Page 7 of Baby Daddy Billionaire SEAL

“Thank you,” I said, taking the card. “This is so nice of you.”

“I treat my people well,” Michael said. “I hope you both come to realize how much I value those who work for me.”

I gave Jake a sharp look. I needed him to go along with this. We couldn’t appear to be in disagreement in front of Michael.

Jake seemed to understand. He smiled and nodded. “You’ve been so generous with us, Mr. Sanders.”

“No, please, call me Michael.” He’d said this to me during my interview, and I was glad to see he was sticking to it. “And you have to know how honored I am to have a SEAL working on the movie. It’s going to make a world of difference.”

“Well, I’m recently retired of course,” Jake said. “Best years of my life, though.”

“I’ll bet! What are you doing now?”

“I’m a partner in a software company.” Jake already had his phone out. “Have you heard of Branches?”

“I think so. Made a big splash a couple of years ago, didn’t it?”

“That’s right. It’s a finance tracker.”

“Oh, I’m sure there’s a big market for finance trackers.”

“Exactly, yes. And we actually recently put out a new version a couple of days ago. I’d love to show you sometime.”

Michael nodded vaguely. “And you’ve been working in the film industry for how long, did you say, Olivia?”

“Well, as I mentioned in my interview, I’ve never written for a movie before,” I said carefully. I didn’t realize he hadn’t remembered this about me, and I had to make sure to let the information out in a way that wouldn’t turn him off from having me on the project. “I’ve been doing script polish for TV pilots, and I was onReckless Businessfor about six months.”

“Oh, good show,” he said. “The wife and I loveReckless Business.”

I nodded. “I had the time of my life working on it,” I said.

“And what made you leave?”

“It was always a temporary position. They have a stable of main writers onReckless Business, and then they cycle new people every six months to get some fresh ideas. My time ran out. But it was a great experience, and I’m so glad I did it.”

“You must be so proud of her,” Michael said to Jake.

To his credit, Jake didn’t even miss a beat. “I’m incredibly proud,” he said. “Olivia impresses me every day. I’ve never known anyone who can write the way she can. It’s a big part of why I fell in love with her.”

He was laying it on a bit thick, I thought. But then his hand came to rest on my thigh—highon my thigh—and I wasn’t thinking clearly at all anymore.

“How long have you two been married?” Michael asked.

We hadn’t planned out a story in advance, but yet again, Jake didn’t hesitate. “We got married three years ago, right before we moved to LA,” he said. “Happiest day of our lives, right, babe?”

“It was a beautiful wedding.” I didn’t sound too convincing to myself, but it was hard to remember how to tell a good lie with his hand still on me. All I could think about was the feel of his touch and how if he moved his fingers even a few inches, he’d be able to feel how wet I was. It would be horribly humiliating, but at the same time, it felt like the only way I could ever release the tension that had been building in my body all night.

I didn’t touch the wine, even as Michael poured himself a second and third glass. I didn’t trust myself to.

Finally, dinner ended. “You kids have a nice night, now,” Michael said, shaking our hands. “I’m having a bottle of champagne sent up to your room tonight, too—the good stuff, top shelf. I want you to celebrate our working on this project together.”

“We sure will,” Jake said, slinging an arm around me, as natural as if we’d been doing this for years. “Thanks so much for a great evening, Michael.”

“Looking forward to working with you. Both of you.”

“You can let go of me,” I murmured as Jake and I walked away toward the elevator.

Jake shook his head. “He might still be watching.”

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