The Has-Been and the Hot Mess - Isabel Jordan Page 0,53
some stupid job. The only reason I ever had a shot at it to begin with was because of you. And I’m certainly not going to work with that douchebag. Not ever. I’ll just write the music I wanted to write for the movie, and maybe I’ll release it as a solo album or something.” He shrugged. “No big deal.”
She sputtered. “It’s a very big deal, Jackson! I can’t be the reason you lose your dream job.”
He squeezed her hand. “It’s only a job.”
She looked down at their joined hands and swallowed hard. “Kyle says that you wouldn’t have to work with him. You could work with any one of his agents. He actually has some really good ones, and I could set you up with one of them. And you’d be working with one of his PR managers from that point on. That would ensure you got the job.”
He gently tipped his head down to look her in the eye. “Why does it sound like that’s what you want me to do?”
“It’s the only way you’ll get the job.”
“And I’ve already said that I won’t throw you under the bus to get that job, or any other job. You’ve done too much to get me here. I’m not going to let someone else take credit for everything you did.”
Her lower lip trembled a little, and he wanted more than anything to kiss her. But the look in her eyes stopped him. She looked fragile. Breakable. Like if he moved too fast, she’d shatter into a million pieces.
“There’s more,” she said. “He made it clear that while you’re a client of his agency, we can’t be together.”
Well, that settled it. Kyle had to die. But he couldn’t do it himself. He’d probably get caught and then Kendall would be left with the resulting PR mess. Professional hitman? Maybe.
But that was a problem for another day.
This time he couldn’t stop himself. He kissed her. Hooked a hand around the nape of her neck, yanked her up against his chest, and kissed the hell out of her. She tasted like tears and kissed him back with a desperation that was scary as hell.
When they broke apart, gasping for air, he laid his cheek against hers. “I’m not going to let your asshole ex keep us apart,” he whispered in her ear. “He can take the job and shove it up his ass.”
She pulled back and impatiently swiped at her red eyes. “I can’t let you walk away from this. Not for me.”
Why was she still crying? Where the hell was she going with this? “If it means I can’t have you, then I don’t want it.”
Kendall stood up and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. He could almost see the walls she was quickly erecting all around her. “Look, if you pass on this opportunity because of me, you’ll eventually start to resent me. I can’t let that happen.”
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. What she was saying was just that ridiculous. “I’m not going to just let you go because you have some crazy notion that I’ll resent you someday over some lost job. What kind of bullshit is that? I’m making a choice here. I choose not to give in to the demands of an emotional terrorist. I’m not going to abandon the woman I love for a stupid job.”
She flinched at the word “love.” He hadn’t even meant to just blurt it out like that, but this whole situation was seriously pissing him off, and when he was pissed off, the filter between his brain and mouth short circuited.
“Jackson,” she said on a long, shaky sigh. “My romantic track record is complete crap. I’ve gone from one shitty relationship to another my whole life—and each time, I never saw how awful my judgment was.”
He stood up, too, crowding into her space. “Are you trying to tell me I’m just another example of your shitty judgment? That what we have is no different than what you had with motherfucking Kyle?”
She threw her hands up in frustration. “How am I supposed to know? You’re a client, I know that. I never should’ve had sex with a client. That was bad judgment. And letting you walk away from a career-making opportunity because of a brand new relationship with someone like me?” She shook her head. “That sounds wrong on just about every level.”
“I don’t fucking care,” he said, his voice rising right along with his temper. “I get that you don’t