Page 46 of The CEO I Hate

“Well, that’s an improvement on the whole Lyle drama,” Connor said. “For a while there, I thought you might have to take a big hiatus to sort it out.”

I winced. “I don’t know if the show would have recovered from that.”

“Exactly,” Connor said. “Bad for business.”

I nodded. “But even the number crunchers seemed pleased. I mean, they wanted more fire, but that’s a fairly easy ask considering what the show is about.”

“Who doesn’t want more fire?” Finn said. “That’s all we do inRun ‘n’ Gun. Fire. Explosions. People eat that up.”

Finn’sRun ‘n’ Gunmovie franchise had been a massive international success. Frankly, I didn’t know how many more ways there were to make a car chase feel fresh, but somehow Hart of Gold Productions managed it.

“We’ve upped the budget for season two, and we’ve just brought on a new VFX company, so as long as the storylines continue to be compelling, I think we can make the audience happy,” I said.

Despite all the good news, saying it out loud left a sour taste in my mouth. Part of me was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. In this business, nothing ran smoothly for long.

Just try to enjoy the lull, I told myself.Get on with the side projects. If you don’t get tooinvested in any one thing, you’ll always have something to fall back on.

“The one-year anniversary of Jake’s injury is coming up,” I said.

Connor made a face. “How d’you think that’s gonna go?”

“Poorly,” Finn muttered. “You heard Mia at the restaurant. ‘One day at a time.’ It’s the same thing we used to say about Mom when things were up and down.”

I sighed. He wasn’t wrong. Jake had perked up a bit after learning Mia had gotten the writing job, but since then, he’d sunk back into that pit of frustration and despair. “I’ve actually been thinking about sending Jake and Gabrielle on a luxury vacation so they’ll be away from here when the anniversary hits. Well…more than thinking about it. Plans are in motion.”

“Really?” Finn said.

“I just think it would be good for the two of them to get away from all the stress they’ve been dealing with. That way, instead of focusing on the date and what happened, they can have a chance to relax and reset. You know, get on the same page with things.”

“The same page with what?” Connor asked.

“I don’t know…They’re in a rut of some kind.” And I figured the best cure for that was shaking up the environment a little. Thankfully, I could afford to do that in a way that would accommodate Jake’s needs while still providing a luxury experience.

Finn settled me with a look, one eyebrow arched into his hairline.

“What?”

“Nothing, I’m just surprised you’re putting in all this effort to help Jake and Gabrielle work things out. Aren’t you the one always saying relationships are a waste of time?”

“They are,” I agreed. Love was a distraction from responsibilities. A distraction I couldn’t afford, given everything else I had on my plate. I needed to protect the business and my mom and my brothers and the people who depended on VeriTV for their livelihoods.

“But I think Jake could really use a distraction right now. He needs something in his life that makes him feel good instead of frustrated.”

“Yeah?” Finn said, wearing a cocky smirk that was already making me want to punch him. “And since you claim you get out ‘plenty,’ does that mean you’ve found someone to help you work out yourfrustrations?”

“Go flag down the waitress so we can order already,” I grumbled.

“Subject change noted,” Connor said.

I huffed in response, but my thoughts immediately drifted to the same fantasy I’d been using to work out my frustrations with my right hand: Mia wrapped up in that tight little corset at the burlesque club.

It didn’t matter how many times Idealtwith that frustration.

Relieving the tension did nothing to help get my attraction under control. If anything, it was getting worse.

16

LIAM

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