Page 9 of For Butter or Worse
If they waited any longer, the photographer would be right in front of them, just close enough for her to grab the camera and throw it to the ground. Which is exactly what he’d want her to do—then he’d have a real Nasty Nina headline, plus a reason to file a lawsuit. She needed to do immediate damage control.
Without hesitating, she grabbed Leo’s hand and led him to the door. His grip tightened, and his fingers wound through hers until their palms fit perfectly together. He’d probably learned how to rub his thumb as lightly as possible across a woman’s hand just to disarm her, and disarmed was exactly how Nina felt.
He’s such a jerk, she told herself, but that small reminder didn’t stick the way it normally would.
4
LEO
“I just realized that we didn’t answer that poor man’s questions. Do you think we should pop back out?” Leo joked, but there was a touch of bile rising that reminded him this wasn’t at all funny.
Nina locked the door behind them. When she turned to face him, the way she crossed her arms suggested she wasn’t amused, either. In fact, she looked downright pissed off.
“Actually, I don’t think he captured my best side. Let’s ask if he’ll do a reshoot.” Why was he still jabbering on? Oh, right, because he talked a lot when he was nervous, and his heart was racing. No one liked surprises. Though that didn’t feel like the reason his hand was shaking. Of course, there was also the fact that he’d fallen on top of Nina...
They’d worked together for three years, and in that time they’d never once so much as hugged. At the start and end of each season, they greeted each other with wary glances—not even handshakes were exchanged. So hurling their bodies against each other was certainly a new experience. Which must explain why being entangled with her limbs had been so confusing, and why his dick had, well...responded. It was clearly an uncontrollable reaction from the total and utter shock of his body colliding with hers.
“You really do make terrible jokes,” she said in the flat, snobbish way she’d perfected.
Being somewhere with Nina other than on set was as bewildering as waking up from a too-long nap and not knowing the day or time. Only, he’d made the decision to track her down at her restaurant. So he should’ve been more prepared to see her, but he was completely off-kilter. He was standing in her space—her restaurant—and that made him feel even more on the defensive.
His eyes darted around the hallway, across the woven blue rug and up to the framed photos of baguettes and cheese wedges that covered the walls. His skin warmed from the heat coming out of the nearby kitchen. The smell of butter and cream mingled together like the tastiest candle you could ever light. He’d never had the food at Lyon, but he already knew what he was missing.
He wasn’t there to admire the decor or wonder what the menu offered, though. His life had been completely and utterly turned upside down, all because ofher. It’d been less than twenty-four hours and already there was a petition circulating online for the production to launch an investigation into why Nina quit. He’d thought she was the judge everyone loved to hate, but it turned out she had a secret and rabid army in the waiting. Most of the tweets centered around Leo, and the fact that he’d used her nickname. He’d never actually called her Nasty Nina out loud—not even the first time, when he insinuated she’d be on Santa’s nasty list. But this time he had, and the fans saw his action as sexist. Not that he disagreed with them—he’d made a stupid slip, and what he’d said was wrong—but now there were questions as to whether he should be “canceled” as a human. His PR team was in full-on crisis mode, and they anticipated that the speculation around his involvement would only get worse.
And it wasn’t just his character that was taking a beating. The lunchtime rush that typically flooded Vinny’s restaurants—all located in areas heavily populated by office buildings—had been more of a trickle today, according to his managers.
Not to mention that his agent had received a call from Tiffany, where she informed him that without Nina, there may not be a show. Well, there would be a show, but they’d recast both Nina and Leo so as not to leave a “bad taste” in fans’ mouths. Even though Leo had built the show just as much as Nina had, that didn’t matter. Leo was starting to look like therealbad guy, a twist he never anticipated.
He couldn’t afford to close another location, and neither could the employees who relied on the success of Vinny’s for their livelihoods. The mere thought of having to let more people go from their jobs wasn’t one he was even willing, or emotionally able, to entertain.
So it was clear that the fans preferred Nina and Leo together, getting along, rather than apart. Like in the stock market, uncertainty led to volatility, but how was it fair for his restaurants to suffer just because of some misunderstanding?
“Why are you making that face?” He was referring to her mouth opening and closing, like a goldfish who’d accidentally flung itself out of the bowl.
“Ugh, I think I got your body spray in my mouth.” She gagged for added effect.
“Makes sense.” He nodded. “I felt you licking my arm.”
“I know better than to eat poisonous objects,” she responded with a tight smile.
Footsteps approached and Leo straightened. He’d learned to always beonwhen he was in a room with Nina. People expected them to act a certain way because of the show, and he’d perfected the art of playing the nice guy who always had an easy smile, even if he was losing his mind from all of the anxiety of the last twenty-four hours.
A Black woman with hot-pink lipstick and visible tattoos approached them. She clocked Leo, then Nina. “Am I in the Upside Down?”
“I’m Leo.” He stepped past Nina and held out his hand.
“I know who you are,” she said with a frown, not about to shake his hand.
“It’s the craziest thing—but were you ever a model? I swear I’ve seen you in a billboard campaign.” He wasn’t above cheap flattery to try and get on someone’s good side. Especially if that person seemed to be Nina’s bodyguard. And he had to make sure Nina had been bluffing last night. If she didn’t plan to return next season, then Leo wouldn’t be able to return, either.
“Nice try.” Her tone had a mockingthere, thereenergy.
“Don’t worry, Jasmine,” Nina said to her friend. “There’s nothing going on here. Other than Leo insisting on destroying my life. Again.” Nina turned to Leo and coldly pursed her lips.
He ran a hand through his hair. It wasn’t every day that he was accused of destroying a person’s life. He had a regular at the restaurant who always said that the complimentary breadbasket refills were “destroying his thighs,” but that wasn’t quite the same as what Nina was talking about here.
“Sounds like I’m about to get the Mace from my bag.” Jasmine cocked her head and gave Leo a look that suggested she could crush him with very little effort.
