Page 10 of Such a Good Girl

Her sharp gaze turned to me, her famous green eyes flashing with anger.

“You can’t keep me out, West!” she seethed, her voice dripping with venom.

“Why would you even want to be here, Danika?” I demanded. It was bullshit, her insistence on being allowed in. This was my club — partly, at least. “We’re divorced, in case you’ve forgotten?”

She rolled her eyes, and poked my chest as she lowered her voice to a malicious hiss. “You fucking know why, West! I want back in to Profane.”

My fingers tensed to grab her arm. I could feel my own anger seeping through my tightly controlled demeanor. I clenched my fists and forced myself to take a step back.

“Shut up, Danika. You know you’re forbidden from talking about that, let alone going there again.”

“I don’t give a fuck!” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, trying to fool me with her words and gesture, but I could see right through her. I squeezed her arm harder.

“You signed a fucking NDA, Danika,” I warned, pulling her inside the club, her date following as Derek allowed him through. I pulled her into a dark corner, the pulsing lights flashing across her twisted face. “You can come in to the Hush Hush Club, but not Profane. If I catch you saying anything about this shit in public again, your world is going to come crashing down on you. Do you understand?” I gave her a shake. “I’ll take everything away. The houses, the cars, the alimony — I’ll sue your ass and take it all back. Don’t fucking test me, Danika.”

“Test you?” she shrieked, her voice rising to uncomfortable decibels. “You bastard! Who do you think you are? You can’t keep me out! And you certainly can’t keep me quiet.”

“You signed the agreement yourself, Danika.”

I was so tired.

Tired of fighting with her.

Tired of fucking thinking about her.

She reared back and smacked me right in the middle of the chest. “That was before I knew you were making a fucking movie about me, you asshole!”

I froze. My lips parted on an unspoken question. How the fuck did Danika know about the movie?

Deny, deny, deny.The advice of my agent rang through my head. No way was I going to tell Danika shit about this movie.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, running a hand through my hair and looking away.

“Oh, really?” She scoffed, shaking her head. She reached up and used one finger to pull my chin down towards her. Her eyes sparkled with smugness. “Look at me, darling.”

She cocked her head to the side and lifted a brow. Anger spiked my heart rate as she confirmed my worst fears. Shedidknow about the movie. I’d tried to keep it under wraps, but I’d obviously failed.

“You didn’t think to tell me you were going to make a movie calledLook At Me, Darling?” She laughed. “I hear it’s going to be an exciting movie, too. Based on a woman with unusual kinks that she brings into a marriage. And how her devoted husband goes out of his way to create a world where she can explore those kinks to her heart’s content. Gosh, sounds so familiar.” She paused, shrugging my hand away, and lifting her chin. “I wonder where I’ve heard that before.”

“Fuck off, Danika,” I said, starting to walk away. She stepped in to block my escape. “If I made a movie about you, it would be titled,Cheater.”

“I sought solace in a coworker because you spent eight months working on that movie in New Zealand!”

“I’m one of the most popular actors in America, Danika. I go away and work on movies. I did it long before you came along.”

“But not since.” She gives a cruel little laugh. “I don’t care about us anymore, West. I don’t give a shit about you. But I do care about my career. More than anything.”

“Yeah, I fucking figured that out, didn’t I? A little too late.”

“I’m glad things didn’t work out. And I’m not going to apologize for my dedication to my career. But you know me, West. I will stop at nothing to get what I want.”

“And what is it you want now, Danika?”

“I want to star in your movie.”

I scoffed, my heart pounding. “Fuck no. Never.”

She reached up again, flashing me a sickly-sweet smile as she cradled my cheek in her hand. I flinched and pulled away. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. I’m going to give you a little time to think about things. A week, maybe. And then — if things don’t go my way, I’m going to tell the entire world about Profane and what goes on there.Darling.”

---