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Patrick held his hands up and wore a crooked grin, the muscle in his jaw feathering as he glared at her. Then he took the time to put his shirt back on and button his own pants.
“Take that camera from him!” No one seemed to listen, and Duncan turned off his phone and put it in his pocket.
“Duncan, what are you doing?” Jefferey’s laughter took my attention away for just a moment and then Duncan clapped his hands at Patrick and told him to get back to work. The man wasted no time rushing out past me and Jefferey. I was a bit confused why the man still had a job to get back to.
“I’d suggest the two of you get back to work too, and everyone will keep nice and quiet about your little habits as long as you stop harassing Rachel and see to it that she’s paid.”
“You set me up!” Star balled her fists and then pushed past Duncan and me and hurried into the bathroom. Her manager, who stayed on her phone most of the time, came out of the office next door as if she’d only just heard the commotion. She rushed into the bathroom with Star.
“Duncan, what’s going on?”
“Hey, I said I wouldn’t kill him, I didn’t say I wouldn’t blackmail him.”
“Genius,” said Jefferey with a wide grin. “I like you better already.” He high-fived Duncan and I felt like I was losing my mind.
“We’ll get back to work in ten. I need a moment.” Brock’s expression was as if someone had died and he kicked his foot against the door to close it as Duncan took me by the hand.
“He’s not going to be harassing you anymore, and you’ll get your money, that’s all that matters. But to answer you, I called Patrick after you left last night and made him spill some information to keep his job. He admitted that Star was trying to arrange a threesome and I made him help me so I could get some dirt on Brock.”
“Wow, so Patrick was sleeping with them both?” I turned to look at Jefferey who was nodding slowly.
“Well, they were trying to make that happen, and though he admitted he’s open-minded, he wasn’t really interested in more than being with Star. He was going to deny the advances.” We continued hand in hand to the front door where Patrick was standing against the building, still stone-faced.
“I need to have another talk with him,” said Duncan. “At least to let him know his job’s safe and I won’t let the video leak.”
“You wouldn’t do that, would you?” I couldn’t believe that he’d do anything that cruel, even for me.
“No, of course not, but they don’t know that.” He met my eyes and rested his forehead to mine. “Are you upset?”
“No, I’m just surprised you did all this, that you thought of it.” But then I didn’t know why I was surprised. Anytime when we were kids and someone messed with me or Shauna, he’d always come to our rescue and defense, whether it was punching the kid in the stomach or setting up a booby trap in their fort.
He gave a little shrug. “You’re my girl. I’m not letting some asshole hold shit over you. I only showed him that two could play his game. I have a feeling these two have been using every opportunity to line this kind of thing up before, and I seriously doubt he’d want his daddy to find out about his preferences.”
“So, you’re not going to tell Shauna or Harris?” I couldn’t imagine either of them would be proud to know they were working with such an asshole and offering him support.
“Oh, hell yeah, Shauna already knows. Harris is going to tolerate the little prick until he can get his father’s contract and then he’s done with him, too. Business is business, but family is family. You’re part of it, you know—my family. You always have been.”
I lay my head against his chest and held him tight.
r /> He’d stood up for me, and even though I hadn’t wanted him to get involved, I was glad now that he had. The past two days had been unbearable, and when I left him there and went back into that room, seeing Brock and Star take their place on the stage I created, when Brock called action, still straight-faced from being put in his place, I knew things would be okay.
There was just one more thing I had to do, and it was far past time I made it right.
CHAPTER NINETEEN - DUNCAN
A week had gone by before I transferred the video from my phone to a file on my computer, but nothing had happened in the final days of filming. The production of the new Star Summers video was a wrap. It was time for me and Rachel to take our relationship away from work. It would be hard not seeing her every day, but considering what we’d been through, it would be a lot healthier this way.
Her dinner invitation had come short notice, but I had already planned to spend a quiet evening alone with her, home cooking or not. I decided to spiff myself up a bit since she was going through all the trouble of preparing our dinner, and I had even cleaned my goatee up a bit and tried a new aftershave.
My hard work paid off with her greeting smile, and as she led me inside, I took the opportunity to get a good look at her. She had dressed too and had on a sexy pale purple dress that flattered not only her smooth complexion but her soft curves as well. I remembered a time when she was nothing more than knees and elbows and had a smattering of sun-kissed freckles across her nose and cheeks. It was long before I realized she’d one day hold my heart in the palm of her hands.
I sat watching her, settling at the bar as she checked all of her dishes and stirred what needed stirring. She threw a glance over her shoulder and then turned to lean across the counter for another kiss. “You look dapper,” she said running her hands through my trimmed beard.
“Yeah, well, I thought since you were going through the trouble, so would I but I didn’t expect you’d be so dressed up yourself. I’m going to hate peeling you out of that dress.” She pulled her lips in tight and tried not to smile. “Is this some special date from a decade ago that I forgot about?”
“No, but it is something that is long overdue.” She gave me a worried glance as the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” I started to stand, but she came around the counter and waved me back. “No, but please join me in the living room, I had no idea he’d be here this early. I wanted to prepare you.”
