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And Daniel looked a bit nervous as well. If she had to guess, she would wager he wasn’t about to pounce on her.
She led the way into the great room with Daniel following behind her.
“Take a seat,” she suggested, waving a hand toward the love seats. Daniel sat down in the chair and settled in. He crossed his hands in front of him and locked gazes with her as she sat across from him. Once again she found herself a bit mesmerized by his piercing eyes. They were truly one-of-a-kind.
“Again, thank you for allowing me to come in. I want to apologize to you about this morning.” The words came tumbling out of his mouth. Lorelei had the impression he was trying to get the words out quickly due to nervousness. It was sort of shocking. Daniel was a man who had the world at his feet. Why would he be nervous around her?
“I tend to say things sometimes without thinking about how they sound.” He winced. “It gets me in a lot of trouble.” He raised his eyebrows and shifted in his seat. “I spoke without thinking about your feelings, for which I’m truly sorry.”
She frowned at him. “You came all the way over here to apologize? A simple phone call would have sufficed. Or a dozen long-stemmed roses,” she cracked.
Even though she’d been joking, Daniel didn’t crack a smile. “You like roses? I can have my assistant send you a room full of them.”
Was he serious? A room full of roses? Ugh. Was he just a rich guy trying to throw his money around? She met enough men like that in her profession. It didn’t impress her at all.
“Umm. That’s not necessary.”
“Well, I wanted to look you right in the eye and tell you that I want to offer you the role.”
Lorelei gasped. “What? Seriously?”
“I’m very serious, Lorelei. This venture is very important to me. It’s been in the works for several years.”
“What changed your mind? You were so adamant this morning that I was the worst person for the role.”
He squinted as if he was pondering her question. “Well, to be honest, you’re probably the most stunning face I’ve ever seen. My initial reaction was to reject you, thinking you couldn’t possibly be a tough warrior. But that was foolish on my part. I should have embraced your beauty rather than dismiss it.” There was a look of confusion etched on his face, as if he was still trying to figure things out.
Lorelei swallowed past the lump in her throat. She hadn’t expected in a million years for Daniel Donahue to show up at her house full of apologies.
“I created that concept of Rhiannon based on my mother and my sister, both of whom I love dearly,” he continued. “My sister Shayla is the only girl amongst seven boys. It takes a special woman to deal with so much testosterone. And my mother is my hero. I want to do justice to them and out of my desire to do so, I was a tad overzealous.” He was looking at her as if he expected her to respond. “In a way, I held your beauty against you, which was wrong to do.”
“I-I don’t know what to say,” she hedged. Suddenly she was tongue-tied. She hadn’t expected any of this from Daniel. A very short time ago she had been thinking some pretty mean-spirited thoughts about him and now he was at her house trying to woo her into starring in his video game. Everything was happening at such a dizzying pace!
“Please say yes. Say you’ll be Rhiannon so we can sign a contract and get this project rolling.” He was staring at her with big puppy dog eyes, pleading with her to acquiesce.
Lorelei didn’t know why she was hesitating. People made mistakes, didn’t they? As a Christian woman it would be hateful of her to remain unforgiving. Not to mention the fact that this project excited her in a way she hadn’t experienced professionally in quite some time. She had gone to the interview this morning because she’d really been enthused about the role of Rhiannon and the success DD Studios had been experiencing with their various video games. Instinct told her it would be a huge success. Lately she’d been feeling bored with the modeling life. She’d prayed to God to open new avenues for her and to show her the true desires of her heart.
Lorelei yearned to do different things and showcase her versatility. The worst thing she could do would be to become predictable. There were only so many Ray Ban or Gucci campaigns she could shoot. She was incredibly bored with makeup campaigns and teeth whitening commercials. For such a long time now she had been trying to stretch. It was a cliché, but she didn’t want to simply model. There was so much else out there.
Do it! A voice buzzed in her head. Say yes!
“Yes,” she said in a firm voice that betrayed none of her wariness. “I’ll accept the job.”
Daniel jumped to his feet. He raised his fist in the air in jubilation. “Yes! She said yes!”
Lorelei felt her lips twitching with mirth. Daniel looked so ecstatic. Matter of fact, he resembled a little kid at the moment. He was extremely appealing when he smiled.
He ran his hands through his hair. “Sorry about th
at. This project means the world to me. Knowing you’re on board is amazing news. I’ll have my people reach out to your agent with all the details such as compensation and your shooting schedule.”
Lorelei stood up. Even though she was tall, looking up at Daniel was a bit intense due to his height and those mesmerizing eyes. She felt a slight electricity in the air as their eyes met and locked. Oh no! She knew this strange feeling bubbling up inside of her. And she wanted nothing to do with it.
“Well thank you for coming all the way over here to tell me the good news,” she said, her tone grateful. She could truly appreciate a man who was able to make amends so quickly. Maybe Daniel wasn’t the jerk she’d believed him to be a few hours ago.
He reached out for her hand and placed his over it. It wasn’t a handshake. It was more of a hand embrace. Lorelei felt slightly uncomfortable at his touch, but it wasn’t for the usual reasons. Daniel’s hands were warm and soothing. She had a strong sense of being in the presence of goodness, even though she barely knew him. He seemed strong and steady.
“It was my pleasure, Lorelei.” He nodded at her, then said, “I’ve got to get back to the office. We have some kids coming in this afternoon to test out some new games. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
