Page 107 of Crossing the Line
Waverly ran her hand over the pintuck lace of the blouse. The illusion neckline and pleated front with its tiny satin covered buttons was intact. But the tailor had removed the long sleeves and the full satin skirt. She’d used part of the skirt to make an extra wide hem with a flirty bow on one side. Paired with skinny black leggings with leather accents and a pair of lipstick red Ferragamos, Waverly looked modern and chic.
No one would know, just by looking at the shirt, that twelve hours ago it had been a wedding dress. No one except for Les Ganim.
Waverly wasn’t sure what reaction he’d have to seeing his mother’s beloved dress, the dress he sent to Waverly, renovated into a casual top. But he would definitely have a reaction.
There was just one thing left to do to seal the deal. She sent Kate on an errand for water from the wet bar and snagged her friend’s cell phone from the dresser. She opened up the social media messaging app and scrolled through the messages until she found him. Les Ganim. Her thumbs flew over the keyboard on the screen.
I hope you’ll be watching today. I have a special message for you.
Just to let him know that it was definitely her, she took an unsmiling selfie of just her face and added it to the message.
“Let the games begin,” she said grimly.
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The junket began at precisely nine a.m. and was strikingly similar to the one in L.A. that Xavier had attended. Even the food had been Americanized to keep their Hollywood guests happy. The only real difference was the majority of the journalists here spoke with British accents.
The questions this time around were much different. No one cared whether or not Liam and Waverly had an affair on set or if the director made anyone cry. They wanted to know about Ganim and the L.A. premiere.What happened after your bodyguard dragged you off of the carpet? When did you know everyone was okay? Where do you think he’ll strike again?
Gwendolyn gloated next to Xavier, a proper cup of tea balanced on a saucer in her hand. “God, the studio is eating this attention up,” she said with a satisfied smile. “We’ve got Liam being a hero on the carpet, Waverly the damsel in distress, and a creepy bad guy waiting in the wings. Odds Maker is offering action on whether this premiere gets bombed, too.”
“Wouldn’t that be just great?” Xavier said, the sarcasm sharp enough to puncture Gwendolyn’s bubble.
“Oh, now Xavier. Your business isn’t hurting from this exposure either,” she scoffed, then sipped. “I’m sure your calendar is booked with new client appointments.”
It was. Micah was happily handling the influx and making noises about Xavier coming back to focus on hand-picking and training a new crop of executive protection agents. Invictus was already outgrowing its current model, three years ahead of their projections.
“My number one concern is Waverly’s safety,” he reminded her. “And yours should be, too. Something happens to her and you might go awhile between meals before you find a new ticket.”
Gwendolyn laughed. “You haven’t been in the industry long enough to get jaded like the rest of us, yet. But it looks like you’ve been around a certain client long enough to develop some overly protective feelings for her.”
She shot him an amused look and headed over to call time of death on the interview.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The day passed in a blur of interviews and photos. Waverly felt like she’d answered the same questions a thousand times. But Gwendolyn hadn’t complained about any robotic replies, so she figured she’d kept the answers natural enough. From where she sat, she and Liam had nailed the interviews. Excitement about the film seemed genuine even if it had initially been sparked by crisis, and though each interview focused heavily on the terrifying L.A. premiere, she’d been able to bring it all back around to talk about the film. Hopefully the studio would be happy.
After the last interview had been given, she said good night to Liam and let Xavier usher her and Kate into the elevator. She leaned against her friend on the back wall of the elevator. “I can’t wait to take these shoes off,” Waverly moaned.
“I can’t wait to put on pajamas and eat something with the sodium content of a bottle of soy sauce,” Kate agreed.
“I can’t wait until you two quit complaining,” Xavier teased. “You try standing around behind the scenes trying to look scary all day. It’s exhausting.”
“Poor wittle Xavier,” Kate crooned. Waverly snickered.
The elevator doors opened, and they all plodded down the hall and piled into the suite where Waverly wasted no time peeling off her shoes.
“Uh-oh,” Kate said, glancing up from her phone, her eyes wide.
Xavier’s cell rang in his pocket. He fished it out and frowned at the readout on the screen. Kate clamped her hand over Waverly’s wrist when he answered it and dragged her into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
“What? What is it?” Waverly demanded.
Kate held up her phone. Waverly’s Facebook page had a new message. From Les Ganim.
“I can’t believe it actually worked,” Waverly gasped. She grabbed the phone and opened the message.
The pounding on the bathroom door started then.
