I shook my head. “Nothing like that. I think those days are behind me now.”
Evie, smiling and laughing on my couch, flashed through my mind briefly, warming my chest.
“He’s a lawyer for the studio. He just wants to push his foot on my neck a little. Make sure I know my place.”
Bryce leaned on the counter in my mini-kitchen and crossed his arms. “That’s what they all say, ain’t it? Know your place?”
“You’re not wrong,” I admitted. “But I can’t miss this.”
“Fine, Skye and I will go with you. Bring Evie too.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I warned.
He rolled his eyes, so I clarified. “This is a man on Evie’s list. I’m going to take care of it.”
He took in my words, nodding and pursing his lips. “Even more reason to have company. Let me cancel on Skye.” Pulling out his phone, he shot off a text to her. However, whatever he sent her must not have been clear enough, because when I pulled up to Evie’s to pick her up, Skye was there.
“What are you doing here?” I said, sharper than I’d meant to.
“Bryce canceled on me, so I drove over to see what Evie was doing.” She shrugged. I turned to Evie, but she was looking away guiltily. She always had a hard time telling Skye no. Sighing heavily, I tried to work out everything in my head as we drove back to my place, but there really was no good way to do this.
It was looking like the lawyer would live to fight another day.
By evening, the four of us were walking to Fred’s, swimsuits on and towels slung over our arms. I held Evie’s hand firmly, making sure she knew I would not allow a repeat of last time we’d come here. All week, our chemistry had been off. We hardly spoke, until our emotions exploded on set at the end of the week, and we talked about what had happened at the poker game. Our conversation continued after work and well into the night. We talked about body betrayal, both hers and mine. I explained how everything transpired that night and how it led to me pushing her to her knees. While I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on in her head, she seemed to welcome me back into her orbit, but at a distance.
Fred’s French maid welcomed us in, confusion on her face as she saw my party. She took us around back, and Fred gave us all the same look as he eyed us in a line. “Evie, Bryce…”
“Skye,” I said when he didn’t recognize the last person in our little group. “You said in your text you wanted to see the star of the movie. Well, it’s a collective effort. All of us, I’d say, are the stars.”
“Your paychecks would say otherwise,” Fred muttered but invited us farther into his backyard. “I’d only planned for you and me, but luckily I always keep my bar stocked. Welcome to my home. Gwen, drinks!” he shouted at his housemaid. Stripping off his robe, he dropped it where he stood and strode to the pool, where he dove into the water and popped back up. He climbed out and went straight to the hot tub. “Come on, join me!” He smiled.
I raked my gaze across his yard, comparing it to my own. It was pretty average for this neighborhood. A large pool with a hot tub nearby, very little grass, with concrete covering most of the property. To the right was a large outdoor bar decorated like a cheesy tiki shack.
I squeezed Evie’s hand and dropped it so that I could set our towels down and slide my shoes off. I wore loose black shorts that went to my knees. Bryce kept the cowboy hat and had chosen navy shorts that were so tight, I saw his frank and both beans. Skye had on a pink-and-green bikini that could be undone with one tug of a string, apparently she kept one in her car just in case. Evie had unintentionally matched me, with a black two-piece. Her swimsuit had bikini bottoms, but the top was a skin-tight long-sleeved crop top that I found ten times sexier than the bikini Skye wore. We joined Fred, and a moment later, music began playing from speakers around the yard.
“So, how is everyone? Did you work hard this week making the biggest movie of next year?” Fred asked warmly, but his eye twitched as he forced the small talk. He’d been thrown off by all of us, and it showed.
We chatted, and Bryce, ever the entertainer, took charge of the conversation. If I didn’t know exactly why I’d been brought here, I would think Fred was a decent guy.
An hour into our evening, Fred climbed out of the hot tub and called for me to join him at the bar. He went around the counter and prepared us all fresh cocktails.
“I think your plan backfired, Shaw,” he said with a smile.
“What plan?” I glanced back at my friends. They’d climbed out of the hot tub too, and the girls were lounging on the beach chairs. Bryce popped up behind me, dropping his hand on my shoulder and leaning over the bar.
“Where’s your can, Castle?”
“My bathroom? It’s inside, right past the kitchen. My maid went home for the night, but just turn on the lights. You’ll find it,” Fred told him, then he turned back to me after Bryce had disappeared into the house.
“Your plan to surround yourself with witnesses. Did you think I’d kill you tonight?”
I hadn’t ruled it out. Why else would he have wanted to get me and Evie here alone? I’d confessed that I knew what he and his friends had done to Lita. He couldn’t just let that information get out.
My thoughts must have shown on my face, because he snickered and slid my drink to me.
“I did consider it, but this movie is costing a lot, and your death would make many of my friends, and myself, lose quite a bit of money. So, for now, you live another day.” He lifted his drink, expecting me to toast.
I did so, bitterly.
