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“So does Stella,” Bennet snaps back, flanking Stella on the other side.
She raises her head to look at us gratefully, but I can read the upset on her face. She’s worried about her job.
Roy continues to unravel. “She’s in violation!”
“You’re a walking violation, Roy,” I sigh. “Kindly fuck off and get Jessie over here.”
“I’m the director here!” he yells, literally stomping his foot. He looks like an overgrown toddler, his bald head crimson, the vein ready to burst.
“The director of nothing right now,” Forrest quips, making his way up the porch toward the back door. “We’ve all just quit, remember?”
“Okay, stop!” he squeaks, recognizing that we’re not joking. “Just… maybe I was too hasty.”
“No,” I counter, spinning around. “You’re impossible to work with. Get Jessie and the producers out here. If they want us to stay, we need a new director, not a power-tripping prick.”
Roy balks at my demand, and Forrest gives me a wary look, but none of the men contradict my statement. I stand firm, Bennet and Forrest moving to stand at my back, Stella far behind them.
“No!” he snaps. “That’s not the way this works.”
“Fine,” I agree, spinning around. “Then you can explain why your entire cast walked off the set. You’ll be hearing from our lawyers. Come on, guys, let’s go get a steak. I’m starving.”
I head down the hill, and I hear Roy release a grunt of frustration.
“Don’t fucking go anywhere!” he hollers, storming toward the prep trailer as we regroup inside.
Stella stands in the kitchen, her dark eyes huge. “Should I start packing?” She’s blinking rapidly, maybe trying to hold back tears.
“No!” all three of us tell her in unison.
“You’re not the one who’s leaving,” Forrest adds, offering me an appreciative look. “Gabe handled that just fine.”
“Are you sure? We really did take a wrong turn on the ATV. I didn’t mean to lose the crews again.”
“It’s not your fault,” I insist, gathering her in my arms and kissing the top of her head.
Her entire body relaxes against me, and I catch Bennet’s eye over her shoulder. Forrest’s eyebrows quirk upward, and I sense that the three of us guys are in need of some genuine camaraderie.
Assuming we all still have a job to do.
CHAPTER 14
Bennet
The sound of ax blades on wood echoes through the forest on both sides of me, but I’m too distracted to keep up with Forrest and Gabe. My mind is strictly on Stella and what’s happening with her in Los Angeles.
“Oh, come on,” Gabe complains, seeing my faraway look. “Are you really going to make me do all the work?”
“Hey!” Forrest argues. “I’m working, too!” To prove his point, he drives his handle down and splits another sapling down the middle.
I say nothing and resume my task, but that’s not good enough for Gabe, who continues to stare at me. “You gonna spit it out, or are you gonna make us guess?”
I eye him blankly. “What?”
“What’s eating you?”
“I’m just thinking about Stella,” I snap, irritated that he won’t leave me alone.
Gabe has the most infuriating way of making me speak when I have no interest in saying anything.
