Читать книгу Strictly Seduction: Watch Me - Lisa Renee Jones - Страница 19

MEAGAN WAS ON the stage in a heartbeat thanks to Sam, who lifted her up and then jumped up behind her. And thanks to Sam’s staff, not only were the observers being held at bay, the fight was somewhat under control, as well.

Josh, and a female security person employed by Sam, were holding two contestants apart—Tabitha and a petite brunette dancer named Carrie White. Meagan had thought Carrie was fairly timid, but considering the clear mark down Tabitha’s face, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Tabitha was fighting Josh, trying to get to Carrie. “You better watch your back!” Tabitha yelled at Carrie. “I’m going to make you pay for scratching me.”

“Enough!” Meagan yelled. “If either of you touches the other one again, you’re off the show.” She eyed them both. “Understood?”

Carrie quickly nodded. “I was just defending myself. She jumped on me, Meagan. She jumped on me and…I swear I was defending myself.”

Jensen, the tall, blond New Yorker, stepped forward. “It’s true. Tabitha jumped on Carrie.”

It didn’t take Meagan long to put two and two together. Tabitha and Jensen had been flirting on set. And since Jensen was defending Carrie, instead of Tabitha, it was a good bet that there was some sort of jealousy thing going on between the girls.

Kiki rushed onto the stage, conveniently after the fight had been derailed. “What happened?”

“They didn’t belong here, is what happened,” Sam said and motioned to Josh. “There’s a back door by the bathrooms. Let’s get everyone out that way, and make it snappy. As in yesterday.”

Fifteen minutes later, the dancers were heading in the direction of the hotel as Meagan and Sam followed. “You okay?” he asked, touching her arm to draw her to a halt.

“As okay as I can be considering what happened tonight.”

“I called Sabrina,” he said.

“What? When?”

“A few minutes ago.” He held up his hand. “And before you get mad—”

“I’m not,” she said. “I’m not. I know you’re trying to help, Sam. I know and I appreciate it. But I don’t want to drag you into this and endanger your career, and I feel like I already have.”

“It’s my job to protect the studio,” he said. “I’m working on a documentation trail that backs up my concerns about Kiki. I’ll handle this, but in the meantime, you have to keep her from doing any irreversible damage to the show.”

“I’m trying. I am desperately trying. What was the outcome of the call?”

“Sabrina thinks a lot of you and this show, but she has powerful people she answers to and big money at stake. I have full authority to investigate Kiki but she is well connected and she’s been praised for saving the network from several disasters. I’m fairly confident they were manufactured disasters. She’s clearly been rewarded for her actions in some way, shape or form, and she’s just as clearly after the gold now. We have to tread carefully.”

“If she’s that powerful then tonight might be the end, Sam. If that fight makes the tabloids then it could already be the death of our sponsors.”

“Then get more.”

“It’s not that easy for a new show, Sam.”

“All right. Then let’s think this through. You want the cameras rolling in the house because you want to feature the real lives of the contestants while they traveled this journey.”

“Yes, but this isn’t what I had in mind. I thought it would be kids getting nervous about performances, their dreams and desires. Their inspiration. Not threats, fights and exploding water pipes.”

“So, not real life, then.”

“Yes, real life.”

“You’re too close to this show emotionally,” he said. “Step back and think of it like you did when you were producing a news program. Surely, you were battling competitors all the time for top stories.”

“Yes,” she said. “We were.”

“Then do that now. Stop thinking about the show like it’s a dream. Save that for the celebration when it’s a hit.”

She considered him a moment and nodded. “You’re right. You are absolutely right.”

“Okay, then,” he said. “Us Special Ops guys are all about damage control. My first thought is that what happened tonight, despite Kiki’s manipulation and mishandling, was raw and very real.”

“Not in a good way,” Meagan argued.

“Reality means real—and that isn’t always pretty. That fight evolved from the pressures of competition, more than anything else. I bet you can do something with that to make it a powerful episode.”

His words sparked a few interesting ideas in Meagan’s mind. “You know, now that I’m thinking about this with some distance, I think I can. I could even do a press release and frame the fight the way I want it framed. I can send it to the sponsors and promise them some preview footage before I air a show around tonight’s events.”

“Perfect,” he said. “Hell, give Kiki credit. Praise her to your staff. If you spin tonight into something brilliant, you deflate her efforts to make you look bad. Which means tonight becomes a win for the show.”

A slow smile slid onto Meagan’s lips. “Oh my God, you are the one who’s brilliant. I love you, Sam.”

The words dropped heavily between them, out before she could stop them. She could barely breathe because…she might actually be falling in love with him.

“And here I thought I’d be lucky just to get you to like me.” His voice was soft, his gaze hot.

Meagan didn’t know what to say so she did what she always did with Sam. She picked a fight. “I won’t if you do things like tonight. You distracted me from a critical situation and had me making out in the club.”

“No, I didn’t.”

She blinked. “What? That’s all you’re going to say? No, you didn’t.”

“You were beating yourself up, and searching for a way to feel something other than defeat. You used me to do that, and I was helpless to resist, though I shouldn’t have been. I should have been focused on my job. So you distracted me.”

“You’re blaming me for distracting you from your job?”

He smiled. “Exactly.”

“You distracted me,” she said. “You distracted me, Sam.”

“Seems we have a mutually distracting impact on one another.”

“So we can’t…we have to stop doing things like tonight.”

“I want to kiss you.”

“No.”

“Yes. I do.”

“No. You can’t. We can’t, Sam.” Her chest tightened because the realization washed over her and she couldn’t selfishly ignore it at Sam’s expense. “Kiki is going—”

“I don’t care about Kiki.”

“I do. We have to.”

“Let’s walk,” he said abruptly, turning toward the hotel, clearly not happy with her.

Meagan’s stomach clenched. Her chest got even tighter. The same feelings she’d had back in the break room. She wanted him to understand, yet she didn’t want him to understand at all. She was more screwed up over Sam than ever.

“That’s it?” she asked, falling into step with him. “Let’s walk?”

“What do you want me to do besides walk?” he asked. “Pull you against the wall and kiss you again?”

Yes. Oh, yes. Please. She grabbed his arm and brought him to a standstill. “You’re making me crazy, Sam. I don’t know what to do here.”

“Right there with ya, sweetheart.”

“Sam. Please. Even Sabrina is cautious about Kiki. Sabrina! She’s powerful. She’s one of the executives. I’m afraid that I’ll drag you to the unemployment line with me if this goes badly.”

“No,” he said. “That’s not the problem. I’m trying to get through this with you. You’re trying to find a way to do it without me. There’s a difference. A big difference.” He started to walk again. She didn’t. She stared after him, all that emotion in her chest balled so tightly, she could barely breathe. She wanted to go after him, she wanted to dispute his words, make him understand. But he wouldn’t understand. She’d figured that out about Sam.

He wasn’t an arrogant jerk. He wasn’t a control freak. He had a whole lot of hero in him. He’d tell her it was okay, that he wasn’t risking his job, to be with her. And that mattered to her. He mattered to her. She had to let him go.

He was right though. Rather than using her smarts, she’d been letting her emotions get involved when dealing with Kiki, and everything to do with this show. That ended tonight.

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, Sam was awake and thankful for the coffeemaker in the room. He might be a soldier at heart, but he’d never been a soldier who denied himself thick, black hardcore caffeine when he needed it.

He finished off a cup, with one thing on his mind. Meagan had let him walk away the night before. Again. Damn, he’d never been a glutton for punishment before. This was unfamiliar, uncomfortable territory, and he had to get some space, to get his head clear. Setting the mug aside, dressed in his jeans and a T-shirt, he was ready to finish the deal for the house and get his hands dirty securing the property.

Around the hotel, Meagan was too close for comfort. Where just knowing she was a few doors down had him climbing the walls, and right out of his skin.

He stepped into the deserted hallway, everyone still in bed, when he was surprised to hear a contestant’s door open and then quietly shut. Sam frowned and soon came face to face with Carrie.

“Oh, I…I…didn’t think anyone would be up yet.”

“I see that,” he commented, noting the rolling suitcase behind her. The kid couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen, maybe twenty. “Going somewhere?”

Silent tears started to stream down her cheeks, and Sam knew exactly what he had to do. “Come with me.”

A few seconds later, Meagan’s door opened. She was still wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse pajamas, with her hair sticking up wildly, and looking more sexy than he could imagine any one woman looking. And when such an appearance could not only get a guy hot, but make him smile, inside out, he was as hooked as a bee on honey. Sam knew right then, he couldn’t hide from what this woman was doing to him, no matter how he tried.

The instant Meagan saw Carrie, her eyes widened, all signs of sleep slipping away. She hugged Carrie, her eyes meeting Sam’s. She motioned them inside.

The kitten met Sam at the door, meowing loudly. Sam fed the hungry little beast, and then went for the coffeepot, knowing that Meagan was running on limited to no sleep. By the time the pot was brewing, Meagan had Carrie sitting cross-legged across from her on the bed, spilling her story.

“She hates me,” Carrie was saying. “Absolutely hates me.”

“Competition can be brutal,” Meagan said. “But everything worth having is worth fighting for. And you know what? The things you have to work the hardest for, are the ones you appreciate the most. The question is, do you want this bad enough to fight for it? Your packed bag makes me wonder.”

“I want to dance,” she said. “I don’t want to fight with Tabitha.”

“So you don’t want this.”

“That’s not what I said!”

“You aren’t willing to fight.”

“I am.”

“Just not Tabitha.”

“She’s the meanest person I’ve ever known.”

“Until you meet the next one like her,” Meagan pointed out. “There are tons of Kikis in this world.” Sam took a seat nearby, across from the bed. Meagan’s eyes found his an instant before she added, “Listen, Carrie. Real life isn’t always pretty. Everyone isn’t going to be nice to you, and everything isn’t going to come with a shiny pink bow on top. You can’t let people like Tabitha steal your dreams, make you give up.”

Sam took in those words, took in what she was telling him indirectly. She had a dream and she was scared of losing it. He knew that, but hearing it again wasn’t easy. She had baggage she had to deal with, and there wasn’t room for him inside her life until she did—if she ever did.

“I sprained my ankle last night,” Carrie announced. “It’s bad, Meagan. I hid it but it’s getting worse.” She laughed bitterly. “I’d rather the curse would have gotten anything but my ankle.”

“There is no curse,” Meagan said. “And a sprain can be wrapped and medicated. You have ten days before your first performance. Or, you can use that and Tabitha as reason to quit. Your choice.”

“I don’t want to quit. I don’t. But—”

“No buts,” Meagan warned. “I’m going to get tough with you now. In or out. Fight or give up. You choose.”

“You really think I can do this?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” she said. “It matters what you know. But for the record, you wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in you.”

Carrie flung her arms around Meagan’s neck and hugged her. The unfinished business between Meagan and him thicker than the coffee he’d made in his room.

“I’m going to fight. I’m going to beat Tabitha and win this competition.”

“Good,” Meagan said. “I can’t wait to watch it happen.”

More chatter followed, and some coddling of the kitten, before Carrie returned to her room to sleep as long as she could before rehearsals, which had been pushed back, after the nightclub incident, until noon.

Sam made to leave, as well.

“Sam, wait,” Meagan said, her hand touching his arm, heat scorching, his cock thickening as if she’d just invited him to join her in bed.

He held the door open, not about to let rumors fly any more than they probably were. He also wasn’t about to tempt himself into kissing her how he’d wanted to ever since he’d walked into the room.

His gaze met hers, and he could read her expression, read the “I can’t” in her face. “I met with my crew last night and we did a press release that also went to the sponsors. One of the sponsors called me immediately and expressed how thrilled they were with the buzz the show was getting. After that, Kiki happily took credit, and I was happy to let her.”

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad it worked out.”

“Me, too,” she said, and hesitated, as if she wanted to add something else.

Sam continued waiting, wanting to know what that something else was, his heart racing. This woman really was making him crazy.

Finally, she said, “I…I left my phone and purse in your truck.”

“Right,” he answered flatly, his pulse slowing. “Your phone and your purse. I’ll have it dropped off.” He didn’t wait for a reply. He left with absolutely no question in his mind, that once again, she had purposely let him go. It was a habit she couldn’t seem to break.