Page 27 of Mr. Wrong (Hollywood Knights #1)

Twenty-Seven

Ellenore

I told Lex I wasn’t going anywhere, but the truth of the matter is that I’ve been sitting on the back porch of the main house for about an hour now, trying to work out a way to extricate myself from this web of crazy I’ve flung myself into.

Because as soon as he helped me get my belongings moved into the pool house, Lex walked out the door again without so much as a see you later . Minutes later, the roar of his motorcycle told me that Lex was gone and I had no idea where he was going or when he’d be back.

I should be relieved but I’m not.

What I am is hurt and confused—not just by him but by everything that’s happened in the last 24-hours.

To be honest, it’s not just the impossible situation I’ve found myself in with Lex, even though I admit that it alone should be enough to send me running and screaming for the hills, that has me wondering just how far I’ve tumbled down the rabbit hole.

It’s wondering if he was right.

If his brother really did hire me to take his dead wife’s place. If he lured me here with the intention of turning me into some sort of weird surrogate mother for his orphaned daughter.

Admittedly, for most women, luring wouldn’t even be necessary.

This is Landon Trask we’re talking about—the man could literally have any woman he wanted.

All it would take would be a flash of his movie star smile and a glimpse at the lavish lifestyle he has to offer and he’d have them lined up around the block to fill his wife’s shoes.

And let’s be honest—aside from a blank check to buy unlimited classroom supplies, Landon hasn’t exactly gone out of his way to dazzle me.

He’s barely been civil. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he doesn’t want me here any more than his brother does.

As a matter of fact, I’d say if he brought me here to replace anyone, it’s—

“Ms. Pierce?”

I look up from the study I’ve made of my tennis shoes to find the devil himself standing over me, wearing the same dark wash jeans and dark, light-knit sweater he was wearing when he left this morning.

“Is there something wrong?” he says, turning to flick a quick look at the pool house behind him. “Did my broth—”

“No,” I say, drawing his attention back in my direction. “All things considered, your brother has been very accommodating.”

Sure, if you call spanking you and making you come accommodating.

“That’s good to know.” His tone pulls me away from my thoughts and I find him looking at me like he can read them.

When I don’t immediately offer an explanation for why I’m camped out on his back porch, he sighs.

“I have an early flight in the morning, so if you need something, Killian will be more than—”

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t something Killian can help me with.” I push myself to my feet to stand on the bottom step of the porch stairs, bringing us face to face. “I need to speak with you .”

“I’m afraid I don’t have the time.” He takes a step back and shakes his head at me before glancing at his watch. “I’ll try to call tomorrow evening. We can discuss whatever it is—”

“Did you hire me because I’m a woman?”

“Excuse me?” He’s not any more used to being interrupted now than he was when I did it earlier today.

“Is that why I’m here?” I keep pushing, ignoring the way his face folds into a deep scowl at my tone. “Because I’m a woman. To be some sort of surrogate mother to Cassie?”

“Is that what my brother told you?” He folds his arms over his chest, his expression caught between anger and amusement. “That I lured you here with money and my dreamboat smile so you can take my dead wife’s place?”

Because it’s almost exactly what I thought, I feel the blood rush from my face at his words. I have the feeling he’s making fun of himself as much as he’s making fun of me. “Please answer the question.”

“Yes.” He says it easily, like there’s nothing in the world wrong with what he just said. “Yes, I hired you because you’re a woman. Because you’re a young, intelligent woman and my daughter needs to learn things that I can’t teach her. Things my brother can’t teach her.”

“And you expect me to impart all my womanly knowledge to your daughter in the space of a few months?”

“Actually, I’d hoped that after the summer was over that we’d be able to renegotiate the terms of your employment into a full-time position.

” He gives me a sheepish grin that takes his resemblance to his brother from passing to striking.

“Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting anything unseemly, Ms. Pierce.

You’d be Cassie’s full-time caregiver—that’s it.

I’d be prepared to offer you living accommodations—I own the houses on either side of this place, as well as the properties behind… ”

I tune him out while he rattles on about a six-figure salary and expense accounts.

Holy shit.

Lex was right.

Maybe not about Landon’s intentions toward me, but he was right on the money where Cassie is concerned.

I cast a look over his shoulder, catching sight of the pool house in the distance. “I can’t.” I say, shifting my gaze to meet his. “I can’t accept your offer, I’m sorry.”

“And why is that?” He gives me the same flat, exasperated smile he gave me this morning when I confronted him about not telling me about Lex. I can see why he’s won so many academy awards. He’s an excellent actor.

“Because your daughter doesn’t just need an education, Mr. Trask.

She doesn’t just need a woman in her life.

She needs to be around other children. She needs a life.

A real life.” Now it’s his turn to look like someone just hit him in the face.

“She needs to develop and grow and she can’t do that if you never let her out into the world. ”

He makes a sound in the back of his throat, his eyes, nearly as blue as his brother’s, narrow on my face. “Is that right?”

I nod. “I know it’s scary. I know how you feel about the paparazzi, that you think it’s dangerous for her outside these walls but it doesn’t have to be.

” I sigh and show him my hands, trying to appeal to him.

“Let me do what I was hired to do. Nobody needs to be replaced. It doesn’t have to be him or me.

No one has to lose. Lex and I can work together.

Cassie is too young for such a long school day.

We can work out a schedule. Give them time to—”

“That would be a possibility worth considering if not for one, simple fact—he doesn’t want to work with you, Ms. Pierce—he wants you gone .

” He shakes his head at me like I’m slow and stupid.

“He called me this afternoon. Gave me an ultimatum. Told me it was either you or him. That if I didn’t fire you, he’d leave for good. ”

He told me he was going to. That he was going to do everything in his power to get me fired.

So why does it hurt so much? Why do I feel so betrayed?

Regardless of how it makes me feel, I take a deep breath and make myself say it.

“And?” I give him a small helpless shrug because I know what’s coming and I suddenly want to get it over with.

I just want to take my cat and go back to Dani’s. Crawl under a rock and cry for a week.

“ And you’re still here, aren’t you?” He sighs and looks at his watch. “Ms. Pierce, I have no intention of firing you if that’s what you’re worried about. My brother is a bit of a drama queen at times and as much as I love him, I have a responsibility to my—”

“In that case, I’d like to tender my resignation.”

Landon stares at me for a moment before he cocks his head at me again. “You want to quit?”

I nod. Hearing him say it, I realize what I’ve just done and I feel the bottom drop out completely. “Yes.”

“Per our contract, if you quit within the first 72 hours, I owe you nothing.” His tone is careful, like he’s trying to remind me that I can’t afford to walk away from what he’s offering me.

“I know.” No backup plan. My safety net ripped to shreds.

For the first time in my life, I have no idea what comes next.

Forty-eight hours ago, the thought would’ve terrified me.

I’m still scared but that doesn’t stop me from doing what I think is right.

“But I’m not who your daughter needs. Lex is completely capable of—”

“No.”

“What?” I feel my shoulders stiffen. “No.” I shake my head, fast and tight. “You can’t just…I don’t think you understand, Mr. Trask,” I say, hoping that this is just a simple miscommunication. “I quit. I’m tendering my resignation, effective immediately .”

“I understood perfectly,” he says, somehow keeping his tone light and friendly.

“But accepting your resignation isn’t something I’m willing to do.

” While I blink at him like he just slapped me in the face, he continues.

“I’m getting on an airplane in a few hours so I can spend the next several weeks bouncing around Europe doing location shoots for my next movie.

” He crosses his arms and his movie star grin slips away.

“Do you know why I’ll be doing that, Ms. Pierce? ”

Because you’re afraid of spending any kind of real, quality time with your daughter and you use your career to hide from her?

I just shake my head, thankful because my brain stops my mouth from blurting it out loud.

“Because I signed a contract,” he tells me, leaning into my personal space just enough to make me uncomfortable.

“I have responsibilities to uphold. I made a commitment and I honor my commitments.” He drops his arms and shoves his hands into his pockets.

“And if I chose not to do those things, I’d be held accountable.

I’d possibly develop a reputation for being unreliable.

Hard to work with. It could potentially become very hard for me to find work in my chosen field.

” He cocks his head, offering me a tight-lipped smile.

“Are we understanding each other, Ms. Pierce?”

I stare at him for a few seconds because I’m not sure I heard him correctly. “You’re not letting me quit.”

He doesn’t answer me but he doesn’t have to. I understand just fine.

“And if I try to leave, you’re going to make sure I never work in my chosen field again.” I hear myself say, suddenly feeling like I’ve been dropped into a Landon Trask action thriller. “You’re blackmailing me.”

“I never said that.” He gives me a grin, his teeth flashing bright white in the dark.

“I was simply reminding you of how important it is for us to honor our commitments and fulfill our responsibilities—and that when we choose not to, we could potentially be faced with life-altering consequences.” Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he mounts the stairs and I have no choice but to move, shuffle myself across the steps and down until we’ve traded places. “Goodnight, Ms. Pierce.”

“Wait—what about Le—your brother?” I ask, stumbling over his name because it suddenly feels too familiar. Too close. “Like you said, he’s made it clear that—”

“Lex? Again?” he asks me, moving to punch in his code to open the back door. When the door lock disengages, he reaches for the knob to push it open. “I don’t understand why you continue to worry so much about my brother.”

“I’m not,” I say defensively, thankful that it’s dark enough to hide the embarrassed stain Lex’s name leaves on my cheeks. “But—”

“Leave my brother to me,” he says. “All you need to worry about is upholding the commitment you made to my daughter—do you think you can do that?”

“Do I have a choice?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“Not really,” he says, tossing me another quick smile over his shoulder. “Good night, Ms. Pierce.”

Before I can say anything else, he moves through the door and shuts it in my face.