of the steps, leaning against the doorjamb in a henley and jeans, hands in his pockets and a devastating smile on his face. When I waved, he lifted a hand.
He didn’t go inside until after I was long gone.
The drive was long enough to brew swampy heat in my palms, but not long enough to prepare me, not with my nerves climbing. I couldn’t go over my notes anymore, couldn’t know them any better. There was nothing to plan, nothing to rehearse.
I just had to get in there and do the damn thing and hope to God I could sway her.
The office was frenetic as usual, a bustling beehive buzzing with energy that ratcheted my anxiety with every step. I was waved in by her secretary, and when the door opened, there Janessa sat on her throne, ready to pass judgment with nothing more than the flick of her wrist.
“Hello, Amelia,” she said warmly. “I’m glad you found time in your busy schedule to check in.” The hint of sarcasm was almost undetectable, leaving me wondering if I’d imagined it.
“I’m sorry. We’ve just been tied up,” I started as I sat, setting my bag down.
“Oh, I’m sure you have.”
Okay, no, that sarcasm was there, alive and sneering. My heart lurched once, slamming against my breastbone.
“Look at you,” she said with a touch of condescension. “Don’t you look lovely? I barely recognize you these days.”
The jab glanced off me, and I smiled like I did in front of the cameras when I was afraid. “Hair and makeup—that’s all.” I reached into my bag for the stack of proposals, eager to do what needed to be done so I could get the hell out of there. “I’ve done a lot of work to get you some options on the article, and I think I’ve got a couple of really strong angles.”
“I’m interested to see what you’ve come up with.”
She didn’t seem interested. She seemed predatory.
I ignored the thought and passed the stack across her desk. She flipped through them, her face closed off and locked up tight. And I waited, my confidence slipping. A clock ticked from somewhere in the room. I resisted the urge to locate it so I could stare it into shutting up.
“I’m impressed by your effort,” she said with a pause, which I filled with a smile and a flash of relief.
“Thank you. I really thought maybe the rundown of Tommy’s famous girlfriends would be a good one, coupled with the girls he’s stood up for. He’s just so protective over the people he loves—”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She flipped through them again, shaking her head. “They’re still editorials, Amelia. This isn’t what I asked for.”
Janessa set the papers down, folding her hands on top of them. Her eyes were steely, her back painfully straight and shoulders square.
“These aren’t good enough,” she said flatly. “We’ve already got the material for your fake relationship. I want to know about all the rest.”
A fire ignited in my chest that climbed across my skin, up my neck, bursting on my cheeks. “I can’t disclose that, and he can’t either. Do you realize what kind of legal trouble he’d be in?”
Her lips, which had been flat and determined, curled in a wicked smile. “I knew it was true, but to hear it from the source is more satisfying than I thought it would be.”
Fear, cold and sharp, dragged a painful line down my middle. “You can’t do this, Janessa. I won’t do this.”
One of her brows rose in amused challenge. “Won’t you?” Her eyes hardened to flint. “I knew you weren’t cut out for this job the second you walked through the door. But you were somehow the woman he chose to play the lead in his big charade. This story landed in my lap, and I’m not about to lose it. So I’d like to remind you of a few things you seem to have forgotten. Not only do I have the power to get you the job you want, but I have the power to ensure you never get that job. I have another reporter—one with more ambition and fewer scruples than you—who’s got a piece ready and waiting for me to publish. I assure you, it isn’t flattering. Not for Tommy or for you.”
The band on my lungs tightened. There wasn’t enough air. “Vivienne.”
She smiled, a smug twist of her lips. “So, what will it be, Amelia? Do you still think you can have your cake and eat it?”
I looked