Page 76 of The CEO I Hate

“Which part do you want to hear? The one where he was my encouraging college professor who helped me get my screenplay in front of a studio exec? Or the one where he arranged to have the deal fall through?”

“Shut the hell up,” Jerome said. “What an asshole.”

That wasn’t quite thewholestory, but it was enough for Jerome to get the gist. This guy was a sleazy, smarmy bastard with an ego the size of this building. “Asshole is an understatement.”

“In that case, I’m gonna go rescue Kait,” Jerome said, brushing by me.

He darted away, and I finally dragged myself through the door, unpacking my laptop and my notes from last week. Ash was there, curled up under the whiteboard, dead asleep, one paw twitching like he was chasing bunnies in a dream. Of course he was here. At this point, he was basically furniture.

I scratched him behind one ear before taking my seat, hoping to distract myself from it all. My pulse was still racing, and not in a good way. The flood of adrenaline was kicking off my fight-or-flight instincts, and what I really wanted was to run back out the door.

“Good to meet you,” Damien said, shaking Jerome’s hand. Jerome stared at him like he was a leech he’d peeled off his backside. “I guess that’s all of the introductions for me,” he continued, “because of course I already know Mia.”

Hearing my name come out of his mouth sent the red flags waving. I didn’t want this guy to talk to me or look at me or even think about me. And I certainly didn’t want to see him walking in my direction.

“It’s been too long, Mia,” he said, sliding his arm over my shoulders. The hairs on my arms stood so straight it was painful. “In case she hasn’t mentioned me,” he said, grinning at the room, “you should know I was Mia’s favorite professor in college. Taught her everything she knows.”

God, I was going to throw up. He leaned toward my ear.

“Someone promised to keep in touch.”

Ew. I wanted to peel his arm off me and shove him across the room. But that would cause a scene, so I deftly slid out from under his arm and smiled thinly.

“Life got a little busy.”

Damien opened his mouth to say something else, but thankfully, Liam chose that moment to arrive with Paula, Lyle, and the other lackey Lyle had brought along. They walked through the door, deep in conversation.

“Hello, everyone!” Lyle said, strolling to the front of the room. The energy shifted instantly as Kait, Jerome, and Tanya went tense. Despite that, I’d rather deal with Lyle a thousand times over than be stuck with Damien. He turned to me and reached out his hand. “Lyle Clemmens.”

“Mia Collins,” I said, shaking it firmly.

“Ah, my new co-head.”

The way he said it, I knew Lyle thought it was a joke, thatIwas a joke, but I straightened my spine, holding my head high. I wasn’t going to let him bully me. He released my hand to make the final introductions.

“This is James Singh,” he said, gesturing to the other writer. I recognized the name—he’d worked on some high-profile shows. “And Damien Alverez.”

“We’ve met,” Jerome muttered as Damien leaned toward Liam, whispering something.

“All right, everyone. Find your seats. Let’s get started,” Lyle said. “I’ve had a look at the storyline progression up past the midpoint,” he said, walking up to the whiteboard where we had plot points written on cue cards. He started tearing them down.

I glanced from Paula to Liam, who seemed to be rolling with the fact Lyle was literally destroying our hard work right before our eyes. My gaze shifted to the other writers. These people who’d become good friends. Jerome winced as Kait put her head in her hands. Tanya just stared off into space, fists clenched against the table.

“We’re gonna have to scrap this to make my plan work,” Lyle said, tearing up a cue card.

I sucked in a breath and cleared my throat, preparing to go toe-to-toe with the man. “We can’t scrap that.”

Lyle turned slowly, like he was shocked I had the audacity to speak. “Excuse me?”

I pointed to the torn card in his hand. “That’s the rest of Cade’s storyline. It needs to be finished.”

“I never had any plans for him.”

“Well, I did,” I said, crossing my arms.

“And now that I’m here, I can change that.”

“No, youcan’t.”