Page 40 of Enemies Off Camera
His stare could cut steel. “For now—yes.”
Anne snorts a soft, mocking chuckle—the kind a fighter throws across the ring before landing a punch.
“Excellent,” she says, voice bright as a lollipop. “And I have a plan so ironclad, there’ll be no more hiccups. People are going to believe these two are having more sex than rabbits.”
She turns to Zara.
“Pack your things. You’re moving to San Diego. Tonight.”
“What?” Zara stumbles to her feet. “I can’t move to San Diego. I start shooting in?—”
“Production is delayed. You start filming in three months. That gives us time to wrangle this in,” Anne says. “You can come home when Jaxon’s on the road, but when he’s in San Diego, your pretty ass better be there with him.”
She snatches a sheet of paper from her desk and straight-arms it toward Zara. “Meet Kat Lake, your assistant. She starts today. She’ll call you three times a day with your schedule. When you need something—anything—you call her. She’ll have an office at the agency and at your home, so make space.”
Zara blinks, stunned. “Huh?”
Anne fixes her with a cold stare. “Don’t fuck this up again.”
THIRTY
Yet again, Jaxon and I find ourselves riding down in the elevator together. He seems just as wonderstruck as I am. It’s not like him to let silence reign for too long, but yes—he’s been bewildered into silence.
“That was… interesting,” I say, needing to take his temperature.
“Agreed.”
“But this... living with you. She can’tseriouslymean?—”
My chiming phone steals my attention. It’s a message from my new assistant, Kat Lake.
Kat Lake, Monday 10:32 AM
A car will be at your house at 1:30 PM to drive you to Jaxon Wilde’s apartment. Please be packed. I will be at your place before then to pick up a key and a gate opener. If you don’t have a spare, I’ll take care of it. Thank you for this opportunity. It will be a pleasure to meet you.—KL
“Look.”I hold up my phone to show Jaxon the message. “This is really happening. It’s a nightmare.”
Gradually—like watching the sun drop behind a mountain—Jaxon’s open, curious expression twists into irritation.
“This is your fault. Not mine.”
I grunt. “Iknowthis. I screwed up. I get it. Jeez. Do you always have to be an asshole? And please don’t make this harder than it already is.”
Like a snake striking, Jaxon’s long arm shoots out to press the stop button.
“You know what?” he says, turning to face me. He inches closer.
And closer.
Until he’s so near I can feel the heat radiating off his body. My head spins. I press myself against the wall, trying to stay upright as my heart becomes a firing range of panic and… something else.
His face inches toward mine.
I watch his tongue sweep slowly across his bottom lip, like he’s not even aware of doing it. His warm, minty breath grazes my mouth. The air between us practically shimmers with tension.
We stay like this for a few seconds—but it feels like forever.
I don’t know what I want from him.
