Page 89 of Falling for the Playboy Pilot

32

JANNA

Ididn’t even know what to say. I felt horrible. I stood there, frozen, as the chaos unfolded around me. My heart pounded in my chest, and my stomach churned with guilt. Tyler and Marcus were both on the ground, groaning, and Dalton had stormed off like a tornado leaving wreckage behind. The tarmac felt eerily quiet now, except for the whispers of the crew gathered nearby. I could feel their eyes on me, their judgmental stares making my skin itch.

I knew what it looked like. Hell, a blind person could see what it looked like.

Cheryl put her hand on my arm. “Janna, are you okay?”

I shook my head, because I honestly didn’t know if I was. “No. Cheryl, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Those guys were just talking to me, and Dalton, he just lost it.”

She sighed, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “I know. But right now, we need to focus on damage control. Tyler and Marcus are pissed, and rightly so.”

I nodded. “I will. I’ll apologize. This is all my fault.”

“It’s not all your fault, Janna. Dalton’s got his own issues, and he’s the one who threw punches. But you’re part of this now, so we need to clean it up.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, glancing over at Tyler and Marcus, who were being helped up by a couple of other firefighters. Tyler was clutching his ribs, his face twisted in pain, while Marcus dabbed at his bleeding lip with a cloth. They both glared at me. I felt like shrinking into the ground. If I had known Dalton would react like that, I never would have poked the bear.

“Go wait for me in the kitchen,” Cheryl said. “I’ll handle the guys first, then we’ll figure out what to do next.”

I hesitated, my pride warring with my guilt. “Are you sure? Maybe I should⁠—”

“Trust me,” she interrupted. “Right now, they’re not in the mood to hear anything from you. Let me calm them down first.”

Everyone was going to blame me. I was the new element. I was the one that disturbed their happy little family thing they had going.

I nodded reluctantly and turned toward the main building. My feet dragged as I made my way inside. The kitchen was empty. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and slumped into a chair at the table, resting my head in my hands. I was so embarrassed. How had I let things escalate like that?

It felt so childish. I was one of the youngest people in the business. They already saw me as the newbie with zero experience and now they were going to think I was playing high school games.

Tyler and Marcus had been flirting, sure, but it hadn’t been anything serious. Just harmless banter. Then Tyler had pulled me into his lap, which I wanted no part of, and suddenly Dalton was there, fists flying. I hadn’t even seen him coming. Chaos had erupted around me.

“No.” I shook my head. “Bullshit!”

I jumped to my feet. I was not taking responsibility for Dalton’s choices. He was the one that lost his shit. And he was the one who made it clear he wasn’t interested in anything but a little sex here and there.

I went upstairs and changed into another pair of shorts and a T-shirt. When I returned downstairs, Cheryl and some of the others were making lunch.

“Cheryl, can I borrow your car?” I asked.

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

She knew exactly where I was going. “I don’t want this to fester.”

She laughed softly. “Yeah, probably good idea. He’s undoubtedly up there tearing more shit up.”

I walked up to her and turned my back to the guys at the table. “Is this normal?” I whispered the question. “The fighting?”

She sighed. “Yes, but usually it’s because someone looked at somebody the wrong way or insulted their dog. And usually the tussling doesn’t start until the end of the season when everyone is burned out. But when you have thirty to fifty guys working and living together day in and day out, yeah, it happens. Testosterone and all that. All of these guys are badasses that thrive on adrenaline. But I think you definitely need to get this shit handled now. It’s not a good look and it does not bode well for the rest of the season.”

“I need to talk to him,” I said.

“Yeah, you do. Keys are in the car.”

“Thanks.”

“Good luck,” she said with a laugh.