Page 98 of Just Killing Time


Font Size:  

She nodded.

Mick stood and faced her beside the desk. Caroline didn’t pull away and kept her gaze steadily on him. “How do you feel about that?” he asked, gently brushing a wisp of hair off her cheek and tucking it behind her ear.

“It’s horrible, of course.”

She said the words, and he knew she meant them. There was something in her voice, though, some measure of excitement, that told him she had more to say. “Be honest with me, Caroline.”

“I am being honest. It is awful to exploit someone’s tragic death. But…?”

“But?”

Her voice dropped lower. “But I can’t help thinking of what it could mean for the show.”

With those words, Mick felt a thin veil of something drop between them. Caroline, his Caroline, had become such a Hollywood insider that she didn’t mind using someone else’s tragedy to get ahead. He took a step away from her, studying her face, her luminous eyes, her beautiful lips, the bottom one trembling slightly.

“Do you think that’s easy for me to admit about myself?” she asked. “I know how ugly it is. Logically, I’m disgusted and appalled and know I should take the high road and walk out before I let myself be involved with this.”

“So why don’t you?” he asked softly, trying hard to keep any hint of condemnation from his voice. In truth, he wasn’t condemning her, he just couldn’t understand her position.

“I can’t. That would be professional suicide.”

“There are other studios.”

She ran a frustrated hand through her thick, dark hair. “Who’d blackball me in a minute for bailing on a production that is doing exactly what any other network would do—capitalize on publicity any way they could to make a hit.”

He could concede that point. Her job meant a lot to her—hadn’t she left their relationship behind so she could go out to California and pursue it? But she was a different person now. And he couldn’t help wondering—if her career suddenly changed, mighttheirfuture look a little different, too?

“There are plenty of jobs you’d be capable of, Caroline.”

“So, you think I should quit?”

He didn’t answer because he wasn’t sure he could answer unselfishly. His logical side understood her goals because he was ambitious enough to know how she felt. His emotional side wanted her to tell them to take the job and shove it. He remained silent.

“The show is good, Mick. It’sreallygood. It’smyproject and I’m damn proud of it, or I was. Do you know how rare it is to be involved in something in L.A. that really shines, especially a reality TV show?”

There was no hint of hidden feelings in her expression. She meant what she said. He still didn’t agree with what the studio was doing, but he was at least beginning to understand Caroline’s dilemma. It would be pure hell to put your heart and soul into something, then have to make a choice to watch your efforts result in something fantastic or walk away due to your morality code. He didn’t know that he’d feel any differently than she did, in the same situation. He finally nodded that understanding. “I do get it.”

Relief and gratitude flashed in her eyes.

He quickly added, “But there’s one more big problem with you staying on the set.”

Her relief faded. “Oh?”

“Yeah. There’s the little matter of a killer running around up at the Little Bohemie Inn. I don’t want you anywhere near that place.”

“Mick, I can’t be the on-site producer if I’m not on site.”

He gave her a measured look that he hoped convinced her of just how serious he was. “You’re spending twelve hours a day with that group of people, any one of whom could have killed Hester Tomlinson. You’re telling me you’re not the least bit worried?”

“No, I’m not telling you that. I’m scared out of my shoes.”

He quirked a grin. “Good thing you have such cute little feet.”

She ignored him. “But I swear, nobody’s doing anything alone. We’re all working in teams.”

“What about the lucky person whose teammate is the killer?”

She gave him a look that accused him of being a pessimist but didn’t even try to argue the point.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like