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It’s incredibly satisfying watching Chet deflate, his ears burning red in humiliation. When I turn to regard Eden, I fully expect her to look indignant or maybe flustered.
Instead, she looksaroused.
Her pupils are wide, her soft, full lips are parted, and the way she leans forward in her seat as she watches me intently. I really want to get her out of this place, but I don’t know if that’s the protective streak in me, or something else.
Something I don’t dare name.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“If they bother you again, let the bouncer know,” I tell her through gritted teeth as I turn and walk away.
It isn’t until I’m in my car, twisting the key in the ignition, that I realize I left my jacket with her. I guess it doesn’t matter. I can have it replaced. It was a bespoke jacket, but I’m sure my friends at Hugo Boss won’t mind making me another.
I feel slightly better knowing that she’s covered up, her pure skin safe from prying eyes.
Chapter 4
Tip #4: Avoid inappropriate thoughts about your ex-best friend’s daughter.
HUNTER
Mei-Lee greets me at the front door. How she knows I’m coming, I have no idea. It’s not like she can hear the garage door opening or the rev of my Ferrari's engine as I make my way down the driveway, though I suspect maybe she can feel the vibrations through the mansion.
I’m psychic, she jokes, signing with her hands as I walk into the main foyer.I always know when you’re coming. You’ve got an aura.
If you say so, I sign back.
I gave all the windows a good polish, she continues.I also made sure to re-balance the water in the pool, I gave the floors a good sweep, and I have your suit for tomorrow ironed and hanging in your closet.
I nod, quietly marveling at how much she managed to get done today. Mei-Lee is pushing sixty-five, but she isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. She’s been working as my housekeeper for a little over seven years now. Without her, my place would be a disorganized mess.
Mine is a decently sized place. Sixteen bedrooms and sixteen baths, three floors and a basement, plus an infinity pool out back overlooking Los Angeles from the very top of Beverly Hills. I bought the house after the success of my first ever film,Tarantula, a contemporary horror. Looking back, it wasn’t my best work, but that might be the perfectionist in me. It was still a massive box office success, and the residuals are still coming in to this day.
Would you like me to prepare dinner for you?she asks.
No, I’m good.
You shouldn’t skip meals, Hunter.
I have a good chuckle at this. She’s the only one who can get away with calling me anything except Mr. Stride.
I’ll be fine, I tell her.Get some rest.
Mei-Lee clicks her tongue.Don’t stay up too late, she signs before waddling off down the hall.
I’ve given her a room in the south wing to call her own. A sort of room and board situation since housing in LA is fucking stupid. I pay her a generous salary, but she sends over half back to her family in China, which means she can’t really afford a place of her own here. It’s easier for both of us if she lives in the house she tends to.
I retreat to my room on the third floor, bone tired. I thought being my own boss would afford me a flexible schedule. Now I’m in charge of an entire production studio with hundreds of full-time employees and thousands of independent contractors relying on me and the projects I greenlight. Star Rider Studio doesn’t just create films, but television programming, as well. Dramas, family-friendly content, romances, comedies… I have my toes dipped in a little bit of everything.
And it’s exhausting.
Most days, I’m being pulled in several different directions all at once. I haven’t known a full night’s rest in ages. Between expense reports, organizing press junkets, general marketing for new and planned releases, negotiating with pushy agents on behalf of their entitled actors…
It’s a lot. And it’s mind numbing.
How I find the strength to keep doing this work is beyond me.
My bedroom is cold and dark. Plain. I don’t spend very much time here, so I don’t see much point in decorating. Hell, my office at the studio feels more like home than this place. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason I come home is to keep Mei-Lee company.
