Page 36 of Glamour and Grit

It hurts, being shut out after he seemingly let me in last night. I bury my nose in my phone, trying to ignore Dane. I’m surprised to see a text from my producer, because the show is on a production break.

We need you on set today. The streamer wants some stock footage of zombies they can use for promotional purposes.

I frown, and send a text back.

Can’t they just use footage from the show we’ve already shot?

His reply comes quicker than I expect. He must be in full networking mode.

Can’t do that, legal reasons because of the original comic creators contract. It has to be all new footage we haven’t used in the show yet.

I’m on my way.

“Who are you texting?” Dane asks.

I can’t help being a little snarky.

“My boyfriend.”

“What?”

It’s worth it, for the look on his face. Maybe he’s not as ice-cold on the inside as he’s trying to seem.

“Just kidding. It’s my boss. I need to go to work today.”

He scoffs, dropping his fork onto his plate and giving me the stink eye.

“Do you have a death wish? Moreno and his thugs are looking for you. They’re going to know exactly where you work.”

“Security on the studio lot is tighter than the Pentagon or the White House. You think spies are hard to keep out, try internet podcasters who want to post spoilers about the upcoming season. I’ll be fine, just get me there.”

Dane pouts, his brows coming low over his green eyes. He looks like a tiger flustered by iron bars separating him from prey.

“Absolutely not, it’s not safe. I forbid it.”

“You forbid it?” I sputter with laughter. “Dane, sweetie, you need to remember the dynamics of our relationship.”

He starts at the word ‘relationship,’ but I keep right on rolling.

“You see, I’m the one paying you, so that kind of makes me your boss.”

Dane shovels a mouthful of sausage and biscuit into his mouth and chews carefully before responding. His green eyes pierce right through me, but I can see the corners of his mouth fighting off a smile. He won’t admit it, but he likes my sass.

“It’s like that, huh?” he says at length.

“Yeah, it’s like that. So go get my car ready, bitch.”

I slap him firmly on the ass as he gets up to take the dishes to the sink. He turns around and gives me a look, then lets a tiny smile onto his face. A moment later, the smile vanishes, and it’s like I can see the barriers coming up to cut him off from me again.

“All right, I’ll agree to this, though I don’t think it’s a good idea. But only on certain conditions.”

I sigh. “What kind of conditions?”

“One, if I don’t feel like the lot is safe, we’re leaving. Two, if I tell you to move, you move, without hesitation or stopping to ask me why. Three, you will not go anywhere without me within sighting distance.”

“Fine. I agree to your terms, or whatever. Can we go now?”

Oh well. For a second or two, we were back on the same page.

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