“Lucy,” he smiled and leaned his elbows onto his desk. “It’s fine, baby bear. I don’t recommend you get drunk every weekend with your coworkers, but you worked hard last week. You earned a fun night letting loose. Though next time, I’d prefer it if you didn’t let yourself go so loose that you’re dancing up on my lighting assistant. We’ve all had our fun on film crews, but you have to keep in mind what’s appropriate and what’s not.”
“How did you know I was dancing with Miguel?” I sat there, stunned, my mind filtering through the fog of what Uncle Rich was saying.
He rolled his eyes. “Lucy, nothing happens on one of my crews without me knowing.”
What the hell did that mean? And also, it was clearly bullshit since he still didn’t seem to know that Ash and I were together. “That didn’t answer my question. How did you know I was dancing with Miguel at Alma’s?”
“My assistant was out with you all that night.”
Anger, fiery and strong, burned in my chest. Sure, I knew Jasmine had come out with us. I didn’t know that she was reporting back to Rich on my behavior.
Gripping the armrests, my fingers dug painfully into the leather, leaving ten spherical indents where I was squeezing. That still only partially answered my question. “And why would your assistant report back to you about what I was doing specifically? Why would she care at all that I was drinking and dancing?” I already knew the answer. Already knew that Uncle Rich had betrayed me—okay, maybe betrayed was a bit strong of a word, but I knew that he had lied to me.
He sighed, his face sagging. “She’s the only person I told you were my niece, I swear. Besides, she remembered you. She helped me by going shopping for your graduation gifts in June and she recognized them both.” I touched the Kate Spade purse and necklace that Uncle Rich had given me as graduation gifts. I didn’t let him say another word. I cut him off, pushing to my feet and rushing to the door.
“You think me drinking and dancing with a friend is inappropriate?” I screeched. “This is inappropriate. This conversation. What happened on Friday night? If that had been any other crew member, would you have cared? Would you have had them watched and reported back to you by your assistant? Called them into your office to discuss it?”
“You are not just any crew member. You are my niece and I care about you.”
I shook my head and reached for the doorknob. But Uncle Rich was fast and on his feet in front of me before I was able to run. Putting his hand over mine, he stopped me as the door opened, his eyes soft. “Wait,” he said quietly. “Don’t leave so angry. I’m sorry.”
“Are you sorry?” I sighed, dropping my hand from the doorknob. “You can’t keep treating me like a child. Miguel is a friend. We were dancing. That’s all. And yeah, I had too much to drink on Friday, but so did half of Los Angeles. I’m sure tons of your crew members go out and get drunk after filming and you could give two craps about that.”
Rich cringed and rubbed a hand over his wrinkled brow. “I know. But hearing Jasmine describe you that night. And then earlier last week, seeing you as the stand-in on set? All grown up and practically naked in Ash Livingston’s lap?” He cleared his throat, avoiding my stare. “Well, let’s just say, it was just a bit much for your old uncle.” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m nervous for you on set. I’m nervous for you out in the world. At the bars. At your apartment, home alone. I worry for you all the time.”
Oh boy. Suddenly, that signed consent contract weighed a hundred pounds in my purse. “Uncle Rich,” I whispered. “I’m an adult. A sometimes immature, stupid, young adult… but an adult all the same. You have to let me make my mistakes. And if you can’t let me do that… then I need to go work for someone who will.”
“I know. I know,” he nodded. “God, that day that I saw you as the stand-in?” Rich chuckled, shaking his head.
“If you couldn’t handle seeing me as a stand-in, what would you have done if I had become an actress? Think of all the nude scenes and actors I’d have to kiss—”
“Okay!” Uncle Rich cupped his hands over his ears. “That’s enough,” he laughed. “I guess I got off easy with you being in wardrobe.”
“Damn straight.”
I swallowed, reaching in my bag for the folded, signed contracts. I had to tell him. It was now or never. I slid the paper out of my bag, clutching it in my hand.
“I was afraid you got sucked in by the Livingston Charm,” Uncle Rich said.
My grip tightened on the paper. “The Livingston Charm?” I repeated.
“Yeah. I don’t know how that man does it. Women all over this city know he’s a cad. They know he doesn’t do relationships. He’s an irresponsible … partner.”
I swallowed. “You mean… Dom. You think he’s an irresponsible Dom.” An icy tremor danced down my spine, and even though I technically knew that I was breaking my contract to LnS by talking about Ash as a Dominant, something told me Uncle Rich knew already. But Ash didn’t seem irresponsible to me. Outside of that one night where we had a miscommunication—the one night he dealt it to me rough because I had asked for it—he’d been attentive and kind and caring and… informative.
I watched Uncle Rich carefully as his throat tightened. Blue veins pushed against his tanned skin where just the slightest hint of a five o’clock shadow began. “What did you say?” His voice was dangerously low. I hadn’t heard that threatening sound from Uncle Rich since the day he kicked my father out of our house.
Somehow, I managed to hand him the contract without my hand trembling. But inside? I was shaking like a single pebble in an earthquake. “I wanted to tell you first. Myself. Before we filed this officially.”
Uncle Rich’s deep brown eyes scanned the paper, his jaw set tight. But he said nothing. I don’t know how long we stood there in silence.
Shifting my weight, I filled the silence. I couldn’t help it. I hated uncomfortable quiet like this. “Ash wanted to file this immediately. I was the one who needed some time. I wanted to make sure what we were doing… that it was, I don’t know… real.”
“He’s thirty-one,” Uncle Rich said like this was some kind of argument.
“And I’m twenty-two. An adult.” I resisted the urge to snort and roll my eyes. That wouldn’t exactly help my case in proving how mature I was.
More silence. My uncle’s face was turning redder and redder and his eyes stayed fixed onto the contract, almost as though if he stared hard enough, he could change what was written there. Like he could rewrite history with his steely gaze.
“Uncle Rich… Ash cares about me.”
“You can still hurt people you care about, Lucy.” From behind his pursed lips, I could see his tongue run across his teeth. “Ash is—”
“Broken,” I repeated his statement from last week. “I know. But with me, he’s not. With me, he’s different.”
Rich pinched the bridge of his nose and hissed, “Goddammit, Lucy. How can you be so naïve? You are talking about a man who is literally with a different woman each week. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ve watched over and over again as women fall for him. The harder they fall, the more bricks he reinforces his heart with. You say you’re an adult? Well, then grow up and see what’s right in front of your face.”
“I’m not naïve. I know what I’m getting into.”
Richard snorted, shaking his head. “Do you, really? Answer me one thing,” Uncle Rich said. “Has he been training you? Are you his new submissive?” Though his voice wasn’t emotive, his face was tight and withdrawn.
My gaze darted to Uncle Richard’s and my jaw slacked open for the briefest moment before I snapped it shut.
“Come on, Lucy. You’re an adult now. Adults talk about sex.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Not with their bosses,” I whispered, narrowing my eyes at him. “And not with their uncles. So on both accounts, you’re out of line. And out of everyone in my life, I thought you of all people would want me to find someone who cared for me. S
omeone who made me feel safe and protected. I thought you of all people would want me to be happy and find the kind of love my mom never had.”
For the first time since I’d told him about Ash, Uncle Rich’s face softened. “Ash is not your father,” he said quietly. “He’s not a bad man. Ash is my friend. But I’ve known him longer than you have. I don’t believe for a second he could be abusive like your old man… but it doesn’t also mean he can’t hurt you in other ways.” He swallowed and I could see the pain behind his eyes. I could feel that pain in my bones. I know how hard it must have been for him to witness his sister’s abuse over and over, feeling helpless. I knew how hard it was because I’d gone through the same thing.
Tears welled in my eyes. “No,” I said, but this time, I didn’t feel quite so sure of my answer. “Ash has never done anything that I haven’t consented to.”
Uncle Rich nodded and stepped closer to me. “Did he tell you that he’s never trained a new submissive before?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever wonder why he decided to find and train a new submissive? Why now? Why after all these years?” I tried to swallow down the grapefruit sized lump in my throat. But Uncle Rich didn’t wait for me to respond. “Because I told him to. I pushed him to try something new; train a new submissive because the movie wasn’t coming together well.” Uncle Rich spun away from me, running his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. “You’ve heard of method acting?” he asked, then looked over his shoulder at me when I nodded. “Well, his direction was lacking. His understanding of Leo’s character sucked. So he embarked on a little method directing.”
His words speared my heart. I was an assignment? What the hell did that even mean? Was I some sort of fucked up My Fair Lady bet?
“It’s just my fucking luck he chose my only niece as his submissive.” The word ‘submissive’ cracked at the back of Uncle Rich’s throat, and for a moment, I thought he was crying. “I never wanted this lifestyle for you.” He sighed, his back still to me, contract clutched in one hand and the other balled into a fist at his side. “But you’re right. You’re an adult. Your love life is none of my business.”
He stalked over to his desk, snatching a pen off of his desk and signed his name at the bottom of the crumpled contract. He stomped back over to me and held out the contract with an outstretched hand. It felt like a trick. Like taking it was somehow proving to him how stupid I was being. “Go on. Bring it to HR.”
When I didn’t take it, he sighed, lowering it back to his side. “I want you to be happy, Lucy,” he said quietly. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. Happy. Safe.” The paper made a crinkle sound as he waved it out to me once more. “If you feel both—if you think he’s your great love, then I’m not going to stand in your way. I won’t even say I told you so if it goes wrong.”
This was a lot to process. Just because Ash started what we had because I was an assignment didn’t mean that’s what I still was. And if I was going to be in a relationship with an adult… I had to act like an adult. And that meant having a conversation—an intense, honest conversation with Ash. I carefully took the contract from Uncle Rich, smoothing it out in my palms.
His mouth pulled into a sorry excuse for a smile, but I had to hand it to him—he was trying. “Thank you,” I said quietly.
“Love you, kiddo,” he said. I didn’t care that we were at work. I hugged him hard, throwing my arms around his neck. He held me there for a long time. Emotion seized my throat. Being hugged by Uncle Rich felt like home. Sighing, he looked at me, searching my eyes. “Guess I just have to admit you’re not my baby bear anymore.”
My insides softened, and there was a long pause as I smiled up at him. “I’ll always be your baby bear.” Then pushing onto my toes, I whispered in his ear. “But maybe just not here at work.” Smiling, I kissed Uncle Rich’s cheek, and he cupped my jaw, pressing a tender kiss to my forehead. Uncle Rich looked over my shoulder, his gaze hardening.
Peeking over my shoulder, I spotted Ash. His muscular frame nearly took up the entire space of the doorway, each shoulder brushing against the molding. “Sorry,” Ash said, his voice low and cold as his eyes traveled from me slowly to Rich standing behind me. “I didn’t realize I’d be interrupting anything.”
“The hell you didn’t,” Uncle Rich growled. I snapped my head back to Uncle Rich and held up my finger to his face.
“Don’t you dare,” I hissed. “Let me handle this.”
Ash snorted. “Our meeting has started without you. And considering it was your idea to interview Andrea, I figured you should be there.”
He didn’t give me a chance to answer before turning and stalking out of Uncle Richard’s office.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ash
I was so damn angry, I couldn’t even see straight. The walls around me felt tighter, constrictive, like I was walking through a collapsing tunnel. Pausing, I placed a hand to the wall and took a deep breath. I needed to pull my shit together. So what? The first girl I liked enough to consider something more than a one night stand since my wife died is actually fucking my boss. No. Big. Deal.
Except it was. A big fucking deal. But it was my own damn fault. For trusting a twenty-two-year-old. For opening my heart after only a few weeks. And for thinking anyone could be what Brie once was to me.
When Kelly arrived at our meeting and told me that Lucy was with Richard, I’d had a bad feeling. And stupidly, I ignored that impending doomsday feeling needling my gut as I walked the hallway to Richard's office to grab Lucy for the meeting, only to find the door had been left ajar.
It all made so much more sense now. Richard’s dry cleaning in her back seat. The text messages from him I’d gotten a glimpse of that night at my house. Even Rich’s reaction to Lucy standing in with me half naked. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to push the image out of my head; her standing in front of him, his hands cupping her jaw tenderly, his lips brushing her forehead.
That kiss that suggested a history. A comfort. Like they had been fucking for a while.
I was torturing myself with the vision burned into my retinas. Well, now I knew why she wouldn’t sign a fucking consent contract. Why she was so paranoid about the fact that we would have to meet with HR or with a superior for an interview.
Yep. Now I knew why. But knowing didn’t make it any easier.
I inwardly snorted and shook my head. She didn’t want people to think she was sleeping her way to the top? Bull fucking shit. She was already sleeping with the president of the company. What the hell did she need me for?
“Ash,” Lucy said behind me. The plaster walls were smooth and cool against my palm; reluctantly, I pushed off, stalking down the hallway toward my own office.
Lucy was quick and caught up to me in moments. “Ash, wait,” she whispered, actually sounding angry. What in the fuck did she have to be angry about?
I swallowed the burning pain down. Pain about what? How fucking stupid to be so upset about someone I hardly knew. “There’s nothing to explain,” I said, trying to keep my voice lighter than my heart. “I didn’t realize you and Richard were a thing.”
“Me and Rich? Ash—”
I couldn’t bear to hear the excuses. She didn’t fucking owe me anything. I laughed in spite of myself, and looked up into the hallway light. And there was that burning sensation again. This time in my throat. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone about Rich and I won’t tell anyone about us, either. Ironic, though. Yesterday, if someone had asked me which costume designer would be sleeping her way to the top, I would have guessed Kelly, not you.”
Lucy gasped and the sound of her flats slapping the marble floors ceased. I cringed, my gut twisting. The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
“What did you just say to me?”
“Lucy, I—”
“I am not sleeping my way to the top.”
I held in my snort. “Right. And here I thought I was too old for you,
yet you’re sleeping with someone ten years older than me. What do you have? A daddy Dom fetish or something?”
Her hand moved so quickly, I didn’t even see it coming. Her palm connected with my cheek, leaving a stinging mark at the hollow of my cheekbone. “Fuck you,” she whispered. Then, she smacked me a second time. “And that one is for Kelly,” she hissed. “Because neither of us is sleeping our way to the top.”
In her right hand, she held a crumpled piece of paper that she shoved into my chest. “Were you planning on ever telling me?” she whispered.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Telling you what?”
“That training a submissive—that training me—was an assignment from Rich for the movie?” She pushed past me, pausing briefly with her flattened palm against my closed office door. “You can just throw that out now,” she said, jerking her chin toward the crumpled paper in my hand. Then, she opened my door and stomped inside.
I opened the wrinkled paper, smoothing it in front of my nose. The consent contract. Signed by Lucy and Richard Blair.
Kelly was smiling. Actually smiling, which was the first time I’d seen her actually laugh since I slashed her budget. She even smiled at Lucy, and I narrowed my eyes at them, wondering when the two managed to become cordial. Beyond cordial. They almost looked like… friends.
“Andrea,” Jon said, standing and circling the emerald green gown that was draped on a mannequin. “These designs are spectacular.”
I sat back, a part of the meeting, but no longer in charge. I had no say in whether or not Andrea was hired for the gig. If I truly had disliked any of her designs, sure I would have spoken up, but ultimately, if Jon had made his decision, I would have to honor that.
Lucky for all of us, Andrea was a brilliant designer.
Jon looked to me, then to Kelly. “Am I speaking out of turn if I say that we’ll be sending over some contracts to Andrea first thing tomorrow morning?”
“Tomorrow?” Kelly said. “Print them out right now,” she laughed. “These are divine. Perfect for the characters.” She slid a glance at Lucy who had been silent most of the meeting. “You did good,” Kelly added, and Lucy’s eyes widened from behind her black-framed glasses.
Role Play (Silhouette Studios) Page 33
