Desk & Deception (Betray Me Once #4)

Chapter 1

LILA

The hair and makeup trailer hummed with the usual pre-shoot chaos, but I was used to working around it. Two wardrobe assistants fluttered around the talent in my chair.

“Jade, hold still. Lila’s doing your lips,” one of them begged.

Jade Monroe sighed dramatically but obeyed, tilting her chin up. “Honestly, Lila, you’re a miracle worker.”

I smiled, blending the edge of her lip liner. “You’re giving me too much credit. That bone structure does most of the work.”

“There’s a reason you’re the best in the business.” She parted her lips so I could finish her mouth before adding, “My skin looks flawless, even in this lighting.”

I had the LED bulbs on a cool setting to match the natural sunlight she was going to be exposed to on set, but I didn’t explain the science. “You gave me a great canvas to work with.”

Jade’s PA poked her head through the door. “Wardrobe needs you in five. They’re having a meltdown over the emerald dress not sitting right.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Tell them to breathe. Lila’s almost done.”

I stepped back to check the contour under the harsh lights, then leaned in for one final dusting of setting powder. My phone vibrated on the counter for the third time in ten minutes, but I ignored it.

Although I’d opened up a little bit about my situation to Serena Watts last week, that had been an entirely different situation.

We’d been in the privacy of her home, I’d done the actress’s makeup many times before, and she’d been going through her own relationship difficulties.

Breaking down on a bustling blockbuster set surrounded by people who needed me to be unflappable was something I couldn’t afford to do.

“Perfect.” I forced my tone to be light as I capped my brush. “You’re going to kill it out there.”

“You’re the best, Lila.” Jade grinned and squeezed my wrist. “I’m lucky they were able to get you for this film with how in demand you are.”

Her kind words were the balm I needed. This HMU trailer was my domain, and I wasn’t about to let Reid’s flirty paralegal intrude here.

The smile I flashed back at Jade showed none of the stress I felt. “And I’m lucky you accepted the lead role because you’re lovely to work with.”

“Your mutual admiration is sweet.” Jade’s PA pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “But you really need to get going.”

Jade thanked me one last time and swept out of the trailer, the door banging shut behind her. I had fifteen minutes before the next talent was due at my station, so I grabbed my phone and slipped outside for some air.

Besides a few social media notifications, a text from Reid was waiting.

Reid

Running behind. Meet me at my place around 8, and I’ll grab dinner from Oste? I won’t forget the tiramisu for my girl.

My thumb hovered over the screen. Part of me melted the way it always did when he remembered the little things. He was still the guy I fell in love with. And he wasn’t cruel or a cheater. He wasn’t even flirtatious by nature. Which somehow made this worse.

It was a safe bet that his flirty paralegal was doing whatever she could to make sure he was stuck in the office. With her.

Reid was a smart guy, but he was completely blind to Kaylee’s machinations.

I wasn’t, though. From the moment she got assigned to his team, she’d been playing the long game with flirty smiles, late nights, and pointed glances at the rock on my finger.

She wanted the lifestyle that came with being on the arm of a successful lawyer.

Not that Reid saw it the same way.

When I walked into his office a few weeks ago with takeout for lunch and found Kaylee perched on the corner of his desk, he’d acted like it was completely normal.

After she left, I brought up how close she had been leaning in, and he brushed it off as her needing to point at something on his monitor.

And when I pointed out that her blouse had the top three buttons undone, he insisted he hadn’t even noticed.

Same with the adoring look she’d given him as she left.

I felt like he was drifting away from me, even when I was right beside him. A few nights ago, I spent the night at his place, but his phone kept lighting up with texts. While I tried to fall asleep, he answered Kaylee’s questions about a deposition.

I swallowed hard, staring at his message until the words blurred.

He could still be thoughtful, but he wasn’t protecting our relationship from her.

Which left me in a tough spot because pulling away would just give Kaylee the opening she wanted.

So I typed back a short reply before I could overthink it.

Me

A mortadella pinsa sounds great.

Then I slid my phone in my pocket and leaned against the side of the trailer. Unfortunately, the fresh air did nothing to loosen the knot in my chest. Nothing had since the first time he’d told me I was overreacting.

I slipped back into the trailer just as Leah arrived. The supporting actress with a string of indie hits dropped into my chair and tilted her head toward the mirror.

Catching sight of my left hand, she murmured, “Wow, that ring is gorgeous. When’s the big day again?”

I draped a cape over her shoulders. “Three months.”

“Girl, I would’ve locked that man down as soon as he proposed.” She wagged her brows with a grin. “Reid Hawthorne is kind of a big deal.”

“Mm-hmm.” There was a time I couldn’t stop talking about Reid, but now it just hurt. Especially anything to do with the wedding. I dabbed some micellar water on a cotton pad to clean her face. “How’s the skin feeling today?”

“Good.” She tilted her head so I could smooth the pad over her face. “Your family must be thrilled. My mom would be throwing parades if I landed a partner in a law firm who represents half of the biggest names in town.”

I forced a laugh as I snagged a damp washcloth from the hot cabi. “Yeah, they’re excited.”

Excited was a major understatement. My mother had almost cried when I told her Reid proposed, and my sister had point-blank told me not to screw things up because he was out of my league.

I’d learned not to pay attention to the crap they said, but when things between Reid and me started to go sideways, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were right. That I’d never find someone better if I finally got fed up and called off our engagement. But not in the way they meant.

I didn’t care about Reid’s money or status.

When I lifted the washcloth off her face, Leah kept chatting, oblivious to the turn my thoughts had taken. Luckily, she shifted into everything she’d want for her dream wedding even though she wasn’t even dating anyone seriously at the moment.

It was a relief when I stepped back and studied her face under the lights, making one final adjustment to the blush. The look was camera-ready, exactly what the studio was paying me for.

“You’re all set.”

Leah beamed and squeezed my hand. “Thanks, Lila.”

I had maybe ten minutes before the next talent arrived, so I sank into the makeup chair and pulled my phone out again. My text thread with Reid came onto the screen. I read over our last few messages again, then locked the phone and pressed it to my chest.

I couldn’t keep shoving down my feelings so I wouldn’t come across as a jealous fiancée. Couldn’t let the things my family said make me too insecure to speak up for myself.

I was one of the most in-demand makeup artists in the industry, getting paid top dollar by the studio, yet I was still waiting on a man who refused to protect our relationship from a paralegal who had decided she wanted my fiancé.

Twisting the engagement ring on my finger, I watched the diamond catch the light. The night he slid this on my finger had been the happiest of my life. Now the band felt heavy.

I couldn’t sit across from him at dinner tonight and make small talk while Kaylee’s shadow loomed between us. Reid needed to finally hear me. To set real boundaries with her.

I slipped the ring off for a second, holding it in my palm. My hand looked strangely bare without it, so I took a slow breath and slid the ring back on. Then I opened our text thread again.

My thumbs moved before I could second-guess myself.

Me

Hope you’re not too tired tonight. We have some stuff to talk about.

Opting to keep it vague, I hit send. Then I stood and got back to work. My hands were steady even though my pulse wasn’t.

Whatever happened at dinner tonight, things with Reid were going to change. They had to.