Page 72 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
“Hey, Jess!” Dermot stopped in front of her. “Uh, everything okay?”
“What?” She blinked up at him.
“No, I just wondered …” He gave an awkward laugh. “I thought you were talking to me, like.”
Talking? Had that not been in her head?
“No, God, sorry, I wasn’t talking to you.” She saw the confusion on his face. “I mean, I didn’t see you.” She took a breath. “How are you, Dermot?”
This was all Adam’s fault! There had to be somewhere else he could work. The orangery, for example! Instead, he’d just decided to mess with her head. And now Dermot was talking and she wasn’t even listening.
“… shot a couple of small scenes,” he was saying. “Ones that Afric and Spencer weren’t in.” He hesitated. “So,um, have you seen Emily recently?”
She brightened. “Actually, we got to hang out together yesterday. Emily was selling her jewellery at the market in Kilshanley and I took a day off.”
“Cool.” Dermot looked impressed. “She’s really talented. Has she set up her Etsy shop yet?”
“I think she has a website.”
“Good for her.” Dermot gave a small wave. “Better go, I’m due on set.”
Jess watched as he disappeared inside the castle, then wondered ifsheshould try to work for the day in the orangery. She dismissed the thought almost immediately. She wasn’t going to let Adam drive her out of her own office.
Why had Frank sent him down when heknewwhat had happened? Unless it was a sort of test? Was she being paranoid? No, it was perfectly feasible that Frank was making sure she and Adam could still work together. He probably figured that she’d had enough time to get over their break-up and wasn’t prepared to make any more allowances. It made total sense. Adam wasn’t just higher up in the pecking order – he was Frank’s nephew.And no matter how good she was at her job, she was still just another employee.
By the time she reached the craft truck, she felt lower than she’d felt in months. For once, a coffee and pastry weren’t going to make her feel any better.
CHAPTER 36
Jess walked from the village up to the hotel, hoping the exercise would help settle her nerves. How was she supposed to face Adam again today? After the initial shock yesterday, they’d mainly managed to stay out of each other’s way. Adam had gone off to watch the filming for a while and when he’d returned he’d stuck on some headphones and ignored her for the rest of the day. Even so, every last nerve in her body had been on hyper-alert and she’d barely risked glancing in his direction, in case he caught her looking.
She’d tried to tell herself that she didn’t want him attempting any more conversation but, in a rare moment of honesty, she was forced to admit to herself that she was terrified that somehow he’d know what she was really thinking – and how she was feeling.
Whenever the tension had become too much, she’d escaped for a while. She wondered if he guessed why. Mostly she wished she didn’t care what he thought.
The sun had reappeared today, and the sky was almost cloudless, the air fresher after the rain of the previous day.
By the time she got to the front door of the hotel she had mentally braced herself for another day working in close quarters with Adam.
As she crossed the foyer, she saw him coming towards her
“Good morning, Adam.” The words tasted like paper in her mouth.
“Jess.” He gave her an inscrutable look. “You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve found somewhere else to work so the office is all yours again.”
“Oh, right.” This was good. Better than good. So why did she feel … a bit deflated?Because you need your head examined, Jess.“Thank you.”
“Glad to see you’ve moved on, by the way.”
There was an edge to his voice and Jess forced herself to keep her chin high as she met his eyes again. She didn’t care, she reminded herself. Adam had no right to judge her.
“Excuse me.” She walked past him, slipped quickly into her office and closed the door firmly behind her. For several long minutes, she leaned against the door and stared up at the ceiling, breathing deeply as her heart thumped so fast she was afraid she was going to throw up.
Behind her, she felt the handle of the door turn as somebody tried to come in and she jumped away.
Okay, get a grip, Jess.
“Jess? Are you there?Um, I can come back if you’re busy.”
