My mouth fell open in righteous anger before I could stop it. Stalker? In what world was I a stalker? I was just trying to do my job.
“She’s not a stalker, Janelle.” Zane looked back up at me, as my insides cheered at how he’d defended me. The weight of his heavy gaze could’ve knocked me out. A flush began at my cheeks and ran all the way down my body. So much for not letting him affect me. I was 2 and 0 in that department. “She works here, now. See? She’s got an employee ID.”
“Yeah. That’s right.” I stood a little taller, despite the fact that I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Zane’s, no matter how hard I tried. “I work here now. I’m part of the crew, thank you very much.”
A small smile tugged at Zane’s lips. He nodded slightly and then looked back down at the blades of grass between his fingers. The loss of his gaze felt like the world around me had dimmed several shades. I pressed my lips tightly together, internally begging myself to get my act together. This boy clearly wasn’t worth the time, effort, or mental space. I had to get him out of my system.
Obviously, the exfoliation trick yesterday hadn’t worked as well as I thought it had. I definitely didn’t feel like an ancient queen of Egypt.
Marie needed to ask for her money back.
“Ugh, whatever,” Janelle said, rolling her eyes. “I need an energy drink if I’m going to make it through this next scene.” She scrunched up her nose and pointed to me. “I’ll take a Monster drink. And make it snappy.”
I hugged the clipboard close to my chest and grimaced at her. Apparently, manners didn’t come standard with stunning long legs or an angelic face made for the screen. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. I’m here to take Zane back to the makeup trailer. Alanis is expecting him.”
She rolled her eyes yet again. They were going to get stuck if she kept that up. “Zane knows the way to the trailer. He doesn’t need a babysitter.”
It was obvious this one was going to be a problem. I’d met plenty of girls like her before. They always seemed to get their way, one way or another. Mom worked with a lot of them in her line of work as a PR consultant. She called them prima donnas, which was pretty much a fancy way of calling someone a spoiled brat. I stood my ground, putting my hand on my hip, and smiled sweetly at her. She met my gaze head-on, tension snapping in the air while she dared me with her eyes to argue with her.
Zane stood up from the ground and casually brushed off his hands, as if he couldn’t feel the lightning striking around him from an impending girl fight. “Janelle, it’s not her job to get you anything. And you’re not on set for another hour. You can get your own drink. Leave. Her. Alone.”
Even with that short speech, I could instantly see why he would be a great actor. He wasn’t loud or showy, like some people on the stage. It was his presence that was stunning. He had a rare quality that made people sit up and listen when he talked. The intensity of it caused me take an involuntary step back.
However, Janelle didn’t seem to be so easily impressed. Gone were the heart-eyes from moments before when they were practicing their scene. She shrugged at him and then fixed me with a smirk that told me this wasn’t over. “Fine. Whatever.”
She turned on her heels and began to walk away. I couldn’t help but study Zane’s face as he stared at her retreating back. What I would’ve given to be able to know what he was thinking. Was this the kind of girl he went for? A girl he could show off in the tabloids? Who would use him right back to get her career where she wanted it?
He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and then he turned to me, his gaze redirected back to the ground. “Alanis hates to be kept waiting. We’d better hurry.”
Oh yeah. Alanis. I’d almost forgotten.
He had a point. The last thing I wanted to do was make her angry at me on my first day. I nodded and walked silently beside him in the direction of the makeup trailer.
What had happened to all the scorching words I’d thought of last night before falling asleep? All the things I wanted to say to him about the way he’d treated me? I wasn’t the kind of girl who became speechless like this. And yet, Zane seemed to have that effect on me. I puffed out my cheeks and let out a surge of air, willing myself to say something that would redeem me at least a little, but I had nothing.
“Is Alanis being nice to you?” Zane asked suddenly, sneaking a look at me.
It was an odd question from someone who, just twenty-four hours ago, had pretended I didn’t even exist. I glanced over at him out of the corner of my eye. He still had his head down and stared at the ground as if he were afraid he were going to trip over some invisible bump in the road. I shrugged and mirrored his posture.
“She’s okay. Not exactly the friendliest person I’ve ever met.”
He laughed softly, the music of the unexpected noise causing my stomach to jolt. “Yeah, that’s an understatement. But she’s good at what she does. We were lucky to get her.”
“She’s the best. I want to be everything she is when I grow up.”
He looked over at me again, his brow heavy. “I hope you’ll still be you, though. And not some Hollywood personality. That would be a tragedy.”
His words caught me off guard. My feet drew to a stop and he walked a few paces ahead before he realized I wasn’t still at his side. He turned to look at me questioningly, but once again, I was struck ridiculously silent. Why would it be such a tragedy if I turned out to be like Alanis Nori? She was super successful. She was everything I wanted to be. He didn’t get to say things like that to me. Not after yesterday.
But for some reason, I just couldn’t get those words out of my mouth.
What was wrong with me?
“You know what, let’s just get to the trailer,” I finally managed, once my tongue became unglued from the top of my mouth. With a few quick steps, I went ahead so that he lagged several paces behind me the rest of the way.
The large, white broad side of the trailer came into view. I sighed in relief, knowing I wouldn’t have to deal with Zane staring at my back any longer. I could feel his gaze, heavy and questioning on my shoulders. It was like that short time in the shelter at the park had given me a special link inside his brain. I wasn’t sure how to get rid of it, except to get inside that trailer as soon as possible.
“Here, let me.” Zane appeared beside me, reaching for the door at the same time.
Our hands brushed and the soft touch of his other hand on my lower back caused a wave of feeling to cascade over my body. I inhaled sharply, hoping that he didn’t notice my sudden stiffening. If he did, he didn’t say anything. He pulled the door open for me and stepped away, dropping his hand from my back.
“After you, Lexi.”
Now he remembered my name? I stared at him for a second, trying to figure him out. What was this new gentleman act? I didn’t understand it. I didn’t want to. With a forced smile in his direction, I barged ahead up the stairs, unable to even eek out a simple thank you.
“What took you so long?” Alanis stood in the middle of the trailer, tapping the toe of her shoe. She scowled at me and looked down at the jewel-encrusted watch on her wrist. “My time is valuable. If you can’t get a job done timely, then I don’t need you here. The last thing I need is a waste of time on my payroll.”
I froze in place and bit my trembling bottom lip. Was she really going to fire me on my first day? And in front of Zane, of all people? I’d barely begun. I hadn’t had the chance to prove to her what an amazing assistant I could be. She hadn’t given me a chance.
“It’s my fault, Alanis.” Zane came to my side, his hand once again making light contact with the small of my back. “I held her up. Please, don’t blame her for my mistake.”
I wrapped my arms around my torso, fighting off the urge to lean into him. He walked confidently toward Alanis with a smile I hadn’t seen before. It was totally charming and disarming—the kind of smile a man used when he knew his effect on the ladies.
Sure enough, Alanis’ frown immediat
ely softened, and the tension drained from her shoulders. “If that’s the case, then I won’t say another word. You know I can’t be mad at you, Mr. Rees.”
“I know.” He winked at her and I couldn’t help but stare at the side of his face. This side of him was seriously disturbing. He really could turn it off and on. It was no wonder he’d been able to pull one over me. Smooth as butter. “That’s why you’re my favorite makeup artist in the business.”
I swear, Alanis blushed beneath the heavy layers of foundation and bronzer on her golden skin. She was at least twenty years older than us, but apparently Zane could charm the ladies of any age. He slid into the makeup chair like a king onto his throne. And when our eyes met in the reflection of the mirror, he dropped the fake charm and flattery just long enough to give me one, piercing gaze that hit me in my core.
There was that connection again. And I knew, right then, he was trying to tell me that it was all an act. An act he’d put on for my benefit with Alanis. But at this point, I couldn’t believe anything I saw when it came to Zane Rees.
He was too good.
“All right, everyone ready?” Alanis asked. She gave me a pointed look and then gestured toward my chair, before smiling back at Zane. “Shall we get started?”
I sunk into the chair, not entirely sure I was going to survive the next hour, let alone the next three weeks with the harsh Alanis. But that was nothing compared to the swirling confusion inside my skull every time I came into contact with Zane Rees.
It seemed like he was going to make it very hard for me to hate him.
Chapter Six
The bright lights of the makeup trailer had left me with a blinding headache. After four hours of working/slouching in a chair for Alanis, I was officially ready to head home and fall into a lavender-scented bubble bath and wash all of my tension down the drain. It was becoming more than clear that working for her was going to be something just short of a nightmare. The woman was not only amazingly harsh, but most of the people in the crew also seemed to hate her. And by extension, it seemed like that distrust was extended to me.
When she finally allowed me to take a mini break to run to the craft table for a bite to eat, everyone kept a six-feet radius around me as if I were a walking plague. And whenever I had to find someone on her list, it was like going on a wild goose hunt. I was starting to think people were hiding from me. Or Alanis’ makeup brush.
Either way, today had been completely exhausting.
And it was only day one.
But none of that compared to the agonizing few minutes I’d spent avoiding Zane’s eye contact in the makeup trailer. I’d felt his eyes on me the whole time, while I pretended to scribble lines in my notebook. When he finally left, I’d expected to feel a weight lift off of my shoulders, but it only made the room seem darker.
“There better be some Ben & Jerry’s in the freezer waiting,” I grumbled to myself as I walked toward the set exit, which was now unmanned and totally abandoned by the burly guard from earlier.
Mom had recently decided we were going to try to be healthier and ice cream had become as rare as finding a sparkly purple unicorn in the wild. Still, a girl could hope. I pulled my ID lanyard over my head and rolled my sore shoulders as I left the set to head toward the parking lot.
It was late enough in the evening that all of the athletes had already finished their practices and gone home. The sun had set over the horizon and thrown shades of purple and orange into the sky that I would’ve liked to try and encapsulate in an eyeshadow pallet. I was memorizing the colors as I turned the corner of the building when a hand shot out and grabbed my elbow.
My first gut reaction was to screech hysterically, but then I came to my senses. The set was practically abandoned. No one was coming to my rescue. This was the scene from any girl’s nightmare. But if there was one thing I knew, no one was taking me alive—at least not without a fight. Audrey had made me watch enough Forensics Files with her to make me sure enough of that.
I put the weight of my body into the motion of my attacker and landed the sharp point of my elbow directly into his gut, rewarding me with a muttered swear. The hand dropped from my arm. Mission accomplished! But when I looked over my shoulder and saw the pain glinting in Zane’s eyes as he rubbed his stomach, I instantly cursed my self-defense instincts.
It was a good thing I hadn’t gone straight for the pepper spray.
“Crud! I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t know that was you.” Before I knew what I was doing, I reached for his abdomen and splayed my hand over his stomach where I’d elbowed him. “I didn’t mean to...”
“I think you meant to.” He coughed slightly and winced, his stomach tightening beneath my fingers. “But I don’t blame you. I shouldn’t have scared you. I just wanted to talk to you before you left, so I was waiting for you to walk by.”
Sucking in my bottom lip, I couldn’t help but admire the hardness of his abs under my hand. It seemed that my hand was stuck to him. I couldn’t move away. It was like wrapping my fingers around a live wire. His stomach was flat and hard and everything drool-worthy. I supposed it had to be, for an actor playing the role of a soccer player. Zane watched me, his brows arching as the awkward silence between us grew. I laughed nervously and swallowed, finally dropping my hand to my side.
“Looks like you’re still in one piece,” I said with a forced smile. “One rock-hard piece.”
He chuckled and rubbed a hand once more over his stomach. “Yeah, I think I’ll survive.”
“You should get insurance on those things.”
I couldn’t help but throw him a legitimate smile this time. Despite the frustration and hurt I still felt around him, I couldn’t fight my flirtatious nature. It was so much easier than fighting.
Tilting back his head, he let out a deep and throaty chuckle. The sound of it made me laugh, too. And when he was done, he smiled at me in a way that I hadn’t seen since we’d hid under the shelter together. There was no false charm or manipulation in it. It was real and lit up his blue eyes in a mesmerizing way that nothing else did.
“Can we talk?” The smile faded as sincere hope washed over his features. He nodded over toward the bush where I’d found Freddy and Janelle just yesterday. “Over there?”
“Um...okay.”
I took a deep breath, willing myself to be strong. Whatever he had to say, it wouldn’t knock down my defenses again. Been there, done that. I was ready to move on. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t give the boy a minute of my time.
He led the way, circling the bush until we stood behind it, hidden from any prying eyes. I leaned against the limestone exterior of the school, my fingers digging into the curves of the stone behind me. Zane paced a few feet away, kicking at the landscaping rocks beneath our feet. He was doing that thing again, where he avoided my gaze and instead, stared at the ground. It was hard to get a reading on him when he did that.
“Thanks for covering with Alanis for me today,” I said, watching him closely. “I’m not sure I could’ve taken it if she’d fired me on the first day. I didn’t even get the chance to prove myself to her.”
He nodded at the ground. “She wasn’t exactly being fair to you. You didn’t deserve that.”
I leaned my head back against the limestone. “I have the feeling Alanis doesn’t care what I deserve. Honestly, I don’t even know why she hired me. She’s already decided she hates me. It’s going to be a battle to get her to even tolerate me.”
“I’m really sorry.” He glanced out of the corner of his eye at me and then went back to kicking rocks.
Silence stretched between us. I thought about the words I’d wanted to say to him last night. The stinging lines that would’ve put him in his place for being such a jerk. But I couldn’t seem to get them out. Every time I looked at his face, I went all mooshy inside.
I seriously needed to get him out of my system.
“Well...if that’s all, I’m going to head out. I’ve had a long day.”
I
took a step, but Zane moved into my path with a pained expression on his face. He held his hands up in surrender and I sighed heavily, wondering how much longer he was going to hold me hostage. It wasn’t easy forgetting someone when they were always around.
“Lexi, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.” His gaze rose to mine and he bared his perfectly straight teeth in a grimace. “I’m sorry for the other day, I’m sorry for yesterday, and I’m sorry for today. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve any of that.”
Cocking my hip, I placed my hand on it. Now, we were getting somewhere.
“What exactly are you sorry for?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. His apologies meant nothing to me without a little explanation. Was he sorry he’d met me? Or, sorry he’d kissed me in the first place? I needed a little bit more than that.
“I’m sorry for being so cold to you. I didn’t want anyone to know...” He winced and turned his head away.
It was exactly what I’d suspected. He was ashamed of kissing me—a mere commoner. I’d prepared myself for this reality once I’d learned he was Hollywood royalty, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. With a sinking feeling in my chest, I tried to smile at him.
“Thanks for letting me know that I’m not good enough for you. I’ll be sure to remember that next time. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go home.”
His alarmed gaze shot straight to mine and he took a step closer. “No, that’s not what I meant. Not even close.”
Nervous energy shot through me. I ran my fingers through my waves and brushed them over my shoulder to give my hands something to do. “What are you trying to say, Zane? Because I’m confused. I thought we got along great this weekend. I was pretty sure you liked me. I mean, you did kiss me. And then you acted like you forgot all about me when we ran into each other yesterday. FYI, that’s not how you treat a girl you have an epic moment with in the rain.”
“I know.” He took yet another step toward me, until there was hardly any room left between us. The scent of his tangy cologne mixed with the evergreen scent of the bushes around us. I couldn’t help but inhale it all in. “I did like you, Lexi. I do like you. Believe me, you’re impossible to forget.”
Dare You to Chase the Soccer Player (Rock Valley High Book 5) Page 5
