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Laughter tittered through the cluster, and I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
“It’s freezing!” Natalie’s agent exclaimed as she set her hand on my arm. I shook it off, tossing her a warning glance.
Whenever I bumped into her with Natalie, she made it very clear that she was available, and I always did my best to dissuade her. However, I didn’t want to ruin her relationship with my sister, so I hadn’t outright told her to back the fuck off. Seeing as how I was already at the limit of my bullshit meter, her action pushed me over the line.
“Not interested,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “Not now, not ever. So have some self-respect and stop fucking throwing yourself at me.” Then I yanked my arm away and stomped out the door into the cold air.
Nice going, Hunt. Fuck. Natalie was going to be pissed.
Unfortunately, when I stepped out into the cold night, the wind whipping around me and sinking into my bones did nothing to put out the fire burning furiously inside me.
4
CLEO
Last night turned out to be equal parts amazing and awful. Gustavo had followed through on his promise and introduced me to several industry bigwigs, including the production manager who oversaw the below-the-line crew for his show. He even told his agent that he should meet with me…and not just so that I would sign a nondisclosure agreement about anything personal the celebrity had shared with me. Networking with a big-time agent while I was still doing my undergraduate studies would be a major coup.
But even with as amazing as all of that was, I was devastated by Rigby’s reaction when I tried to say hello to him. I had no idea what he meant when he’d said he was wrong about us being neighbors, or being dishonest, and I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be able to find out because he hadn't given me his phone number. Judging by the iciness in his blue gaze and his blank face, I didn't expect he would ever call me.
It was hard for me to regret walking away with Gustavo when Rigby had been icing me out, but I did wish that his timing had been a little better. Maybe then, I could have gotten some answers from Rigby and wouldn’t have to wonder what the heck changed between meeting him in the grocery store last night and the awards ceremony today.
Instead of celebrating all the connections I made, I spent the night tossing and turning while racking my brain about what possibly could have gone wrong with Rigby. I still hadn’t figured it out when I crawled out of bed in the morning, bleary-eyed and exhausted from lack of sleep. Stumbling into the bathroom, I was on autopilot as I went through my morning routine. It was a good thing I didn’t have a test today because I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to make it through my set and film drawing lecture, and it was my favorite class this semester. Normally, I looked forward to whatever I would learn during class, but I just wanted to crawl back in bed and pull the blankets over my head so I could pretend Rigby hadn’t blown me off last night.
As I finished getting dressed, my cell phone rang. Squinting at the screen, I saw that Meredith was calling and answered, “Hey.”
“You sound exhausted.”
I heaved a deep sigh. “Yeah, because I am.”
“Mm-hmm, I’m sure you are after last night.”
Meredith had suggested I apply for the seat filler gig, and she knew firsthand how tiring those long days could be. Since I wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened with Rigby, I didn’t explain that my tiredness wasn’t just from all the standing around I’d done yesterday leading up to the awards ceremony. I’d fill her in on everything later once I got over the disappointment that nothing would develop between Rigby and me even though the chemistry between us was explosive. “And I barely got any sleep.”
“I was hoping it was something like that. Girl, I don’t know what you’re doing differently lately, but you need to fill me in on your secret.”
My brows drew together as I tilted my head to the side. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, sure.” Her laughter drifted through the line. “Play dumb so you don’t have to share your secret with your best friend in all of New York City.”
My tired mind was searching for an explanation for her reply, but it confused me more. “No, really. I have no idea what you mean.”
“Seriously? Did whatever you got up to with the Brazilian hottie last night kill too many brain cells?” she teased.
“Brazilian hottie?” I echoed softly, my stomach starting to knot as a sneaking suspicion finally dawned.
