“Hello, Carlos, Terrance Harbinger here.”
“Hi, Terrance. Can you please calm the superstar down? Nobody got hurt, and he and Paris are splashed all over the socials. He’s only getting what he wanted.”
I gritted my teeth so I wouldn’t snap. “I have to disagree. The location was supposed to be undisclosed, and someone leaked it ostentatiously and early enough for a large group to occupy the entrance. A breach like this is unacceptable. Mr. Olivier’s team is airtight, so it must have been someone on our side. Your office booked the accommodation.”
“As I said to Lothair. The entire point of this charade is to get him more press.”
“In controlled situations. An unexpected crowd of randos at one in the morning is not desirable press. It’s seriously dangerous. Do you at least understand why Mr. Olivier is not looking kindly at us right now?”
Carlos grunted. Even he had to see how damaging it could be to Lothair’s relationship with Paris if we were seen as unprofessional.
“We need you to trace who knew about this and find out the source of the leak. It can’t happen again.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Carlos grumbled. I couldhearhis eye roll.
“That’s not good enough.”
“Since when were you the boss, Harbinger?”
“This is not a prick-waving contest, Carlos. I don’t give a shit about who you think is in charge of what. Someone fucked up. It’s in your best interest to find out who.”
There was a breath of silence. Was it bold of me to suggest Lothair might fire him?
“It’s two in the morning,” I said. “We’re going to bed. Find out who did this and get rid of them.”
I gave the phone back to Lothair, who was grinning at me gleefully. He ended the call and dropped the phone onto the sofa cushion.
“Do you think you could handle my calls from now on?” he asked.
I snorted. “No.”
“Can I blow you now?”
“Yes.”
I tugged on his hand and led him to the bedroom. Finally, we were alone. It felt peaceful and domestic as we undressed in silence and hung our suits next to each other on the closet doors. Then he knelt for me in the shower and brought my hand to the back of his head.
The stress of the long night got washed down the drain. For the next few hours, it was just my mate and me, making love.
Even so, I woke up ridiculously early. As I gazed at Lothair’s face, slack with sleep, I wondered how the hell I was going to keep my mate safe in the constant chaos that was his life.
19
Compromised
LOTHAIR
I’d never had asmany screenplays and proposals on my desk before. I eyed the pile, wondering how long it would take me to read all of them. A month?
I’d probably have a hard time saying no to the three that Allan Caspian was producing. I didn’t even have to open those. The fastest way to go through the rest would be to only look at my manager’s personal recommendations, although I wasn’t sure I could trust him anymore.
We’d had two more incidents since the gala, and Terry had been livid. Carlos had stubbornly insisted the security fiascos weren’t his fault and even suggested they were what I’d wanted to achieve. He’d been snappy and arrogant lately, plus kept pushing me into projects I didn’t want to do. I hadn’t gone as far as to start looking for another talent manager, but I was considering it.
How about the projects neither Allan nor Carlos had even seen? I grabbed a couple of folders and read the summaries.A rugged ex-military with PTSD becomes thecaptain of a fishing boat and gets caught in the middle of an epic battle between a prehistoric shark and a mutant octopus.I snorted. That would be a no. I dropped the folder on the floor next to my chair.A car thief with martial arts skills overturns a dictatorship…Discard that one.Zombie apocalypse in space, ninja gang wars, an erotic horror about an alien invasion?I turned a page and read a few lines and quickly closed the folder. Nope. I’m not getting butt-fucked by aliens on camera. Not even pretend.
Terry walked in with two cups of coffee. “How’s it going?”
I pointed to the first, smallest pile of papers. “I don’t have a say in the ones Allan Caspian’s chosen.”
