Page 22 of Crossing the Line
He stood with his back to a wall where he could survey the room yet still get to her if he needed to. Xavier didn’t like letting Waverly wander far without him, but situations like this required give and take. Security threats were rather low at an event like this. Just getting into the ceremony had been a circus of reporters, photographers, museum staff, and event and venue security. He’d worked with the security team in advance to make sure they were briefed on Ganim just in case the man actually showed his face. The possibility of him showing up here to get a look at Waverly was low, but Xavier always covered his bases.
The awards ceremony and late lunch had taken place downstairs in the museum’s theater and the celebration continued two floors up under twenty-foot ceilings and the glass atrium that lit the entire building via the four-story rotunda. Low techno music pulsed from speakers tucked behind exotic plantings and statues. It was a very Garden of Eden vibe the party organizers had gone for.
Everything glittered from the diamonds on necks and wrists to the high-tech lighting displays around the bars and photo stations.
Waverly didn’t glitter. She glowed.
She looks incredible, he thought, watching her with a woman who spoke animatedly with both hands glittering under jewels. They shared a laugh and Waverly brought a hand to her chest.
Thank God she hadn’t worn the other dress. His eyes would have been glued to her. It was hard enough to stop looking at her in this one.
He circled around the edge of the crowd and came up by the column at Waverly’s back. It was time to check in before drifting away again and watching from the sidelines.
“I’ve got a project in mind for you, Waverly,” the woman was saying. She was tall and slim, her hair was a natural mass of ebony curls. She wore thick purple-rimmed glasses and her smile was more genuine than ninety percent of the other attendees.
“I’m not really in the market for any projects right now, Malia,” Waverly confessed.
Malia cocked her head to the side. “I’m intrigued. Spill it, kid.”
Waverly glanced around to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard, and Xavier resisted the urge to move closer.
“I’m thinking about getting out of the industry.”
Malia’s brown eyes widened. “Waverly, you have a talent. Normally I would applaud anyone who wanted to leave this vapid hellhole, but you’re the reason people like me make movies.”
“I want to go to college.”
“You didn’t even go to high school,” Malia reminded her.
“That’s exactly my point. I want to go somewhere that my parents can’t control or can’t grease the way, and I want to decide what’s right for my life. I want the choice,” Waverly said in a rush. Xavier could feel the passion in her tone.
Malia contemplated. “What would you study?”
Waverly shrugged. “I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think psychology would be at the top.”
“Hmm. Would you be giving up acting completely?”
“I honestly don’t know. Acting is the only thing I know in my life, but I don’t see studios being eager to work around a full-time student schedule,” Waverly answered.
“I think if it’s something you feel strongly about, you should absolutely do it. But this project I’ve got, it starts filming in June. We’d be done by the first or second week of August, tops. And the lead, honestly, I signed on for it with you in mind.”
“Really?”
“There’s no pressure, but if you can have both, why not?”
“Send me the script, and I’ll take a look.”
The women wandered off toward the bar, and Xavier slipped back into the crowd.
College? That was interesting.He imagined Sylvia wouldn’t be excited to hear about that prospect. Not that she’d hear it from him. He didn’t get involved with family squabbles unless one of them threatened a client’s physical well-being. He’d stay out of this one and file the information away.
Waverly and Malia had parted ways, and a new woman sidled up next to his charge. The brunette stood just a little too close and was waving her martini around like she was an enthusiastic drum major.
Her body language told him drunk. Her facial expression told him bitch.
Xavier worked his way through the crowd, keeping his eyes on Waverly. The woman she was talking to had her back to him, but he had a clean line of site on Waverly’s face. She had her blinding, fake smile firmly in place.
“Iknowthe only reason you got that role is because you were fucking Sidney,” the woman announced in a loud hiss. She leaned in, but rather than looking threatened, Waverly looked bored.
