Page 14 of #Starstruck

And he was telling me this why?

Noting my confusion, he went on. “I think it’s customary that when you maim someone, you have to take over their job. Like a life debt or something.”

What? “That’s when someone saves your life, and then you have to follow them around and protect them. Which only happens in movies. But people out in the real world don’t take over someone’s job when they hurt them in an accident.”

Chase smiled at me then, a smile so intense and bright I wanted to shield my eyes. “I was teasing. But seriously, your friend mentioned you needed a job. And now I need an assistant. It seems like a mutually beneficial arrangement. What do you say?”

My girl parts said,Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! What is wrong with you?But the rational part of my brain resisted. “I don’t have any experience as an assistant.”

“You used to babysit, right?”

Where had he found that out? From Lexi or Twitter? “I did. They just moved.”

He crossed his arms, causing his forearms to flex. Wow. I had never noticed what sexy forearms he had. They were all rugged and strong and corded. “It’s basically the same thing.”

“So you’re a child who has to be watched? I have to make sure you behave?”

Now his smile was sly, sneaky. “You can come over and watch me. I won’t object. And I may or may not behave.”

I was so seriously out of my depth here. I swallowed hard, twice. I was feeling physical things I’d never felt before. I reminded myself that he was a flirt. I had read the tabloids. I had helped Lexi cut out said tabloid articles. He changed girlfriends more often than I changed my underwear. I needed to remember that.

I also needed to remember that I needed the money. And if I were his assistant for a little while, maybe after One-F got back on his feet (no pun intended), I could ask Chase to help with the Foundation benefit.

Win-win.

“You’re considering it.” He sounded like he’d won something important.

“Coming over to your house to watch you, or taking the job offer?”

He leaned in, and I almost blacked out when I smelled him. It was light and rich and expensive. Intoxicating.

“Both.” He whispered the word, and it felt like a physical touch, making me go weak-kneed.

Gah, he was right. I was considering both. “I am not.”

“That’s funny. Usually girls as pretty as you are much better liars.”

I was overcome with a tongue-tied flush that I felt from the tips of my roots down to the white part of my toenails.

“Which is unfortunate, given that it’s such an important life skill.”

“Only for actors,” I retorted.

Another brilliant smile from him. The same one that had been plastered across millions of movie posters to entice women into spending a lot of money to watch him. He was seriously charming. Why couldn’t he have a troll personality? It seemed highly unfair that God had made him both gorgeous and likable.

“You don’t even know me,” I pointed out.

“Actually, I feel like I do know you.”

Before I could ask him what exactly he meant, we were interrupted. “Chase, they need you back in position,” someone said behind us. It was his publicist. Aaron with the blue-tipped hair.

“Yep. Coming.” Chase put one hand on my arm, and my lungs suddenly felt too small for my body. “You may be here awhile. I have another scene to shoot after this one. Come by my trailer. I have your money for today there. If I’m not back, just wait for me.”

For a full thirty seconds, I couldn’t move. Then I forced myself to go back to my spot and sit, his words ringing in my ears. The girl next to me was trying to get me to spill, but I couldn’t talk. My tongue had grown three sizes and was too thick to use.

Lexi came back. “What did I miss?”

Um, everything.

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