Chapter Fifty-Four
Chance took a deep breath and strode into the living room of the main house the following morning, ready to kick ass and take names.
Or, at the very least, lay down the law with the Thanes.
Lark had known damn well what she was doing with the camera crew the night before, and Chance was certain that meant Gigi had been involved.
Perhaps no one had ever told them no before.
Today, they’d learn what his limits were.
He’d also explain the reality of his relationship with Jane.
They were an item. If there were a contractual issue with that, he’d wait for them to work it out.
It was in the Thanes’ best interest that he and Jane remained on their staff.
Chance would make that a simple ultimatum.
Boss Man would back him up. The drama would blow over, and he could continue on his merry way, providing security for this shitshow.
But a little voice in the back of his head whispered that nothing ever went according to plan in the Thane household. Common sense didn’t rule the roost, and ratings dictated most decisions.
After several minutes of searching for Dax, Chance gave up. He’d have to speak with Gigi first. It would be fine, he told himself. He’d had much bigger problems on far more dangerous jobs.
Gigi sat with her back toward him as he entered one of the sitting rooms with a knock.
The second she looked up, he knew there was trouble. He swallowed hard, fearing nothing good would come of a conversation with her now. Circles darkened under her eyes, and recent tears were evident.
“Just the person I needed to see,” she said as she rifled through a drawer, her movements clipped, full of determination.
He took a step back, knowing he needed to escape as a camera crew bustled in, appearing out of nowhere. They boxed him in place and focused on Gigi. She didn’t react to their arrival but pulled out a familiar dark blue booklet. “Ah. Here it is.”
“What is?”
“My passport.” Gigi swept her hair from her face. “Of course, with all of your travel, you have yours, too.”
He rocked back onto his heels, uncomfortable with the conversation and the camera crew. “Of course, but—”
“Good. Get packed. We’re leaving shortly.”
“What?” He ground his molars.
“I need alone time, Chance,” she snapped and muttered under her breath.
Did she say something about betrayal?
Gigi abruptly rose from her desk and strode to him, stopping far too close for comfort. He awkwardly stepped back, but she knotted her fists into his shirt.
He froze, pinned between the camera crew and Gigi. “Ma’am—”
“Go pack. Now.” She spun away and slammed the door.
Alone and trapped with the camera crew, he turned toward them. “What the hell just happened?”
They ignored him as though he were talking to himself. Chance scowled, shook his head, and turned.
“Cut—that was beautiful.”
The sudden whirl of conversation made him spin toward the camera crew again. “Would any of you tell me what the fuck this is all about?”
One of them smirked. Someone else rolled their eyes. A few people filtered out the door.
Chance blocked the last two men from leaving. “What happened?”
They glanced at each other and then at him again.
Why did they look confused?
“You haven’t been read in for the day?”
What did that mean? These people didn’t have a security protocol. They didn’t operate with any sense of order. He’d never been to a regularly scheduled meeting to be read into anything. “I guess not.”
“Oh,” the other man said. Both of their confusion disappeared. “Dax is dropping Gigi for a younger piece of ass, half his age. Juicy shit that the network can’t get enough of.”
Dax was no different from Chance’s father. For everything he hated about Gigi, he couldn’t help but understand her pain. After all, he’d lived through it once before.
Except for the wealthy and callous parts, Gigi might be his mother. Absolutely beautiful but abandoned and replaced.
Exhausted, Chance backed against the wall. He covered his hands with his face and pulled them down. He hated drama.
“And, hey, if you hadn’t realized which way this will play out,” the other man warned. “You’re the odds-on favorite to serve as her consolation prize.”
Chance ignored them and frowned as he headed back to his house to pack.
Even if Gigi was a high-maintenance pain in the ass, she was Dax’s woman.
Chance had no respect for men who did that to women.
Visions of his mother’s broken heart made his chest tight, and no matter how much he hated drama, he felt an ever-increasing pity for Gigi.
He texted Jane but didn’t receive a response as he walked to his garage apartment.
By the time he’d closed the door and pulled out his go-bag, he’d forgiven Gigi for her blundering flirtations.
Dax hadn’t just left her; he’d planned to tell the whole world that a younger woman was better than his wife. It made Chance seethe.
He quickly packed, then headed to Jane’s cottage. There was no answer when he knocked.
His text message buzzed with her reply to his earlier text.
Jane: How’d everything go? Teddy and I are at a playdate. Be back late afternoon. Xoxo
Unsure how to summarize what had happened, he asked her to call when she had a private minute, and then Chance trudged back to the main house, go-bag slung over his shoulder.
Gigi stood in the kitchen, surrounded by her ever-present camera crew. She had changed into a tiny sundress and was giving a monologue to the camera. “I didn’t see this coming. I’m not sure what life without Dax looks like.” She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “He’s my rock. My one true love.”
A production person gestured and said, “Great, and, cut.”
Gigi wiped at the area under her eyes and caught sight of Chance, standing in the doorway. “Hi,” she said, sounding fragile and a little embarrassed.
The crew scattered at the orders of the cut-man and followed orders to tape background footage. Gigi swept over to him, much calmer than he last saw her.
“Hey, look,” he offered. “You’ll be okay. Just take some time away. Things’ll work themselves out. Do you need anything? A snack?”
“Thank you, Chance. You’re right.” She went to him and draped herself on his arm, patting his chest. “I just need to be away from everyone else.”
His spine straightened, uneasy in her emotional embrace, and awkwardly waited for her to release him. She didn’t budge, and no matter how he shifted, she didn’t let go.
Chance tried a new tactic. Conversation. “Where are we headed?”
“The Caribbean.” She squeezed harder.
He wanted to escape but couldn’t. Shit. “I bet Teddy likes the beach.”
“I suppose.”
Maybe she didn’t know. “You could show him—”
Gigi arched from his chest. “No. He’ll stay with Jane.”
“He will?” Chance swallowed hard.
She fluffed her hair and waved her hand as though his suggestion was a silly thought. “He’d be bored to tears in the Caribbean.”
Not likely. Then it dawned on him—they were the only ones going to the Caribbean. When she said she wanted to get away from everyone, she hadn’t meant the camera crew. She meant everyone.
“Just a quiet beach house. Nothing to do except watch the waves lap onto the sand.”
The situation was getting more and more serious by the moment. He’d thought maybe they were going to stay with her family or with close friends. Isn’t that where people usually go to mend a broken heart? To the arms of people who love them? “Who will join us?”
“No one. Just us.”
“Just us?” Suddenly the consolation prize comment made sense, and he really didn’t know what to say to Jane. “Pennebaker wouldn’t mind time in the sun.”
Gigi sashayed toward the counter and picked up a large-brimmed hat as though she hadn’t heard him. She went to a decorative mirror and adjusted the dramatically slanted brim angled over her head. “I really love the beach.”
“Right, yeah.” He cleared his throat, worried that she had skipped over his question. “So, what do you mean by just us?”
“Oh. No. Not just the two of us.”
Thank god. “I see.”
“I’m contractually obligated to continue filming, so a cameraman is coming, too. The Thanes can’t handle more than one legal problem at a time.” She smiled as if she were facing the paparazzi. “Shall we be off?”
Then she disappeared. Chance stared after her, stunned.
A cameraman stepped in from where Gigi had swept away.
For a moment, it almost seemed as if she’d known a camera would be waiting around the corner. But of course, she would. They were everywhere.
The man set his equipment on the ground but gave Chance another look. “You okay, buddy?”
“No.”
He snickered. “I remember my first couple of weeks. You’re not in Kansas anymore.”