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I don’t interrupt, though. Not my place.
The one thing I have learned since being on this island is that Mallory is the only person who truly knows how to handle Teagan.
“Listen.” Mallory reaches her hand out and places it on her shoulder. “What’s going on? You knew about all of this. You agreed. I asked you several times if you were sure before you signed.”
Teagan’s eyes dart around, and at first, I think she’ll tell me to leave, but she doesn’t. Her head continues to swivel around, and I realize she’s looking for someone. I follow her eyes and land on her mom. Teagan shudders, and it’s not hard to deduce this is an issue with Theresa.
Great.
Just fucking great. The woman is a continual pain in everybody’s ass. To make matters worse, it’s clear that her adult daughter doesn’t want her here. So why the hell hasn’t somebody sent her packing?
“I . . . I can’t,” Teagan stammers.
Mallory squeezes her shoulder. “Why?”
“I ate too much.”
Mallory shakes her head, clearly confused. “What do you mean, you ate too much?”
“I shouldn’t have eaten today. Mom said—”
“Stop right there, Teagan.” Mallory’s voice takes on a hard edge that tells me she’ll go to war against Theresa for Teagan.
“Do not let your mom get into your head.” She places her other hand on Teagan’s opposite shoulder, bending to eye level. “You might feel uncomfortable right now, but you are beautiful, Teagan. Don’t let her issues become yours.”
“I—”
“Nope. I will not have you entertain anything she says. You look great. You know the lines. You’re going to nail this.”
Teagan drops her gaze and doesn’t look up.
“Take a deep breath, and now exhale that bullshit. I’m going to make sure she’s not on set today.”
Teagan inhales and then exhales, and she smiles. “You promise?”
Mallory places two fingers under Teagan’s chin and lifts it. “Absolutely.”
“What would I do without you?”
Mallory smiles warmly. “That’s something you’ll never have to find out.”
Teagan throws her arms around Mallory, hugging her tightly before running off toward the water to practice with Brad.
I stand here, taking in what I just witnessed. It’s something you only see in movies. Rarely does an agent have that kind of relationship with a star. Ego plays too much of a part in things.
“You’re really good with her.”
“She makes it easy.” Mallory shrugs off the compliment, and I refuse to allow it.
“Nope.”
She turns to me with narrowed eyes. “Nope?”
“It’s you who makes it easy.”
And dammit, I mean it wholeheartedly. Mallory Reynolds has me twisted up, and that’s a real problem.
25
Mallory
@Stargossip: Some people fish for compliments, while high-paid actors just plain ole fish . . . or so we hear.
@Betterthanfiction: Umm . . . pass!
@Bitchpleaseme: I hate everyone. And I hate pants.
@Deathtothesystem: More like overpaid actors! It’s ridiculous!
It’s been three days since I had Theresa removed from the set.
She didn’t go without making a scene, but ultimately, Stefan agreed, and she was asked to leave.
They’ve been running the same scene since that day, and I’m hoping today will be a wrap and on to the next. The chemistry between Brad and Teagan is improving. It’s just Stefan’s wacky way of filming that has prolonged this particular scene.
He claims it hasn’t hit peak performance.
Whatever the hell that means.
“Here,” Paxton says, moving beside me and offering a piping hot mug of coffee.
I accept the offering with a small smile. “Thank you.”
He nods, eyes never wavering from Brad and Teagan.
“How’s it going so far?” he asks, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Not bad. Let’s just hope Stefan gets what he’s looking for and moves to the next scene.” I huff. “At this rate, we’ll be here another month.”
Paxton groans. “If I don’t return to the office soon, I’m afraid I won’t have a team or clients outside of Brad.”
I turn to him and make a face. “That sounds ominous.”
He smirks. “I work with a bunch of petulant brats.” He turns to look at me. “Did I mention the worst are the men?”
I grin up at him. “How shocking. You better take advantage of your downtime here. Sounds like things will be crazy when you get back.”
He leans down, lips grazing the shell of my ear, and my entire body goes still, except for the tingles rushing over my skin. “Oh, I intend to.”
If my heart could beat any faster, it might pop out of my chest.
I have no clue what’s happening here, but when Paxton pulls away and our eyes lock, his eyes darken, and I swear something resembling lust crosses his gorgeous face.
I’m likely imagining things. Allowing his proximity to play mind games.
Snapping my head away, I clear my throat.
Stefan has called a break, and Brad and Teagan are just standing around.
“I’m going to go check on Teagan. Make sure she doesn’t need anything.”
“You care about her,” he says, gesturing to where Teagan has taken it upon herself to begin rehearsing with Brad.
