Page 35 of Keeping Zita

“Ooooh-kay,” he drawled, truly interested now.

“I was looking at open paramedic jobs in the area. I do it everywhere I work,” she added quickly, “just to see what’s out there. What other states pay, things like that.”

Instead of freaking out over her possibly finding a job she might want in this area, the idea made him feel all warm inside.

Shit, things were moving too damn fast, and he hadn’t even really begun to pursue her. It was either a really bad sign…or a good one. He couldn’t decide which at this point.

But maybe he was getting ahead of himself. He couldn’t deny that checking out the competition, seeing what other companies offered, was a great way to get a pay raise or more benefits from her current employer.

“That’s smart,” he said. “Find anything interesting?”

She looked up at that. “You aren’t upset? Thinking I’m some psycho who’ll become a stalker or something?”

Obi-Wan snorted. “I just had the shittiest conversation with the only woman around here who I’d remotely classify as a stalker. If anything, I’d like for you to be a little more interested in my lame advances.”

She grinned. “Advances? Have you made any?”

In response, Obi-Wan nodded to the coffee sitting next to her. Then said, “And I seem to remember a kiss that knocked my socks off that I can’t stop thinking about.”

“You too?”

Those simple words made Obi-Wan feel ten feet tall. “Yeah.”

“Well, um…not really. I mean, I haven’t found anything super-interesting yet, but I just started right before you sat down.”

“You thought about working for the government? I know there are some paramedics working for contractors on base. Army and Navy.” He wasn’t even going to bring up the possibility of working for private security companies that contracted with the military to provide medical support for their personnel in high-risk environments, often overseas. He couldn’t stomach the thought of this woman being in some of the awful places he and his team had been on missions.

“Really?”

“Really,” he confirmed.

“I might be interested. Honestly, while working as a set medic used to be fun and exciting, as I get older, it’s not so much anymore.”

Obi-Wan could understand that. Just as he opened his mouth to see if Zita wanted to get together for their movie marathon before they left for the western part of the state, the one woman he didn’t want to see again walked into the break area. Carmen. And of course, she was shadowed by Silas.

For once, though, she didn’t make a beeline for him. She actually pretended as if she didn’t see him at all, smiling brightly at everyone else and saying good morning as if she was best friends with all the grips, lighting techs, and extras milling about.

“What’s up with her?” Zita asked. “I’ve never seen her in the break room before.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “She’s pissed at me. Probably trying to make me see what I’m missing by turning down her generous offer of sleeping with her after her going-away party this afternoon.”

“Good grief,” Zita said with an eye roll. “It’s not a going-away party. I mean, nothing special has been planned. Just the usual food that’s delivered in the afternoons. She probably ordered a cake to make herself look more important.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “You think she ordered it? I’m thinking she had her sidekick do it.”

“True. I can’t imagine her lowering herself to order anything from anywhere.”

“What’s up with her bodyguard, anyway? I’ve never seen one hanging around Logan,” Obi-Wan asked.

Zita closed her laptop and leaned forward, her elbows on the table as she gave him her complete attention. “He has one, but it’s his own guy from California. A professional who knows how to stay in the background. Doesn’t bring any attention to himself like Silas does, who seems to love the spotlight as much as Carmen. And I think his services were provided by a local company. That’s often how it works, unless the talent wants to bring their own men or women with them. Sometimes that’s the case with ultra-famous actors and actresses. But Carmen, while very popular, isn’t quite on the same level as some of the people Henry has worked with.”

“Interesting.”

“And I think he’s sleeping with her too,” Zita said, before taking a drink of coffee.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, the gossip on set really is pretty amazing. I overheard two of the boom handlers talking about how they heard Silas telling one of the camera operators all about it.”