Page 59 of Pretty Threats

And if the Beta House guys are as bad as Owen’s implying, there is no way I’m taking another woman to the party with me.

For the rest of the meeting, I don’t say much. Owen moves on to location-scouting. The cinematographer is arriving in a few days, and one of my jobs is to create a folder of Foxgrove images for him. That’s an assignment I’m happy to undertake.

As I leave the meeting, though, I still feel dejected. My big opportunity isn’t what it seemed.

24

KILLIAN

She’s quiet when she comes down from the meeting, and I stop walking as soon as we leave the tower.

“What’s up?”

Wind gusts, blowing her hair. When her phone buzzes, she glances down and frowns. A minute later, my own phone dings. When I check it, it’s a message from Owen Malenus with a QR code, suggesting I escort Raine to a party.

“What happened in the meeting?” Keeping my voice low takes work.

Raine rarely gets upset with anyone except me. Also, she went into the meeting happy and excited, and now she’s not. For some reason, I dislike that even more than seeing her excitement at working with her idol.

“He’s just not what I expected.”

“Did he proposition you? Flirt?”

“No, nothing like that.”

She says no, but she could be lying for the obvious reasons.

“Then what?”

“Which way is the car?” Her gaze swivels from side to side and then stares off in the direction of the river.

“What happened at the meeting?” My voice is louder now, overpowering the wind by a lot.

Her attention turns back toward me. “He wants me to spy for him. Fraternity guys will be more likely to show their true colors in front of a teenage girl than a famous director.” After a beat, she shakes her head. “I’m not even sure I should’ve said that. I signed a non-disclosure agreement about my work on the film.”

“That agreement doesn’t apply to me.” I take out my phone and send Malenus a text.

Killian: Thanks for ticket. I’ll go.

Malenus: Great.

I guide Raine to the Corvette, but once we’re on the road, I take a detour.

“Why are we going north?”

I’m surprised she noticed. “You need a dress for the Beta party.”

She rubs her forehead. “I can launder the red dress.”

“No, red’s not a good color for a spy mission.”

Her gaze slides to me. “Do you find this funny?”

“Not really. Wanna skip the party? Say the word, and we will.” When she’s silent, I add, “Do you want out of the film apprenticeship altogether? If you do, I’ll convince him to help you go back to your regular schedule.”

“Do you know how badly that would reflect on me? Blowing off a major opportunity without explanation? No. There’s no way I would do that.” She sighs. “I need to shake this off. It’s still going to be a great chance to see a lot of industry professionals at work.”

“Okay. By the way, Malenus sent me an invite, so I can escort you to this party.”

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