Page 34 of Hate To Be Mine

I was about to call the models over when something stopped me. Maybe I should check with Bernadette first.

The thought popped into my head like an unwanted guest. I pushed it away. I didn’t need her approval. She’d already held up production once today. I wasn’t giving her another opportunity to shut down a great shot.

But the thought persisted, more insistent this time.

What if there was something I hadn’t thought of? Some hazard I couldn’t see? I didn’t know this lagoon well. She would have researched it right down to the names of every single plant that grew around the edge.

And from a purely selfish standpoint, any accidents or problems would reflect badly on me. It would be exactly what everyone was worried about.

I wanted to prove I could handle this. That meant being smart, not just creative. That meant checking with the insurance robot.

I looked around the lagoon area, but Bernadette was nowhere to be seen. She’d been hovering around the earlier shoot, watching everything with those sharp eyes, but I hadn’t seen her in at least an hour.

“Hey,” I called to one of the production assistants. “Have you seen Ms. Simmons? The insurance rep?”

“Oh, that bitch?” He laughed. “Let’s hope she fell off that cliff.”

Another crew member overheard and chimed in. “With any luck, she’s lost in the jungle. Maybe the coconuts will get her.”

A few people laughed. I felt a twinge of guilt but pushed it down. She’d made her bed this morning. It wasn’t my job to protect her from the consequences. These people were all here to do a job and get paid. If she continued to grind things to a halt, we were screwed. We had a tight timeline. The models had other jobs booked.

“Anyone actually seen her?” I asked again.

Most people shook their heads or shrugged. But one of the wardrobe assistants pointed vaguely toward the beach. “Yeah, I think she went that way a while ago. Toward those rocks past the shoot location. Maybe she won’t come back.”

More laughter. That made me feel gross.

Growing up, I had been lucky enough to always be one of the cool kids in school. And my adult life had certainly been kind. I never had to feel like the loser—except for in my own family sometimes. People didn’t ostracize me or talk shit about me. Not usually. There had been a few haters over the years, but that was inevitable. Someone with my money and family name was always going to have haters. I just went home to my luxury penthouse and expensive liquor with a beautiful woman and forgot about them.

Bernadette didn’t have that option out here. Hell, I doubted she had that option back in New York.

I walked away from the lagoon, back through the trees, toward where the assistant had pointed. I didn’t know why I was doing this. Bernadette had made it clear she thought I was incompetent. The crew hated her. It would be easier to just proceed without her input.

But Briggs’s voice echoed in my head. And unfortunately, I knew he was right.

I reached the beach and looked around. The main shoot area was behind me, the crew busy with setup. Ahead, the beach curved around some volcanic rock formations, creating little coves and hidden spots.

I walked along the sand, checking the obvious places. Nothing.

Then I heard it. A sound so quiet I almost missed it under the crash of waves and call of birds. Someone crying.

I followed the sound into the trees, pushing past some low-hanging branches until I found a small clearing with a large rock. And sitting on that rock, hands covering her face, shoulders shaking with quiet sobs, was Bernadette.

Fuck.

She hadn’t heard me approach. She was completely lost in her misery. I could walk away and pretend I never saw a thing. I could leave her alone to wallow.

But I didn’t.

“I didn’t know robots could cry.”

She jerked upright, hands flying away from her face. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks streaked with tears. Her lips looked chapped and she just looked sad.

And absolutely human.

“Go away,” she said, her voice rough. “Just go away, Sebastian. I cannot deal with your shit right now.”

“I was looking for you.”