AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s bullshit,” I said bluntly, “No one should put up with anyone making them feel uncomfortable or threatened for any reason. Forgive me for saying so, but your agent sounds like an idiot. Establish your lines that you will not cross early, and you’ll save yourself a ton of headaches later. I know someone, one of the top stuntmen in Hollywood who works in the film industry doing fight scenes with sword work, among other things. He’s a retired MMA fighter—got one too many kicks to the head and the doctors told him to either quit or start looking for a wheelchair, so he quit the ring. After a lot of hard work and dedication, he’s become one of the top fight coordinators and personal trainers in the world. He’s on vacation right now, but as soon as he’s back, I’ll get ahold of him for you, if you want.”
Hope lit her eyes, and she sat up straight. “Would I know any of the movies he’s worked on? No offense, but if I come to the producers asking to use your guy as a replacement, they’re going to want someone with some big movies behind them. If he’s only done indie movies or overseas films, they might not go for it.”
“Well, he worked on the set of that blockbuster fantasy series, Stone Guardians, for the last four years.”
Her jaw dropped slightly, and she said with hope sparkling in her eyes, “Really? I loved that show.
“Now, don’t get too excited. I’m warning you, he may say no. Zane is very picky about who he works with, and he is in high demand. Even if he says yes, you may still end up hating me. He’s a demanding prick who has an inhumane amount of energy, a tolerance for pain like you wouldn’t believe, very little social skills, and he’ll probably make you cry. He makes everyone cry. But if you can survive that, he’ll bust his ass to make you the best sword fighting, arrow hurling, kick butt leading lady the world has ever seen.”
“As long as he doesn’t try to grab my boobs every ten minutes or keep calling me fat, I can deal with him being a demanding prick. I’m not exactly a sweet lil’thang myself. I dare him to try to make me cry.”
I couldn’t help but grin and cross my legs as I said, “I believe you can handle your own with him. And, as I said, if he agrees to work with you, this should be interesting. Regardless, start bringing someone with you to all practices with your current trainer. Maybe a female assistant who can be there to witness the behavior. It might keep the guy in line, and if it doesn’t, you have a witness. She could even record your training under the premise that you want to review your lessons and work on your moves after you go home.”
Drumming her fingers on the chair, Shyla nodded, her gaze distant as she stared at the closed door leading to the room where Nora slept. “That’s a good idea. Thank you, Tyler. It’s been really helpful to talk this shit out with you. You’re such a good Daddy.”
Laughing, I shook my head, “Sorry, Shyla, only person that gets to call me Daddy is Nora. But you can call me your wise, distinguished, honorable, and modest friend.”
Shyla’s laughter was cut off as there came a knock from my bedroom door followed by a loud, “Hello? How do I get out of here?”
“Hold on,” I yelled before I placed my hand on the door panel and it slid open, revealing a worried looking Nora. She wore one of my dark t-shirts that she must have gotten from my dresser.
Before she could say anything, I swept her into my arms and kissed her forehead. “I’m so sorry. I thought you’d be sleeping longer.”
She stiffened and wiggled her way out of my grip, her cold body language the polar opposite of what it had been earlier tonight. For one thing, she wouldn’t meet my gaze, her slender form rigid with tension. Shyla must have noticed as well, because she gave me a worried look before she hugged Nora.
“Hey, sleepyhead. Nice to see you awake.”
“Yeah,” Nora muttered. “Sorry about that. Well, I’m ready to go. Sorry for keeping you so late.”
The flat, almost toneless nature of her voice had me reaching for her, but she stepped back, her eyes on the floor as she said, “Thank you for tonight, Tyler. It was lovely.”
It took me a second to find my voice before I said, “You’re welcome.”
“Well, goodbye,” Nora said with a faint wave of her hand, my t-shirt brushing the backs of her thighs as she turned.
It was almost as if I could feel her slipping through my fingers, and I had no idea how or what had happened that had turned her from a sweet, happy girl to this…block of ice.
