Boom - Sabrina Stark Page 0,44

a hard look. "Let's get one thing straight," he said. "The attic – it's off limits. And if you can't remember that, I don't care who the hell hired you, you'll be out faster than you can say Clara's Fucking Candies."

Jerk.

Okay yes, I saw his point about the attic. And he had every right to be angry. But that crack about the candy store was yet another low blow.

I coldly informed him, "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere near it."

Or you.

I didn't say that last part, because I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I was thinking of him at all.

But the sad truth was, it had felt achingly good to be held in his arms, to feel his heartbeat against mine, and to feel the proof of his arousal pressing against my hip.

All of this posed a dangerous question. What on Earth had happened up there?

As Brody turned and silently stalked away, I made a point to look in the opposite direction. But when I did, I spotted Waverly eying me from the nearest bedroom doorway.

Her posture was stiff, and her eyes were hard. From the look on her face, I wasn't the only one wondering what had happened up there.

Terrific.

Technically, my work day hadn't yet begun. But already, I was more exhausted than I cared to consider. Between the lack of sleep and raw nerves, I felt like finding a nice closet to hide in.

No such luck.

The thought had barely crossed my mind when Roy emerged from the attic, looking perfectly at ease, as if he hadn't just violated our privacy twice over – once by watching us with his own eyes, and a second time by filming us, too.

At least now, he was holding the camera loose at his side, which told me that he wasn't filming at the moment.

Thank God.

And yet, for some stupid reason, I almost felt like crying.

Judging from Roy's cheerful smile, he didn't feel like crying. No. Not him. With no trace of awkwardness, he said, "So…you ready to mow?"

I blinked. "What?"

"The lawn," he said. "I've got an idea – a way to solve the 'before' problem."

The before problem? Oh, that's right. I'd ruined their "before" footage by working on the yard.

Waverly said, "You mean her screw-up?"

I turned to glare at her. "Hey! Maybe I wouldn't've 'screwed up' if someone had told me not to mow it."

With a nasty smirk, she shot back, "We shouldn't have to tell you. Let's get real here. It's not exactly natural to go around mowing lawns that aren't your own."

On this, she might've had a point. But I was in no mood to be reasonable. I plastered on a smirk of my own. "Yeah. And it's not exactly 'natural' to shove a mower up someone's ass. But hey, I'm game if you are."

She drew back. "What's wrong with you, anyway?"

It was a good question. This wasn't me. I mean, yeah, I didn't like Waverly, and she'd been on my case from the get-go. But who was I kidding? I'd never shove a mower up anyone's ass.

As if the stupid thing would fit anyway.

I was just debating an apology when I happened to look to Roy.

Son-of-a-bitch.

He was filming me.

Again.

Already, it was like a nightmare that wouldn't end.

And later on that night, after a full day in front of Roy's persistent camera, the "fun" only continued.

Chapter 26

Arden

At the crew house, Waverly was standing just inside the front door, surrounded by at least a dozen suitcases. She looked to me and demanded, "Where's Brody?"

I was still marveling at the number of cases. Were they all hers? They must be, because they'd arrived at the same time she had.

And yet, she hadn't lugged in a single one herself. Instead, she'd left that dubious honor to Jerry, who'd had to make five trips out from the SUV.

Turns out, Jerry hadn't been kidding about that whole "gopher" description.

Now, unlike Waverly, he was gone, along with the SUV, which made me wonder what exactly Waverly would be doing for transportation.

The same thing as myself?

After all, I didn't have a car either, and I guess I was doing alright. For now, anyway.

Waverly sidestepped the largest suitcase and moved deeper into the living room. She glanced around and grimaced, as if the place wasn't living up to her lofty expectations.

Personally, I didn't see it that way. The house was nice. It was clean and furnished, with a modern kitchen and at least two decent bathrooms. When it came to bedrooms, I still knew