Page 75 of Enemies Off Camera
Then she frowns. “Why do you keep looking at your phone?”
I blink. “What?”
She narrows an eye. “You know you’re doing it.”
Before I can respond,herphone dings—not mine.
Her brow furrows as she checks the screen.
Then her whole face tightens.
“What the hell is this?”
She turns her phone around.
It’s a video from the Jumbotron—a split screen of Jaxon and Ashley. She’s blowing him a kiss.
My jaw drops. My throat tightens. Tears crowd my ducts, but I won’t let them fall. Not here. Not now.
“I gotta go,” I mutter, frantically grabbing my purse and jacket.
Anne grabs my arm. “Zara, take a beat.”
I freeze.
Too late. The tears are slipping out.
“Oh no,” she whispers, finally seeing it. “Iknewthis would happen. IknewJaxon liked you.”
She lets go of my arm, but her gaze holds me in place. “And you like him too. That’s clear. So…”
She folds her arms, eyes narrowing with fresh calculation. “Have you been waiting for him to call you?”
I nod, ashamed. “Yes.”
Anne thinks for a moment. “This—we can’t have.” She stands. “Zara, this is about your career. You’rehere—on the precipice. Millions of people have come to this city chasing what you have. Donotlet boys ruin what you’ve built with your talent. Got it?”
I look at her—really look. Petite. Pretty. Looks like she belongs in a Hallmark movie. But she’s tough. Ruthless, even.
She once told me she didn’t start out this way. But “this business is full of sharks. And if you don’t bite first, they’ll eat you alive—blood, guts, and all.”
Still, shelovesthe art. The artists. That’s why she’s stuck with me. She believes in my talent.
She’s the one person in the world I trust the most.
So I bite back the tears. Screw Jaxon and his SUV—I’ll have Kat arrange for someone to return it today.
Anne taps the table. “I need to hear you say you got it.”
“Yeah,” I say, voice small. “I got it.”
She points at me. “Don’t do anything stupid. If he calls, don’t answer. If he texts, don’t answer. I have to fix this. Got that too?”
I nod.
She studies me like she’s still not sure she can trust me.
Then finally: “Hang in there, Zar.” She winks—and disappears like she’s off to fight a five-alarm fire.
