Page 83 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

it off any longer. I needed to talk to the guys. But I’d barely taken two steps before my phone rang. I sighed when I saw Neil’s name on the screen.

And so it began . . .

“Neil,” I said, pressing the cell to my ear as I opened the door. Lance and Daniel straightened as I stepped out and closed the door behind me.

“Josh, man. Trouble stirring?” Neil said casually.

Pointing at Lance to follow, I motioned for Daniel to open the door to Corey’s and Cain’s room. “Not a bit, man,” I said lightly. “It’s all good.”

Neil made a clucking noise. “My phone’s ringing off the hook, man. You sure you don’t want to make a statement or something?”

As Daniel unlocked the door, I stepped inside, flicking the light switches on as I went. “I have nothing to say at this point in time.”

Neil sighed. “Righto. Then I’ll just continue to brush them off.”

Walking to the window, I threw the curtains open, glancing down at the screen of my phone as another call started coming in. “Thanks, man. I’ll let you know if I need you to run interception.” Drawing in a deep breath, I ended Neil’s call to answer the next. “Ian,” I said, making sure my tone of voice was stern and clearly not prepared for arguments.

“What the fuck, Josh?”

Taking a seat on one of the arm chairs, I leaned my forearms on my knees. “What’s the problem, Ian?”

“What’s the problem? I’m negotiating with the studio about how you and Hannah can be seen together, and you go and get pictured picking up random girls at a fucking game premiere!”

Anger simmered under my skin. “Firstly, this is the reason I keep refusing to commit to this bullshit dating crap, Ian. I have a fucking life, and I want to be able to date whoever the fuck I want. And secondly, don’t pretend to know enough about my dating life that you call any girl I’m with a fucking random.”

“Are you serious right now, Josh? You know the studio has been hinting to the pap that you and Hannah are an item. Now the public think you’re out cheating while she’s waiting for you back on set.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared up at the ceiling, taking a few deep breaths before I resumed the conversation. “Well, you can tell the studio that because of their lies, I won’t agree to any more time with Hannah outside of filming, unless it’s promo work.”

I didn’t wait to hear what he had to say next. I simply ended the call and called Neil back. “Neil, you can notify the press that Hannah Bryant and I are, and always have been, costars. We are not dating, and we never have been.”

“Gotcha,” was all I got in reply before I ended the call and exhaled heavily. Tossing my phone onto the table in front of me, I looked up to see the guys watching me expectantly.

Corey scowled at me. “You had to do it, didn’t you?”

I sighed again. “Yes. Apparently, I’m determined to fuck her life up completely.”

Daniel moved forward and sat in the arm chair across from me. “What’s going on? What do we need to do?”

I rubbed my hands over my head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing.” Sitting back, I drew in a calming breath. “I’ve thrown her to the wolves, and I’m about to get on a plane to go work on the other side of the country. I’m the biggest asshole on the planet.”

Daniel looked me square in the eye. “Regardless of whether you’re an asshole or not, if they figure out who she is, you know she’s going to be swarmed. You need to put some kind of protection on her.”

“I know. That’s what I want to talk about. I don’t want it to be just anyone. I want someone I can trust. And they need to be invisible. There’s still a chance her identity can be kept hidden.”

Daniel nodded, his mind visibly ticking over.

“I’ll do it,” Corey said, sitting on the arm of the sofa. “You don’t need all of us when you’re on set anyway.”

Daniel rubbed his chin as he assessed Corey. “You’re too recognizable. You’ve been seen with Josh for too long now. We need someone with no prior link to Josh at all, and I know just the person.”

Rubbing my hand over my mouth, I inhaled deeply. Liv was such an independent person, I wasn’t sure how she was going to feel if she found out I was placing a bodyguard on her. But it was something I couldn’t back down from. I knew from experience what could very well be waiting for her. It needed to be done. I just hoped, if it came to crunch time, she wouldn’t argue about it too much.

Chapter 51

Olivia

From my perch on the sofa, coffee in hand, I watched Sam tap away on her computer. “I don’t know why you’re bothering,” I mumbled. “There are only so many pictures they could’ve taken, Sam.”

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