Page 3 of Broken Rules

“Was it?I thought jokes were supposed to be funny.”

How did I define a bitch?For starters, I was looking at one.“And I thought a newcomer to the industry being given a huge opportunity with a major studio was supposed to be grateful instead of combative.”

“Who said I’m not grateful?I know this is a great opportunity.”She stood in one quick, graceful movement, slinging her satchel over one slim shoulder and resting the binder on her hip.“That doesn’t mean I’m going to bow and scrape.If that’s what you’re looking for, Mr.Landry, you’ve got the wrong girl.Thank you for wasting my time.”

She was going to leave.She actually started for the door, sandals slapping the floor, muttering something under her breath.I was torn between wanting to see how far she would go and being distracted by her perfect peach of an ass as it swayed under the loose, linen dress.

Finally, my good sense won out, and I found my voice.“You’ve made your point.”

She stopped but kept her back to me.“What point do you think I’m trying to make?”she asked in an icy tone.

“Have you forgotten you’re talking to the executive producer of the film you’re trying to direct?”

“Have you forgotten you’re not going to have a film without a director?”She slowly pivoted on her heel, revealing a smirk.“I understand word got around about me.But it’s gotten around about you too.And I know you wanted Eric on this.We still have plenty of mutual friends.”

Dammit.How was I supposed to know they were connected somehow?Irritation set my teeth on edge.I didn’t appreciate her smug expression, the humor in it, and the feeling of being exposed.

“I quoted a couple of potential directors,” I allowed, fighting to stay calm when I wanted more than anything to throw her out of my office on her ass.No wonder she couldn’t break into this town.Nobody wanted her, myself included, but then I didn’t have much choice.

“But it was your father’s people who reached out to me and worked out the terms.Not you.Why is that?”she asked, feigning innocence while a nasty smirk played across her lips.

Gritting my teeth, I stood.“Let’s get one thing straight, Strawbridge.”

“I thought you were going to call me Summer.”

“Summer,” I spat before I could stop myself.“If you don’t want this job, be my guest and let me know now.There’s still time to find somebody else.”

“You aren’t going to find anybody capable of doing a better job with this script than I can and definitely not in six months.I already have the entire film in my head.”She tapped two fingers to her temple.“I understand these characters… their emotion and turmoil.Nobody can put that on the screen the way I can.”

Where had this side of her been hiding?This burning, passionate intensity?She didn’t need to shout, wave her arms, or make demands to get her point across.

“I’d like to hear some of your thoughts on the script,” I offered, struggling to soften my approach.“It might be nice to get an idea of what you’re envisioning.”Because at the end of the day, she’d signed a contract and was attached to the project.I had no idea how long it would take to find a worthy director with such short notice.

Tipping her head to the side, she retorted, “We could have been doing that all this time if you hadn’t wasted this meeting by turning it into a pissing contest.”

Was that what I had been doing?Everything in me reared up in denial.Who gave her the right to talk to me that way?And how the hell did she have the balls to call me out?Because that was exactly what I had done.It had been a pissing contest since the moment we set eyes on each other.

But she had set the tone.Not me.Would I accuse her of that?No, even if it was true.One of us had to be the bigger person if there was any hope of making this work.“Fine.Why don’t we start over?There’s a lot of work to get through and very little time to get it done.”

“Unfortunately,” she replied with a sigh.“A lot of that work involves doing something other than sitting in an office.I have locations to scout, and it looks like I’ll need to revise the entire shooting schedule to accommodate the timeline.We’ll have to touch base again tomorrow.”

Turning toward the door, she added, “I’m looking forward to it.”

I would’ve stopped her, but I couldn’t string two words together.

How the fuck was I supposed to survive six months with this woman?

2

SUMMER

“Motherfucker!Stupid asshole!”I gripped the pillow tighter, pressing it to my face and screaming again.“You fucking bastard!”

Usually, screaming like this helped me release whatever was weighing me down or burning inside me.Sadly, it seemed there was no getting rid of what was burning in my chest by the time I reached the cheap motel room I was renting until the studio set me up with an apartment as per our contract.

The fucking contract where I was supposed to have a year until release.Not six months.I slammed the pillow against the bed a few times, relishing the way my shoulders ached from the effort.But it still wasn’t enough.I wanted blood.Specifically, the blood of Lex Landry.

To go with the blood of so many others who’d fucked me over from day one.

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