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Unable to hide my smile as I spotted the logo of Black Canyon Films, I opened the door and entered a spacious lobby with marble floors, chrome railings on the stairs and framing the elevators, and included comfy black leather couches, loveseats, and chairs with slate end tables. Plants of various varieties placed near the windows, growing healthy and making it a welcoming, classy space.

But centered a few yards from the entrance, and the only way to enter the building, was a gigantic curved desk housing no less than six security guards. The men and women looked military, and because of what Connor told me about Spencer’s ex-friend and the violence in which sent Mason to prison, I understood the need for added security.

The scanners blocked the right and left of the desk, preventing anyone from sneaking through. I walked toward the desk with telegraphed movements, not wanting to seem suspicious.

“Good morning. Who are you here to see?” A woman with slick dark hair pulled into a bun asked.

I gulped before I stepped forward and somehow found my voice.

“Um, yes. I’m here to see Spencer and Lee Atreus.”

A sigh stuck in my throat, but I pushed it back when I received a tilt of the lips before she started typing. As she opened her mouth, a shout interrupted the conversation at hand.

“Ollie!”

With a smile on my face and my shoulders relaxing from around my ears, I turned to see Connor, who was supposed to be on location for a production.

“Hey, beautiful. Weren’t you supposed to be in Pasadena today?”

Connor, with a skip in his step, approached me and, without hesitation, pulled me into his arms before he dipped me for a kiss. I may have let out a little squeak, which he found amusing, and I did not. But when he pulled back several moments later, I was breathless and my body throbbed with restrained desire.

“They have it all in hand, so I came back early when Lee told me you would be visiting.”

He narrowed his eyes at me and asked, “A quick question. How did you get here?”

“Linus escorted me to the back of the property and walked me to Sam’s place. Then Thomas called a taxi for me. Oh, wait, never mind. I teleported here using my big brain. Yeah, that’s what happened.”

He growled, and I let out a sigh.

“They’re still camped outside?” He asked.

“It’s so weird. The news broke two days ago and they are curious about me and you, so they parked on your lawn, even though it’s not even a scandal or a career-ending disaster?”

“Yeah, but they earn a lot of money to stay informed about Hollywood and the players involved. And you’re not someone in their realm of knowledge, so to them, they need to understandthe mystery of who you are and where you came from. Which, by the way, are you sure Cheryl and Robert wouldn’t sit down for an interview regarding their son’s relationship in Hollywood with a man if they find out who you are with?”

I snorted and shook my head. “Oh, that reminds me. Angel said they called her and begged her to come back to work for them without offering a pay raise or any other incentive whatsoever. She’s talked to her cousins who told her they are having a hard time at the college because when people ask about me, they tell them they don’t talk to me anymore, but not the reason behind it. Angel said they aren’t aware of where I’m living or haven’t tried to find out. They haven’t asked her once, but then again, my parents couldn’t care less about me.”

Connor’s brows furrowed. “Does she want to move out here?”

“She refused when I offered to help set her up out here because her and her family are close, and she doesn’t want to leave the area. But I know her dream, to own a restaurant, so I purchased her the spot she’d been hoping to buy for years. We’ll have to fly there for her grand opening next year.”

Someone cleared their throat and when both of us turned, we had six amused guards and all of their eyes were on me.

“Who’s this cutie?”

Connor, who doesn’t have a reason to feel any type of jealousy, glared at the man with biceps bigger than my leg, trying to look intimidating. Ignoring Connor, I held out my hand and said, “Ollie, nice to meet you…”

“Archie.”

He shook my hand until a choked exclamation interrupted us.

“What?” A fellow guard had a gobsmacked expression.

With one last squeeze of my hand and a comical smirk on his face, my new friend turned to the shorter, but no less muscled, co-worker. “What’s wrong with my name?”

The man glanced at me, narrowed his eyes and studied my face, before his expression cleared. He stuck his hand out and said, “Edgar.”

I smiled as I took his hand. The other four introducing themselves as Connie, Ethel, Sacha, and George. All of them studied me with curiosity, and when I turned to Connor and lifted my brow in question, he laughed.