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Chapter Two

Lots of planning sessions to ensure we’re set for our first day of shooting. Tamara and Reid made it into the city yesterday. Will be good to see Reid again. On a personal note, my daughter asked me to keep an eye on Tamara. Something about her being “a giant stress bag.” Not sure what that means. No doubt I’ll find out.

Production Notes, Brian Merrick, Director

I loved coffee. Well, I loved good coffee. I certainly wouldn’t call the sludge currently inhabiting my borrowed kitchen mug coffee, let alone good. I was fairly certain that the brown goop was sentient, sizing me up to see if it could win the war for its alien masters. This was apparently the best Reality Life had to offer.

A bunch of people I didn’t recognize were milling around the boardroom that the overly perky receptionist led me to. No one paid me much attention. No one approached to introduce themselves upon my arrival. No shy smiles. Nada.

Fine. I was well practiced in handling myself in these situations. I sipped my coffee-flavored sludge and held the gaze of anyone foolish enough to look my way. Within minutes I’d accepted my bubble of solitude, though I was anxious to get this meeting over with so I could get back to my proposal.

Deep masculine laughter drew my attention to the door. Reid entered first, looking back over his shoulder as he spoke to the director and another man. My breath caught and I clutched my coffee mug tighter when Reid turned and his gaze landed on mine. There was a light in his eyes that I hadn’t remembered seeing before. My stomach did a little flip.

The smile on Reid’s face didn’t falter, nor did he stop his conversation with the others. He continued forward until he was only a few feet away from me. “I had to run out of the house naked with nothing but a dish towel to cover my junk.”

The men laughed. Shit, he was still telling that story. I didn’t need to hear anything more than that as I’d been the cause of his nakedness in the first place. I’d inadvertently been the reason it was necessary for him to flee, as well. Who knew the dog we were dog-sitting had a love of honey. My face flushed hot as the men caught sight of me. I hoped he hadn’t used names....

“Tamara!” Brian Merrick, the show’s director and Sophia’s father, came up and caught me in a bear hug. Brian wasn’t a tall man, but his arms were strong and held tight. “I’m so glad you agreed to be a part of this.” He gave my arm another gentle squeeze before stepping back. He looked tired as he pushed his salt-and-pepper hair away from his face. “Sophia told me you weren’t keen on being the one on camera.”

Reid came up behind Brian and I had no place to hide from his intense stare.

“It made more sense for me to be here than her.” I broke free from his grip and stepped back. “That way she can keep the ball rolling with our current clients while I do the show and pitch for a new contract.”

“I love Sophia, but I can’t picture her in a boardroom.” Brian shifted so Reid naturally became part of the group. “You need to meet her, Reid. My daughter is a firecracker.”

“Yes, I do.” Reid gave me a sideways glance. He had in fact met Sophia when we’d first started dating. He was still pretending we were strangers.

“This is Tamara Foles, one of our judges and my daughter’s best friend. Tamara, this is Reid Jacobs, my assistant director.”

Reid gave me that sexy smirk that he’d perfected back in university and held out his hand. “We met on the plane.”

It would have been weird not to accept his handshake, so I gave him a hard squeeze that left no room for misinterpretation of how I wanted our relationship to go—nice and professional. “We did.”

“Fantastic.” Brian clapped Reid on the shoulder. “Tamara will be the one keeping us all in line if our last show together was any indication.”

Straightening, I slipped into businesswoman mode and focused my attention on Brian. “Speaking of keeping things in line. After this meeting I have to run upstairs to meet with Charles Warner from facilities. We are in the process of competing for a design contract for Reality Life and I wanted to introduce myself before the official pitches started.”

He smiled at me as someone called his name from across the room. “I have no doubt you’ll nail it. I’m sorry, but I have to go say hi to Cam. Excuse me.”

Brian crossed the room, leaving me alone with Reid.

Shit.

Straightening my back, I looked over his shoulder at the growing group. “Seems like a good group. Have you been to many of these meetings before?”

“A few. This is my first time as assistant director, though.” He cocked his head to the side and I could feel his gaze on my face. “You seem annoyed.”

Freaked out. Confused. Horny. “I’m not annoyed. Just...I wasn’t expecting you here.”

“And you hate not knowing things.” There wasn’t the bitterness there could have been in his tone. He held my gaze, reached out and brushed his fingers along the back of my hand. “For what it’s worth, it wasn’t my intention to blindside you. I didn’t think we’d meet until today.”

Reid might have been many things—a prankster, moody, uncommunicative—but he was never cruel. “There’s not much we can do about it now,” I said. “I’m fine working with you if you are with me.”

“I’ve changed since we last saw each other. Worked a few things out.” He leaned close so I could feel his breath on my cheek. “I’m looking forward to working closely with you.”

Holy shit. My pussy tingled in response to his sensual tone. Reid really had changed from the last time we’d been together. He was far calmer than I remembered, and far more confident.

He wasn’t going to be an easy man to ignore.

I cleared my throat and couldn’t stop from inching back.

Reid’s lips twitched into a quick smile. “Are you taking some personal time while you’re here?”

The question threw me for a loop. “I doubt it. I’ll be too busy with the show and my proposal.”

“You can’t work all the time. Maybe we can check a few places out together if you want.”

God, I couldn’t let this happen. My time with Reid had been confusing at best. When I’d walked away from him I’d promised myself I wouldn’t let myself get that wrapped up in anyone again, that I wouldn’t lose myself in another person the way I had with him. Better to treat Reid the same way I treated everyone else on the show, with professional detachment. That way I was sure to get everything done that I’d set out to accomplish, without ruffling any feathers. It had worked on Impact Load, our first reality show, and I knew it would work here.

“I doubt I’ll have time.” I held out my hand and gave him a tight smile. “I’m looking forward to working with you. Thanks again for your moral support on the plane.”

Okay, so maybe I wanted to feel the warmth of his long fingers around mine once again. One last reminder of the serious longing I’d once had for him. I wasn’t let down, as he took it and gave me a squeeze that I felt all the way down to my pussy.

Nothing good would come of this.

He leaned closer, and that smirk of his made me want to suck on his lips. “You can’t fool me with that Ice Queen show. I know you far better than that.” He let his thumb brush across the inside of my wrist.

I pulled away sharply and blindly turned and approached a group of women. Reid’s intense look was too much for me to handle. “Hi, I’m Tamara, one of the judges.” I did not offer to shake anyone’s hand. Because reasons.

A pixie-sized woman with short cropped black hair mirrored back my tight smile. “I’m Jennifer Stewart and this is Rene Matheson.” She touched the shoulder of a tall brunette who looked as though her blue eyes could pierce metal. “We’re your cojudges.”

I knew who they were immediately. Jennifer’s ReDesign Rescue had been one of Reality Life’s top shows for the past three years. Rene had come to the station in the past year, and her show Antique Makeover took off immediately. It was fun and Rene shone on screen.

“It will be pleasant to work with you.” I nodded at each of them before lacing my hands together. “I believe my role is to be the show’s bitch. I’ll be a bit harder on the contestants, pick their designs apart, that sort of thing.”

“Oh, well it’s good that you understand your part.” Jennifer cocked her head and smiled. “You seem like a natural.”

Lady, don’t even go there. “Thank you. I take great pride in doing an excellent job at everything I do. And I’m sure you’ll be good at your role.”

Rene’s mouth fell open for a moment. “I watched Impact Load. I thought they would be sending the other lady, Sophia.”

Sophia would have had them all laughing right now. The mood would be relaxed and easygoing. “Yes, Sophie would have been fantastic. She’s a natural on screen. I had some other business to conduct in New York, so it made more sense to send me.” I smiled, but the strain made my lips twitch.

Relief hit me as Brian called the production meeting to order. For the next two hours I took notes on the shooting schedule, the expectations they had of the judges, while mentally figuring out when I’d have time to finish my proposal and dutifully avoiding Reid’s gaze. It wasn’t until the final few moments that I realized several others had slipped into the back of the room. The meeting was adjourned, but before I could leave Brian grabbed me to introduce the pair I wanted to meet.

“Tamara, this is Mr. Warner and Ms. Young. They are with Reality Life’s management team and mentioned that they wanted to have the chance to talk to you about the design contract.”

My mind raced back over the past hour and I hoped I hadn’t done or said anything that would hurt our chances. “So nice to meet both of you. Mr. Warner, I was planning on visiting you right after we were done here, so I’m thrilled you were able to make it down. I’m looking forward to being able to show you what our company can offer Reality Life on the design front.”

Ms. Young nodded and I could tell I was being sized up. “We were very impressed with what you and Ms. Holbrook did with the shelter up in Toronto. Though I have to admit, I’m concerned that what we have in mind from a corporate perspective might be a bit much for such a small company to take on.”

Rather than feeling intimidated by her comments, my body relaxed and I slipped into the zone. This wasn’t my first time starting out as the underdog and I had no doubt it wouldn’t be my last. I launched into my elevator pitch, outlining the key design points that Sophia had made me memorize before leaving. Short, sweet and a clean enough tease to make sure I had them hooked.

As I spoke, Reid stepped up beside me, which was a challenge to my attention.

“Of course I’ll save the details for our meeting later this week.”

Mr. Warner shook my hand, but his face remained impassive. “There is stiff competition for the contract. We’re looking for someone not only with a solid business plan but excitement for the job.”

“We definitely have that.” I gave him a small smile, but it wasn’t returned.

The air might as well have been sucked from the room as they left. Shit, this was our big opportunity. Yes, business had been better since Impact Load aired, but we were currently getting smaller jobs, nothing that was going to keep us afloat and allow us to grow the business. We needed employees, people who could help Sophia with the hands-on jobs while I worked with the business side. Not to mention our loans were getting close to coming due. We’d taken out a lot of money to help bankroll our setup and the time was coming when we’d have to start making payments.

Brian looked down at his feet. “Well, that could have gone better.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time on this proposal. The numbers will work in our favor.”

“I’m sure you’ll turn it around.” Brian headed toward the door. “Reid, want to grab your camera and meet me downstairs in twenty? We can head over to the site and look at setup shots.”

“Yeah, I have my bag with me. I’ll grab it and meet you down there.” Reid waited for Brian to leave before he said anything else. “That was tense.”

I punched him in the arm. “You’re an asshole.”

“What the hell?” He rubbed the spot where my fist had connected.

“I should ask you the same thing. Were you trying to distract me, coming up beside me like that? We need this contract more than I need to be a judge on the show.”

“Jesus, I didn’t do a thing. Is that why you’re acting like a tight-ass?”

“I’m not a tight-ass.”

Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course not.”

The attraction I’d been feeling for him was starting to wane. “I’m a professional running a business. I’ve grown up. Have you?”

The smile slipped from his face. “Yes.”

“If that’s true, then you should be able to appreciate my position. This is my livelihood. I’m here to do a job and I plan on doing the best possible.”

“You will.” Reid walked past me at that point, his body grazing the side of mine. “You always knew how to look after yourself.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. You preferred to be on your own.”

My shoulders drew back and I lowered my chin. “That’s not true. I loved you. You know why I left.”

“Of course. It was always my fault.” Reid’s smile didn’t slip, but something in his expression changed. “I’ll see you on set.”

In a blink I was all alone in the meeting room.