CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - DUNCAN
I’d managed to refrain from going down to the set all day and instead tidied up my office and organize my client books. I had a few men that were slacking without my watchful eye, and I checked on the as well.
I had noticed about halfway through the day that my phone had been turned off, and there was a missed call from half an hour before from Rachel, but when I tried to call her back, she didn’t answer. I left her a text and told her what happened.
So, when my phone rang about four o’clock, I assumed it was her, tired from a long day’s work and ready to make amends. I was ready for that myself.
But it wasn’t her. “Hello, Sis. How’s your day been?”
“Better than yours, as always. So, did you two lovebirds get everything worked out?”
“I haven’t talked to Rachel all day. She never called me back.”
“Well, that’s curious because she was supposed to come by your office, I texted her the address.”
“Maybe she changed her mind about me. She thinks I’m some chauvinistic asshole, I’m sure.” She’d said as much comparing me to her father.
She gave me a sound of frustration. “Not true. And she feels bad. You need to go to her. Maybe something’s holding her up.”
“Or someone. I’m sure she and Brock are as chummy as ever. I’m sure he’s loving it.” I knew I sounded bitter, but it wasn’t like I was ever going to care for her working for that man ever again.
“Now, now, don’t pout just because she won’t let you do anything to him.”
“Technically, the only thing she said I couldn’t do is to pound his face and kill him, but lucky for me, I can be a bit more creative.” I’d spent the last two hours after sorting out my guys going over every scrap of information I could on Brock Reed.
“What are you saying? You’ve got something else cooking?” She gave a nervous laugh, but then made a sound of disapproval. “Please tell me you won’t make things worse.”
“No, I’m going to even the playing field is all. He said he’ll ruin Rachel, so I am going to dig up some fresh dirt on him, something he wouldn’t want anyone knowing, especially Harris or his father.”
“I didn’t tell you that tidbit so you could use it against him. I told you and Rachel so you’d stop worrying about him.”
“I’m not worried, but I’m also not so sure Rachel wasn’t right. He could pull some influence considering who he’s worked with in the past, but that road goes both ways. If I can dig up something on him, then that will be our insurance.”
“You sure you’re not going to make things worse? Rachel won’t like this. I do, but she won’t.”
“I’ll worry about that later.” I wasn’t going to keep it from her, but I damned sure wasn’t going to let that little shit get away with anything.
“What exactly do you have in mind and how can I help?”
“Well, unless you want to get into a compromising situation yourself, you better stay out of it. But I appreciate the offer, and I’ll keep it in mind. I do know that he and Star have worked together before, on her first and third videos, and they’ve known each other for a while, clear back to when she first hit the scene when she was only seventeen. She’s a pet of his or maybe vice versa. I’d like to find out why, especially since their other relationships line up along the same timelines of their projects.”
“You think they were sleeping with one another?”
“Something like that. But the two of them messing around has never gone public, and I have a feeling here’s a reason for it.” I’d figure it out whatever it was.
We ended our conversation minutes later with me promising to give Rachel another call, which I tried to do on my way home without any answer. I wanted her to know that I would be home in case she was still going to drop by the office.
I’d only been home an hour, still with no word back from Rachel when there was a knock at my door. I glanced out the window to see her standing there with her eyes closed and mouthing something like a prayer.
She met me with a weary smile when she opened the door, and I pulled her into a tight embrace. I’d missed her like crazy and hated that there was tension between us.
She melted against me and then threw her head back and met my eyes. “I needed that. Today was terrible.”
“Want to tell me all about it?” I wasn’t sure she would be so open to explain considering what had happened, but she let out a sigh, sinking further against me and gave me a nod.
“What didn’t happen, would be a hell of a lot easier to explain.” She took my hand, and I led her inside, offering her a seat on the couch.
She took a seat, glancing around at my place. “This isn’t what I expected. Remember how messy your bedroom used to be?”
“The military changed many things.” I sat down beside her, and she stroked my goatee and then ran her hand down my chest and across my arms.
“It certainly did.” She slid her gaze down my body, and her cheeks reddened.
“You’re stalling, what happened that was so terrible?” I wasn’t going to let her get away from the issue in case Brock had tried something again. This time I wasn’t going to be so restrained.
“Our charming producer was in a terrible mood, and he brought his sidekick along for the torture. Star Summers has got to be the biggest brat on the planet. First, I changed everything to fit her massive heels, and now that I have, she’s decided she’d be sexier barefoot for the video. Of course, Brock agreed in a way that made me think he has some erotic foot fetish, and now I have to recalibrate all the major props to line up in the shot again. My team is about ready to walk after she dragged them on a tirade and oh, you might need to tell your man to keep his eyes on the door, and not Star’s ass.”
“Patrick? What happened with him?”
“Well, other than Jefferey claiming he’s been staring him down since he arrived, which could just be the fact that Jefferey thinks all men are staring him down, Patrick was a bit taken by the pop diva. So much that he let one of her crazy fans slip in. Then he—”
“What? He let someone slip in?” My temper flared as confusion set in. It was hard to believe he’d made such an error.
“Yeah, a pair of teens, they had some stuff they wanted Star to sign. She went ahead and took care of them, giving them pictures and so on.”
“I bet she was pissed. How come no one called the office to complain?”
“I’m sure she and Patrick worked it out over lunch.”
“Lunch?” I’d only stepped away with Star and her manager as a courtesy knowing I had a backup, but Patrick doing so was not part of his job nor standard procedure.
“Oh yeah, and she was gushing over him way more than she did you.” She gave me a teasing grin.
“He’s never been one to be so unprofessional, but then again he’s never worked with any of the famous clients before, especially one so—”
“Sexy? Beautiful?” She leveled her stare as if daring me to finish my sentence.
“I was going to say flirty and manipulative, but since you mentioned it, yeah, she’s not hard on the eyes. Maybe that whole tooth thing, but—”
She nudged me playfully, and I cupped her face and pulled her toward me, kissing her deep. I broke away and met her eyes, resting my forehead on hers. “You’re sexy and beautiful. I wanted to say I’m sorry about what happened and that I got angry.”
“I’m sorry too. I flew off the handle.” She raked her hand through my hair and kissed me, inching herself closer.
“Well, was that it?”
“Not by a longshot. Brock sabotaged me at every turn, making it impossible to get any work done around all the things that needed to be changed and of course, Star left for her dressing room, completely pissed. He followed after telling me that there might not be a video now and if I ruined things with my incompetence, he wasn’t going to pay me.”
“He went to her dressing room?”
“Yes, and they were still in there when I left. I sent everyone home. I know they deserved an early day after that circus.”
“You deserve better too.” I pulled her into my lap and stroked her back as our mouths mingled and I was more certain than ever I’d get something on Brock Reed if it was the last thing I’d do.