But now that she knew him — or at least knew him better — she knew he had a bit of an ego but also more of a heart. She wasn't going to tell him that though.
She also wasn't going to tell his co-stars what was really going on either. It was obvious by the way he explained the situation to them that they didn't know about the details in her grandmother's will that brought her to this point, standing here with Chase and making sure she collected the receipts from their hotel stay and their meals and everything else so she could turn them in to Charles and get the extra credit for this challenge.
"Hey, guys."
A man came walking over to the group in jeans and a blazer that looked expensive. She made a mental note to add shopping for clothes to her list of activities to do with Chase to spend some of this cash. He would look good in jeans and a blazer like that.
"You're not part of the cast, are you?" the man in the blazer said incredulously as he looked at Emma.
Looked good but was a total ass.
"Will, this is Emma. She's with me," Chase explained.
Will gave her a once-over that felt very different than the one Chase had given her in the hotel room, and not in a good way.
"She's Nana's granddaughter," Vanessa explained.
"Oh, right. Sorry she died."
Will looked back at his phone, which was good because he couldn't see the daggers Emma was staring at him. Chase noticed though. She could tell by the way he put a reassuring hand on her back to comfort her just a bit.
"Will is in the publicity department with the studio." Chase leaned in a little closer. "He is a dick."
Emma gave a small nod but continued to stare ahead at Will because she didn't want to turn her head towards Chase. He had leaned in way too close to her, his breath warm on her neck. It was probably because he was trying to give her somereassuring words without Will hearing him. She was sure he didn't mean to invade her personal space like that. But there was something about him being so close that was making her heart race.
She needed to pull herself together. He was the enemy. A means to an end. She did not need to get feelings for the man that her grandmother had forced her to spend time and money on. It was a game they were playing, another acting role for Chase. None of this was real, especially not her pulse racing just because she was close to him.
Emma was pulled out of her thoughts by Will's voice and she quickly snapped back to reality. It seemed Chase did as well by the way he stepped away from her, and she realized she didn't know how long they had been standing like that with him so close. She didn't know if he had noticed it.
"Alright, let's go," Will commanded.
Vanessa followed Will and Hunter came to stand next to Emma. "When we get through the doors, my girlfriend will be standing off to the side and you can hang out with her. She's wearing a red sweater tonight so you can't miss her."
"Thanks."
"Chloe is awesome!" Chase said. "But I'm still waiting for her to write me a rom-com."
"Keep waiting," Hunter replied teasingly.
"Wait, your girlfriend writes rom-coms?"
Hunter nodded. "I was in a movie calledAn American in Dublin. She wrote that. And she writes forThe Bunker. It's a TV show. Your grandmotherloved to grill her whenever Chloe came to one of these conventions."
"She writes forThe Bunker? I loved watching that show with my grandmother!" Emma turned to Hunter with a huge smile on her face. "Oh my gosh, can I really ask her some questions? Because I have so many after the season finale."
Chase rolled his eyes. "You weren't star-struck when you met me, but you're in awe of Hunter's girlfriend."
"She writes forThe Bunker!"
A teasing smile spread across Chase's face as if he found her reaction to Hunter's girlfriend amusing and enlightening. She would miss that smile when this was over.
They had reached a door with a person standing there with one of those headsets on and Emma could hear someone on the other side.
"Are you ready for your favorite stars of Project Lyonheart?"
There was a roar from the crowd and a shiver went up her spine. These fans were just like Nana, standing there waiting to see their favorite actors and here she was now living this experience. Well, sort of. She was on the other side of the door, which wasn't really where she belonged. She didn't really belong here with Chase or really anywhere with Chase.
But she couldn't think about it now. The doors opened and the cheers from the crowd hit her head on. Wow, it was loud. Will stood by the open dooras Vanessa walked out followed by Hunter and Chase with Emma. She noticed a few people give her a shocked look likeWho is that woman with Chase?He didn't seem to notice as he put his hand on the small of her back and pointed to a woman standing off to the side in a red sweater.
