His fingers brush against mine. “Someone’s jealous.”
I roll my eyes. I shouldn’t have started this conversation with him.
“Let’s just do our jobs and make sure that Lily’s interview goes well.”
He moves behind me, rubbing my shoulders. “Relax. It’s out of our hands now. Now, it’s up to Lily.”
I fold my arms across my chest as I stare intently while Lily walks out to the couch across from Phoebe. I will not think about Carter again until the interview is over. And, even then, I will only think of him professionally. I will not have sex with him again. The sex might be amazing, but it’s not worth the pain I would definitely experience afterward.
The interview starts out pleasantly enough. But then Phoebe turns her questions in a harsher direction, like I was expecting.
“Are you and Phillip still together?” Phoebe asks.
“No, we aren’t,” Lily says.
I nod. Come on, you can do this, Lily.
“So, you are with Jacob?”
“No, I’m alone,” Lily says.
I wince when she says alone. She’s supposed to be coming across as a strong, independent woman. Not weak. Not a woman in need of a man.
“Alone? You don’t seem like the type of woman who likes to be alone. You were with two men at the same time after all. I don’t believe that there is no special someone in your life right now.”
Lily freezes.
I turn to Carter. “She’s fucked,” I say.
He nods, grabbing the nape of his neck while he watches the disaster begin to unfold.
Think, I say to myself, pacing.
There has to be a way to fix this. That is what I do. Maybe I can find a way to turn the power off and shut down the whole production. Maybe this won’t actually air. I might have to sleep with someone, but I can convince them to air an old episode instead of this one.
As I walk, Carter’s eyes stay fixed on the screen. Same goes for the backstage crew. Except for the women. Most of the women are either blatantly staring at Carter or sneaking a look. He’s attractive. One of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen. And he clearly has the attention of everyone in the room.
I wanted Lily to have her chance to do this on her own. But she fucked that up the second she wouldn’t prepare with me. So, now, she’s going to have to do this with a man by her side.
“Carter,” I hiss.
He turns toward me with a grin. He clearly thinks I think we should just sneak off and have sex somewhere since Lily is such a lost cause.
“Take off your jacket,” I say.
His grin brightens as he takes it off.
I undo the top couple of buttons on his shirt.
“You know I want you, Victoria, but I think we should go somewhere more private before you undress me completely,” he says with a wink.
I ignore him as I spit in my hand and then fluff his hair, making it a little messier.
“Roll up your sleeves.”
“Why?” he asks, realizing that I’m no longer doing this for sex.
“Because you are about to go on camera.”