Page 35 of The CEO I Hate

“Hey,” he said, glancing up at Liam. “Game’s already started. What took you so long?”

“Elevator’s broken, and there was an obstruction in the stairwell,” Liam muttered, stalking into the unit.

Jake gave me a look, but I just shrugged. “Couch.”

Jake nodded. “You wanna watch the game?”

Hell, no! Not with Liam. “I’ll pass.”

“All right. Talk to you later.”

I nodded and headed down the hall to my place, still equal parts flushed and flustered as confusion rattled at my temples. Since when did Liam pull the big, angry, protective bear routine, and why did I find it so damn attractive?

12

LIAM

“First table read day!” Paula said, walking up and jostling my shoulder excitedly as people flooded through the door of the rehearsal space. She handed me a coffee. “Black. Like that storm cloud on your face.”

“Hmm,” I grumbled, taking the drink. “We’re already behind schedule.”

“Oh, come on,” she said. “You know it takes everyone a hot minute to get back into the swing of things on the first day. Give them some time.”

“I am. This is me being lenient with the schedule.” I eyeballed one of my PAs across the room, giving them a discreet flick of my head. Jumping into action, they immediately darted into the hall, ushering the lingering cast members into the room and closing the door.

“You have to be looking forward to this,” Paula continued. “When you first called me up about the job, you weren’t even sure we’d be able to get the writers’ room back on track. Now episode one is written, we’re about to hear those gorgeous words read aloud, and thenwe’re gonna get all these beautiful people in front of some cameras. We got a whole cast, a working script, and the production crew even has an unofficial production mascot. I’d say things are going great.”

“Wait. A…mascot?”

“The mutt,” Paula said. “Turns out the poor thing has been sneaking onto the lot for weeks. TJ was trying to find where the dog had come from, but, as it turns out, he has been here a while. A few crew members kept feeding him scraps and, well…” She shrugged.

“They named him Ash. You know, because…” She pointed at the whiteboard, where someone had writtenEND IN FIREin all capitals.

I stared at the board. Then at Paula.

Of course the crew had adopted that stray and branded him. I hadn’t even approved a marketing plan yet, but sure, let’s give mascot status to a dog that wandered in off the street, stole hearts, and probably stole half the catering.

I sighed, then looked out at the crowd of actors greeting each other after the filming hiatus.

“God, it reminds me of when we cast that thing down in Miami Beach,” Paula said. “RememberSpring Break? Too many pretty people in one place. It was like an alternate reality.”

It had also been a big break for both of us. A smash hit that solidified VeriTV’s reputation as a must-have streaming service. Back then, we thought we’d finally figured it all out, and it would be smooth, easy sailing from then on.

Now here we were, years later, trying to wrap our heads around something altogether new and bizarre: the rituals of managing a high-quality scripted drama. What idiot signed us up for this carnival ride, again?

Oh yeah, it was me. I’m the idiot. In more ways than one.

In spite of myself, my eyes darted across the room, past all these supposedly pretty people, searching for one person and one person only. Finally, my gaze landed on Mia, parked in a chair at the small table the staff writers occupied.

Behind them was a series of blank whiteboards. Mia reached back, tying her hair up to contain her curls, flashing that long, tempting neck my way. She laughed at something Jerome said, shoving her glasses up to rub at her eyes.

The sound of her laugh was like a damn siren’s call, and I found myself entranced.

“Should we get started?”

“Huh?” I said, dragging my gaze away.

Paula gestured to the room. The cast had settled in at the large tables, where each seat provided them with a script and a microphone for the read. A few studio execs sat along the far wall along with some of the production crew.