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“Oh my god,” I groaned, running my hand down my face, probably smearing my makeup. “I knew it. Not to mention you totally made it out like he wanted to give me a shot at writing, and he hasn’t even read my shit, Owen!”
His eyes widened. “What? Yeah, he has.”
“No, he hasn’t.”
“Hey, wait!” a voice called out from behind us as we stepped into the empty elevator.
I spun around to see Eli in a nice black suit trotting toward us, a huge grin on his face. My stomach flipped at just how handsome he looked, his physique freaking perfectly complimented by the fit of the suit.
“Hey man, we were just talking about you,” Owen greeted him, his voice less than friendly.
Shit. He’s going to make my life even worse.
“We really weren’t,” I cut in, catching Eli’s attention.
His smile faded as his eyes raked down my body, sending a shiver of excitement down my spine. “Right. Well, hopefully it was a good conversation. What’s up, man?” He turned back to Owen, who had already hit the seventeenth-floor button.
“Not much, just looking forward to all the free liquor. Did you have Andy cater the bar again? He does such a fucking amazing job.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever have anyone but Andy cater it,” Eli chuckled, his gaze drifting over to me for a split second before he angled his body completely away from me.
Asshole.
I stared at the wall as my brother and Eli kept ranting and raving over the caterer’s booze, their obnoxious laughter filling the elevator. The two of them were like two peas in a pod—and I was like the piece of corn trying to fit in...
It just wouldn’t work.
As soon as the door opened I rushed right out, heading for the office door. Owen and Eli didn’t notice—well, not that I could tell. I kept my eyes straight ahead, focused on finding where this great bartender was. However, as soon as I made it through the doors, a hand caught me.
“Hi,” a bright voice greeted me. “I’m Zena. I was hoping to have a chance to introduce myself to you tonight.”
I turned to take in the fiery red-headed woman, not much older than me. “Hi. It’s really nice to meet you.” The words felt forced, but mostly because I was preparing for another Brittany type of encounter.
“Yeah, I saw you were super busy today, so I didn’t want to bother you too much. I’m a staff writer—my desk is in the corner over there.” She pointed a red fingernail that was nearly the shade of her hair toward the opposite side of the room. “There’s an empty one right beside me. You can take that one, if you want? I know no one will mind.”
A smile tugged at my lips, grateful for a shred of friendliness. “Thank you. I was stuck carrying my bag around all day—though I don’t know if I actually even need it.”
“Are you kidding? You totally should bring your stuff. I’ve read some of your work, Olivia. It’s phenomenal. I wish I had that kind of eye for scenery setup. It’s incredible. I’m sure there will be a place for you on a project. There’re quite a few big ones coming.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.” I pushed away the glimmer of hope that Zena was giving me. “Where’re the drinks?”
She laughed, her hazel eyes lighting up. “I was just thinking the same thing. Let’s go figure it out.”
As I went to follow her, I felt the sensation of someone watching me. I glanced to my left and my eyes met with ocean-blue eyes—Eli was staring at me as he stood beside Owen and a few others.
What the fuck?
I quickly looked away, shaking my head. Something about me must’ve just really bothered him—and that only made the drinks sound even better. If I could just clear my name and rebuild my reputation, there was a chance that I wouldn’t have to work for him too long...
And maybe if I landed on some of the big projects, it would speed up the process.
“What can I make you?” a blond-headed bartender asked me as I caught up to Zena, who was already waiting on her order.
“Uh, I guess just a vodka cranberry. That should do.” I don’t know why I was feeling so awkward. I had socialized at plenty of events like this in Los Angeles, yet somehow everything felt brand new.
And I blamed Eli.
“I heard about what happened with the movie out in California.” Zena’s voice woke me up from my hate-fest. “And I think it’s totally shit that they pulled you like that. I think it was just budget cuts—and they don’t want to admit that.”
