Page 6 of The Playboy

I begrudgingly push my chair back and get up, walking to Rose’s office. My heels are tapping on the tile floor as I march toward my impending doom. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and knock.

“Come in,” she replies coolly. She sees me standing in the doorway and smiles. It’s not warm and fuzzy at all, and I shrink back the tiniest amount. “I see good news travels fast.”

Does she already know?I give her a quizzical look, and she continues.

“I just received a call from Mr. Flanigan’s manager. It seems you have yourself a position as Tait’s personal assistant. I’m not sure I want to know how you managed to get that job, but don’t mess it up.”

I swallow hard past my nerves. “I won’t.”

* * *

“You promisehe’s fine with this?” I hand her a few Tylenol and a glass of water. She takes the pills and settles back into her bed.

“Yeah. Well, kinda. I told him and his manager, Rory, about the arrangement, and Rory said it will be fine. That’s good enough for me. I can’t do my job in the state I’m in, and I trust you. You’re a great secretary, and you will be a great PA. Just remember what he likes and to knock on his door before entering. He has a lot oflady friendshe likes to entertain.” She wiggles her eyebrows and smiles.

I roll my eyes. “Gross.”The last thing I want to be responsible for is picking up some tramp’s thongs!

We continue going over the checklist of items I need to bring to Vancouver with me. I’m lucky to have her, and I appreciate the opportunity she’s giving me, even if I’m nervous.

“Sam, you’re going to be fine. I wouldn’t have convinced them to take you on if I didn’t think you could handle it. Just stick with all the other PAs, and they will walk you through what to do. It’s really not that hard of a gig. The hardest part for you will be not sleeping with the actors.” She smirks, thinking of my last relationship.

“Hey, I don’t always sleep with them. Besides, Ben came on to me. I thought maybe I could help give him some acting lessons.” I chuckle.He really is a horrible actor; even worse than me and that’s not hard to beat.

“As long as you don’t sleep with Tait, I think you’re going to be fine. Fair warning though, that man is fine as hell and his accent makes girls want to drop their panties like they’re on fire. If you’re not careful, you might end up being his next victim.”

“You didn’t,” I state matter-of-factly.

She makes a face. “I’ve known him for too long. His charm doesn’t work on me.”

“Well, I’m not going to sleep with Tait. You don’t have to worry about that. Now, if it were Caleb or Bradley, it might be a different story. Good thing I’m not working for them.” I fan my face, feeling the blush creep up.

We catch up on all things new, and I laugh a lot as she tells me about how Caleb has been sulking around the set for the past month. She’s convinced it’s the about the girl he’s been seeing, Quinn.

It’s the same girl in the video that made its way around the internet the month before when Tait got punched.I couldn’t stop watching that video; it was like a train wreck. I actually started following Caleb on social media just so I could try to keep up with the gossip.

I tell her about my terrible idea of hooking up with Ben again one night after drinks and how he begged me to come back. She rolls her eyes and gives themomlook. Everyone knows the look. It’s when she looks at you with utter disappointment in her eyes, but she won’t say it.

At some point in the evening, Emily passes out from exhaustion. I tuck her in and head back to my room to finish packing everything. I make a small list of questions I want to ask her before my flight.

We complement each other well. Since she is gone for a few months at a time, we don’t drive each other too crazy. She’s one of the best though. If you need someone to help you move, clean, or bury a body, she’s got your back. That’s why I know she had my best interest at heart when she got me this job.

Finally, after I’ve done everything I can, I relax and pull out my tablet, searching for articles on Tait. I want to know a little bit about this guy before I work for him, and since Emily is in a coma-like state, I don’t want to ask her.Thank God for Google!

The first thing that pulls up is the video of him getting punched. I watch it again and shake my head. The woman, whom I presume is Quinn, steps outside and helps Tait to his feet and into the hotel. I wish I could hear what she was saying, but she isnothappy at all. I pull up a few more videos from different people to see if I can get a better grasp on what happened.I wonder what he did to deserve that?

Next, I review some new articles about him. Most of them are from different large magazines—Entertainment Weekly, Stan Magazine,andRolling Stones.They all ask him the same kinds of questions, and I skim over his answers which seem to be scripted. Then I come across a maid who talks about her encounter with Tait and sleeping with him. Her recount is very descriptive, and I feel my body flush as I read it. The gossip is he’s very good in bed.

I see my phone light up with a new text from Ben. I push out a breath and look at it.

Ben:When can I see you again? I have a lot I want to talk about with you.

Me:I’m leaving for a gig in Vancouver tomorrow morning. I’m not getting back together with you, so just drop it.

I wait and wait for a reply, but it never comes. I’m relieved, but a pang of guilt runs through me.This is what I want. He’s too controlling.Exhaustion hits in the end, and I crawl into bed.

My flight to Vancouver is at ten the next morning. I want to get to the hotel so I can scope everything out and familiarize myself with the area. Plus, Rory and I are meeting for dinner so we can review Tait’s schedule. I guess Tait isn’t filming for the next two days, so the timing works in my favor. My head hits the pillow, and I’m out like a light.

I would like to say I have a peaceful evening and sleep like a lamb, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. My dreams consist of haunting green eyes, a dark room, and a large bed. When I finally wake with the alarm, I am so hot and bothered I’m tempted to call Ben for a quickie.Where the hell did that come from?Must have been all the pictures of the sexy Irishman I was gawking at last night before I went to sleep.