TAMING HOLLYWOOD'S BADDEST BO- Max Monroe Page 0,80
good.”
“There is so much you missed while you were gone.”
I kind of want to slap him, but does it really matter when this is literally the last team meeting I’ll ever attend? Probably not.
“Guess I’ll have to work extra hard today to get caught up.” Or, you know, clean out my desk.
“It’s probably going to take you at least two or three days to get caught up.”
Internally, I roll my eyes. But externally, I force another smile to my lips. “I work pretty fast, so I’m sure I’ll manage. But thanks for the update, Chuck.”
“Did you just call me Chuck?”
“Isn’t that your nickname?”
“No,” he says, and his face turns up like he just ate a lemon. “It’s not.”
“Oh, for some reason, I thought you went by Chuck.”
I’ve worked with him for the past year and not once has he ever gone by Chuck, but hell, I can’t stop myself from screwing with him. I need it, actually. Otherwise, I’ll just be sitting here mentally freaking out over Serena’s arrival.
“Are you sure you’ve never gone by Chuck?”
“Yes,” he answers, and his tone rises with irritation. “I never go by that.”
“Well, maybe you should?” I toss out because I’m an avoiding asshole. “It’s catchy. And much shorter and easier to say than Charles.”
“I don’t want to go by Chuck.”
“Okay, Chuck.”
He raises a brow. “Not Chuck, but Charles.”
“That’s what I said.”
“You said Chuck.”
“I did? I said Chuck?”
He narrows his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Oh, sorry about that. I guess I just see you as more of a Chuck than a Charles, you know? Oh well, I guess I’ll stick with Charles, even though I think Chuck is better.”
He opens his mouth to respond but quickly shuts it when the rest of the team, followed by Serena, steps through the door.
“Good morning. Good morning,” Serena greets us. “How is everyone today?” she asks, and I can’t look away from the giant smile etched across her lips.
Good Lord, is she this happy to fire me?
Everyone offers up how things are going and settles into their seats for the meeting.
Serena is still smiling like a loon, and when her eyes meet mine, I grip the armrests of my leather chair for support. Here we go. Brace for impact…
“Well, Billie,” she says, still fucking smiling. “I don’t know how you did it, but you did it.”
Did what?
Ruined everything?
Lost my job?
Lied about knowing Luca Weaver?
The list of my crimes is kind of long these days.
“Uh…”
Her smile grows. “I don’t know how you got Luca Weaver, but hell, Billie, you fucking did it.”
Wait…what?
Serena looks at the rest of the team. “I pushed back today’s team meeting because I had another meeting. A conference call with Mr. Weaver himself. And I’m excited to tell you, he’s interested in doing Espionage. He’ll be on a plane tomorrow to come to LA.”
Brakes squeal to a stop inside my brain.
Hold. The. Fucking. Phone. Luca Weaver is coming to LA?
My heart starts pounding wildly in my chest.
He is freaking coming to LA, and he wants to do the movie?
Charles looks like he ate a lemon again.
And the rest of the team celebrates with high fives and shit.
“Don’t get too excited. We still need him to sign the contract and get the studio on board with our male lead,” Serena updates and looks at me. “But great job, Billie.”
Holy fucking shit.
Great job, Billie?
I came to this team meeting expecting to get fired, but now, I’m receiving fucking accolades on something I didn’t even do?
My head spins like a goddamn record as I try to recount the steps that led me here.
The last time I talked to Luca Weaver, it ended in goodbye.
But now, he’s coming to LA and he wants to work on Espionage with Serena?
What the fuck?
Did someone hit me over the head with a freaking two-by-four?
Have I suffered a concussion that causes memory loss?
Because that’s exactly how I feel right now.
All the information Serena gave during our team meeting two hours ago has my mind reeling. A persistent throb develops just below my hairline, and I decide to head out of the office for lunch.
Only, I’m too overwhelmed to eat.
So, instead, I pace the parking lot like a crazy person.
Hopefully, my coworkers will just think all that fresh Alaskan air has turned me into some kind of fitness enthusiast and I will now spend my lunch breaks doing cardio.
Tomorrow, Luca will be here, in LA, the one city he said he would never step foot in again.
Yet, when I left his cabin, he was fucking adamant