Paige nodded. “Monday at four. Yes.” She smiled.
He smiled.
Funny thing was how she seemed as reluctant as he was to walk away. Was it possible her night wasn’t looking any more promising than his? Should he ask her to dinner? To a movie? Or maybe—?
“Have a good weekend, Dylan. And…thanks. For listening.”
“Oh…um…yeah. No problem. Anytime.”
With a small smile and wave, Paige turned and walked over to her car. Dylan watched as she climbed in and stood back and waited for her to pull out and drive away.
With nothing left to do, he got into his car and made his way home.
To his personal prison.
* * *
It was as if the entire world was against her.
By three o’clock on Monday, Paige was fairly certain she was the only person alive who understood what had made her concept for this campaign so perfect. Now, as she made her way to her office, she felt completely defeated.
And more than a little pissed off.
After lunch, she had been summoned to her father’s office, which was never a good thing. He’d sat her down and explained, in his gentle yet condescending manner, how he had gone and talked to the Literacy Now people and they were thrilled with Ariel’s revisions.
Revisions? Ha! More like sabotage!
She had meant to call them earlier, but the morning had gotten away from her after going and getting her tire replaced. By the time she’d arrived at the office, it was time for a meeting with another potential client for a new restaurant opening in Hollywood. Paige wasn’t going to be in charge of the campaign, but her coworker, Xander, asked her to sit in with him.
Either way, she hadn’t made the call and what it all meant was that she was no longer heading up the project. Ariel was. Not that they were cutting her out completely. Oh no. That would have been too kind. No, now she had the task of playing a supporting role in babysitting the talent.
Namely, Dylan Anders.
As she turned the corner and strode past Daisy’s desk, all she could think of was how badly she wanted to punch something.
Or someone.
“Hey, Paige!” Daisy called out as she walked by. “You have a couple of messages from—”
“I’ll call them tomorrow,” Paige said firmly as she crossed into her office and slammed the door.
It wasn’t until she was alone in the silence of her office that she realized her heart was ready to pound right out of her chest and that she was trembling.
“Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit,” she murmured as she began to pace. This was supposed to be her chance—her turn to head up a project and stop being the gofer! Literacy Now was her baby—those contacts were her friends—and as usual, she had been tossed aside while being patted on the head.
“I know you’re disappointed,” her father had said, “but you’re an important part of the team.”
Yeah right, she thought miserably.
Babysitter. She was relegated to playing babysitter to a rock star who had a reputation for being hard to handle. Paige had argued how Dylan wasn’t that guy anymore—and it had come as a bit of a shock to her even as the words poured out of her mouth!—but no one was ready to believe it. His past was in the tabloids and no one was ready to take him without a handler.
“Paige seemed to hit it off with him,” Ariel had said when their father had called her in to join their meeting. And when Paige had argued her point, her sister had pulled the pregnancy card and claimed she felt queasy and made a run for the bathroom.
And never came back.
That had led to her father gushing over how excited he was about becoming a grandfather and how they needed to not upset Ariel in her delicate condition. Then he added how this sort of project would be perfect for Ariel because she could delegate so many of the tasks because of all the groundwork Paige had already done.
Even now it still made Paige roll her eyes.
She stalked over to her desk, sat, and face-planted on the paperwork.
If this were a job where she wasn’t working with her family, she’d quit. She’d seriously be packing up her office right now and storming out the door.
And while quitting seemed like a good plan, but Paige knew she’d never go through with it. Some way or another she’d be guilted into coming back—because her father was all about appearances, and having a daughter leave the firm looked bad—and then everyone would think she was a sore loser.
There was no way she was going to let that happen.
No matter who she had to babysit.
So unfortunately, quitting wasn’t an option, and she was stuck. Again. Doing a job she hated. Again. And what was worse was how no one seemed to notice or care. She thought about her conversation with Dylan on Friday and realized that now it was personal. Her resentment toward him went up several notches.
Then she closed her eyes. All weekend, he had been on her mind. She’d done her research, and even though he had a colorful reputation, he wasn’t a bad person. She almost wished he were; it would have made things so much easier right now. But no, Dylan Anders was sexy and charismatic, and she’d been darn mesmerized by watching video clips of him all weekend long.
Not something she would be willing to admit aloud.
He was a talented musician, he was incredibly sexy, and he had the perfect amount of swagger that she discovered she found attractive too.
It was like the tattoos all over again.
“God, what is happening to me?” she murmured. Four days ago, she was completely content listening to John Legend or Ed Sheeran, and now? Now she had all of Shaughnessy’s music on her iPod and had it on a continual loop.
There was a light knock on her door, and Paige lifted her head as Daisy peeked in.
“Sorry to bother you, Paige,” she said softly. “I heard about Literacy Now. I’m so sorry.”
Straightening, she asked, “Who told you?”
“Ariel stopped by with her revisions for the schedule and wanted me to give you a copy.” Placing the folder on Paige’s desk, Daisy gave her a sympathetic smile. “You could look at this as a good thing, you know.”
“Really? How?” Paige asked sarcastically and didn’t even feel bad about it.
“For starters, there’s less pressure on you. It’s all on Ariel now.”
“True but…I’ve already done all the hard work—the research, the recruiting, booking photographers and banquet spaces. I mean, all she’s doing is stepping in and taking the spotlight!”
“Okay, there is that,” Daisy said, frowning. “But, between you and me, with her pregnancy announcement, I’m sure she’s going to need a lot of help. I’ll bet you anything you’ll be in charge in no time.”
“And by then, she will have made a mess of everything, and I’ll have to clean it up,” Paige said with a sigh. It was a scenario that had played out more times than she cared to count. “It’s so typical of her. Why am I the only one who sees it?”
Daisy pulled up a chair and sat. “Trust me. You’re not the only one who sees it. There are a lot of us here who do. I don’t get why your father doesn’t see it.”
“He’s always been blind to Ariel’s doings. And whenever I try to point them out, I get accused of being jealous.” She sighed again. “And it’s not that. I swear it’s not. It’s just that somehow, I always end up getting screwed and I’m so tired of it!”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to do what I always do. My job,” Paige said after a moment. “We’re a team and I have to remember that just because I’m not the captain, it doesn’t make my job any less important.”
Daisy rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. We all want to be the captain, the head cheerleader, the star of the show. There’s no crime in that, Paige. You need to take a stand, and when Ariel crashes and burns on this, y
ou need to put your foot down and tell them you’re not taking over. Let her deal with the mess she makes for once.”
“I would love to, but she’s pregnant and said she was sick and—”
“Right. Sick,” Daisy said with a snort of disgust. “I saw her run from your father’s office earlier, and as soon as she turned the corner and thought she was out of sight, her pace slowed to her usual superior glide and she went to her office, grabbed her purse, and left, cool as a cucumber.”
The curse that flew out of Paige’s mouth was more colorful than her usual vocabulary, and her hand instantly flew to her mouth.
Daisy, however, laughed uproariously. “Yes! Exactly! That is exactly what I thought! I was tempted to follow her and see if she went to Starbucks or to get a pedicure. Maybe I should keep a trench coat, hat, and dark glasses here, so she won’t know it’s me following her. What do you think?”
“I think you’d stick out like a sore thumb wearing that around town. Please don’t.”
“Fine. But I’m telling you, I’m going to catch her in the act and then maybe if someone else went to your father with how Ariel is manipulating everyone, he’ll have to believe it.”
“I’m not holding my breath. He’s so over the top about having a grandchild that he’ll probably forgive anything. Ariel could probably bankrupt the company and he’d forgive her.”
“Paige…”
“I’m serious! You’d think she was giving birth to the king or something!”
“First grandchildren tend to bring that out in people.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t make it any easier for the rest of us,” Paige said miserably. “Oh God. Maybe I am jealous! I sound jealous, don’t I? Ugh. Why?”
“You’re not jealous. You’re tired of being taken for granted,” Daisy said reassuringly. “You know what you need to do?”
“Quit and work on the other side of the country?”
Daisy considered that for a moment. “Let’s say that’s option number two. No, what you need to do is complete whatever task they’ve given you like a total professional. But only that task. Don’t involve yourself in anything else that’s going on—just focus on the job at hand. They did give you something specific, didn’t they?”
Paige nodded but was almost afraid to admit what it was. She had gotten a glimpse of Daisy’s crush on Dylan, and she had a feeling that once she said what her job was for the campaign, she was going to need a tranquilizer gun to calm her assistant down.
“So what is it? Are you in charge of the catering hall for the launch? Oh, did she assign you to solicitation calls for donations? No, no…I bet she has you working on ordering promotional materials, right? And probably with her face on it next to Literacy Now’s logo!” Cracking herself up, Daisy took a minute to laugh. “Okay, come on. Out with it. What ridiculous task did they assign you? Name-tag maker? Celebrity dog walker? Come on…you have to tell me.”
Bracing herself for what she was sure was going to be a full-on meltdown, she said, “I’m babysitting Dylan Anders.”
Then she froze and waited for Daisy’s response.
And waited.
And waited.
“Oh…my…GOD!” Daisy screeched. “Are you kidding me? Like…like…you get to hang out with him for like…the entire length of the campaign? That’s three months! Three months! Do you realize how long that is?”
“Um…three months? Approximately ninety days?”
Daisy jumped up and paced a few steps away from the desk and then back again, slamming her hands on the surface. “You get ninety days with Dylan Anders to yourself! Can I help? Please, Paige! Let me help!”
If it were up to Paige, she’d let Daisy do it all, but that wasn’t the way this worked. “I’m sure once we figure out how all this is going to go, I’ll need your help, but as of right now, I’m still feeling a little clueless about what everyone thinks I’m supposed to do with him.”
“I can think of a few things,” Daisy murmured with a grin.
“Okay, let’s just…get through the next week and figure out what the heck I’m supposed to do with Dylan, and then I promise to let you have a little time to work with him. How does that sound?”
Rather than speak, Daisy squealed and then ran around to hug Paige.
Yes, Daisy was a hugger.
There was a loud knock on her office door, and they both turned to see Dylan standing in the doorway.
A very angry looking Dylan.
Luckily Daisy chose to stay silent as she looked at Paige.
“Dylan,” Paige said, forcing a smile on her face, “it’s good to see you. Is it four o’clock already?”
He said nothing, but his eyes pretty much conveyed that he was as unhappy as she was. Maybe even more.
“Daisy? Could you get us some coffee, please?”
With a nod, Daisy quickly made her way out of the office—giving Dylan only a brief glance and a nervous smile.
Once she was gone, Dylan sauntered into the room, his eyes never leaving Paige’s. When he stopped in front of her desk, she braced herself for what he had to say.
“You got assigned to be my handler,” he spat. “Whose idea was it? Yours? Afraid I’m going to screw up your precious campaign?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him how he was the one who came to her, not the other way around, but she didn’t. That wasn’t her style. She believed in being professional—no matter what.
“Why don’t you have a seat?” Paige motioned for him to sit down, but he didn’t budge. She, however, definitely needed to sit down. After a moment, she decided to try to calm him down. “I can’t say whose idea it was. It came as a bit of a shock to me as well. However, I don’t see it as a bad thing. I believe with me acting as your…guide…this whole thing will be relatively quick and painless for you.”
Dylan raked a hand through his hair and moved a few steps away before sitting down, his elbows resting on his knees. “Look, I don’t need a damn guide. Or a babysitter. Or an assistant. This isn’t brain surgery! I need to film some promos, get some pictures taken, and speak at a couple of events. It’s not a big deal, Paige.”
She slouched a little in her seat, praying for patience. “I realize that. I honestly do. But the whole thing—the campaign and your part in it—is out of my hands.” She held up her hands helplessly and realized how much it hurt to admit that. Especially to him.
He sat up straighter and looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”
With another sigh, she told him how her entire day had gone and how her father and Ariel had broken the news to her. “So you see, this isn’t exactly how I envisioned things going either.”
“But…I thought this was your campaign, your clients.”
She nodded. “It was. Was being the operative word here.”
He muttered a curse and then relaxed in his chair. “So now what?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I just found out about it when Ariel dropped off her revised schedule. Daisy brought it to me a few minutes before you arrived, so I haven’t looked at it yet.”
“Care to look at it together?” he asked. “Seems to me it’s going to affect us both.”
He was right. It was. “Sure. Why not?” And before she could say another word, Dylan stood, picked up his chair, and came around to her side of the desk.
Not quite what I was expecting, she thought.
He sat close to her—almost too close—and once she opened the file, he leaned in closer.
Clearly, he has no concept of personal space, she mused. But then she caught a hint of his cologne again and had to fight the urge to move even closer and inhale.
“What does this mean?” Dylan asked, and Paige realized she hadn’t been paying attention to the schedule, whereas Dylan was already reading it.
A quick first glance showed that, f
or the most part, nothing about the campaign’s timeline had changed and Paige breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, so far nothing has changed,” she said to him.
“That’s good, I guess. Although being how I had no idea of the schedule, it doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. I need to know what my schedule is going to look like with this and where I’ll need to be and what I’ll need to know,” he explained, his eyes still scanning the paper in Paige’s hand.
She was about to tell him when he would be starting when a side note caught her eye: “Have Paige write scripts for all participants.” Unable to help herself, she muttered a curse and flung the paper aside.
“Problem?” Dylan asked with mild amusement.
Earlier, she had felt comfortable unleashing while Daisy was here—and for some reason, she felt that same ease with Dylan. Jumping up from her chair, Paige let loose.
“Like it’s not enough that I did all the groundwork for this project, but I then get pushed aside for my sister, so she can take over, and then she still won’t do any of the work! Now I have to write all the scripts for the people she chose! I had all of that done for the people—the authors—I wanted to have participate. Now I have to find out who else she went and contacted and figure out how to write up what they need to say! And that’s on top of babysitting you!”
“Hey!” he cried, coming to his feet.
“Oh, knock it off,” she snapped. “You were the one who wanted in on this so flipping bad. You thought you’d be cute and poke at me on Friday to get a place in this whole thing. Well, now you do! And this is what goes with it! So if you want to bail, there’s the door!”
Wow, did it feel good to get that off her chest.
Her breath was ragged and her heart was hammering in her chest, and when she looked at the shocked expression on Dylan’s face, she smiled.
Then started to laugh.
His expression went from shocked to annoyed in the blink of an eye. “You think this is funny?”
That made her laugh harder.
“There is nothing funny about this,” he said firmly. “I think you’ve gone completely mental.” He waved her off and went to walk around the desk, but Paige called out to him. Dylan turned and looked at her.
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