“I mean, I think so. You said she’s sort of clutzy, and this girl tripped over a lighting cable and fell into a platter of cupcakes. She said ‘oops’ and—”

  “That’s her.” I grab my keys and start for the door. “Stay where you are. No, if you can find the electrical unit, cut the power.”

  “I can’t do that. I might electrocute myself,” the man whines.

  “I can shoot you and put you out of your misery.”

  “I’ll go look for the main power box.” He hangs up, and I sprint toward the elevator.

  “Jay?” I hear from behind me.

  “I’ve got an emergency meeting,” I say without looking back. Outside of the boardroom, Dax hops to his feet. “Sir?”

  “I need to be at Forty-second and Carroll stat.”

  “This is an emergency meeting!” yells Klip Harris. “I’ve got a warm body in my basement. I can’t be having warm bodies around.”

  “Then make it cold.” I don’t know why all these other guys are always crawling up on my doorstep with problems that need to be fixed.

  “I’m not a killer, Jay! That’s not what I do. I sell drugs and sex!” He follows me out, four black-suited lackeys trailing behind him like cartoon ducklings in formal attire.

  “And you’re not doing a good job of it or you wouldn’t be here.”

  “That’s not fair, Jay. I’m good at what I do, but now and then we run into problems. How was I supposed to know the guy’s ticker was bad? We don’t ask for health forms at the club.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  “Please, Jay.”

  Klip sounds so pathetic and desperate. I sigh and pull out the card to the private physician I have on call—the one that looked Mila over yesterday. “Call this number, and my doc will come and take a look. Don’t do anything stupid, and follow her instructions to the letter. Got it?”

  Klip clasps the card to his chest and is still in the process of thanking me as we drive away.

  “Forty-second and Carroll is in the university district,” Dax informs me.

  “Poor students taking their clothes off to pay for tuition? Sounds about right to me.” I dial Mila’s number, but it goes straight to voicemail. I should’ve gotten Lauren’s number. “Do you know the bakery’s phone number?” They share a landlord. They might have exchanged numbers.

  “No, but I can get it.”

  “Concentrate on driving. I’ll look up the bakery.” But the bakery knows nothing.

  “We just knock on their door if they need anything. Mila is usually home,” the barista explains to me after I threatened—I mean, cajoled—them into giving me information.

  After what seems like a half-dozen years, Dax pulls up in front of an old five-story building with a gothic exterior. The stone façade was once an impressive piece of architecture, but the university’s inhabitants have taken a toll. The noses have been knocked off most of the carved reliefs. The two lion heads flanking the front door are barely recognizable. Unchecked ivy climbs the walls like Mother Nature is about to enact her revenge. It looks like a place a porno would be shot. The main door is unlocked, and inside the building is divided into what looks like different studios. BNC Studio. Lifestyles Portraits. Forever Memories. All of the ones on the first floor look to be closed. No light coming through the doorways. No noise inside. I take the stairs two at a time. There’s music playing in the studio at the far end. I throw open a door to see a woman in a wedding dress being photographed. Her mouth falls open at the sight of me. “Sorry,” I say.

  The bouquet in her hand drops to the floor. Mila isn’t anywhere to be seen.

  “I don’t think I want to marry you anymore,” the bride says as I close the door. Some shouting occurs, but I pay it no attention. We move to the next floor. Again, loud music is being played. The heavy beats nearly vibrate on the old floorboards.

  “Do pornos have hip hop music?” I wonder.

  Dax shrugs. “Wouldn’t know. Never watched.”

  “Me neither.” This time when I throw the door open, I see nearly naked men lounging around an orange sofa, but Mila is nowhere to be seen. I scan the room, my eyes falling on Lauren, who is bent over a table peering at something. She shifts, and I spot Mila.

  “Mila!” I say sharply. Her head pops up, and her eyes meet mine.

  “Jay?” I see her lips form and then it all turns black. The lights, the music, everything is off. There’s a half moment of silence and then utter pandemonium. My cell phone starts ringing. Out in the hall, I hear doors opening and footsteps pounding. Inside here, there’s the sound of something crashing to the floor followed by curses.

  I answer the phone, knowing exactly what the voice on the other end is going to say. “Power’s off!” the guy crows.

  “Turn it back on,” I sigh.

  “Uhhh, how do I do that?”

  “The opposite way you turned it off.”

  “Okay. Give me a sec. Oh—ouch—oh my God!”

  The lights flicker for a half second and then blackness again.

  “Jay, is that you?” Mila says in a soft voice. “What are you doing here?”

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, hanging up on the guy. He shorted the entire building. I turn to Dax. “Call an electrician,” I order quietly.

  He takes off without a word but thankfully they flick back on again.

  “I’m here to help Lauren. We’re having an underwear shoot.”

  “Not anymore you’re not.”

  seven

  MILANA

  In my whole life, I’ve never imagined someone could become sexier as they get more bossy. If anything, it should be a turn-off. Too bad my body didn’t get that memo. The ache between my thighs is a testament to that. I stare up at Jay and his stupidly handsome face that makes it hard to say no to and do the only thing I can think to do.

  “No,” I say sternly, pointing my finger at him in the same way one of my dads does when Charlie, our family dog, is trying to do something he isn’t supposed to. He’s always trying to steal food off the table.

  It’s a terrible habit and one I’d given him as a child. I could never resist giving him food under the table. How could I not? Charlie’s furry face might not be as handsome as Jay's, but it’s still pretty freaking adorable. I’ve always been a sucker for Charlie, and he used that to his advantage.

  Jay actually cocks his head to the side, and I wonder for a brief moment if I’ve done it. If he is actually going to listen to me. To be honest, I don’t even know why he’s here. Part of me would have thought our whole date and everything else that went on last night was a dream except for the fact that Lauren kept bringing it up. She doesn’t trust Jay. Keeps saying he’s a liar face. But I don’t feel the same way. I think it’s a bit kickass that he stole another man’s date. If that’s not a power move, I’m not sure what is.

  Plus, it was only a small lie. We all tell them, don’t we? Just like I told my dad Rick I loved his pot roast. I know it’s awful to lie, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I didn’t have it in me to tell him it’s terrible. Charlie loves it, though, so it worked out. Well, kind of, 'cause now he’s always trying to steal food from the table.

  “No?” He repeats the word as if he doesn’t quite grasp its meaning. He doesn’t look like the type of man that people say that word to often. For some reason, I get a tingling in the back of my neck, so I turn to see that everyone is watching us.

  “Back to work!” Lauren shouts at them, knowing in half a second the attention I’ve somehow drawn because of Jay will fluster me and I’ll end up doing a big oops.

  It’s the last thing I need right now. I’ve already had one of those today when one of the models asked me if I knew where the filler was. I was confused at first until he explained that it was the filler to make his dick seem bigger.

  I stumbled over my words and ended up telling him I could make it as big as he wanted in Photoshop. He was enthralled with that and started to follow me around, asking me a million questions. In the end, I murdered a whole thing of cupcakes trying to make an escape from him and his glistening abs. Thankfully, Lauren came prepared and had a change of clothes for me.

  “You’re coming with me,” Jay orders. I start to nod in agreement until Lauren snaps me back to reality.

  “She’s not going anywhere,” Lauren says, not bothering to glance our way as she motions for one of the models to move his elbow.

  “Eyes on me, freckles.” Jay easily draws my attention back to him.

  “Freckles?”

  He brushes his finger across my upper cheek, over my nose, and onto my other cheek, where in fact a dusting of freckles are. I get them in the spring when it’s nice enough to grab a drink out on a patio and work on my computer. It’s about the only time I get any real sun.

  “What’s with the touching?” Now Lauren is at my side with that no-nonsense look on her face.

  “I kinda like it when he touches me,” I whisper because I don’t want her discouraging Jay. It’s stupid because of course he can hear me. He only smirks, ignoring Lauren’s comments.

  “You have no idea where his hands have been.” She makes it sound so ominous. Jay’s smirk drops from his lips. “You showed yourself in, and you can show yourself out,” she challenges him.

  “I think you know I don’t have to go anywhere if I don’t want to.” Jay’s tone isn’t challenging in response. It sounds more like he’s simply stating a fact. My eyes dart between the two of them. I get the sense that I’m being left out of some kind of information here. That I’m the only one who isn’t in the know.

  “How about he stays and we finish?” I suggest, realizing I’m the only one that might be able to temper whatever is happening here. “I’ll work over here.” I start to walk toward my computer setup so I can do some lighting adjustments and touch-ups now so we know what we’re working with.

  I don’t make it three feet when my foot catches on another one of those stupid extension cords. I brace myself for impact. Only this time I don't fall and hit the ground. Two strong arms catch me. “Those stupid things are everywhere,” I huff, staring up at Jay.

  “Shall I have them all removed?” I snort a laugh, picturing him ripping them from all the walls and tossing them right out the windows. I have no doubt that he would do it.

  “I need them, but maybe if you stay close then you can catch me if another one of them tries to get me,” I suggest.

  His eyes glance over to the men who are lingering around in front of a giant white canvas. All of them are in their underwear. “Isn’t it weird how they look like they just got out of the pool but they’re in their underwear? Shouldn’t they be in swim trunks?”

  “I’ll stay,” Jay says, not answering my question. He stands behind me, his arms folded over his chest. I peek over my shoulder at him.

  “You don’t shave your chest, do you?” I ask out of the clear blue sky. What is wrong with me? Why did I allow those words to get past my lips? I don’t even need an answer to that question. I’m so curious about this man.

  “No,” he responds.

  “Of course, you don’t.” I sigh.

  “You like that kind of thing?” Jay shifts on his feet. Have I made him uneasy?

  “Nope, but I’m trying to find your flaw.” I narrow my eyes on him. They must be deeper. After all, what do I really know about Jay?

  eight

  JAY

  The photoshoot is taking way too long, and even though Mila keeps to the computer area, she still has to stare at these guys’ abs way too long. Plus, this one guy? He seems to have a death wish. When he’s not draping himself over the orange sofa, his eyes are burning a hole through Mila’s neck.

  “You look thirsty, babe.” I put a soda at her hand. “Take a break. You’re going to get a headache at this rate.”

  Mila leans back and rubs her eyes. “I know. Everyone is starting to blur together. Like I don’t even see the individual abs anymore. It’s just one giant slab of skin.”

  Metal crunches under my hand. We both glance down toward the sound to see the soda can crumpled in my fist. Dark cola is dripping down the sides.

  “Oh!” Mila jumps up and reaches for the box of Kleenex.

  “I’ll take care of it,” I say tersely, and excuse myself to clean up the mess in the bathroom. Jealousy is a foreign emotion to me. There’s nothing in the world I can’t have and no one in the world that lives a better life than me. There’s absolutely nothing for me to be jealous about.

  I glare at my reflection. “Get it together, Jay.” I stay in the bathroom washing my hands until my irritation toward the model wears off and I no longer have the desire to throttle the oiled-up muscle man in front of the camera.

  Once I have myself under control, I stroll out, hands tucked in my pockets, my blood pressure back to normal, red rage turned to calm gray. Mila jerks around when she hears me approaching.

  “Did you hurt yourself?”

  “No. I’m fine. Let me get you a replacement drink, though. Hang on.” I squeeze her hand and head toward the little fridge on the opposite side of the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the guy who had been fixated on Mila move in her direction. All of my self-control flies out the window. In three strides, I interrupt the guy and grab him by the shoulder. “Walk this way and make it look normal or I’ll break your kneecaps and you won’t be able to move for a month,” I mutter under my breath. Mila is back looking at the photographs and doesn’t see me direct the model out the door.

  Alone, in the hall, I cut to the chase. “Do you have any other career options than modeling?”

  “Huh?”

  “Do you wait tables, do tech work, write books? Anything bring in the bacon other than this?” I circle my face with my finger.

  “Why would I?” he questions, and repeats my action. “I have this. Unlike you, who probably scares little kids when you are at the playground.”

  “First, I’m a grown-ass adult with no kids. Only pedos hang out at playgrounds unless they’re with their kid. Second, I don’t give a shit what you think of my face, but if you keep looking at Mila like you have been, you’re going to have to find new employment. That’s it.”

  I pull the door open and leave him behind.

  “Everything okay?” Mila asks when I bring her the second soda. I pop the top open and set it far from my hand so I don’t make another mess.

  “Yeah, it’s all good. How are the flesh slabs looking?”

  “Lauren and I are torn about this one.” She points to a shot where two of the oiled-up men have their hands on each other’s shoulders. I avoid looking farther down since men in underwear are not my thing. If it was Mila, I’d be inspecting the photos with a magnifying glass and suggesting a hundred different poses, like her on her knees. Her holding her tits up for me. Her on her back with her legs spread wide and her mouth open.

  “Um, so you like this shot?” she says.

  I blink, trying to see past the lust fog my thoughts have created. “Sure.”

  The men could be riding unicorns in a bear suit and I would’ve agreed with her.

  “Hey, Mila.”

  I turn to see the model behind me. A big grin stretches across his face. He reaches out and holds out his phone. “Since we’re almost done here, I figured we could trade numbers.”

  “No,” I say.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” the model says.

  I can see that nothing I say is going to get through to this guy, so action it is. I pivot and pluck Mila out of her chair. “I’m going to kiss you. If you don’t want me to, now’s the time to say no.”

  “Kiss?”

  “That’s not a no.” I plant my mouth across hers. Her lips part, and I dive in, sweeping my tongue between her teeth. The cola lays sweet on her tongue, and there’s a hint of something else there, elusive but addicting. What had started out as a way for me to claim what was mine quickly turns into something more. Desire thrums through my bloodstream. My hand falls to her waist and jerks her close. I forget that I’m in a public setting. I forget that there are other people in the room. All I can focus on is the feel of her soft curves against my hard planes, her delicate tongue folding under the pressure of my hard thrusts. I want to be inside of her. I need to be inside of her.

  Some small grain of sense pierces the veil of my need, and I lift my head from hers. Mila’s cheeks are flushed. Her lips are rosy red. I turn back to the model, who is stuck to the ground in front of us, and swipe my wet lip with my thumb. “You were saying?”

  He tucks his phone behind his back. “Uh, never mind.”

  “I think you’re done,” I say to Lauren, who is also staring at Mila and me.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” she says.

  Mila is shell-shocked and can’t seem to move, so I gather up her purse and cola and phone, and take her by the elbow. “In the future, no more underwear shoots for Mila.”

  “I got it.” Lauren gives us a weak wave.

  As I’m taking Mila through the door, I say, “Tell me what Lauren’s dream job is. I’ll make sure it happens.” It’s the least I can do.

  “How can you make sure it happens? What if she wants to shoot a movie?”

  “Then I buy her a studio.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Mila, stick with me. There’s nothing this world has to offer that I can’t give to you.”

  nine

  MILANA

  I stare at Jay as we ride in the back of his fancy SUV. “This thing is quiet.” I swear the thing doesn’t make a sound, which only makes the silence inside it seem louder, making me think I need to fill it.

  “It’s electric.”

  “Fancy. Like that Musk guy. Is it one of his?”

  “No, this is something new. It’s more a test model than anything.”

  “You built this?!” Now I’m really impressed. His lips twitch.

 

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