Page 66 of Role Play
I snorted. “You’d be surprised. She doesn’t want anyone finding out aboutus.”
Jude slipped the fork in his mouth as his eyebrows jumped. “Looks like you found your match, Ash Livingston,” he said afterswallowing.
“Fucking tell me about it,” I mumbled, and ambled down the hall toward Richard’soffice.
I gave a little knock, causing the slightly cracked door it to creakopen.
“Come in,” Richard called from within theroom.
I pushed the door open, and as Richard looked up from where he was working, his eyes widened briefly. “Oh. I was, uh, I was expecting someone else.” He looked around my shoulder in the emptyhallway.
“Most of the crew is still at craft services eating,” I said. Richard rapidly tapped the edge of his pen against the lacquered cherrywood desk. “I can come back later if youprefer.”
“No. It’s, um, it’s fine. We just have to make itquick.”
I closed the door behind me and slid into the leather chair across from his desk. “I found a natural sub I want to train,” I blurted out before I lost mynerve.
Richard’s eyes widened. “Well, that was fast… You know I wasn’t telling you to go out and do that,right?”
I snorted. “Yeah, I know.”You also weren’t telling me not to doit.
“So?” he prodded. “How’s it going withher?”
“So far it’s … good. But, I didn’t find her at LnS,” I said. Well, technically, I guess I did… but that was beside the point. “That’s what I need to talk to you about. I found her here. She works atSilhouette.”
“Goddamnit, Ash,” Richard fell back in his chair, rubbing his hands across his eyes. “Almost four million people in this city and you have to sleep with one of the two hundred who work here in my studio withyou?”
I shrugged, chuckling despite the bitter snap of his words. “Rich, production teams spend eighteen to twenty hours a day on set. We go to bed at midnight, wake up at four and do that for months during filming and post-production. Where the fuck do you think we’re going to meet people? There’s a reason so many of us datecolleagues.”
He shook his head. “But you’re the director. You’re no longer her colleague. You’re herboss.”
I nodded. “I know. I thought of that already and I gave her department over to Jon to handle. I have no firing or hiring or budgetary authorityanymore.”
Richard nodded. “Good. Like you did with costuming because ofKelly.”
I froze momentarily, then forced myself to breathe. “Um… yes.Justlike that,actually.”
Richard sighed and pulled some papers out of his desk drawer. “You’re both going to need to sign a consent waiver and file it withHR.”
I chewed my cheek, breathing the stale air-conditioned air of Richard’s office. Fuck, this wasn’t going to go over well. “Yeah… aboutthat…”
“What?” hesnapped.
“She’s really nervous to sign anything. Not because she isn’t consenting, but she’s afraid the crew will see her as sleeping her way to the top if it getsleaked.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Richard slammed his drawer shut and sighed. “What is wrong with this generation? Shehasto sign.Youhave to sign. I don’t care if you file it with HR or just each keep a copy for yourselves in case this goes ass end up, but you both need proof of consent, each for your ownsafety.”
I put my hands out in front of me. “Look, I know. I get it. The consent waiver is important. But so is earning her trust and honoring what she wants. And what she wants is for no one to know about ourrelationship.”
Richard paused, his eyes locked on the waivers in his hands. “She sounds like myniece.”
“Well, unless your niece works here at Silhouette, I doubt it’s the samewoman.”
Richard swallowed hard and his silver eyes slowly lifted to mine. “Right.”
I tilted my head, unsure of why he was studying me soacutely.
He shook it off quickly, flashing me a smile so disarming that if I’d been a woman, I would have handed over my number right then. “What department is she in?” Richard asked and even though the question was casual, there was an edge to his voice that was anything but. He stood, walking over to his French press and poured acup.
