Page 32 of The CEO I Hate (The Lockhart Brothers #1)

MIA

W alking up the drive to Liam’s Studio City mansion should have given me nervous butterflies.

I didn’t need the side-eye from the security guard at the community’s gate to realize that my old beater and I had no business in this place where people probably bathed in water sprinkled with gold flakes.

But I was in too good of a mood to overthink that. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day, and I had a beautiful man I’d been crushing on since I was fifteen waiting to fuck me into next week. Plus, I had some very good news to share.

Ellie freaking Park, the podcaster behind The Ink Spot , had invited me onto her show to talk about Heart and Hustle ’s upcoming limited print run.

After repeated requests from my readers—especially the ones I’d met at the convention—I’d decided to take a risk on a print run, and any chance to put the word out there could be a huge help in getting bookstores interested in stocking the book.

I couldn’t wait to tell Liam about the interview.

I plugged the access code into Liam’s front door and walked into the massive foyer, my footsteps echoing.

“Liam? ”

There was no answer.

I poked my head into the living room—one of the living rooms?—and the room I thought of as the library and the one that was an office but not his office.

“Liam?” I called again. He had to be home, we had dinner plans!

If this man had gotten sidetracked at the office, he was going to get a string of very grumpy emojis.

As I passed through the kitchen, I nearly tripped over a furry loaf passed out in front of the fridge.

“Ash?” He thumped his tail once without lifting his head.

I froze, staring down at him like I’d just discovered a bear living in the pantry.

What. The. Hell.

Liam had brought the dog here? Last time he’d mentioned Ash, he’d referred to him as a “liability with fur.” So why had he brought the dog home?

I stepped over him slowly, like if I made too much noise, I’d break whatever spell had allowed this crossover event to happen.

Splash!

I turned. The sliding glass door jutting off the kitchen was open. I followed it outside. Liam’s backyard was almost more impressive than his house. Sprawling greenery adorned the yard, massive palm trees and ferns sprouting up everywhere.

There was a stamped concrete deck, patio chairs that probably cost more than my car, a fancy gazebo with netting, and the pool—the freaking pool was gorgeous! Much like the man currently in the pool, apparently swimming laps. I watched Liam for a beat, wondering when he’d come up for air.

We’d planned a quiet dinner together so we could unwind after a busy week.

I knew he’d had a meeting today that he’d been stressed about, and judging by the way he was trying to punish the water with each stroke, things had not gone well.

My good mood deflated a bit. Maybe tonight wasn’t the night to tell him about the podcast—not when it looked like he had his own news to get off his chest. I crouched at the edge of the pool, wondering how to get his attention.

As he glided past me, his sleek muscles shimmering beneath the water’s surface, I wondered how often he swam to relieve stress.

I sat down and plopped my feet in the water, sending ripples across the surface.

It must have caused enough of a disturbance to grab his attention because he popped his head up, wiping water from his face as he shoved his brown locks back.

“You’re here,” he said, swimming over to me, the muscles in his arms flexing in a way that was very appealing.

“I’m here,” I said. “So is the dog, apparently.”

“He followed me to the parking lot. Figured if I didn’t bring him home, he’d just get run over.”

“Awfully kind of you.”

“I’m always kind.” He smirked, slowly swimming up to me, his hands going for my bare knees.

“Do not get me wet,” I warned.

His eyes lit up with challenge.

“If you splash me, Liam, I swear to God…”

“I was thinking there are other ways to get you wet. Ways I really don’t think you’d mind.

” He pressed a kiss to my knee, his lips icy despite the temperature of the water.

I shivered, running my hands through his wet hair.

He kissed one of my thighs before moving to the other. “I like these shorts.”

My barely there jean shorts. I liked them too, and I definitely liked the way he was looking at me .

“You okay?” I asked.

He stopped kissing me and sighed heavily. “Just…a long day.”

“Anything to do with that meeting you had?”

He floated back in the water, staring at the sky. I reached my foot out to touch his chest. He grabbed my leg and tugged gently.

“Don’t,” I warned. I did not feel like going for a swim.

“Get in here,” he said.

“Tell me about the meeting,” I replied. He was trying to avoid talking about it, but I wasn’t going to let him get away with that.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Paula and I met with Lyle Clemmens today.”

I nodded. I wasn’t an idiot. I’d seen that video of Lyle at the red carpet event—I’d been following #endinfire on every platform since getting hired for the writers’ room.

It was good to keep up with what the fans were talking about.

The feeds exploded after that interview.

Paula and Liam bringing him in for a meeting was an inevitability.

The only thing I didn’t know was what they’d decided. But I didn’t want to force him to tell me. I wanted him to want to tell me. The sex was great, but I wanted to be more to him than just a bed partner. I wanted to be his person . The one he could open up to.

My silence must have worked because he kept talking.

“Honestly, I wanted nothing to do with him, but Paula reminded me how it would look to the public if Lyle parted ways with the production again. He put us in a tough spot. He wanted the showrunner position back, but I put my foot down about that. Still, I couldn’t give him nothing , not without alienating the fans. ”

This, too, was something I’d considered. The show was Lyle’s baby. Of course, he’d want to be the one in charge of shaping the story. So what did that look like? What had he agreed to?

“In the end…” Liam blew out a breath. “I agreed to make him co-head writer.”

I blinked down at Liam in shock. “Co-head?”

“You have just as much say,” he hurried to assure me. “And we’re not discarding anything that’s already been filmed. I promise.”

“No, that’s not…” I huffed a humorless laugh. “I figured I’d be out of a job. I never thought we’d be sharing the role.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” he growled. “You’ve done a fantastic job so far. I wasn’t going to let him kick you out.”

“And he settled for that? Sharing the head writer position with an unknown? That’s enough for him?”

Liam shrugged. “There were a few other concessions I had to make. Money and credits and letting him bring in a couple more writers, though I made sure it wouldn’t outnumber the people already in the room.”

I wasn’t surprised by anything other than the fact Liam had made sure I retained my position. I smiled at him as he swam back over, wrapping his cold arms around my waist. Water seeped through my tank top, but I didn’t care.

“You’re not upset about it?” he asked.

Saying no would be a lie. There was a small part of me that was frustrated Lyle got to waltz back in after everything, but I understood how optics could destroy a show before it even got to air.

The future of End in Fire was literally in the hands of the fans.

And as aggravated as I was at what Lyle had done, I also understood what it was to protect something I loved .

It’s why I’d turned off commenting on Heart and Hustle when my ex had been trying to start a flame war.

There were about a million ways Lyle had handled this wrong, and I couldn’t help being annoyed at him for it, but I also couldn’t truly blame him for wanting to come back.

He felt invested in the show in a way I totally understood.

In all honesty, I was actually a little excited to see what he’d bring to the table. I’d loved season one, after all.

“I’m not upset at you,” I said, because that was at least true. And what other choice did I have? I wasn’t going to leave the show if I wasn’t fired.

“Good,” Liam grumbled against my thigh.

I stroked his hair. “It’s mostly the other writers I’m worried about.” Jerome and Kait and Tanya. “They’re going to have a tough time.”

“Paula’s already on it. We’ll make sure they’re supported,” he said. I ran my hands over his tense shoulders. Then I pressed a kiss to his head. With that conversation out of the way, Liam started to loosen up, and he flashed me a wicked grin. “I really think you should join me in the water.”

“I don’t have a suit,” I teased.

“You’ve got a birthday suit,” he said. “Here, let me show you.” He popped the button on my shorts, looking up at me, waiting for me to stop him.

I didn’t, my body immediately reacting to his touch. God, I wanted Liam to eat me out right here on the edge of the pool. Judging by that look in his eye, he could give me my wish if I asked nicely.

He leaned forward and tugged the zipper of my shorts down with his teeth, darting his tongue out to lick along my lower belly.

I shifted, lifting my hips enough to get the shorts down my legs, pulling them off so they wouldn’t get in the way of Liam touching me.

And he did, kissing me through my underwear.

I moaned, holding the back of his head.

He chuckled darkly. “Did you want something?”

“Just you,” I rasped. “Right there.”

Liam mouthed at me, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me to the edge of the pool.

This was straight out of a fantasy. I felt like I was living in a reality that didn’t exist. I moaned again, louder, ready to tear my underwear off so he could touch me exactly the way I wanted to be touched when?—

Buzzzzz!

I vaguely recognized the sound of someone at the gate. If you didn’t have the code, you had to wait to be buzzed in.

“That’s the food,” Liam said, stopping.

Stopping?

“Food?” I muttered. What food? I didn’t need to eat. I needed Liam to eat me . He wasn’t actually going to stop, was he?

He laughed at the look on my face, then moved along the pool’s edge, lifting himself out of the water, his muscles rippling as the water sluiced off him.

I groaned, my head dropping back, my eyes focused on the sky. I was going to combust. I wanted to combust. And this man wanted to meet the delivery driver?

“You should probably put your shorts back on,” he said.

My stomach flip-flopped. No. I wanted to leave them off. I wanted to take other things off. I wanted to lay spread out on that patio table while he fucked me senseless .

“Delivery driver’s waiting.”

Wait! He was making me go get the food? I stood up, jaw hanging open as I stepped back into my shorts, pulling them up my legs. I was more offended by this than him giving Lyle the co-head writer position.

“This is very rude of you.”

Liam pecked me on the lips. “I can’t go out there dripping wet.”

I grumbled at him under my breath about how he didn’t seem to mind sending me out there dripping wet. He just laughed and smacked my ass as I passed.

In a huff, I marched down to the gate to gather the food. Liam had ordered Thai—and I had to admit, it smelled divine. When I returned, I left the bags on the large kitchen island, because the man was going to damn well finish what he’d started before I let him near the pad thai.

When I stepped back onto the patio, I’d removed my tank top, standing there in a lacy little bra. It did the job, Liam’s eyes going wide as I announced, “Your dinner is served.”

“No, of course that’s not Mia—why would your sister be here?” Liam said. Only then did I realize he was on the phone.

I bit my lip. Shit . He was talking to Jake.

He turned away from me before he could see my face fall.

I understood Liam’s reasoning for hiding us from Jake.

I didn’t want to do anything to hurt my brother either, or to impede his recovery.

But it still stung to hear Liam deny it like that.

To hear him talk as if the idea of him and me was completely ludicrous.

I couldn’t help wondering if love would always be something that stung for me. Something that caused me pain. I certainly hadn’t had very good luck with it so far .

The call ended, and I shook off the thoughts, forcing a smile. Why was I stressing about all that? I should focus on the now. Be present. Enjoy this absolute smokeshow of a man who looked at me like I was a delicacy he was going to devour.

“Close one,” Liam said, setting his phone down. He came toward me, predator-like, but I caught his chest, halting him.

“Guess what?” I said.

“What?”

“I was invited onto The Ink Spot today to talk about Heart and Hustle .”

Liam’s eyes widened again. “That anime podcast you were talking about?”

“It’s more than just anime,” I laughed. “But yes. I’ve listened to the host for a long time, so I’m actually super pumped.”

Ellie had a niche-but-dedicated audience, and if all her listeners went to their local indie bookstores and asked them to stock the book, I might end up with some solid sales numbers.

Even though I was beyond thrilled with the work I was getting to do on End in Fire , Heart and Hustle would always be my baby, and I really wanted this printing to be a success.

“Mia,” he said. “That’s amazing!” He shifted from predatory to proud in a split second, wrapping me in a hug.

“Thanks,” I mumbled against his shoulder.

“I’m a little nervous about it, honestly.

” It felt like a big step as far as Heart and Hustle was concerned.

Making a good impression on the podcast would give my little story its best chance of succeeding in the offline world. But screwing it up could be disastrous.

“When is the interview?” he asked.

“In a few weeks. ”

“Would it help if I came along for moral support? Maybe I could help keep you from getting too up in your head. I could make faces at you or something while you answer questions,” he teased.

I laughed even as my heart swelled at his offer.

He wanted to be there to support me. “Actually, that would be amazing.” I leaned up to kiss him and didn’t stop.

Not as he stripped my clothes off or as he picked me up and carried me over to that deck table.

I only stopped to lie back so he could show me that he knew exactly how to finish what he’d started.