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“I’m not an actor. I am a dancer.”
“Today, you’re an actress, and you’re going to kiss Maverick.”
Maverick bumps her shoulder with his and grins at her. “I promise to make it suck, so you don’t decide to ditch your boyfriend for me.”
Maverick is shortening his lifespan, never mind his career, and he doesn’t even realize it.
“All right, from when Maverick hooks her leg. This time I want a kiss, and I want it to be good Maverick. Set my cameras on fire.”
Casey shakes as she tries to hide the fact that she’s trembling. “N-no. I don’t w-want to.”
“It’s just a damn kiss!” Andre bellows from his seat.
Maybe I should let Casey handle it. Perhaps it would be best if I let her learn to fight her own battles.
The problem is Casey isalwaystrying to fight her battles alone. She suffers without telling anyone a thing.
It’s time she has someone fight for her andwithher.
She flinches while her eyes jump around. Everyone stares at her, waiting for her to just give in to the director’s demands.
Andre’s chair clammers to the ground when he stands, no doubt hoping to intimidate her. He manages one step before I step from behind the boom and clamp my hand on his shoulder. His head jerks toward me, but my eyes stay on the girl.
She swallows hard when she sees me, a violent shudder rippling through her body. I want to grab her and pull her into my arms, but now that my focus is on her and not my possessive jealousy, I know I can’t. We haven’t told Liam yet because he’s been out of town. Making a move now would blindside him. Considering how moments ago she was a breath from falling apart, I won’t do that to her.
Turns out, I don’t have to. She clears the few between us in less than a second, throwing her arms around me.
“I’m sorry. It’s silly, I know, but I can’t kiss someone else,” she whispers against my neck.
“Good thing,” I chuckle low. “I would’ve removed his lips if you had.”
I pull her away from me, tucking her to my side, and face Andre. “We’re not in the business of forcing the cast to do something because you want a last-minute script change.”
“That’s exactly what my business is.” He gestures his hands down his body. “I am a director. I want the script changed… I want them to kiss they do. It’s in my job description, and it’s in hers. If she weren’t your damn sister, you wouldn’t care.”
Casey’s entire body goes rigid next to mine when he says sister. I could correct him. I want to, but at this moment, sister, girlfriend, or total stranger doesn’t matter. She told him no, and the asshole pushed anyway, trying to bully and embarrass her into doing what he wanted.
Maybe last-second changes are expected, but if she—or anyone else—doesn’t want to, they shouldn’t be expected to.
“I would care because she saidno. Lawsuits for sexual harassment and accusations of sexual misconduct are how fortunes are lost and careers die.”
“This is my production. If she won’t do it, I’ll find someone who will.”
“Except it isn’tyours.This is a Sin Records production. We are paying you to do a job. You might be accustomed to getting your way elsewhere, but here, common decency and respect for other people are required. You won’t replace her or anyone else without our consent. The video is almost finished. We’re not paying for you to start again.”
His jaw works back and forth as his eyes swing around the room. The entire set is silent. You can’t even hear breathing. They’re all watching, waiting to see what happens. “I’ll walk.” His chin juts in a feeble attempt to make me back down, but the way it wobbles tells me he knows it’s weak.
I laugh at how fucking cliché this douche is.Where the hell did they find him?“Go ahead. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, but be warned: I will drown you in breach of contract suits. I’ll let every investor from here to China know how problematic you are. I’ll make sure not a single production company in Hollywood touches you. I have connections in things you’ve never heard of. When I’m done, they won’t hire you to fill the Slurpee machine at 7-Eleven.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“I don’t make threats, Andre. You will do well to remember that.”
The truth is, I’ll probably do most of that, anyway. And from what I’ve learned about the owners of Sin Records over the lastseveral weeks, when they hear about today, even if I don’t, they will.
His nostrils flare. The desire to fight is evident by the clenching and unclenching of his fist at his side.
But I already taste defeat.
