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But then he’d left them there with barely a backwards glance. Or maybe that was how he always was with women.
Walking over to the window that looked out onto darkness, I knew I should climb in bed and try to sleep.
I was exhausted. Physically. I’d regret the lack of sleep tomorrow.
But I still felt like bouncing off the walls. None of my other gigs had felt like this. Yes, I always found starting with a new client exciting. I loved that my work was so project based and that no day was ever the same twice.
This was different, though.
This was like… I don’t know, like there was this energy, or anticipation, for what was about to happen.
It was ridiculous and hyperbolic to even think it, but it felt like something big was about to happen. And for once, not just to my client.
It felt like I was on the Titanic and there were icebergs in the water. There was danger all around.
And I still wanted to go full steam ahead.
A smarter woman would slow down and ask herself what the hell she was doing.
But God, I was so tired of being the smart one.
So instead of doing what I usually did when I had restless energy in the middle of the night and rereading Jane Eyre for the ninety-seventh time until I fell asleep, I got up instead.
No one else was awake, I was sure. The huge house was silent except for a mechanical hum that might be a refrigerator or the air conditioner or some other fancy appliance I’d never heard of. Everything in this house was smart, apparently. Milo had quickly tried to explain some of it when we’d come in, but I’d been busy not getting lost as he led me to where I’d be staying.
But I had noted where the kitchen was. It was a habit of regularly living a life of travel—always know where the food was. In all the craziness of the day and night, I’d barely gotten a few mouthfuls of food and I was starving. I’d been hoping to just sleep it off but now my stomach was grumbling too loudly to ignore.
I padded down the large central staircase in my socks and had just opened the fridge when—
“That was crazy tonight, huh?”
I about jumped out of my skin as I spun around to see Janus standing right behind me.
“Jesus!” I gasped.
I’d thought I was totally alone but he must have already been in the darkened kitchen to have snuck up on me so suddenly. Or, well, I guess technically I’d snuck up on him if he’d been here first.
“Not quite,” he said with a sardonic smirk. “Sorry to startle you.”
In the light of the still-open fridge I could see a slight smile on his face. “Old habits die hard. My brother and I are always sneaking up and trying to scare the shit out of each other.”
I laughed and put a hand to my chest. “Well, consider me scared.”
His smile grew, I think because I hadn’t taken offense. He leaned against the counter as if he’d decided he was staying awhile. “So? What’d you think of the afterparty?”
I shrugged, wondering what my hair looked like. I’d just thrown it up in a bun after scrubbing all of tonight’s makeup off my face. “I don’t know. It’s not really for me, is it? Did you have fun?”
He frowned, looking confused. “Why isn’t it for you? Those things are for people in the industry. You’re in the industry.”
I laughed out loud at that, feeling immediately at ease and relaxing. “They’re for celebrities and people hoping to either see celebrities or be seen with celebrities.”
“And that’s not you?” He quirked an eyebrow up.
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s just say I know my place. I play the game and get to know who I need to know. Which is usually the other folks in the shadows with me.”
He tilted his head, like he was appraising me. “Some PR reps play the game by hobnobbing with the big names. They become influencers themselves.”
I smirked at that. “Not the good ones.”
And then I looked around for the clock and saw the time on the oven. “So what are you doing up at 3:28 in the morning? Because you were partying hard. And” —I bit my lip wondering if I should say more but daring since he’d opened the conversation— “you were so quiet on the way home.” I shrugged, hurrying to follow up, “I figured that you liked to just decompress in your own way after these things. So many people out there want a piece of you. Even if you are just playing the part of your brother.”
Janus smirked, but the look was darker than anything I’d seen from him all evening. “Yeah, well, Leander can be a temperamental little shit sometimes.” He looked like he wanted to say more but then stopped himself.
