Chapter 22
HOLLIS
Ipulled into the studio lot fifteen minutes early, which was unusual for me. Normally I showed up exactly on time or fashionably late. But I’d been up since five, unable to sleep, my mind spinning with thoughts of Juno.
She hadn’t texted back.
I’d checked my phone at least a hundred times since sending that email yesterday. Nothing. Radio silence. Which probably meant she wasn’t coming. That was probably for the best.
Probably.
Juno was a massive pain in the ass. And an amazing woman.
Two things could be true. Juno was a pain in the ass that I wanted to take to bed again. Like an actual bed. I wanted to take my time exploring all those luscious curves.
I grabbed the cases of B Well Balance from my trunk and headed toward sound stage twelve. The building loomed ahead, massive and windowless, where movie magic happened behind closed doors.
Inside, I found Micah standing near a green screen that stretched across half the space. Lighting rigs hung from the ceiling, cables snaked across the floor, and a small crew milled around. That was unexpected. Camera operators, sound technicians, and people with clipboards all looked very busy.
Very professional for a basic ad shoot.
“You’re early,” Micah said, looking up from his phone.
“Yeah, well. Couldn’t sleep.” I set the cases down. “What’s all this?”
“This is your commercial.” He gestured at the setup like it was obvious. “We’re still waiting on the talent though.”
“The talent?” I felt my stomach drop. “What talent?”
“You’ll see.” He grinned, that mischievous look I’d seen countless times growing up. He was up to something.
“Micah, what’s going on?”
“Relax. Trust me on this.”
I looked around at the crew and was certain whatever he had cooking would cost more than my entire monthly operating budget. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble. I just wanted a few ideas.”
Micah walked over and clapped me on the shoulder. “One, you’re my brother and I will do anything in my power to contribute to your success. Two, I’m counting this as directing experience, which is technically true. I’m trying to land a directing gig soon and this will go in my reel.”
“Why don’t you just ask Dad?” I shrugged. “He’ll let you direct whatever you want at his studio.”
Our father, Max Blackwell, ran Blackwell Studios. He had been trying for years to get one of his kids to work with him in the industry. He would be over the moon if Micah asked for help.
“For the same reason you don’t just ask Dad for the money to fund B Well.” Micah’s expression turned serious. “We all want to blaze our own trails.”
I nodded. “True.”
“Besides,” he added, his grin returning, “this is going to be fun. When’s the last time you had fun with your business?”
I thought about that. When was the last time I’d enjoyed any of this instead of stressing about sales numbers and partnership deals and whether I was going to make it or crash and burn spectacularly?
“It’s been a while,” I admitted.
“Then let’s change that.” He gestured toward a director’s chair with my name on it. “Have a seat. We’ve got about twenty minutes before the talent arrives.”
“You keep saying talent. What the hell does that mean?”
“Trust me.”
“I’m trying but you’re kind of freaking me out.”
He laughed and walked away.
I sat, feeling weirdly out of place. This was my commercial, my product, but Micah was clearly running the show.
I watched him move around the space, checking angles with the camera operators, discussing lighting with the techs.
He was in his element. Focused in a way I rarely saw outside of family gatherings.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, hoping to see Juno’s name.
It was Toby: On my way. Traffic is insane.
I texted back: No rush. We’re still setting up.
I pocketed my phone and tried not to feel disappointed. What had I expected? That she’d magically respond after ignoring me for twenty-four hours? That she’d show up here ready to pretend nothing had happened?
Maybe it was better this way. Cleaner. We could focus on business without any distractions. Except I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“You good?” Micah asked, suddenly standing in front of me.
“Yeah. Fine.”
He studied my face. “You look constipated.”
“Thanks.”
“Maybe you should drink one of those smoothies. Get things moving.”
“Are you implying my smoothies give people the shits?”
He shrugged. “Isn’t it supposed to do that?”
“No.”
Micah looked over my shoulder. “Uh-oh, the boss is here. Everyone be cool.”
I turned, expecting to see my father. But it wasn’t him.
Juno walked in.
My breath caught in my throat. She looked incredible.
The pink silk blouse made her skin glow.
Her black pants hugged her curves, and her burgundy heels had me thinking about her legs wrapped around my waist with those heels digging into my ass.
Her hair fell around her shoulders, and I found myself wanting to bury my face in it and breathe in her strawberry scent.
She scanned the space, her eyes landing on me for a brief second before moving to Micah and the crew. Her expression gave nothing away. No sign that she’d spent the night thinking about me the way I’d spent it thinking about her.
“Am I early?” she asked, walking toward us. “I wasn’t sure what time you’d be starting.”
“Right on time,” Micah said. “We’re just waiting on the talent.”
“The talent?” She looked between us. “What does that mean?”
Micah’s grin widened. “Patience. Time will reveal all.”
I caught the flash of irritation in Juno’s eyes. She didn’t like being kept in the dark any more than I did.
“He has a flair for the dramatic,” I said, standing up from my chair. “It’s genetic.”
“Clearly.” She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, still not quite meeting my eyes.
I needed to talk to her. There was no way I could let this fester. I touched her elbow lightly. “Can we talk for a second?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Sure.”
I led her toward the back corner of the sound stage, far enough away that we wouldn’t be overheard. The equipment created a little pocket of privacy. I wasn’t nervous. Or maybe I was, just a little. This was unfamiliar territory for me.
I realized I had no idea what to say. All the speeches I’d rehearsed in my head evaporated the moment I was standing this close to her.
She finally looked up at me. God, those eyes. Maybe I should just kiss her. We were good at the kissing. It was the talking that always got us in trouble.
“I don’t want you to feel weird around me,” I said. “That was never my intention.”
“I made my own choices that day, Hollis. You didn’t force me into anything.”
“I know that. But still, I wanted to make sure we’re okay.”
She bit her lower lip, and I had to force myself not to stare at her mouth. She’d put on a shiny gloss with a touch of pink. I wanted to taste it.
Was she about to tell me that we needed to end the partnership?
“Do you regret it?” I asked before I could stop myself.
She paused and my heart stopped beating for way too long. I couldn’t read her expression, couldn’t tell if that pause meant yes or no or something in between.
“No. Actually, I don’t regret it.”
Relief flooded through me so fast I felt dizzy. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” A small smile played on her lips. “It is, however, a shame we’re working together.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because if anyone ever found out I slept with a potential acquisition, people would lose respect for me.” Her eyes crinkled in a slight smile. “And I’m just barely recovering my reputation as the rat piss lady.”
I laughed. Couldn’t help it. The tension that had been coiled in my stomach finally released. Not completely but enough that I could breathe again. “That’s fair.”
“So we keep it professional from here on out,” she said, but there was something in her voice that didn’t quite match the words, like she was trying to convince herself as much as me.
And I wasn’t a complete idiot. She had never put on lip gloss like that in all the other times I’d seen her. That had to be for me, right?
“Professional,” I repeated. “Not a problem at all.”
We stood there for another moment. God, I wanted to touch her. Kiss her. All the things. But I didn’t. I stepped back to put some distance between us. “You ready to see whatever insanity Micah has planned?”
“When he says talent…” Juno’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t think he hired a chimp or something?”
I barked out a laugh, surprised. “I hadn’t considered that possibility. But he’s crazy enough to do it.”
We walked back toward the main area of the sound stage. Micah was still directing the crew, pointing at different lighting setups and conferring with the camera operators. Toby had arrived at some point and was already filming behind-the-scenes footage.
I was about to ask Micah again what the hell we were waiting for when I heard it—a commotion at the entrance. Voices. People scrambling.
An entourage poured in. Assistants, security, people with headsets and clipboards. And at the center of it all, surrounded by the organized chaos, was Jack Montana.
Jack fucking Montana.
International action star. Box office king. The guy whose movies grossed billions worldwide. The guy with a smile that had launched a thousand endorsement deals.
Juno went still beside me. I glanced down at her and saw the shock written all over her face. Her mouth had fallen open slightly, her eyes wide.
If I had a handkerchief, I would have given it to her to mop up the drool. Whatever. He wasn’t that hot.
But I couldn’t lie. The guy had aura and Micah had somehow convinced him to be in my commercial.
“Holy shit,” Juno whispered.
I bit back a grin.
Jack strode across the sound stage like he owned it. Micah met him halfway, and they clasped hands like old friends.
“Jack, thanks for doing this,” Micah said.
I walked forward, trying to play it cool even though I was internally freaking out. Not because I hadn’t met all the big names before. I’d grown up around them. But he was here to pitch my shakes. “Thanks for being here.”
Jack shook my hand. “No problem.”
“This is Juno Young,” Micah said, gesturing to where Juno still stood, looking slightly shell-shocked. “She’s Hollis’s business partner.”
Juno stepped forward, and I watched her pull herself together in real time. The shock disappeared, replaced by her professional mask. She extended her hand. “Mr. Montana, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Please, call me Jack.” He shook her hand, flashing that million-dollar smile.
“Great, now we can get started,” Micah announced, clapping his hands together. “Everyone let’s gather around. I want to walk through what we’re doing today.”
The crew assembled in a loose circle around Micah. I moved closer to Juno, standing beside her but not touching. I could feel the energy radiating off her—excitement mixed with something else. Nerves, maybe. Or the same disbelief I was feeling.
“I forget you people are connected,” she murmured.
“You people?” I asked with a small laugh. “And this is all Micah. He’s using this as an opportunity to show people what he can do.”
“How?”
“He’s directing whatever this is,” I said and waved around the space. “It’ll be part of his resume.”
She nodded. “I guess that’s good for us. We’ll be getting his best. Do I want to know what this is costing?”
“I don’t know. I’m starting to worry about that too, though.”
She looked around the massive stage. “This is wild. Where movies are made.”
“Yep.”
“This is probably an average day for you,” she said. “Movie set with an A-list celebrity.”
“Not so much these days, but our parents did take us on sets when we were younger.”
“Definitely more exciting than an office,” she said.
I laughed. “Exciting is one word. Getting to watch grown men throw tantrums is interesting to say the least.”