Page 4 of #Starstruck

There was a creaking, metallic sound from somewhere behind us, and we both turned to see a gate sliding open.

Behind the radio station.

“No!” Lexi wailed. She pulled out her phone and began to furiously text. It was still dark out, but the building had several outdoor lights. I saw a man emerge from a black SUV, and my heart started thumping when Chase got out of the back seat. He was wearing a ball cap. Although I couldn’t see him clearly, I knew it was him.

The man stopped and took a phone out of his pants pocket. He said something to Chase, and Chase went into the building while the man began to walk toward us.

“Take off the jacket,” Lexi hissed. “You look great. How do I look?”

“Perfect, like always,” I told her. “What did you just do?”

As he came closer, I realized the man had dyed his hair so blond it was almost white, and he had frosted the tips light blue. But he was wearing a polo shirt and khakis. He was the kind of guy who so desperately wanted to be cool that he mimicked someone else, but it just came off looking clueless and stupid. I couldn’t tell how old he was. He had one of those LA faces where he could have been anywhere between twenty and forty.

“Sexy Lexi,” he said. His voice sounded oily, which grossed me out. “You’re even hotter in the flesh.”

This had to be the publicist. Aaron Mathison. Lexi must have texted him that we were here.

She batted her eyelashes at him, hunching her shoulders together to push her boobs up. I’d seen her do this maneuver on so many guys that I rolled my eyes.

But it worked. He couldn’t take his gaze away from her cleavage.

“You said you’d be here, and I wanted to meet you,” Lexi said. “And my friend, Zoe, really wants to go into radio, so I thought this would be such a great chance for her.” She gave him a seductive smile, lowering her voice as she added, “And such a great chance for you.”

Aaron cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other. “Let me see if I can find someone to let you in. Be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

After he left, I said, “Gavin’s going to kill you.”

“I haven’t done anything other than flirt, which is not cheating,” she replied. “And ew. Give me a little credit. I’m not doing anything with that skeevy pervert.”

If she were anyone else, I would probably be upset, but I was the one person in the world who not only understood but also shared in her obsession. “But you might want to do something with Mr.Covington when you finally meet him.”

She ignored me. “Zoe, this is it. We’re finally going to meet him.” If ever a moment called for screaming, this was probably it. But we were both cold and a little in shock that it was actually happening. It didn’t seem real.

And it wasn’t.

At least for me.

A heavyset security guard came to the fence a few minutes later. “Lexi Antonelli?”

“That’s me,” she said, leaning against me for warmth.

“You can come with me.” He pulled out a key ring and thumbed through the keys until he found the right one. He put it in the lock and pulled the door open. The bottom of it scratched against the concrete.

She stayed put. “What about my friend? She’s supposed to come in, too.”

“I was only told to bring in Lexi Antonelli. And this door’s about to close.”

Lexi looked at me frantically, and I understood her dilemma. This was a dream we shared together, and I knew she wanted to go but also didn’t want to leave me.

“Go without me,” I told her. “If anyone deserves to meet him, it’s you.”

Her eyes darted back and forth, and I could see how torn she was. “But ...”

“Time’s up, girlie. What’s it gonna be? You coming or not?”

I nudged her. “Seriously. Go. And give me every single detail.”

She took a few steps forward and turned back to look at me. “Are you sure?”

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