Page 33 of The CEO I Hate (The Lockhart Brothers #1)

MIA

H oly shit , I thought, walking into the writers’ room Monday morning. I froze just past the doorway, my feet locking in place as my gaze darted straight across the room to the man standing by the whiteboard, chatting Kait up.

Damien Alverez—my former screenwriting professor and mentor from college. The one who’d taken me under his wing before screwing me over.

What the hell was he doing here?

“So,” Jerome said, coming to stand beside me, arms crossed, his jaw tight. I’d never seen him look so pissed. “Lyle’s brought reinforcements.”

“Only two,” I said, barely getting the words out. Damien touched Kait’s elbow, laughing that obnoxiously fake laugh he used to use on me, and I gritted my teeth. He was the same smooth-talking asshole he’d always been, and I needed to get Kait far, far away from him.

“Wish Paula had put that in the group chat.”

As Liam had promised, Paula had given the writers a heads-up about Lyle to prevent a complete meltdown this morning. It worked, mostly. Though Tanya sat at the end of the table, clicking her pen and glaring at everyone. Okay, so maybe she was still processing.

I could relate. Just as they were struggling to deal with having to face Lyle again, I was struggling to acknowledge the man standing in front of me. I hadn’t seen Damien for years, but laying eyes on him again was like being doused in a bucket of ice water—unpleasantly shocking.

Jerome bumped my shoulder, inclining his head in Damien’s direction. “You look like you know him. What’s his story?”

“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 the whole story, 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, that I was 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, you can’t .”

He snorted. “Why exactly is that?”

“Because you’d be retconning the first half of the season which is almost completely filmed,” I said. “Is that what you want? To have the fans think you came in here and completely dropped the ball?”

It was like the oxygen had been sucked from the room.

The others held their breaths, waiting to see if this would turn explosive, but I held firm.

I knew Lyle cared about how he was perceived by the fans.

I could tell that just from the interview I’d watched.

So if that was the move I had to play to get him to play ball, then I would.

I snatched the torn cue card from his hand, taping the halves back to the board.

“Fine,” he said, tearing another card down. “But the silo fire has to go. I have something else planned for the midseason setpiece.”

I heard a sharp sound and looked down the table to Tanya.

She was already working hard on that episode.

She’d been so stoked to write it, to finally get her silo fire.

Even Ash stirred at that, lifting his head and letting out a confused little chuff like he could feel the tension shift.

I waited for Paula or Liam to pipe up, but no one said anything.

The energy of the whole damn room had been stifled the moment Lyle walked through the door.

“Again, we’ve set that up with what’s already been filmed,” I told Lyle as frustration pulsed in my temples. “It’s too late to make that kind of switch. The season is plotted. You’re welcome to make minor changes, but?—”

“Minor?” He started laughing. “Oh no. The silo fire is out. ”

I turned back to the table. Really? Was no one going to say anything?

Jerome, Kait, and Tanya had been rendered silent.

Paula rubbed at the bridge of her nose beneath her glasses.

Lyle’s two cronies were scribbling notes, but Liam…

He had to do something! I locked eyes with him and inclined my head toward the door.

“Let’s take five,” he said. I left the room, and he followed me out to the hall.

“What’s wrong?” he said, keeping his voice low.

What’s wrong? I wanted to shout. So many things!

My biggest issue was the fact that he’d let Lyle bring Damien along as one of his toadies, but I reminded myself that was my issue, and I couldn’t let it become a big deal.

It wasn’t like Liam could have known any better.

But the fact that Lyle was steamrolling the writers’ room, resulting in Jerome, Kait, and Tanya instantly becoming shells of themselves, was a problem he should be able to recognize at a glance.

So why wasn’t he doing anything about it?

“Mia—”

“Isn’t there something you can do about Lyle? He’s completely ignoring what we’ve already put in place. The silo fire? The crew’s already prepping that big scene.”

Liam rubbed at his jaw. “I…think we have to hear him out.”

“Hear him out?”

“Maybe he does have a better idea.”

I cocked my head. “Really?”

“If I put my foot down too hard right out of the gate,” Liam said, “I’m worried Lyle will storm out again, kicking off another scandal. All he has to do is stir up a little bad press, and it could tank season two. I can’t let that happen. ”

“I thought you said you’d made it clear to Lyle that we weren’t going to refilm any of the episodes that were already finished. That’s four of the ten. Midseason is supposed to be next. Tanya almost has the script locked.”

“I agree that whatever he comes up with is going to have to work with what’s already filmed,” Liam said. “But the silo…hasn’t been filmed yet.”

“You’re saying you’re gonna let him scrap that?” I said, frustration and fury and a giant helping of disappointment taking up room in my chest.

“I said we’d hear him out,” Liam corrected.

“Which means you’re giving him the go-ahead to make whatever changes he wants as long as everything makes sense, right? That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

Liam huffed. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but he’s the co-head writer. If he wants to change elements, rewrite scripts, go in different directions…he has a right to pitch those ideas to the room. To challenge what you’ve got planned for the rest of the season.”

I nodded slowly, absorbing his words, trying not to take it personally.

And failing. Failing miserably. Because it was personal.

I’d come in when the show was floundering and gotten it back on its feet again.

And now, it felt like everything I’d accomplished was being taken away.

Lyle had manipulated this room once before, and he was gearing up to do it again. I huffed in frustration.

“Does that make sense?” he asked, his voice brusque. He was clearly ready to be done with this conversation.

“Yep,” I said, snapping the P .

There was a pause, then “You okay?” he asked, his voice slightly softer.

That was a question asked not by CEO Liam but by my Liam. The one I wanted to be comforted by. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask for comfort when I was pissed at him. And truthfully, I was pissed.

I knew he had to make tough decisions in his position, and that bringing Lyle back had been the toughest of all. I understood we had to work with Lyle for the good of the show, which required compromise, but I still couldn’t help feeling betrayed that Liam hadn’t said a word to support me.

“We should go in,” I said. “They’re waiting for us.”

Liam nodded and turned for the door. I swallowed down my emotions before following, not willing to let him see how foolish I felt for having believed he’d have my back.