Page 17 of Act Like You Don't Care
Rick laughed and twisted to grin at us over the back of the front seat. "I say we hook him up with Miles. 'Bout time you got a job with a few side-benefits."
Dad’s head snapped around to glare at him. “Rick, you better not be getting any side benefits on any of our jobs. We're professionals and if I hear anything—"
Rick straightened again and waved Dad down. "Relax, I'm just yanking little bro’s chain some. But I bet he'd do a good job and the story would fit—they met while we were there discussing this case and hit it off. Might be worth it to subcontract at least some part of the perimeter to another company, make it look like we didn't get the contract if anyone notices. The connection to Miles then would be a lot thinner."
Dad grimaced and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel again. "You don't leave money on the table."
"Well, it's going to be obvious if our people are tailing him around and Miles is making kissy faces with him."
"Really?" I interrupted the conversation. "Are you thirteen now? This is a job and a man's life." I leaned forward as far as the seatbelt would let me and sent Rick an exasperated look. "Which one of us is the older brother here?"
"Him," Rick said, pointing to Jim. "The old married man." Then he caught Dad’s side-eye and slowly sank back into his seat. "Yeah, okay, back to business."
I relaxed and opened the folder again. "It might not hurt to bring a couple of different files with us, let him choose who he wants to work with. Might make him a little more co-operative."
"I think you're right," my father said and turned off the freeway into the neighborhood where the office was located. "You work with your Mom on this, okay? Since you seem to have the best grasp of who the protectee is." He flicked his eyes into the mirror, then shook his head and concentrated on the road. "You boys are working tonight, yes?" he said to Rick and Jim. They answered in the affirmative, and he nodded. "Thought I saw that on the schedule. Miles and I will take care of the meeting this evening, then."
I turned my head just in time to catch Jim’s grin and I discreetly raised a middle finger to let my brother know exactly what I thought of him.
Tam
At eight pm, I leaned over Pete's shoulder, anxiously watching the screens as he went back over the footage we'd just shot. The rest of the day had gone as badly as the afternoon and we were behind now, and it was all my fault.
Even worse, no one had bitched about it. At all. Which I really would have preferred, because to me their assumption that this was normal and expected meant that they were assuming the omega was scared and out of his depth now. If that rumor got around, it would cost me work, maybe even cost me my career. At least, a career in any form I was willing to accept it in.
My screen test for the cyberpunk part was coming up next week.
"We can work with this," Pete said. "We'll have to re-shoot the thirty seconds on the fire escape, but the rest of it is good." He turned to smile up at me. "You're fine, don't worry."
"I always worry, you know that," I said and had to consciously smooth away the frown creasing my forehead. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't keep my head in the game this afternoon. I swear, I'm going home and going to bed early tonight."
Pete laughed. "I'll believe that when I see it." He stood up and clapped me on the shoulder. "The studio's not going to worry about three lost hours, not in this situation. When does your security team get here?"
I made a face. "I don't know. Soon, I think. They were supposed to be here for the end of the day's filming." I stuck my fingers in the pockets of the leather jacket my character was wearing for this scene and followed along as Pete headed for the cluster of cameramen at the other end of the set. "I suppose I should go change."
I turned to head back to my trailer when Pete stopped me. "You know, you're handling this a lot better than I would. It's okay to be scared. Not every day someone threatens bodily harm on you. Give yourself some credit."
I paused and looked over my shoulder at him. I considered my words, then decided I didn't have the energy to try to explain. Not that I even thought an alpha would understand. "Thanks." But as I picked my way across the set toward the door that would take me out to my trailer, I remembered the alpha that had been here this afternoon. The only one to consider my point of view in this craziness. He'd understood. Some of it anyway.
Didn’t matter. As long as they brought me anyone the least bit passable as a love-interest, I would make it work. But maybe, after this movie was over, I’d hop a flight back to Oceanport and mooch off Dean or Shane for a few weeks, just to kick back and try not to get fat.
On second thought, probably better not to stay at Dean's. They'd have to roll me onto the plane to go home by the time Dean finished stuffing me with sweets.
Shane had mated Kade Ashton a while ago--a musician would get my issues in a way no one else could. Especially another omega.
I kept my head down and pushed my way out the door to wait for the call back to meet with the security team so I could watch my carefully constructed life fall apart in my hands.
Miles
It was just me and Dad for the second meeting. Us, and a selection of file folders that Mom had handed Dad on the way out the door. Headshots and all for the client to look at and decide who he’d be ‘dating’ for the next little while. Until we were sure he would be able to stay alive without the protection of a bodyguard.
The assistant was waiting for us at the gate. "We'll meet at Tam's trailer." He tugged on the handle of the back door and added, "I'll show you where to go. You can drive pretty much all the way up to it."
I filed that information away for later, because that would have to be changed. The harder it was to get to the star's trailer, the more likely it was that the stalker could be stopped before he got to him.
While we drove, Will chattered away about the movie, filling us in on gossip and how the whole production was organized. I filed that away too, since it would affect the briefing the perimeter crew would get later. Then we pulled up into a narrow gap between two steel-clad trailers and Dad turned the SUV off.
"I'll just make sure he's awake. He didn't sleep much last night." Will hopped out and had disappeared around the end of the trailer before either of us had gotten our seatbelts off.
