Page 24 of The Master

She squeezed my hand. “Not a chance in hell.”

Since we were already on the subject, I figured it was as good a time as any for me to bring up the one thing I knew the two of us had to talk about before I dropped her off. “We need to talk security.”

“Security?”

“For your building and for you. You just have one of those buzzers, not a doorman. You wouldn’t believe the things reporters will sink to for a story. I had one bribe the pizza delivery guy and showed up with a camera instead of my pizza. They’ll get your neighbors to let them in–”

“Not my neighbors,” she interjected. “And I don’t just mean Perry and Gary. About six months ago, a woman on the fourth floor had her ex show up and start threatening to take their kids. I don’t know her name, but after it happened, everyone in the building got a legal agreement that stated we were only to let people in if we personally knew them. It’s actually grounds for being evicted.”

I let out a low whistle. “Harsh.”

“But effective.”

“Guess it would be. That’s good to know.” I turned onto the road in front of her building, bracing myself to see news vans already parked, vultures lurking. Only no one was there. That was good. I didn’t even want to think about how difficult it would be to try to sneak her inside.

She flashed an overly bright smile. “See, nice and safe.”

“And I intend to keep you that way.” I parked at the curb and turned to face her. “I mean it, Ashlee. I’m not taking any risks when it comes to you. I almost lost you due to my own stupidity. I won’t lose you again, not if there’s anything I can do about it.”

She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “You’re sweet.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure absolutely nobody has ever called me sweet before.”

“Well, you are. When you want to be. And I appreciate your offer, but it’s not necessary.”

“Then do it for me,le soleil.” I put my hand on her cheek. “Let me take care of you.”

Her eyes met mine, and her expression softened. “All right.”

“Thank you.” I kissed the tip of her nose, making her laugh. “Please stay inside until I get it taken care of.”

“Okay. Just let me know who and when. I don’t want to accidentally call the cops on my protection.”

She had a good point there, one that I fully intended to address…after I was done kissing her.

Sixteen

Ashlee

I’d never beenthe sort of person who got stir crazy, but the moment I shut the door of my apartment, conscious of the fact that I needed to stay inside for the near future, I had the sudden urge to go for a walk. I wanted to hold on to the hope that Nate was just being cautious, and things would blow over quickly, but my practical side knew it was more wishful thinking than cool logic. Sensationalized stories had longer shelf-lives than matter-of-fact news. That was just the sad state of affairs in our society.

At least I’d have the time to do some things around my apartment that I’d been putting off, and some things I’d wanted to put off, specifically unpacking and letting some of my neighbors know that we might be having some problems with reporters soon.

Not exactly how I’d imagined spending today, but at least I wouldn’t be forming unrealistic expectations of what life with Nate was going to be. Sometimes we’d have romantic getaways where we could spend most of the time in bed, and sometimes we’d have to prepare for whatever shit hit the fan.

A couple hours later, I was rummaging through my fridge for something to eat when my phone rang. As I reached for it, I wondered if this was the first of the paparazzi calls. My number wasn’t exactly public knowledge, but I also hadn’t done much in the way of trying to hide it either. Fortunately, when I saw the screen, the name was familiar.

“Mr. Hancock, hi.” I sat down and hoped my voice sounded steadier than I felt.

“How are you?”

I didn’t need to see his face to know that his question wasn’t simple courtesy. Someone had told him about what was happening. I closed my eyes and said a quick prayer that I wasn’t about to lose my job.

“Honestly, I’ve been better.”

“I expect so,” he said dryly. “I talked to Finley and then to Nate about the best course of action since none of us want you to leave the company.”

My shoulders slumped as relief flooded me. Having Finley and Nate behind me was important but expected. I hadn’t really known what to expect of anyone else at work. When Mom had asked, I’d assured her that my position at Manhattan Records was secure, but I’d been guessing at that point.

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