purse when I took my lucky pen out. “Thanks,” I reply, tucking it back in.

“You’re welcome, Leanna.”

My head shoots up as the blood drains from my face. “What?”

“That’s your real name, isn’t it?”

I gape at him, eyes wide.

“Don’t worry.” He pats my shoulder, a slight sneer turning up the corners of his lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Chapter 15

Gideon

“We’re sharing a what?” Ana asks, gaping.

“A trai-ler,” Jared enunciates slowly. “You know that private space where actors relax and prepare for their scene. It has four walls, made of metal…”

Ana narrows her eyes at him. “I know what a trailer is. What I don’t understand is why Carter and I are sharing one.”

“Budgetary restraints, missy.” Jared folds his arms, resting his butt on the edge of the desk. “Don’t tell me you’re already going diva on us.”

“No. I’m sorry. I just wanted to understand,” she replies quickly.

“Besides, it’s perfect for your storyline. What’s more intimate than two lovers sharing a trailer? Think of all those quickies you’ll be having behind closed doors.”

Jared sees the instant blush on Ana’s cheeks and smirks. “Imaginary quickies, honey.” He glances over at where I’m perched on the couch with my script, his smirk deepening. “Or maybe not.”

Ana fiddles with the paper in her hand, her eyes cast down to the page, her cheeks still red. Exactly what is she thinking about that’s making her blush so much?

“Okay, so although you’ll be sharing, we had the trailer retrofitted with partitions so you can have actual privacy,” Jared announces, reaching behind him, feeling around the desk. “Feel free to slide away those partitions whenever you want.”

I roll my eyes at him as he hands me a set of keys, mirth filling his features. He goes over to Ana and does the same. “I’m going to leave you lovebirds to get more acquainted.” With a sly wink, he saunters out, the door gently closing behind him.

Silence settles in the small meeting room. Ana’s eyes are still latched to the script, but they don’t shift, not even a little. I’m positive she’s not reading a thing. Tension lines decorate her forehead, the points of her shoes twisting on the tiled floor. I know the signs of nervousness when I see it. Getting up, I walk over to her, offering my hand. “Come on.”

She glances up, staring at me oddly. “There’s no way you ran through the entire script so fast.”

“I’m not done, but we should take a break, anyway.” I bounce my offered hand. “Have lunch with me.”

With a slight headshake, Ana goes back to ‘reading’ her script. “The purpose of this meeting is to run our lines together, not fraternize,” she mumbles.

“Do you always operate by the book, or is it just me?” I ask.

Her stoic expression gives me the answer I need.

“Listen…” I drag a chair right in front of her, then take a seat. She glances up at from the paper again, scowling at me. “What are you doing?”

---