AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ChapterFive
BRANDON
“Brandon? What are you doing here?” Shoving my hands into my pockets, I leaned back on my heels to smile at the surprise in Katie’s voice. For the past three hours, I’d kept back and tried hard not to be noticed so I didn’t ruin her scenes. Her full getup was even more impressive in person, and I scanned her fur-clad body from head to toe.
“I came to watch your final scenes. You said you were shooting them today.” A slender, well-manicured brow arched high even as her cheeks turned beet red, and my gut tightened.So frickin’ beautiful. “Ah, I may or may not have bribed my way in. Also, Prism Entertainment is one of my clients, so I had some leverage.”
“Oh..." Reaching gracefully to tuck stray strands behind her ear, Katie licked her lips and a little giggle escaped that tugged at the corners of my mouth. “So, what did you think? It’ll look better once they add the CGI.”
“You did wonderfully.” Truth rang in my tone, and she grinned at me with happiness twinkling in her eyes. Even spattered in fake blood, she was so pure, and I rubbed the back of my neck as my throat tightened. “So, now that you’re done, I was wondering if you wanted to go out to lunch? It’s a little late, but..."
“Yeah, okay. I just have to go change.” Pointing her thumb over her shoulder, Katie twisted to catch sight of the director. Mat Sermon and I had done business together before, and he strode across the set like he owned—it which he did. His salt-and-pepper goat scruff belayed his age, and he stared right at me with piercing brown eyes.
“Brandon. It’s been a while. I wasn’t expecting you.” Shaking his hand firmly, I only nodded, and his chipped front tooth peeked out when he smiled. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I just came to watch Katie’s last scenes.” Surprise raised Mat’s bushy brows, and he shot Katie a curious look as she blushed furiously and stared at her feet. “Everyone has that first superfan, right?”
“Damned right. You know, Katie, if you want, you can just bring the costume back later tonight. We’re gonna be at this a while. Carl’s got a stick up his ass for some reason. I seriously wish we’d killed him off instead of you.” Embarrassment at my own declaration drained away at Mat’s grumble, and he grinned at her surprised gasp. “It’ll be fine. Actually, why don’t you keep it? Consider it a gift. You did really well on this. You grew a lot. I’m certainly impressed.”
“Really? I can keep it? Seriously?” Affection blossomed behind my ribs to constrict my heart when Katie’s voice crackled, and she bounced like a little kid. Fist bumping the air, she giggled wildly, and I rolled my lips between my teeth to keep quiet. Taking Mat’s hand in both of hers, her cheeks threatened to burst at the seams. “Thank you, Mat. Seriously, thank you so much. I appreciate it more than I can say.”
“You’re welcome. I hope we get to work together again. I’ll keep you in mind for anything that might pop up in the tube.” Walking away as quickly as he’d appeared, Mat left Katie in stunned silence. He was always good to those he saw potential in, but it seemed to me like he’d taken a special liking to her. To tell her she was memorable was a huge deal.
“Let’s go, and you can tell me all about it.” My offer earned me a hysteric laugh that wrapped around my heart to squeeze it tightly, and Katie grabbed my hand to drag me toward the huge bay doors. Her thick braid swished down her back over her costume, and it wasn’t until we were a good way away from the studio that she paused.
Even the ground seemed to tremble, and I held my breath as Katie justexplodedwith happiness. She didn’t let go of my hand, jerking my arm around while she jumped and wiggled, and danced. Watching through wide eyes as she twirled around, I clenched my free hand into a fist to stop myself from interrupting her.
This was a huge win, and she deserved to enjoy it.
“Oh, my God! Oh, my God! You heard that, right? I’m not hallucinating or anything, right? Right?” Stumbling a little when Katie threw herself at me, I grunted as I wrapped my arms around her back and under her knees. Her taut, slender body trembled with excitement and accomplishment and her eyes sparkled brightly as they caught mine. Time seemed to slow, the moment stretching into forever, and I tensed when she smashed her lips on mine.
Soft, smooth lips were tinged with the taste of fake blood—which kind of tasted like bacon—and I sucked up a sharp breath through my nose. Shock slammed into me, and prickles rolled down my spine as my tongue pushed past her teeth to tangle with hers. The passion in her weak, low moan blew me away, but it also served as the catalyst that flung us back into reality.
Katie’s pleather-clad backside tightened, and the sinew in her thighs pulled taut under my palms. My heart threatened to burst from my chest, and my throat closed when she pulled back to stare at me through wide eyes.
“I–I am so sorry, Brandon. I–I was just um..." Faltering into a dense silence, Katie’s exposed arms and legs burned through my clothes, and I opened my mouth only to exhale. We were standing close to a building, and the bustling lane disappeared from my scope of comprehension. She tore her eyes off me to stare at her twiddling fingers.
“Uh... no, no, it’s okay.” Clearing my throat roughly, I gingerly set her down, and Katie wrapped her arms around herself as I tried to get my rampaging heart under control. “It’s... more than okay. Ah..."
“S–so, you have any ideas about lunch? I mean... I’m starving.”
“Yeah. Lunch. Right.” Shaking my shoulders hard, I nodded firmly, and Katie smiled before gesturing me to follow her. “I was just thinking of going to this really good taco truck on South South. It’s one of my favorites.”
“I love tacos.” Huffing a laugh when Katie’s stomach grumbled loudly in agreement, I only shook my head. My gut twisted, and my fingertips tingled all the way up my arm as I cast her a side glance. The short silence was awkward, and I clenched my jaw before shoring up my courage to hold her hand. Her step faltered, jacking up my heart rate with nerves, but she only blushed deeper as I threaded our fingers together.
“Ah... so... I had a pretty good morning at work, surprisingly.” My desperate attempt to distract myself from Katie’s kiss worked a little, at least, and I heaved a huge breath. The baking sun cast a gold glow throughout the studios, and we reached the main drag that led out into the world before I spoke up again. “I mean... I had a fight with my dad’s business partner, but I won this time.”
“This time?” Nodding firmly, I reached to rub my jaw with my free hand, and my mind flung back to earlier in the day. Bert wasraging madthat I’d started really standing up to him, and a peculiar sense of accomplishment swelled my chest.
“Yeah. My dad’s business partner is really shady. When my dad was alive, Bert was his... apprentice, sort of, I guess is the best way to put it. They were two peas in a pod, if the stories are true, but all those bad practices are really smearing my brand. For a long time, I just tried to clean it all up as best I could, but now, I’m starting to be more proactive with him. He taught me a lot, but most of it was really just learning what I didn’t want to be like.” Quizzical eyes met mine, and I couldn’t help but smile at how interested Katie was. “It’s a weird position to be in. I always felt inferior to Bert because he’s older, been with the company since conception, the usual excuses... but I realized recently that I can’t let him do whatever he wants.”
“You were seventeen when you took over, right? So, this Bert guy made most of your decisions for you for a while?” Nodding once again, I blew out a hot breath as self-loathing clung to my ribs. “When did you realize he was a bad apple?”
“I’ve always known, I guess. I just never had the wherewithal to do anything about it. I always felt like he was right, even when I had a feeling that he was wrong. The way my businesses work is, generally, I buy tech startups and expand them, and then profit off them. But there were a good ten years between when I took over and when I actually started being able to confront Bert about what he was doing. I tried my best to clean up after him, and now, another ten years later, I’m finally stopping him from making a disaster before it starts.”
“That must’ve been hard... trying to find your own way when you had a person like that on your shoulder all the time, I mean.” Squeezing her hand as we left the studios, I blew out a hot breath as memories of that turbulent time filled my mind. The sincerity in Katie’s voice was tinged with sympathy, and I licked my lips nervously. There were so many things that I regretted, even now, and she kicked the low heel of her furry boot with a huff.
“I wish I could go back and tell myself not to be such a wimp, you know? But all I can do now is not make the same mistakes I’ve made.”
