Page 33 of Forced Proximity

‘Ooh, burn.’ Zane motions for Justin to join us. ‘Quick deviation in today’s schedule. The prince here wants to stop at the grocery store on the way home.’

I glance at Justin and shake my head. ‘You’re the only client I’ve ever had that likes to grocery shop. I don’t even like to grocery shop and I’m not famous.’

‘Can’t help it.’ Justin shrugs and cracks open a sparkling soda. ‘I like looking at produce. Besides, no one has ever harassed me at a grocery store.’

He has a point. Our trips to the grocery store thus far have been totally uneventful. Stressed out moms with kids, bored check-out clerks, people staring at their phones … either people don’t notice or don’t care that an A-lister is sniffing pineapples in the produce aisle.

Zane taps their phone. ‘After that, the masseuse is coming to the house. Heads up that his regular one is out sick, so this is her replacement.’

My chest pinches. There isn’t enough time to properly run a background check. ‘Has she been vetted?’

‘Well, I asked her if she did happy endings, and she said no, so I guess she’s vetted?’ Zane flashes me a devilish wink and nudges Justin in the ribs. ‘Sorry, buddy, I tried.’

‘I swear to God, someday I’m gonna sue you for sexual harassment.’ Justin chuckles as he heads back to the table.

‘But you’re my boss!’ Zane yells after him. The second Justin starts a conversation with the producer, Zane’s smile fades, and they hand me their phone. ‘I wanted to show you this. I didn’t want to freak Justin out, but it was DM’d an hour ago to one of Justin’s accounts that I manage. I didn’t tell Jack yet, cause, well, I wanted your reaction first.’

I press play and as the video rolls, my breath is tight. The video shows a hyper-realistic AI video of Justin lying on the ground with his eyes gouged and live maggots oozing from his mouth. A protective surge tears through me, and I glance at Zane. ‘Jesus …’

‘I know.’ Zane’s eyebrows pull together. ‘And it might be nothing, but there was a dead bird on Justin’s steps this morning when I arrived. I didn’t even think anything of it. I just asked one of the maintenance workers to remove it. But now with this video, I don’t know … it just seemed … odd.’

A dead bird is strange. But explainable. The video is fact. An almost primal urge thrashes in me to find out who did this. ‘I need to take your phone and contact the cybersecurity team.’ I touch Zane’s forearm. ‘We’re going to keep this one from Justin. No need to alarm him at this point.’

For the first time in a month, I finally understand why Justin’s team – who clearly cares for him – wants to shield him. I just hope when he finds out that we’ve been downplaying these threats, he understands.

I glance at Justin who catches my gaze and smiles. I smile and swallow back the fire. Whoever this stalker is just upped their game. And I refuse to let Justin go down without a fight.

Chapter 15

Lexi

The AI video of Justin plays in my head on a loop. I contemplate for the hundredth time requesting Marcus reassign the weekend guards and allow Jack and me to stay here permanently. But I know it’ll be denied. Since we got back from the studio, I’ve made several calls, brought Marcus into the conversation and refreshed my email no less than fifty times, yet I’m not doing enough. Who the hell is this person? Why are they doing this? When, and how, will they strike? I know damn well that encrypted IP addresses are not decoded in a snap. If they were, no one would encrypt. But still, not having the answers gnaws at me. We need to do more – I need to do more – but I’m lost for next steps. And I hate being lost.

After I escort the masseuse from the house, I shake off the uneasy feeling and shift to trusting the security team, as well as my own abilities. As long as I’m here, Justin is safe. And for now, that has to be enough.

A few minutes later, Justin floats down the stairs, glassy-eyed and glowing. If I didn’t know better, I might think the masseuse really did do happy endings. ‘Did you get a facial, too?’

‘Kind of. She spent about twenty minutes massaging my face.’ He stretches his arms and yawns. ‘It’s so relaxing, right?’

I shrug. ‘I wouldn’t know.’

‘You’ve never had a massage therapist rub your face?’

‘I’ve never had a massage.’

He pauses at the edge of the couch. ‘You’ve never had a massage?’

I’m not sure if I should laugh or chuck a pen at his shocked expression. It’s not like I told him that I stepped onto a UFO last month filled with ’80s pop stars or something. ‘I mean, I’ve had physical therapy that has massage components, but I didn’t leave the room looking all—’

‘Looking all what?’ His eyes twinkle.

‘Satisfied.’ I try to choke back a giggle and follow him to the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, Justin slides over to the freezer and grabs a tub of ice cream. ‘Want some?’

I lift an eyebrow and sit on a chair at the island. Of course I want some. We’ve had ice cream every night. Justin has turned me into some sort of fancy ice cream Pavlov’s dog, and I practically pant whenever he opens the freezer.

At some point Justin’s trainer will cut him off from all sugar, but until then, he said he wouldn’t stop his bedtime routine. I take a seat, and dammit. Yep. Here I go again, watching the way his back muscles flex under his snug T-shirt as he scoops. God, I have a thing for backs. Why does Jack get to accompany Justin to his morning workouts? Unfair.