She let out a snort but didn’t say anything.
Which was good, but even if Gage had any interest in me, I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. He was already uneasy doing the show, despite the fact it was a whole new concept from what Allan and I had, I knew he felt a lot of pressure to live up to Allan. Even though I tried to do everything I could do put him at ease.
I watched Madison slink away, texting furiously to someone on her phone and let out a sigh.
“Coming?” she asked, not even bothering to look up from her phone, as she reached the door.
I sent up a silent prayer to help get me through the night as I walked over and looped my arm around Madison’s, and we made our way in silence to the conference room where the party was being held.
My eyes sweep through the room, my heart in my throat. There were a lot more people than I expected. Usually there’s maybe a couple dozen executives from the studios and networks along with the cast, crew, and families, along with a few local media personalities.
But there was one tall, sandy haired man in particular my gaze traveled to. When his green eyes locked with my own, I was sure I was about to die right there as I forgot how to breathe. But at least I was going to die with a smile on my face.
“Yeah, totally nothing to see here,” Madison snickered as she let go of my arm and wandered away.
“Uh huh,” I agreed, eyes still locked with Gage as he made his way across the room toward me.
Gage
Icouldn’t believe how much of a success Haunted Vegas seemed to be. Of course, we wouldn’t really know until the numbers came in, and apparently there was a lot of data and analysis that went into determining ratings. Then there was streaming to consider. And although I didn’t understand any of it, I knew that it was what was going to either make us or break us.
That is, if Trent didn’t break me first.
All night he’d been acting weird. Then again, I wasn’t really sure what was normal for Trent. It wasn’t as though we knew each other all that well. We’d only shot two episodes together and had a handful of production meetings.
It hadn’t really been enough to get to know each other.
Not that it stopped me from developing a ridiculous schoolboy crush that I knew would never been reciprocated. And even if Trent could feel the same way about me, I wasn’t sure if it was something that would be smart.
Scratch that. Iknewit wouldn’t be smart. Especially given how I didn’t want to be Allan’s replacement.
Even if there did seem to be an undercurrent of sexual tension between the two of us. And judging from the looks given to us bybothour kids, it wasn’t all that subtle.
Speaking of the kids, I was glad Will was getting along with Trent’s daughter, Madison. They seemed to hit it off pretty well, if their conspiratorial looks were anything to go by. A twist in my gut told me I probably didn’t want to poke too closely at that.
After the premiere, they had gone up to Trent’s room with one of the production assistants until the party was over. Part of me wished it was over already, and I snuck a glance at my watch to try and figure out how much longer I’d have to stick around to be polite before I’d be able to beg off and make my escape.
A hand flew in front of my face, and I startled, looking up to see a grinning Trent holding a glass of champagne up to me.
“Here, you look like you could use this,” he offered with a shy smile.
I eyed the glass warily. I’d already had quite a bit to drink throughout the night, as it seemed no one was allowed to have an empty glass for long, and I wasn’t sure how wise it would be to have another. But the grin on Trent’s face, and the twinkle in his eye, had me wanting to sayfuck itto more than just the alcohol.
“Thanks,” I said with a long sigh as I took the glass and sagged against the wall at my back.
“You okay?” His look was sympathetic, and despite the fact he was much more used to this type of thing, he seemed like he wanted to get out just as much as I did. “I know these can be overwhelming, but you are supposed to be having fun,” he teased.
“Trent! Gage! There you two are!” a voice boomed, interrupting before I could think of anything clever or witty to say, and perhaps saving me from saying something embarrassingly flirty.
I looked up and forced a smile when I saw Mark Halliway, the president of the network clamoring toward us with his wife Rita on his arm. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Trent roll his eyes before he turned around, smile firmly in place.
“Mark. Rita,” Trent greeted them.
“I think we’ve got a hit on our hands, boys!” he bellowed as he clapped us on the shoulders.
He was a large man with some obvious brute strength, and I had to bite my lip to keep a grunt at bay as he practically slammed Trent and I into each other. Which was just my luck as I’d been literally trying to avoid Trent most of the night. Mostly because I’d been concerned with keeping myself from kissing him stupid.
Which would be stupid. We were coworkers and I couldn’t let the comments and innuendos everyone seemed to have about our chemistry mess me up. I needed this job if I wanted to do something more than just modeling for the rest of my life, especially since I wasn’t getting any younger.
