AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, what about Audrie?” Landon asked. “How are we going to get her back?”
“You’regoing to get her back.” Rourke smiled. “If Christian won’t do it, I know you can. In fact, you may be the best person for the job.”
Landon would argue, but if there was even a chance Rourke was right, he had to try to convince Audrie to come back. He didn’t want to continue this production knowing she was in town and he couldn’t see her.
“I’m going,” he said. “If I don’t come back in a couple of hours, send reinforcements.”
13
Audrie wasnota runner. She was far from the type to run when things got tough. In fact, if anything, she always stuck around long after she should have left.
She’d had the same best friend her entire life. Even some of her girlfriends from elementary and middle school were still in her friend circle—the ones who stayed in town, anyway.
But the worst were her romantic relationships. Friends and family had long ago pointed out that she stayed in relationships far longer than she should, holding onto a dying romance like one person could do all the work and save it.
But today, she ran.
She knew Jessica had venom in her and that if someone got on the wrong side of her, things could get ugly. She had no idea, though, just how ugly. Jessica had insulted her from top to bottom, but she’d done it in a very passive-aggressive way. She’d done it by talking about women who lived in small towns like Corbin and how they were unsophisticated and sheltered. She used Audrie as an example of someone who was small-town pretty, but would be dog-ugly in L.A., where everyone was justsobeautiful.
So here Audrie stood, in her own personal space. She was in her salon alone, having just texted her one o’clock appointment to have her meet at the salon rather than on set.
She really should be using this break to eat, but her appetite had fled somewhere about halfway through Jessica’s diatribe. She wasn’t sure when she’d be able to handle food again.
Sighing, Audrie sat down in her chair and turned to face the mirror. It was the same view her clients had when she was cutting their hair. Audrie spent most of her day avoiding looking at herself there. She never thought of herself as particularly beautiful, and apparently, she’d been right about that. Jessica had put her in her place.
The low rumble of a motor yanked her out of her thoughts. Someone had just pulled into the shop’s parking lot. She’d gotten used to listening for that telltale sound over the years. The walls of this place were thin, but mostly it was because there was so little noise in this area of town, even the smallest sound was magnified.
She glanced at the clock near the stairwell that led up to the apartment where Poppy was staying. Maybe Poppy had come back for lunch. Doubtful, considering lunch was served on set, but it didn’t make sense that anybody else would be pulling up to the salon right now. Her one o’clock appointment was almost two hours away.
The engine shut off, followed by silence, and then, a few seconds later, by the slam of a car door. The visitor was coming to the salon. She stood and walked to the door, preparing to tell whoever it was that she could work them in. She rarely got walk-ins, but she always tried to accommodate them if she wasn’t overbooked.
Since she had nothing better to do now, she may as well make some money. Walking away from the production meant giving up the higher daily pay she was earning there, so she’d have to shift back into her usual hardworking mode.
Audrie had her hand on the lock, preparing to turn it, when her visitor came into view. It wasn’t a customer. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. It was Landon Dixon.
It shouldn’t have surprised her that someone from the set had come looking for her. She’d have expected Christian to call to check on her, but her phone had been silent. She was still banking on nobody noticing she wasn’t around for a while. She didn’t think Jessica would volunteer the information that she’d run their hair stylist off the set.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hello,” she said.
She had no choice. She had to unlock the door for him. She couldn’t just stand there and tell him to go away.
She turned the lock and pulled the door open just enough to talk to him. “What’s up?” she asked, as though nothing were out of the ordinary.
“You left.”
Tilting her head slightly, Audrie looked at him. She wasn’t sure what she might have expected him to say. That wasn’t it, but it was as good a place to start as any.
“I did.” She nodded. “I have a policy in my business. I’ll work with difficult customers. I’ll even let them come back. But if they disrespect me or other customers, I’m done.”
That did nothing to change the confused expression on his face. She got it. He had no idea why she was bringing this up now.
“Your brother’s paying me a good daily rate to help out on set,” she said. “And that’s very generous of him. But when it comes down to it, I’m just not the type of person who can put up with disrespect for money. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am now to have someone talk to me the way she did.”
Landon didn’t speak for a long moment after she blurted all that out. The truth was, as she looked at him now, she realized the truth was she might not put up with it for money, but she would for the chance to be around Landon. And that scared her more than anything.
Instead of speaking, he looked over her head, no doubt confirming the place was empty. Finally, he asked, “May I come in?”
