Page 37 of See You There

Luke’s expression changed. The humor in his eyes disappeared, and he grew pensive. “That’s true. What was the difference?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Dahlia tossed him a wink as she closed the door. She leaned back against it, her shoulders shaking with laughter at the memory of Luke’s consternation.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Luke waitedfor Dahlia by the elevator bank, his eyes on her dressing room door. Her last words echoed in his ears. Howdidshe tell the twins apart?

Usually, it took someone meeting them together a couple of times before they started picking up on the differences. Provided their clothes were on, of course. James had an impressive collection of tattoos hiding under his conservative clothing.

Luke’s eyes narrowed as her sleaze-bag agent approached him.

“She doesn’t need you anymore. I just got off the phone with Crawford. The studio is insisting she use their lawyer for all statements.”

Luke stared down at the man. He wasn’t sure why Dahlia put up with the guy’s rude behavior, but Luke wasn’t about to.

“I thought I made myself clear before. What the studio wants, or frankly, what you want,” Luke said, taking a step closer, crowding the man’s space, “has nothing to do with how I represent Ms. Everton. She contracted our services, and we will fulfill those services until she explicitly tells us otherwise.”

The shorter man was fairly bubbling over with anger. His eyes bulged, and he balled his hands into fists. Luke almostwished the man would take a swing at him. After how rough Victor was with Dahlia, he was lucky Luke hadn’t removed his head. But their discussion had already drawn the attention of several people scurrying through the hallways of the news agency.

“Now,” Luke clamped a large hand on the man’s shoulders and squeezed. Not enough to cause pain, but enough that Victor grimaced. “She made it clear that she will call you after her next event. There’s no need to wait with us.” His smile was wolfish, and for the first time, Victor looked nervous.

He jerked away from Luke’s touch and smashed the button on the elevator, which opened almost immediately. “She needs me. Don’t eventryto take her from me. I’ve known her since she was practically a baby. I didn’t invest all this time and money for her to get a big head and shut me out.”

Luke didn’t respond, but when the door slid shut, he muttered an expletive. He’d met his share of nasty people, but Dahlia’s agent wasn’t even subtle about it. Why would she keep a guy like that around?

It wasn’t just his demeanor. There were a lot of sharks in that business. It was more that Victor didn’t seem particularly good at his job, and he was bizarrely overprotective. Dahlia wasn’t an A-list client, but perhaps she was his only client. That would explain why he was so possessive.

Luke shook his head. Worrying about the woman’s acting career wasn’t part of his brief. He pulled out his phone to answer some emails until Dahlia joined him. He glanced up when he heard the door hinges squeak, and his breath caught in his chest.

Dahlia had changed into a summery, lemon-yellow dress with thin straps over each of her shoulders, highlighting the lean muscles in her arms. Her auburn hair had loosened, several thick tendrils teasing at her collarbones. She looked deliciously disheveled. Luke swallowed hard, and his body stirred to lifewhen her tongue slipped out to lick her full pink lips nervously. Luke ripped his eyes away, suddenly aware he was gaping at her.

Client. She’s a client.

“Victor left?”

“You told him to, didn’t you?”

An auburn eyebrow winged up. “He doesn’t always listen.”

“I got that impression,” Luke said dryly, as he took the hang-up bag she had draped over her arm, as well as her small tote. “Your next interview is at the Botanical Gardens?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“I’ll have my car pick us up out front, and Edgar can drop us.” He lifted his arm with the bag. “Do you need to change again?”

“No, this is a walk and talk, so just the one outfit. The photo shoot, to accompany the article, is scheduled for tomorrow. Today will be the initial interview and footage for their digital platform.”

The temperature had climbed considerably since they had entered the building. Luke steered her to a patch of shade cast by the tall building. “It shouldn’t be long. Edgar usually waits for me in a parking deck.”

Dahlia looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “What happened to your car?”

“Nothing. Parking downtown is a pain, and we have multiple stops today.”

“You don’t have to drive me. I got here on my own.”

“Carpooling is good for the environment.” He deadpanned.

“A lawyer with a conscience. What a surprise!”