Page 13 of The Boss I Can't Stand

“Okay, here’s the deal. I’ll hire Sierra if you agree to sign on for another production.”

X snorted. “We haven’t even finished this one.”

“But after we do…after we takeEvery Dayall the way to the Oscars, I want you here, working on our follow-up.”

X rubbed his chin, mulling it over for a moment. I knew he had other options, that he was always chasing his next creative vision, but what I was building here was important to me, and I wanted the best.

“Big budget?” X asked.

I nodded.

“And I get input on script selection?” X asked.

He could have input, but Hart of Gold would retain final say. “I’ll agree to that.”

X stuck out his hand. “I guess we have a deal.”

We sure did. And I might just have back-to-back Oscar contenders. For that, I’d be willing to put up with Sierra Banks.

“While we’re negotiating,” Zev said. “It might be wise to hire a historical consultant.”

“I already started to look into that,” I said. “I reached out to the author of the biography to see if they’d be interested in consulting, but they’re overseas working on another project.”

“Too bad we can’t get the author, but Idothink we need to find someone,” Zev said. “I’ve obviously done as much research as I can for the script, but I don’t want us to overlook something glaring. Nothing worse than finding out you’ve flubbed it when it’s too late to actually fix it.”

“I’ve got a list of other potential alternatives started.” I turned to Brenna where she sat with her notebook. “Add that to your tasks for tomorrow. I’ll send you the details later so you can start making calls.” I turned back to X. I wasn’t happy about this, but if Sierra was what it took to keep production moving forward, I’d deal with it. “All right, people. Let’s make a movie.”

6

FINN

Iflicked my pen against my desk repeatedly, getting more and more irritated as the minutes ticked by and my inbox remained empty. It had been hours since I’d emailed the offer to Sierra and still, no response.

Seriously, what kind of person didn’t check their emails after an interview? It was like she didn’t even want the damn job. I needed this contract signed, and I needed her in the workshop—actually working.

Screw it. I picked up my phone and dialed her number from her application. The phone clicked.

“Hello, you’ve reached Sierra Banks. I’m afraid I’m terribly busy giving expert consultations and can’t speak right now.”

I grimaced. No way in hell did her voicemail actually say that. I cleared my throat. “This is Finn Lockhart from Hart of Gold Produ?—”

“Eh!” she cried into the phone, making a horrible noise. “Time’s up!”

I blinked in disbelief as she hung up on me. How the hell did sherealize it was me? I’d never called her before. I flashed on me tossing my business card down on the table before I left.

The audacity! I couldn’t believe I was actually offering this woman a job. Could X not see how terrible working with her was going to be?

A flash of anger flared hot in my chest even as I struggled to shove aside the memory of the way she bit her lip when she was particularly focused. I stuffed down my frustration, redialing.

Sierra was a distraction I couldn’t afford. But I needed X. Hart of Gold could finally blossom into more than an action movie studio with his continued partnership.

Regardless of how much she aggravated me, I needed her.

The phone clicked. “Hey, this is Sierra. I can’t take your call right now because I’m busy shining my participation trophy from the LA Film Festival.” She hung up before I even got a word out.

I sucked in a deep breath that did little to calm me and redialed. “Do not hang up!” I said immediately. “I am trying to extend a job offer. If you’d check your ema?—”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate,” Sierra snarked. “I’m too busy being bored out of my mind watching anotherRun ’n’ Gunsequel.” Beep. Call ended.