Page 36 of The CEO I Hate (The Lockhart Brothers #1)

LIAM

“ D on’t drive so fast,” Mia said. “I don’t want to be too early.”

“You were the one who practically pushed me out the door, saying you didn’t want to be late,” I said, weaving through the traffic on the freeway.

The drive to The Sound Station, a podcast studio in West Hollywood, shouldn’t have been more than twenty minutes…

on a normal day, with no construction or traffic. Naturally, we had both today.

Mia picked at her fingernails, then ran her hands over her thighs, smoothing out the lines of her skirt. She’d been talking about Ellie Park and The Ink Spot for two days straight, reviewing old podcast episodes and practicing potential answers to questions. Now she was tight-lipped.

“Nervous?” I asked, glancing in her direction briefly.

“Nope,” she said far too quickly.

“Mia,” I said softly, reaching for her hand before she could start pulling at her hair. I caught it, threading our fingers together. She was adorably nervous. She’d been picking at herself and primping all morning. “You look amazing, and you’re going to be brilliant.”

“You have to say that,” she said, trying to fight off a smile. “It’s in the boyfriend handbook or whatever.”

“My copy must still be in the mail,” I said, releasing her hand to take the Sunset Boulevard exit. “And I don’t have to say anything.” Someone cut in front of me, and I laid on the horn until I was certain the driver realized he was an obnoxious asshole.

Mia sucked in a sharp breath.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” I said, aiming for reassuring.

“But what if she doesn’t like me?” Mia blurted. “Or what if she doesn’t like Heart and Hustle ?”

“I don’t think she would have invited you onto the show if she didn’t like your work,” I pointed out. “Why would she waste an entire episode on something she didn’t believe in?”

“But what if?—”

“No,” I said, maybe a little louder than I’d intended, judging by the way Mia jumped in her seat.

I just hated to hear her doubt herself—her talent and dedication and commitment.

She’d been working her ass off to market the print run, to hype it up, to make sure it got into the hands of readers who would love her story.

“Ellie Park would have to be a literal moron not to enjoy Heart and Hustle ,” I growled. “Okay? It’s amazing. You’re amazing. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together will see how good it is.”

The corner of Mia’s mouth twitched.

“And!” I continued, “Since Ellie Park had the good sense to book you in the first place, she clearly has at least that many brain cells. You have nothing to worry about.” I grabbed her hand again, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

So maybe I’d missed the mark on warm and fuzzy when it came to encouragement, but hopefully she understood how rock-solid my belief in her was.

“Thanks,” she said after a beat, the words so soft I almost missed them. “You really mean all that, huh?”

“ Mia! ” I grumbled under my breath.

“Okay,” she said, laughing a bit. “ Okay .” She smiled in my direction, perhaps a little more assured, but the way she drummed her fingers along her thigh told me there were lingering nerves.

I put my hand over hers, my pinky brushing the soft skin where her skirt ended, and I heard her sharp intake of breath.

A grin curled across my face as I spotted the parking garage. I let my fingers drift up her leg. I was barely an inch past her hemline, but she groaned.

“ Liam… ”

“Yes?” I asked, all faux innocence.

“Knock it off.”

“I’m not the one parting my legs,” I said as she gave me more access. I could feel the heat of her as I inched up her thigh. “What are you doing?”

She made a noise, something between a groan, a whine, and a growl. I squeezed her thigh, and her hand finally caught mine, putting an end to my fun.

“You know, if I can’t talk you out of your nerves,” I pointed out. “I might be able to distract you from them.”

“We can’t,” she said .

I pulled my hand away and turned into the parking garage just south of The Sound Station. “We definitely could,” I said, racing up and up, looking for a spot.

“Someone might see,” Mia said.

My heart lurched in my chest and my pulse started racing—because that wasn’t a no. I needed to find a damn parking spot. Now. Preferably a nice, isolated little space.

“Do you want me to take your mind off your nerves?” I asked, eyeballing the perfect spot. I rolled the car to a stop, the Porsche purring beneath me.

She reached out, taking my hand and putting it back on her thigh. “What if someone sees?”

“The windows are tinted,” I said, giving her a wicked grin. “Do you think some security guard is going to walk around and tap on the window? That only happens in the movies.”

Mia’s chest heaved as my fingertips brushed along her underwear. Her eyes fluttered closed, her dark lashes brushing her cheeks. God, she was gorgeous.

“Tell me what you want,” I said.

She reached out, surprising me, and grabbed the bulge in my pants, squeezing my erection. “You,” she said.

A smug smile stretched across my face as I threw my seat back as far as it would go.

“Ask and you shall receive,” I said, gesturing to my lap.

Without another word, Mia scrambled across the car, climbing on top of me.

I slid my hands up the backs of her thighs, kneading her ass as she wriggled into place, straddling me.

She lowered her head to kiss me .

I nipped at her ear. “You’re going to be so good,” I rasped. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she moaned, grinding down against me.

“And when I’m done making you come, you’re going to go in there and kick podcast ass.”

At least twelve different podcasts operated out of The Sound Station building, so it took us a minute to find the right floor.

But the moment we exited the elevator, the large neon logo of The Ink Spot greeted us.

The space was small, but comfortable, with a lounge area, two offices, and a dedicated recording room.

Ellie Park—an eclectic mix of styles with her lavender hair, graphic tees, bold makeup, and her Hello Kitty stiletto nails—came out to greet us, shaking Mia’s hand first, then mine.

Ellie was bubbly and chatty, making Mia laugh.

I immediately felt at ease, able to see that Mia was going to be just fine.

Jenn, Ellie’s producer, popped out of her office a moment later.

If Ellie’s style was noisy, then Jenn’s was quiet.

She wore jeans and a blazer and, frankly, looked a little tired.

“Sorry,” she said after introducing herself. “Deadlines.”

I could relate.

Ellie flicked her head in the direction of the recording space. “I’ll take you through if you’re ready?”

“Sure,” Mia said. “Let’s get started.”

The two of them disappeared together. As the door opened, I spotted a large table and an array of recording equipment, including two large mics .

“You wanna grab a seat in here with me?” Jenn asked, gesturing to her office. “That way we can watch the recording.”

“That’d be great,” I said, following her. Inside the office, there was a small leather couch, a couple chairs, and several monitors set up on a narrow desk, each screen hosting different content. There was also paperwork. Everywhere.

“Feel free to sit…wherever,” she said, laughing sheepishly.

I cleared some papers off the chair closest to the window that looked into the recording room. Mia and Ellie had set themselves up at opposite ends of the table.

“Jenn, you getting this?” Ellie said into her mic.

Jenn queued a few things up on her computer. She gave Ellie a thumbs-up through the window.

“Mia, you want to give us a little one, two, three test?” Ellie said.

“Um, sure,” Mia said awkwardly into the mic. “Hello?”

Jenn gave them a double thumbs-up. And just like that, the interview started. Podcasts were apparently a very efficient business. I was impressed with how seamlessly Ellie jumped into character. Maybe there was a market there for Nexus Media to explore.

“We want to welcome Mia Collins to the podcast today,” Ellie said.

“Thank you,” Mia replied. “I am very excited to be here.”

“So, let me make sure I have this right,” Ellie said. “You’re currently working in the writers’ room for VeriTV’s hit show End in Fire ?”

“Yep,” Mia said.

“And you’re also the creator of the viral webcomic Heart and Hustle . When do you have the time? ”

Mia laughed. “I’ve just given up on sleep.”

“Well, you’d never know it, because girl, you are glowing.”

“Aw, thanks,” Mia said, flushing, her eyes darting over to meet mine. I winked, and her flush darkened.

“On today’s episode of The Ink Spot ,” Ellie said, “we’re going to dive into Mia’s on-page journey and let her tell you all about the creation of her webcomic. But first, let’s hear from one of our sponsors.”

Everything went quiet. Mia glanced at me through the window and gave me a little wave. I grinned back at her as Jenn gave Ellie a silent countdown through the window.

“Okay,” Ellie said. “Let’s start at the very beginning. Where did you pull the inspiration for Heart and Hustle ?”

“Well…” Mia began, giving Ellie the rundown.

They chatted about her life, her love of drawing and storytelling, her difficulties following her dreams and wanting to capture that experience to share with her young audiences.

It was all information I’d heard before, but watching her tell it again here, I felt sure there was some kid out there who would hear Mia and follow their own dreams because of it.

“And what audience are you hoping to reach with this print run?” Ellie asked.

“Well, of course I’m hoping to reach the established fans, anyone who wants to own a physical copy of this story.

I’ve included some easter eggs and extra fun things for those who have been around from the beginning.

But I’m also hoping that this cast of characters finds new readers.

That the story keeps being fun and relatable and inspiring to people of all ages.

It might be set in a high school, but I think the messages are ones we can all relate to, no matter how old we are: identity and belonging and following your dreams. ”

Mia was knocking it out of the park with her answers. I took a beat to really appreciate how amazing she was. I couldn’t believe she’d ever doubted herself or her work. Mia caught my eye through the window again, and we traded smiles.

My phone started buzzing in my pocket. Paula . “Just gonna grab this,” I whispered to Jenn, taking the call into the lobby. I stepped out and closed the door behind me.

“You need to get down here,” Paula said as soon as I answered.

My skin prickled uneasily. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re being told the filming location wasn’t cleared with the proper authorities. They want to halt production.”

“What do you mean?” I snapped. “We had those permits filed weeks ago.”

“The director’s trying to sort it out, but no dice,” Paula said. “I think there was a mix-up when Lyle swapped the midseason finale episode away from the silo fire. I don’t think anyone ever went back to sort the permits again.”

Fuck . How the hell had we overlooked that? I let out a strangled breath.

What was the fastest fix here?

I racked my brain for how to deal with the problem. Technically, I could delegate the work to a location manager, maybe a production coordinator, but Paula had called me because we both knew it would be faster if I did it myself. I knew these people.

You got friendly with the LAPD and LAFD when you needed streets cleared or fires set.

I’d worked with them for years, cutting through that special brand of red production tape.

If anyone was going to smooth this over while the paperwork was being sorted, it was me. But that meant I needed to go. Now.

“Be there as soon as I can,” I said, hanging up with Paula. I jumped on the phone with Carl. “I’m gonna text you an address. Can you have a car service here within the hour?”

“Sure thing,” Carl said.

I hung up and ducked back into the producer’s office. “Can I borrow a piece of paper and a pen?”

Jenn handed me a small white board. “Will this work?”

“Perfect.” I scribbled my message in black dry-erase marker, holding it up to the window for Mia to see. END IN FIRE—URGENT. HAVE TO GO. CAR FOR YOU DOWNSTAIRS.

Mia’s face fell as she read it.

I shrugged a bit at the look on her face, erasing the message and handing the board back to Jenn.

I knew Mia was disappointed now—but I was also sure that once I explained later, she’d understand.

We both wanted what was best for the show, and losing out on an entire day of filming over some missing paperwork would throw off the entire production schedule.

When I glanced back at Mia, she’d recovered, nodding in my direction. There, see? She understood.

She always did.