AllFreeNovel
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He watched with a faint tug of envy as the little family unit turned as one and walked—no,strolled—toward a sweet treat. Had he ever done that with his parents? He couldn’t remember. He added ice cream strolls to his list of grievances to air with his future therapist.
Before he had a chance to go down that rabbit hole of disappointment, Buster took off after a squirrel and nearly yanked his arm out of the socket.
“Okay, you big mutt, let’s get our stroll on.”
He took Buster around the neighborhood, letting him mark every bush, fence post, and hydrant in a two-mile radius. Once the poor dehydrated pup was panting, Jake turned his steps back to Frankie.
As he was mounting the stairs to her apartment, his phone rang. He looked at the screen and sighed. Brian. Jake debated answering it for half a second, but Brian would keep calling back until he answered. "Hello, Brian. What can I do for you?"
"I can't just call to check in on my favorite showrunner?"
Jake bit back a snort at that blatant bit of flattery. "On the eve of a holiday weekend? What do you want?"
Frankie opened the door. She took Buster’s leash and stepped back into her apartment. He followed her in and accepted the glass of wine she offered. Buster lapped at his water like a camel at an oasis.
"I saw that you are coming to the yacht party after all. Will there be good news to share with Madame President?"
"The show is moving along at a good clip. I've got the first two segments for each show through to final edits. I'm just waiting on construction to finish so I can…"
Frankie leaned against her counter and sipped her wine while she waited for him to finish his call. There was nothing he’d like more than to end this conversation, but Brian wouldn't let him go until he got what he called for. Instead, Jake ran through his show update without taking his eyes off her. Now he understood Natalie's cryptic remarks. Frankie looked different, and he drank her in over the rim of his wineglass.
Her hair was down over her shoulders, curling around her face. He’d only ever seen it yanked back in her trademark severe ponytail.
"Jake. Cut the shit. You know what I'm asking."
Brian's reprimand abruptly pulled his attention back to the point of the call. The money. All Brian cared about was getting to tell his boss's boss's boss that they were going to get money back on one of their productions.
"Construction is still ongoing."
"Which means no. I'm sure you can appreciate the position I'm in. If you want to continue making shows for us…well, I'm sure you'll pull it off, Jake. You always do."
"Understood, but don't—" He didn't bother finishing that sentence because Brian had already hung up.
The sun was low in the sky behind Frankie, shining in the window, creating a halo around her head, but that wasn’t the only reason she was glowing. She’d done something to her skin. Her lashes were darker. Her eyes luminous. Even as he noted the details with his director’s eye, the combined effect stole his breath. Why would she have gone to all this trouble just for a dinner at home?
“What was that all about?” Frankie asked.
“Just business.” His answer was more curt than he intended, but he was on the defensive and didn’t really want to explain what Brian had wanted.
“Speaking of business, I need to talk to you about some changes Natalie wants to make, but that can wait until dinner. More wine?”
“Sure. Did you do something different with your hair?”
“I did. Do you like it?”
"I do, but I'm confused."
"Confused about what?"
"Why did you get all dolled up for this?"
"Oh, it's not for tonight. Well it is, obviously, tonight, but I thought if I go to LA with you I should be able to blend in. I didn't think a bare face and a ponytail would cut it."
"No, you sure wouldn't blend in."
Frankie's face fell, and he tipped up her chin so she couldn't hide from him. "And that's not a bad thing. Frankie, you are one of a kind. You will always stand out in a crowd to me."
"Says the man who won't be on display Saturday."
