Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
WITH ALL THIS BUZZ, WE DON’T THINK WE CAN KEEP CALLING HIM A B-LISTER ANYMORE. THE FRESHLY MINTED A-LISTER MUST BE LOVING THE ATTENTION.
GREER
“Ifucking hate this.”
Sitting in the conference room at Wells Law, I stretched my leg under the table until it was pressed against Tripp’s. I knew he would’ve preferred me on his lap, but given the circumstances, that wasn’t a good idea.
“I’m sorry,” I said as guilt hit my chest with the gentleness of a steel girder being used as a baseball bat.
Tripp’s eyes snapped to me. “Why’re you sorry? You didn’t do anything.”
He was kind of right, but also not really.
It was my bad taste in on-again, off-again boyfriends that had us in that situation.
I took in the mix of stern dominance and sweet adoration in Tripp’s expression.
At least my tastes have improved.
“This isn’t on you,” he continued, not giving me the chance to speak. “And we’ll handle it, just like I said. I just hate that you have to be here for it.”
“It’ll look weird if I’m not since he thinks you’re meeting him as a favor to me. We don’t want him getting suspicious it’s not a real job offer,” I said.
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
I nudged his leg with mine again.
I was right when I said his love language was touch. That simple connection was enough to unclench his jaw.
Unfortunately, the longer the seconds ticked by, the more anxious I became.
“Should we have tried for a bigger role? Are we sure he’ll take it?” I asked.
After I told Tripp everything a couple days prior, he’d said that he would take care of it. I’d happily accepted that reassurance, but I hadn’t fully believed him.
I should’ve.
He did not mess around.
After he’d filled Easton in, his lawyer had compiled the necessary paperwork. By the time Josh called the next day, everything was good to go.
Now we just had to wait to see if it all panned out.
Wait being the keyword because Josh was late.
“He’ll probably take it,” Easton said. He didn’t offer forced smiles or empty promises, and that honesty made me relax.
A little.
For a few minutes.
And then all the possibilities and unknown variants started the next lap of the race through my head.
Tripp easily read the tension on my face. “The role is a good one. The script is even better. If he doesn’t take the job, we’ll move to plan B.”
“What’s plan B?”
“Have Benji threaten him.”
I laughed, which was exactly his intent. Benji was the intimidating security guard at Wells Law, but looks could be deceiving. He was a big softie. Though I was willing to bet a threat from him would be effective if someone didn’t know that.
Easton’s phone buzzed, and he glanced at it. “Showtime.”
As far as Josh knew, the men were oblivious to his threat. He was just an old friend looking for his lucky break.
Tripp was an amazing actor, so I had no doubt he would nail it.
Easton was so stoically blank, no one would have a clue whether or not he was lying.
I was the weak link. My acting ability was limited to corpses and zombies. If Josh looked at me for longer than a second, it might blow the entire operation.
Or the simple plan that wasn’t anywhere near an operation, but still.
I just had to hope that Josh treated the meeting like our relationship and had no interest in me while I was there.
“Relax, siren,” Tripp whispered.
Realizing I was tucking my hair behind my ears, I dropped my hands but gave him a quick smile. “Don’t worry, he never noticed that habit.”
“What a dumbass.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Both men stood as June—Easton’s admin who was levels of proficient I aspired to—led Josh into the room. He didn’t thank her, apologize for being nearly an hour late, or acknowledge me.
Just as I hoped, his focus was on the only famous person in the room. He greeted him like they were old friends. “It’s great to finally meet you. I’m a big fan.”
“Thanks, man,” Tripp said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m a big fan now, too. Greer showed me your demo reel. It’s great stuff.”
Pure delight brightened Josh’s expression, but he worked to hide it behind off-putting arrogance his skills did not backup. “I’ve been told it’s one of the best by some casting directors.”
“It is.” Not a twitch. Not a flicker. Not even a flare of his nostrils that would give away how full of shit Tripp was.
He gestured to a chair, waiting until Josh sat before returning to his.
“I’ll be honest, I only agreed to meet with you as a favor to Greer because she’s a good assistant.
But when she showed me that reel…” He shook his head. “I was at a loss for words.”
Don’t laugh.
Don’t laugh.
Don’t laugh.
I had to pinch my thigh, but I managed to keep my humor in check since I knew that wasn’t the compliment it sounded like.
“I’m surprised you don’t have more credits,” he added. “Tell me about what you’ve done.”
Josh slouched back, eating it up with zero of the skepticism I’d expected. He inflated his minimal roles to sound like more than they were, and even then, it was nothing. “You know how this business is. They only want big names or people with connections.”
Tripp spread his arms out with one of those charming smiles that melted hearts and panties.
“Now you’ve got a connection.” He reached behind him for the binder before pushing it toward Josh.
“The rewrites for Summer are happening now, so this is subject to change. But it’s enough to give you an idea of the available role. ”
“Yeah, this looks good,” Josh said after barely flipping through the manuscript pages.
He finally looked at me, a thinly veiled threat in his narrowed gaze.
He went for casual, but it came across as stilted.
“But Greer mentioned there might be some action movies. That’s where I’m really hoping to make a name for myself. ”
“I can see it,” Tripp said, the words forced through his clenched jaw.
Uh-oh.
He totally caught that nasty look.
He was better at masking his emotions, and his easygoing vibe was back in an instant. “I’m going to be honest with you.”
Josh braced, and his glare shot to me.
Tripp got his focus back when he leaned forward and slapped his palms on the table with more intensity than was necessary.
He continued talking in a friendly voice that didn’t let on to the fact he’d likely been picturing hitting the man across from him.
“I’ve been in this business a long time.
My dad is an actor. I grew up here. I can tell when someone is going to drop off, and when they’ll skyrocket. ”
I’m pretty sure he’s channeling Tony.
He kept going. “So believe me when I say you’ve got something. It reminds me of—”
“A young you?” Josh cut in like Tripp was double his age and not just ten years older.
I fought the urge to kick my ex under the table.
“Exactly,” Tripp agreed, though it was obvious to everyone—except Josh—that wasn’t what he’d been about to say.
“Like you said, this business is hard. It’s all about connections.
I had my dad to help me. I want to mentor you.
Obviously, that means spending time together, which is why I asked you to meet me here.
You’ll need to sign an NDA. If you’re not interested, you can just sign the contract for Summer—”
“No, I’m interested. I’m very interested.”
Easton swooped in with the forms like that was the way meetings usually went. He started to explain the NDA that was the typical coverage hidden behind legalese.
For the most part, at least.
Take the role.
Take it.
Take it.
Easton’s explanation and my silent encouragement were both unnecessary.
Josh didn’t hesitate to sign on the line. He didn’t even lift the papers away to skim the other forms. He just pushed them up enough to sign and initial.
No questions. No suspicion. Nothing but the audacity and entitlement of a mediocre man.
All that careful phrasing Easton used, and for nothing.
Tripp grinned wide, and that time, the sides of his eyes crinkled. “I’m really happy with how this went. My lawyer is going to make copies, and then we’ll take the contract to the studio so you can meet the team.”
I wanted to sink back until I melted into a relieved puddle on the ground beneath my chair.
There’s no way he’ll release the video now.
My boss-slash-boyfriend paused in the doorway just long enough to offer me a reassuring smile before he followed Easton from the room.
I’m up.
But I wasn’t. I didn’t have to decide between my various carefully rehearsed conversation starters.
Josh took the lead, spinning his chair to lean closer. “You look good.”
It’s because I’m happy for the first time in a long while.
When I didn’t glow at his compliment, he let out a mean laugh. “But still as neurotic and uptight as ever. At least you made this work. Kind of.” He nudged the binder Tripp and I had worked up and highlighted to make it seem like a bigger role.
Or a real role.
It wasn’t. The whole thing was bullshit.
“There better be more options than this sappy shit, though,” he said, presenting me with an opening that might as well have been the size of a black hole.
“What if there’s not?” I asked. My nerves at my believability came across as nerves about his answer.
“You know what.”
So close.
“But I got you this meeting and the part,” I pointed out.
“That wasn’t the deal.”
“And he said he’d help you.”
Josh shot me the cocky smirk that I used to love so much. I don’t understand why. It was just so…
Punchable.
“Hey, that was all me,” he said with that same arrogance. “You heard him. He loved my reel.”
He did, but not for the reason Josh thought.
At Tripp’s suggestion, I’d asked for the reel to lend credibility to our story. We didn’t have to watch it, but curiosity got the better of us last night when we’d been going over everything at Tripp’s.
Maddie had insisted we make it a whole experience, so the four of us had settled into the recliners upstairs.