Page 45 of Best Served Hot
Ethan sneered. ‘You don’t worry about how I keep my wife, alright? She’s in the dark, and that’s where she likes it.’
Alex felt her blood pressure spike. ‘What?’
Ethan shook his head, bored. ‘Just take the deal, alright? I want this done.’
‘I’ll get back to you,’ Alex said. She turned, meaning to race down to Nicole to update her on the situation.
‘No,’ Ethan said. Alex turned back to face him. ‘I need your answer now,’ he demanded. ‘I can’t keep doing this. It has to be over. No more stalling.’
‘You’re not in a position to make demands, Ethan. Try to remember that,’ Alex told him. She wanted to leave. She was getting too angry and less in control of herself.
She believed she’d hated him before, but the way he talked about Nicole had brought her up to a new level of wrath. She was afraid that if he said anything else about her, Alex might lose it. She needed to leave.
‘You’re taking the offer. Just say it,’ he insisted from between gritted teeth.
‘Ethan, fuck off, will you?’ Alex said, turning from him.
‘You’re not leaving until I get that yes,’ Ethan said, his jaw tight, his arms folded. ‘Or it’s plan B. I start making those calls now. I’d rather blow the whole thing up than have this go on another day.’
Alex turned back to him, unsure what to do. The tables had turned. Ethan was about to ruin her reputation, and he was past caring about his own. Not that it would take a dent, probably. He was established. And this kind of thing was par for the course for middle-aged men in the industry.
Sure, a few had faced some consequences. But not him. He’d get a divorce, pay out, and move on. There would be more money, more jobs, and more women.
But Alex wasn’t established. She was nobody.
Alex was starting to realise she’d taken a bad situation and made it worse. She’d put her entire future in jeopardy. She’d accepted producing as a consolation prize when she’d lost directing. But she was about to lose even that by making a real enemy of Ethan. What the hell was she supposed to do if she couldn’t work in entertainment? She wasn’t sure she’d know who she was if she lost this part of her.
While she stood there, frozen in indecision, she realised that Ethan had a horrible little grin on his face. He knew the power had shifted. She’d shown her hand. She had more to lose than he did, and he knew it.
‘Well, well,’ he leered. ‘Not looking so cocky now. Maybe you shouldn’t have thrown that cash out of the window, eh?’ His smile darkened. ‘Say yes, or I’ll start making phone calls right now.’
‘OK, fine,’ Alex said. ‘I’ll take the deal.’ She didn’t mean it, but she needed to get out of there without her life exploding, so she could regroup. More importantly, she wanted to talk to Nicole.
‘Great. So you’ll be gone by the end of the day?’ Ethan asked smugly.
‘Sure, whatever.’
‘You can just explain about the job offer. Nicole would understand you couldn’t turn it down. I’ll have another AD for her tomorrow,’ he said, sitting down behind his desk and opening his laptop, his body relaxing.
Not Alex, though. She could feel sweat droplets run down her back as she walked out of Ethan’s office. She almost ran back to the set.
Nicole was talking to a camera assistant about something, but she broke off mid-sentence the second she saw Alex. ‘Umm, Brendan, let’s finish this chat in a minute. I just need a quick word with Alex.’ And she bundled Alex into the nearest equipment storage area—filled to the brim with dusty old cameras and lighting rigs—shutting the door behind her. ‘Alex, you look terrible.’
Alex tried to smile. ‘Maybe I’ll switch moisturisers.’
Nicole didn’t laugh. ‘You look like someone died.’
Alex paused. ‘Just my career.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I think he might have us beat,’ Alex explained sadly.
Twenty-Seven
Nicole listened as Alex laid out what Ethan had said. She was livid. It wasn’t what Alex was saying so much as the way she was saying it. She sounded crushed. It was horrible.
‘And you’re sure he wasn’t bluffing?’ Nicole asked.
