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“I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot!” I even name dropped one of the head honchos on set. “I’m already running late and Kara is gonna tear my head off-”
“You go on in,” Frank nodded gently, still smiling. “Have a good day now...” He trailed off, waiting for my name.
“Sophia,” I answered, subconsciously kicking myself for not having the foresight to use some other random name. I thanked him, taking the tiny victory in stride. The hardest part was done...now I just needed to find out where Desmond’s trailer was.
I’d been on a television set once before, doing an interview on The Ring, a bachelorette inspired show for The Dish. It had the same frenzied feel as America’s Chef. Everyone was in constant motion, barking into earpieces and walkie talkies. Everyone was high on caffeine or clutching a coffee cup in desperate need of being re-upped. Everyone was bumping into each other because trailers and makeshift tents were crammed into a tiny space.
I gravitated toward the catering hub, making a beeline for a table where croissants and other pastries and coffee flowed like milk and honey. There was a blonde and brunette stuffing rainbow sprinkle doughnuts in napkins and cradling coffee cups near the center of the table. When I heard Desmond's name, my ears perked.
"Desmond likes the ham and cheese croissant. Lightly toasted, or else," the blonde said, wiggling her eyebrows.
The brunette took a bite of one of the doughnuts. "Stacy told me that he didn't even bite her head off when she forgot the scoop of sugar in his coffee yesterday. And he even said thanks."
The blonde's green eyes doubled in size. "I guess the rumors are true. Desmond O'Connell is a changed man." She bit her lip. “Or somebody has ironed out his kinks in more...interesting ways.”
I didn't even have anything in my mouth and I choked, drawing both of their gazes to where I stood awkwardly beside the packaged utensils.
I gave them a little wave and they stared at me like I was the new girl, daring to speak to the most popular girls in school. "Hi."
The brunette looked at the blonde like she must be in the Twilight Zone. "Are you talking to me?"
I bit back the urge to flip her off and smiled instead. "Sorry, first day."
The blonde nudged her friend with a scolding smack of her lips. She put her free hand over her heart like I was the most adorable thing. "I remember my first day. What department are you looking for, sweetie?"
Sweetie? I cringed on the inside, but kept my smile nailed to my face. "I'm supposed to be attached to Des-" I corrected myself when something flared in the brunette's eyes. "Mr. O'Connell's hip." I dropped my gaze for a moment and peevishly lifted my eyes back to her suspicious ones. "Or else."
The suspicion turned quickly to sympathy and the brunette abandoned her friend without a backwards look. "Come with me." How she balanced an armful of food and looped her other arm through mine like we were the best of friends without tripping was beyond me, but I focused on the fact that she was steering me in the right direction. In Desmond's direction. Head honcho or not, I doubted he was on set at the ass crack of dawn. That meant I had time to sneak into his trailer, convince myself that I wasn't completely crazy, and when he pulled the door open and came face to face with a woman that he'd made it clear he had little interest in, hope he'd do me the favor of not calling security.
I acted as wet behind the ears as possible, effusively thanking the brunette before she extricated herself and stalked back to the food table to resume gossiping.
I twisted the knob painstakingly slow, even though I knew he wasn't inside. After I took a sobering breath, I shook off the last shreds of fear and pushed the door open.
There was no Desmond—but there was a red haired woman curled up on his couch.
My first thoughts were ‘not again’, my stomach curling into a fist. I knew what went on in trailers on set. The groupies that must throw themselves at him. And with this chick's wild hair, skin tight sweater dress and boots with razor sharp spikes on the toe, I was guessing she was one hell of a good time.
But Desmond O'Connell was mine.
She hadn't even noticed that I was in the room, her eyes locked on the laptop that was perched in her lap. "You're up bright and early."
I squared my shoulders and tipped my chin up a few inches. I could care less that I was wearing a disguise and supposed to be discreet. I didn't have a comeback, so I settled for clearing my throat.
Her chin flew upward, crashing into me. Her bright green eyeballs bulged from her skull. "Who the hell are you?"
I propped both hands on my hip and put every ounce of authority that I didn't have behind my words. "I'm Sophia Slater." I cleared my throat again, deciding that I'd put a cherry on top. "Desmond's girlfriend."
Her forehead wrinkled, her expression pure incredulity. "Desmond doesn't have a-" She stopped mid sentence, slamming her laptop shut. "Wait a minute, you're her, aren't you?" Before I could confirm it, and let her know I was the only 'her' that mattered, she rose to her feet, taking a similar stance with both hands on her hips. "You're Sin."
Confusion shuttled through me and I peered at this woman with her electric jolt red and blonde strands and suddenly, jungle green eyes that were full of predators and deadly traps. "How...who-"
"I'm Mallory O'Connell," she answered frostily. "Desmond's sister."
I exhaled audibly, trudging over to the plush seat in front of a mirror, complete with bright lights twinkling. It was a literal light at the end of the tunnel. Fate wasn't a cruel you-know-what, writing some destiny where I was doomed to fall for two guys who couldn't keep it in their pants. Not that Desmond and I had made anything official (yet) but we'd made promises to each other nonetheless.
Before I dropped into the seat, I glanced at his sister, remembering my manners. And the fact that I was technically somewhere I wasn't supposed to be. "Do you mind if I sit?"
"Actually, yes, I do mind," she growled, eyeballing me, up and down. "Why are you here? It wasn't enough that you got your hooks in my brother at that raunchy sex club, but you have the nerve to show up at his job?"
