Page 22 of Broken Rules

He sucked in a breath, teeth clenched in a grimace.“That’s harsh.”The worst part?He seemed to mean it.He couldn’t.It wasn’t possible.

“It’s not nearly what you deserve, but we’re sort of in public,” I spat.“Pretend all you want, but we both know you’re riding high on a reputation I built for you.How can you live with yourself?How do you sleep at night?”

His deep sigh came right on cue.“There you go again.Overselling the amount of work you did on the movie.”

“I made that movie while you were in the middle of… what did you call it again?”I asked, tipping my head to the sideandfolding my arms.“Oh, right.A low point.You were feeling full of doubt.Like you were an imposter.Wasn’t that the word you used?”

“You know that was a confusing time for me.I can’t remember exactly what I said.”

“Right, because you were drinking from the moment you regained consciousness until you passed out again,“ I recalled, nodding.“You cracked under the pressure.No, you crumbled under it, and I picked up the pieces.”

His thin mouth went even thinner when he drew his lips together in a smirk.“That was then.”

“Right.That was then, when we were working on a small-budget indie movie you were hoping to pedal around the festivals.What’s going to happen when the pressure breaks you again?”

He lifted his chin and scoffed, pulling a pair of aviators from where they hung on the collar of his T-shirt.“It won’t.I’m in a much better place now.”His cold smile paired well with the glasses once he slid them into place.

“For your sake, I hope so because you won’t have me around to pick up the pieces this time.And no matter what you believe, I don’t actually want you to fail.”I waited a split second for relief to touch the corners of his mouth before adding, “I only hope I’m around if and when you do.”

He leaned down a few inches, close enough for me to see how his jaw ticked.“Clyde was right about you.You’re impossible.”

He always knew how to push my buttons.“Fuck you and fuck Clyde,” I gritted out.

“I hope the two of you are happy together.You’re exactly the same sort of scumbag.”I looked past him to find Claudia now on the sidewalk, an iced latte in each hand, her head on a swivel.My salvation.

“Do us both a favor and get out of my face,” I concluded, sidestepping him and walking away without looking back.This time, he didn’t follow.Probably because he now knew he’d be outnumbered, and judging by the way Claudia’s face hardened into pure fury as she stared over my shoulder, things wouldn’t have ended well for him.

Her mouth was hanging open by the time I reached her.“Oh, shit.I’m so sorry I wasn’t out here with you.Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about it.”Sipping the icy drink didn’t do much to cool off my insides, but then not much would when the surprise of seeing him was fresh.

“I’m going to take a wild guess that he approached you and not the other way around?”She glanced over my shoulder and sighed with relief.“He got the hint and is rounding the corner.Which reminds me, there was something I’ve always wanted to ask you.”

Maybe the coffee wasn’t such a good idea now that my heart was already pounding.“What?”I asked.

“Is it just me, or does he not have an ass?”

I turned my head at the last second and managed not to hit her with the coffee I had to spit out.“Oh no!”She laughed while I choked on my laughter.“I’m sorry!Bad timing.”

It was what I needed.To laugh like that, even if I almost sprayed latte through my nose.“Now that you mention it, his ass is really flat,” I agreed.

“Maybe that makes it easier for him to shove his head up there.”She waved at an approaching cab.“Come on.Don’t think I forgot what you said you’d do when we got home.I need details.”

I had dreaded the idea.Now, I was grateful for the distraction.Lex might have been dangerous and all wrong for me, but for today, he was my solace.

9

LEX

It was like I was a kid about to present a project in front of the class—a little sweaty anda lot more nervous than I anticipated.An upset stomach had me reaching for the bottle of Pepto-Bismol within minutes of giving up on sleep and getting out of bed this morning.

For the first time since filming started, Dad and a few of the studio’s key executives were scheduled to sit down and watch the rushes.He’d been away the past three weeks of filming, visiting friends on the East Coast, making this his first chance to catch up.I’d been too busy to catch much of the rushes, for that matter, stuck in endless meetings and catch-ups, phone calls, and business dinners.My life had stopped being my own and probably wouldn’t be mine again until after the premiere.

I wasn’t proud of myselffordissolving into a bundle of nerves like this.If life had given me nothing else, though, it had granted me the ability to walk around like I didn’t have a care in the world.My head was high as I strode across the lot, nodding in acknowledgment as various employees waved or called my name.They needed to see confidence and stability.They needed to believe their jobs were secure, something only I could help ensure.

“Everything’s almost ready, Mr.Landry,” the projectionist told me when I reached the screening room.“Almost everyone is waiting inside.”

“Is Summer here?”I asked, hoping like hell she wasn’t in there alone with a bunch of old pricks who would smile to her face but disrespect her behind her back.

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