My guilt at the fib grew when his handsome face softened in commiserating understanding.
I wouldn’t have minded if it was my dad. Halfway through the script readthrough, I’d reached the decision that I would go visit him. I was still mad as hell. I would likely be a stiff wall or a raging, crying mess. I wasn’t sure which, but it would definitely be one of those. But my mom was right when she’d said he was a good dad. And if something happened to him…
I didn’t want that regret weighing on my soul.
But it wasn’t my dad picking the perfect time to reach out.
It was Josh, and there was literallynevera perfect time for him to call me.
Ever.
I quickly blocked the number just as Tripp’s phone buzzed.
For an irrational second, I worried Josh had somehow gotten his number, but that was dumb. He didn’t even know about my job. Only Maddie and Wren did, and I knew they wouldn’t share that info. Hell, they wouldn’t share a glass of water with him if they found him crawling in Death Valley.
“Any chance that’s a message about the ending?” I asked, putting Josh out of my head.
“No, just Tony with a reminder about Hullywod’s New Year’s Eve party.”
My brows lowered as I scanned Tripp’s calendar on my phone. “I don’t have info on that.”
“I’m not going.”
“Why not?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Don’t feel like it.”
“Is it a quick thing at their office? You can pop in, make an appearance, then leave.”
“It’s also their twentieth anniversary celebration, so they’re making it a formal red-carpet affair.” His phone buzzed again. “Tony said they’re playing a montage film of their clients’s work, and I’ve got the most screentime.”
“Wow,” I deadpanned. “That sounds like a nightmare.”
He shot me a look.
“You should go.”
“Only if you’ll come with me.”
Walking a red carpet was my idea of a nightmare. I’d gotten stage fright accepting my high school diploma and had nearly busted my ass. Add in all the flashing cameras, press, and questions Tripp would surely get about our fuck-buddy situation?
I was nauseous just thinking about it.
“Uh, for your benefit, I’ll pass,” I said.
“Then I’m not going.”
We bickered back and forth for a few minutes longer before I relented. “Fine. I will go.” I cut off his immediate smile by holding up a finger and adding a stipulation that I knew I wouldn’t regret. “As your assistant. That means no touching. No flirting with me. No treating me any differently than a normal assistant.” He opened his mouth, but I kept going. “And that also includes letting me do things for you.”
“If you’re telling me that I have to go the whole night without being able to touch you, there will be a lot of things you can do for me.”
My insides warmed. “We’ll go to Gilded after then.”
“Deal.” Another buzz from his phone, and all that carefree happiness was wiped from his face. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, but he was already turning his phone.
Photos from the disastrous Christmas dinner were plastered on the screen as some TikToker analyzed them. From the positioning, it was already evident that Skylar had taken the pictures even before she herself showed up in one.
